\ ¦ University Library

39002002905694

1

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k'oc;*!*«et*ri'^::
YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Purchased from the income
of the bequest of
WILLIAM ROBERTSON COE
Honorary M.A. 1949, for
material in the field
of American Studies.

\

A PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL

RECORD OF
ALLEN AND VAN WERT
COUNTIES, OHIO,

CONTAINING BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MANY

Prominent and Representative Citizens,

TOGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHIES AND PORTRAITS OF ALL THE

PRESIDENTS OK THE UNITED STATES,

AND BIOGRAPHIES OF THE

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

CHICAGO:
A. W. BOWEN & CO.
1896.

PHOM THE FBE9S OP WILSON, HUMPHREYS A CO.,
FOUBTH ST., LOGANSPOET, IND.

INDEX.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

Adams, J  29
Adams, J. Q  45
Arthur, C. A  117
Buchanan, J  80
Cleveland, S. G  121
Fillmore, M  72

Garfield, J. A  113
Grant, U. S  102
Harrison, B  125
Harrison, W. H  57
Hayes, R. B  106
Jackson, A  49

Jefferson, T  33
Johnson, A  98
Lincoln, A  84
Madison, J  37
Monroe, J  41
Pierce, F  76

Polk, J. K  64
Taylor, Z  68
Tyler, J  60
Van Buren, M  53
Washington, G  25

PRESIDENTIAL PORTRAITS.

Adams, J  28
Adams, J. Q  44
Arthur, CA!  116
Buchanan, J.:  81
Cleveland, S. G  120
Fillmore, M  73

Garfield, J. A  112
Grant, U. S  103
Harrison, B  124
Harrison* W. H  56
Hayes, R. B  107
Jackson, A  48

Jefferson, T  32
Johnson, A  ,.... 99
Lincoln, A  85
Madison, J  36
Monroe, J  40
Pierce, F  77

Polk, J. K  65
Taylor, Z  69
Tyler, J  61
Van Buren, M . . .... . . 52
Washington, G  24

GOVERNORS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.

Allen, W  156
Anderson, C  152
Bartley, M  143
Bartley, T. W.... ... 142
Bebb, W  143
Bishop, R  157
Brough, J  150
Brown, E. A  136
Bushnell, A. S  165
Byrd, C. W . . . S. . . 131

Campbell, J. E  162
Chase, S. P  147
Corwin, T  141
Cox, J. B  ;.... 153
Dennison, W. J  148
Foraker, J. V  160
Ford, S  145
Foster, C  159
Hayes, R. B  154
Hoadly, G  1.. 160

Huntingdon, S  133
Kirker.T  133
Looker, O...  135
Lucas, R  139
McArthur, D  138
McKinley, W  162
Medill, W  146
Meigs, R. J  134
Morrow, J  138
Noyes, E. F  154

Shannon, W  140
St. Clair, A  131
Tiffin, E  132
Tod, D  ,. . 150
Trumbull, A  138
Vance, J  140
Wood, R  : . . . . 146
Worthington, T  136
Young, T. L  156

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INDEX.

ALLEN COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.

Scherger, J  477
Schosker, A. E  460
Schosker, M  ,-460
Schwartzengraber, J. 248
Scott, J  462
Scott, W  462
Sellers, D  482
Sellers, J  463-482
Sellers, J. W  463
Sellers, L  482
Shaffer, D  464
Shaffer; G.B  463
Shappell, G  464
Shappell, J. G  467
Shappell, U. M  464
Sheeter, X  470
Sheeter, G  470
Shenk, A  472-476
Shenk, C. E  471
Shenk, H  475
Shenk, J. M  475
Shenk, M  471-474
Shenk, S. F  474
Sherrick, H  479
Sherrick, H. J  477
Sherrick, H. M  479
Sherrick, J  '. . . 341
Sherrick, J. L. ....... 341
Sherrick, Mrs. M. M. 479
Sherrick, S  421-478
Shindler, E  571
Shindler, S  571
Shobe, J. W  486
Shobe, S  487
Shock, P  187
Shoemaker, D. R.... 485
Shoemaker, C. M ... . 482
Shoemaker, J  482
Shook, E. H  487

Shook, 1  488
Shook, J. L  488
Simpson, C  505
Smiley, J. V  490
Snider, A  491
Snider, J. C  491
Snider. W  491
Snyder, P  489
Solomon, G  492
Solomon, H  493
Solomon, P  .492
Spellacy, J  494
Spellacy, S  494
Stallkamp, E. L  496
Stallkamp, F. H  495
Stehmann.C  497
Steinle, F  500
Steinle, P  500
Stemen, C  498
Stemen, I. W  497
Stemen, J. B  499
Stemen, P  496
Stemen, S.A...... ... 499
Stemen, S. P........ 497
Stephens, J  216
Stevenson, F  490
Stevenson, J  490
Stevick, D  503
Stevjck, J  503
Stewart Family  427
Stewart, S  427
Stewart, W  427
Stockier, C. F  504
Stockier, J  504
Stockton, T  505
Stockton, R. G  505
Stolzenbach, J. H.... 506
Stolzenbach, J. N  506
Stull Family.  507

Stull.N.H  507
Stump, F  508
Suthoff, J  508
Suthoff, F  508
Swain, J  281
Taft Brothers  510
Taft, E, F  510
Taft, J. H  510
Tapscott, J  514
Thomas, R  444
Thompson, D  556
Thompson, 1  556
Thrapp, N. B  515
Thrapp, O. B  517
Thrapp, W  516
Tobias, B  547
Townsend, A  518
ToTvnsend, I. M  518
Turner, A  519
Turner, H  525
Turner, 1  525
Turner, H. E  519
Violet, J  526
Violet, S  526
Violet, S. B  526
Vore, B  528
Vore, N  528
Wagner, H. P  520
Wagner, L  520
Wagner, W. A  531
Wahmhoff, J. H  529
Wahmhoff.S  529
Walther, B  530
Walther, G. J  530
Walther, P..  530
Watkins, T  '. 342

Ward Family  532
Ward, J  532
Ward, W  215
Watt, W  535
Watkins, E  536
Watkins, J  536
Westcott, L. E  536
Westcott, T  536
Westerholt, F  324
Weger, G. A  538
Weger, T. A  538
Weible, H  539
Weible, J  539
Weisenmyer, G  541
Weisenmyer, P  540
Wheeler, S. S  541
Wheeler, Z  541
Whisler, D  546
Whisler, M  546
Wilch, P....:  547
Winegardner, A  234
Winegardner, F. H . 549
Winegardner, G. W . 549
Winegardner, J  542
Winegardner, S. T. . 542
Yoakim, M...«  549
Yoakim, M., Jr  550
Yoakim, M. J  549
Young, A  552
Young, J. H  552
Youngpeter, A  551
Youngpeter, H  551
Zinsmayer, D  562
Zoll, B  555
Zoll, J  555

ALLEN COUNTY PORTRAITS.

Akerman, J  179
Baxter, D. E., Jr  189
Brice, C. S  170
Crites, J  239
Ditto, D. W  257
Ditto, Mrs. F. B  257
Ford, Mrs. 1  291
Ford, J  -. 291
Haller, J. B  296

Handel, Mrs. A  298
Handel, T. A  298
Hoeffel, A. 1  320
Irick, A. F  332
Lawlor, H. J  358
Leilich, H. L  367
Leist.G.R  385
Miller, J. J  395
Moennig.H. J  512

Mueller, j  415
Robb, T. D  431
Robb, T. M  432
Saint John's Catholic
Church  321
Shappell, U. M  465
Shoemaker, CM.... 483
Steinle, F  501
Wagner, H. P  522

Wagner, Maggie M.. 523
Watt, W  534
Winegardner, S. T. . 542
Winegardner, Mrs. J . 542
Young, A..1  552
Zinsmayer, D  563

INDEX.

VAN WERT COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.

Ackom, J. F  3
Ackom, P  3
Adams, E  196
Adams, H  196
Addison, T  128
Agler, C  4
Agler, D. E  472
Agler, J  4-5
Agler, P  5
Agler, W  4-470
. Aiken, J  5-6
Alban, T  199
Alban, T. A  199
Albright, E  472
Albright, H  7
Albright, J  7
Albright, J. C  11
Albright, S  11
Albright, W  7
Allen, F. M  13
Allen, H. L  12
Allen, J  13
Allen, Mrs. N.J  14
Allen, S  12
Allen, W. F  14
Allingham.R.Jr.... 15
Allingham, R., Sr. . . 15
Aispach, A. B  17
Alspach, D  16
Aispach, E  15
Alspach, J  18-473
Aispach, J. J  16-473
Alspach, O.O  18
Alspach, W  15
Althoen, H  17
Althoen, P  17
Anderson, W  25
. Armstrong, A  26
Armstrong, J  -26
Armstrong, T  26
Arnold, E  •. . 199
Arnold, J  199
' Ayers, C  28
Ayers, J. M  27
, Ayers, W. H....... 27-28
Baird, J  28
Bajrd, J. W  28
Baker, A  48
Baker, C  483
Baker, E. M ...... . 49
Baker, J. M  49
Balyeat, A  30-41
Balyeat, A. 1  38
Balyeat, D  37
Balyeat Family  29
- Balyeat, J  30-36-37
Balyeat, L  473
Balyeat, M  36
Balyeat, O. A  35
Balyeat, S. J  37-38
Barnard, J. E.  41
Barnard, J. W.... ..41-42
Barnard, S  42
Barr, J  137

Baum, J  80
Baumgarte, C  43
Baumgarte, J. H  43
Baxter, C  47
Baxter, E  47
Baxter, J  44
Baxter, J. S  200
Baxter, R. C  44
Baxter, Mrs. R. H... 44
Baxter, S. M  47
Baxter, T  200
Beach, Manitou  78
Beale, J  50
Beale, W. S.... "..... 50
Bear, G  51
Bear, J. C  51
Bebb, J  201
Bebb, W.J...  201
Beck, D. S  52'
Beck, J. D  53
Beck, M  52-53
Beckmann, J  54
Beckmann, W  54
Beecher, F . . . . •.  51
Beecher, S. R.... ... 51
Bell, J. H  54
Bell, T  54
Berry, J  206
Berry, M  205
Berry, T. M  205
Bevington, F  753
Bevington, J  55
Bevington, H  55-753
Bieber, C  67
Bieber, W  67
Billman, D.O  56
Billman.F  56
Blachly„H. W  57
Black, A  58
Black, M  58
Bockey, J  59
Bockey, M  59
Bonewitz, D. R  60
Bonewitz.'J  60
Bonner, J  139
Bower, D  62
Bower, J  67
Bower, J. T  62-68
Bower, W  67
Bowers, J  61
Bowman, J  754
Boyd, J..'  699
Bradley, J  68
Brees, A  206
Brees, R  206
Brees, W  206
Brenner, G  80
Brickner, F. M  69
Brickner, J  69
Brittson, B  70
Brittson, 1  70
Brittson, I., Jr  70
Brodnix, B. B  72
Brodnix, J  71
Brodnix, T.; Jr  71

Brodnix, T., Sr  71
Brown, A. J  79
Brown, A. W  207
Brown, B  72-73
Brown, C. H  81
Brown, E  73
Brown, J  79-238
Brown, J. B  80
Brown, M  74
Brown, N. K  81
Brown, P. T  72
Brown, R  207
Brown, W  80
Brunni, H..  83
Brunni, J.B  83
Buchanan, G  755
Buchanan, S. S  755
Bucher, J  491
BucherJ. P  491
Bucher, P  565
Burcaw, A  82
Burcaw, W  82
Burnett, E  209
Burnett, H  209
Burnett, D  209
Burrell, C. 1  474
Burrell, T  474
Burris, H  475
Burris, W  475
Burtsfield, S. S.... 559
Butler, H  77
Butler, J  77-560
Cable, T  83.
Cable, J. 1  83
Calhoun, A  90
Caples, B. L  493
Carlo, F  89.
Carlo, M  89
Camean, E  208
Carmean, G  91
Carmean, J. D  756
Carmean, W. .91-208-756
Carmody, C. S  757
Carpenter, C. W  94
Carpenter, J. W.... 94-408
Cavett, 1  92
Cavett, W  92
Christy, J  93
Christy, S. K  93
Christy, W. M  93
Clapper, A  210
Clapper, H  209
Clark, I. D  101
Clarke, J. J  96
Clifton, L.J  95
Clime, A.,..'  103
Clime, J. H  103
Clouse, G  104
Clouse, M  104
Coate, Mrs. M  351
Coate, S  351
Cole, H  210
Colegrove, J  ' 354
Collett, D  105

Collect, S. B  105
Collins, J  108
Collins, S  96-108
Comer, J  106
Comer, O.J  106
Conant, A  120
Conant, B.  , 123
Conant, R  120
Conn, A  107-907
Conn, H. R  113
Conn, J  113
Conn, C. P  907
Conn, R  107
Conroy, D. M  114
Conroy, M  114
Cooper, A  130
Cooper, D. 0  479
Cooper, Mrs. E  137
Cooper, G. W  136
Cooper, Mrs. H. A. . . 135
Cooper, H.V  136
Cooper, J. K  130
Copper, R. H  757
Copper, W  757
Corbet, T.W  115
Corbet, W. H  115
Cover, G  117
Cover, H  117
Corothers, J. L  479
Corothers, P.C  479
Counseller, D  116
Counseller, W  116
Cox, A. W  147
Cox, W  147
Cramer, J  154
Cramer, J., Sr  1,54
Crawford, J. H  118
Crawford, N  118
Cremean, E  119
Cremean, J  119
Cremean, S  119
Crist, B  142
Crist, W  142
Croaks, J. F  124
Crooks, R. L  124
Culp, B  125
Culp, T  125
Custer, J  765
Custer, P  766
Dailey, A. T..... ... 125
Dailey, E  125
Danner, J  126
Davidson, G. W  221
Davidson, J. .166-178-219
Davidson, P.R  166
•Davidson, R  178
Davis, D  212
Davis, D.O  129
Davis, E. O  129'
Davis, J. S  130
Davis, J. Y  130
Davis, M  212
Davis, T  127
Davis, W  127

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INDEX.

11

VAN WERT COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.

Hunter, W. H  337
Hunter, W. M  337
Hyatt, J  346
Hyatt, N  346
Hymen, C. H  347
"ackson, F  909
ackson, S. A  909
Jarvis, J  352
Jarvis, R  352
Johantgen, F  365
Johantgen, J  365
Johns, Mrs. E.J  354
Johns, I. W  353
Johns, J. W  353
Johnson, B  373-374
Johnson, D.. .758-759-763
Johnson, D. S  372
Johnson, J 
.......360-416-758-763
Johnson, J. A  360
Johnson, J. B  373
Johnson, J. K. P  361
Johnson, W  360
Johnson, W., Jr  371
Johnson, W. S  764
Johnstone, O. W  374
Jones, B  430
Jones, D.J  481
Jones, D. S  384
Jones, E. L  377
Jones, E. T  376
Jones, J. D  384
Jones, J. H  383-481
Jones, J  430
Jones," J. J  383
Jones, J. L  375
Jones, J. M  383
Jones, Mrs. R. C  351
Jones, S. B  351
Joseph, C  386
Joseph, W  386

Kannel, H  385-779
Kannel, J  385-779
Kear, W. M  903
Kear.T.R  904
Kiser, J. W  399
Keltner, B  387
Keltner, M  387
Kemper, H  388
Kemper, J. S  388
KenslerJ  388
Kensler, T. C  38'8
Kesler, J  389-396
Kesler, P  389
' Kesler, S  389
Ketzeiibarger, J  400
Kever.A  396
Kever, J  396
Kimmell, J  397
Kimmell, W-.  397
King'/H. H...  398
King, J  398
King, P  398

Kistler, S  135
Klein, J. P  438
Kline, A  424
Kline, Mrs. M  424
Klinger, D. P  408
Klinger, J  407
Klinger, J. H  407
Knittle, G  447
Knittle, P  447
Koch, J. H  409
Koch, J. H., Jr  409
Kohn, G. W  410
Kohn, S  410
Koogle, D  413
Koogle, 0  410
Krick, P  471
Krout, A. N  450
Krout, J  450
Kuhl, J  413
Kuhl, L  413
Kundert, H  414
Kundert, J  414
Ladd, L. E  456
Ladd, S  456
Lamerson, J  415
Lamerson, T. C  415
Lampe, C. P  422
Lampe, T. C  421
Lampe, .Miss M.C... 422
Lampe, W. H  422
Lare, T  423
Lare, J. D  423
LaRue, H. F  427
LaRue, J  428
Lawrence, C  469
Lawrence, N  469
Lawrence, W. C  469
Lawhead, C. E  437
Lawhead, G  435
Lawhead, J. . .,  435
Lawhead, M.J  436
Lawhead, Miss M. M. 437
Leathers, C  429
Leathers, H  429
Lee, J  603
Leeson, E  437
Leeson, J  437
Lehman, G  442
Lehman, H. G  441
Leitner, A  -448
Leitner, M. T  448
Leitner, W. B  448
Lepley, J  444
Lesley, D  443
Lesley, G  443
Leslie, E  ; 449
Leslie, E. P  449
Leslie, Mrs. E. P.... 450
Lewis, A  455
Lewis, Mrs. E  459
Lewis, G  455-476
Lewis, J. E  476
Lewis, J. W  460
Light, M  69

Long, D  461
Long, M  461
Long, P  460
Long, S. W  460
Longsworth, C. R . . . 464
Longsworth, S  462
Longsworth, S. R. . . 464
Longsworth, W. N.. . 462
Longwell, A. L  463
Longwell, J  463
Lorber, H  489
Lorber, L. W  489
Ludwig, J  454
Ludwig, W. W  454
Luersman, C  453
Luersman, J  453
Lybarger, C. B  466
Lybarger, W  465
Lybold, A  496
Lybold, J  496
Lybold. W. L  501
McConahay, A. P.... 484
McConahy, G  482
McConnell, J  484
McConnell, J. R  485
McConnell, G  484
McConnell, W  485
McCoy, A. R  508
McCoy, C. H  522
McCoy, J  486
McCoy, Mrs. M. E.. 522
McCoy, M. H  519
McCrory, J  489
McCrorv, W  489
McDonald, A  490
McDonald, A. L  490
' McGavern, H. C  536
McGavern, G.W.... 536
McGowen, J  493
McGowen, W  493
McKim, T. S...  533
McManus, J  502
McManus.T  502
McMillen, J. J  503
McMillen, J. W  504
McMillen, W  503
McNeal, E. P  495
McNeal, J  495
Major, J  74
Malick, I. H  495
Manitou Beach  78
Manship, C. F  547
Manship, T  547
Marble, E  550
Marble, G. L  554
Marble, J. M. C  550
Mark, A. L  505
Mark, J  505
Markley, F  506
Markley.S  506
Marsh, G  514
Marsh, G. H  513
Marsh, J  513
Martin, R  507

Martin, R. H  507'
Mathew, E. D  51&
Mathew, J  516
May, G  520
May, I.T....  521
May, J  520-
May, W  521
Medaugh, J  876.
Medaugh, R  876.
Melsheimer, C. A. . . 527
Melsheimer, E. E... 528
Melsheimer, H. E... 527"
Melsheimer, L  528
Melsheimer, W. W. . 527
Mentzer, A., Jr  528
Mentzer, A., Sr  529'
Mericle, J  533
Mericle, G  533
Mericle, S  534
Miller, B  536
Miller, D. F  535
Miller, D. R  543
Miller, G  530'
Miller, H  :. 530'
Miller, J  543
Miller, J. C  535
Miller, P. H  544
Miller, S  542:
Miltenburger, P. J. ... 555
Milte.nburger.W. M.. 555
Mitchner, J  555
Mitchner.W. T  555
Moebus, Mrs. A. M.. 549'
Moebus, A. W  550
Moebus, J. A  548
Moebus, L. F  550
Mohr, F  565
Mohr, G  565
Mollenkopf, J  556-
Montgomery, Mrs. E. 128
Montgomery, J  557
Montgomery, J. E . . . 558
Moore, C  347
Moore, C. J  560'
Moore, J. J  906
Moore, J: W  559
Moore, W. S. G...r. 559
Moorehead, A  781
Moorehead, J. 1  781
Morgan, M. H  567
Morgan, P. S  568'
Morgan, R.J  569
Morris, J  459
Morris, J. W  571
Morris, O  879
Morrison, J. E  257
Morse, Miss M  282
Morton, Mrs. E  572
Morton, S. R  577
Mounts, J. F  570
Mowrey, A. J  571
Mowrey, H."  571
Mowrey, W. H  571
Mozel.P  657"
Muller, N  578.

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PRESIDENTS

OF THE

UNrTE-D STATES

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

@EORGE WASHINGTON was born
in Westmoreland county, Va. , Febru
ary 22, 1732. His parents were
Augustine and Mary (Ball) Washing
ton. His great-grandfather, John Washing
ton, came from England to Virginia about
1657, and became a prosperous planter. He
had two sons, Lawrence and John. The former
married Mildred Warner and had three children,
John, Augustine and Mildred. Augustine, the
father of George, first married Jane Butler,
who bore him four children, two of whom,
Lawrence and Augustine, reached maturity.
Of six children by his second marriage, George
was the eldest, the others being Betty, Sam
uel, John Augustine, Charles and Mildred.
Augustine Washington, the father of George,
died in 1743, leaving a large landed property.
To his eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed
an estate on the Potomac, afterward known
as Mount Vernon, and to George he left the
parental residence. George received only
such education as the neighborhood schools
afforded, save for a short time after he left
school, when he received private instructions
in mathematics. He was an acknowledged leader among his
companions, and was early noted for that
nobleness of character, fairness and veracity
which characterized his whole life.
When George was fourteen years old he had

a desire to go to sea, and a midshipman's warrant
was secured for him, but through the opposi
tion of his mother the idea was abandoned.
Two years later he was appointed surveyor to
the estate of Lord Fairfax. In this business
he spent three years. In 175 1, though only
nineteen years of age, he was appointed ad
jutant with the rank of major in the Virginia
militia, then being trained for active service
against the French and Indians. Soon after
this he sailed to the West Indies with his
brother Lawrence, who went there to restore
his health. They soon returned, and in the
summer of 1752 Lawrence died, leaving a
large fortune to an infant daughter, who did
not long survive him. On her demise the estate
of Mount Vernon was given to George.
Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as
lieutenant-governor of Virginia, in 1752, the
militia was reorganized, and the province
divided into four military districts, of which
the northern was assigned to Washington as
adjutant-general. Shortly after this a very
perilous mission was assigned him. This was
to proceed to the French post near Lake Erie
in northwestern Pennsylvania. The distance
to be traversed was between 500 and 600 miles.
Winter was at hand, and the journey was to
be made without military escort, through a
territory occupied by Indians. The trip was a
perilous one, and several times he came near

26

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

losing his life, yet he returned in safety and
furnished a full and useful report of his expe
dition. A regiment of 300 men was raised in
Virginia and put in command of Col. Joshua
Fry, and Major Washington was commissioned
lieutenant-colonel. Active war was then begun
against the French and Indians, in which
Washington took a most important part. In
the memorable event of July 9, 1755, known
as Braddock's defeat, Washington was almost
the only officer of distinction who escaped
from the calamities of the day with life and
honor. The other aids of Braddock were dis
abled early in the action, and Washington
alone was left in that capacity on the field. In
a letter to his brother he says: "I had four
bullets through my coat, and two horses shot
under me, yet I escaped unhurt, though death
was leveling my companions on every side."
A.n Indian sharpshooter said he was not born
to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken direct
aim at him several times, and failed to hit
him. After having been five years in the
military service, he took advantage of the fall
of Fort Duquesne and the expulsion of the
French from the valley of the Ohio, to resign
his commission. Soon after he entered the
legislature, where, although not a leader, he
took an active and important part. January
I7, 1759, he married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge)
Custis, the wealthy widow of John Parke
Custis. When the British parliament had closed
the port of Boston, the cry went up through
out the provinces that ' 'The cause of Boston
is the cause of us all." It was then, at the
suggestion of Virginia, that a congress of all
the colonies was called to meet at Philadel
phia, September 5, 1774, to secure their com
mon liberties, peaceably if possible. To this
congress Col. Washington was sent as a dele
gate. On May 10, 1775, the congress re
assembled, when the hostile intentions of Eng

land were plainly apparent. The battles of
Concord and Lexington had been fought.
Among the first acts of this congress was the
election of a commander-in-chief of the colo
nial forces. This high and responsible office
was conferred upon Washington, who was still
a member of the congress. He accepted it on
June 19, but upon the express condition that
he receive no salary. He would keep an exact
account of expenses and expect congress to
pay them and nothing more. The war was
conducted by him under every possible disad
vantage, and while his forces often met with
reverses, yet he overcame every obstacle, and
after seven years of heroic devotion and match
less skill, he gained liberty for the greatest
nation of earth. On December 23, 1783,
Washington resigned his commission as com
mander-in-chief of the army to the continental
congress sitting at Annapolis, and retired im
mediately to Mount Vernon.
In February, 1789, Washington was unani
mously elected president. In his presidential
career he was subject to the peculiar trials in
cidental to a new government; trials from lack
of confidence on the part of other govern
ments; trials for the want of harmony between
the different sections of our own country; trials
from the impoverished condition of the coun
try, owing to the war and want of credit; trials
from the beginnings of party strife.
At the expiration of his first term he was
unanimously re-elected. At the end of this
term many were anxious that he be re-elected,
but he absolutely refused a third nomination.
On the fourth of March, 1797, he returned to
his home, hoping to pass there his few remain
ing years free from the annoyance of public
life. Later in the year, however, his repose
seemed likely to be interrupted by war with
France. At the prospect of such a war he was
again urged to take command of the armies.
He chose his subordinate officers and left to

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

29

them the charge of matters in the field, which
he superintended from his home. In accepting
the command he made the reservation that he
was not to be in the field until it was neces
sary. In the midst of these preparations his
life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he
took a severe cold from a ride in the rain,
which, settling in his throat, produced inflam
mation, and terminated fatally on the night
of the 14th. On the 18th his body was borne
with military honors to its final resting place,
and interred in the family vault at Mount
Vernon. The person of Washington was unusually
tall, erect and well proportioned. His features
were of a beautiful symmetry. He commanded
respect without any appearance of haughtiness,
and was ever serious without being dull.

'^j'OHN ADAMS, the second president
O and the first vice-president of the
/• 1 United States, was born in Braintree,
now Quincy, Mass., and about ten
miles from Boston, October 19, 1735. His
great-grandfather, Henry Adams, emigrated
from England about 1640, with a family of
eight sons, and settled at Braintree. The
parents of John were John and Susannah
(Boylston) Adams. His father was a farmer
of limited means, to which he added the busi
ness of shoemaking. He gave his eldest son,
John, a classical education at Harvard college.
John graduated in 1755, and at once took
charge of the school in Worcester, Mass. This
he found but a ' ' school of affliction, " from
which he endeavored to gain relief by devot
ing himself, in addition, to the study of law.
For this purpose he placed himself under the
tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He
was well fitted for the legal profession, pos
sessing a clear, sonorous voice, being ready and
fluent of speech, and having quick perceptive

powers. In 1764 he married Abigail Smith, a
daughter of a minister, and a lady of superior
intelligence. Shortly after his marriage (1765)
the attempt of parliamentary taxation turned
him from law to politics. He took initial steps
toward holding a town meeting, and the resolu
tions he offered on the subject became very
popular throughout the province, and were
adopted word for word by over forty different
towns. He moved to Boston in 1768, and
became one of the most courageous and prom
inent advocates of the popular cause, and was
chosen a member of the general court (the
legislature) in 1770.
Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first dele
gates from Massachusetts to the first conti
nental congress, which met in 1774. Here he
distinguished himself by his capacity for busi
ness and for debate, and advocated the move
ment for independence against the majority of
the members. In May, 1776, he moved and
carried a resolution in congress that the colo
nies should assume the duties of self-govern
ment. He was a prominent member of the
committee of five appointed June 11, to pre
pare a declaration of independence. This
article was drawn by Jefferson, but on Adams
devolved the task of battling it through con
gress in a three days' debate.
On the day after the Declaration of Inde
pendence was passed, he wrote a letter to his
wife which, as we read it now, seems to have
been dictated by the spirit of prophecy.
"Yesterday," he says, "the greatest question
was decided that ever was debated in America;
and greater, perhaps, never was or will be
decided among men. A resolution was passed
without one dissenting colony, 'that these
United States are, and of right ought to be,
free and independent states.' The 4th of
July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the
history of America. I am apt to believe it
will be celebrated by succeeding generations,

30

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

as the great anniversary festival. It ought to
be commemorated as the day of deliverance
by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God.
It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows,
games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illu
minations from one end of the continent to the
other, from this time forward for ever. You
will think me transported with enthusiasm, but
I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and
blood and treasure, that it will cost to main
tain this declaration, and support and defend
these states; yet, through all the gloom, I can
see the rays of light and glory. I can see
that the end is worth more than all the means;
and that posterity will triumph, although you
and I may rue, which I hope we shall not."
In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was ap
pointed a delegate to France to co-operate
with Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, who
were then in Paris, in the endeavor to obtain
assistance in arms and money from the French
government. He left France June 17, 1779.
In September of the same year he was again
chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself
in readiness to negotiate a treaty of peace and
of commerce with Great Britain, as soon as
the British cabinet might be found willing to
listen to such proposals. He sailed for France
in November, from there he went to Holland,
where he negotiated important loans and
formed important commercial treaties.
Finally a treaty of peace with England
was signed January 2 1 , 1783. The re-action
from the excitement, toil and anxiety through
which Mr. Adams had passed threw him into
a fever. After suffering from a continued
fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he
was advised to go to England to drink the
waters of Bath. While in England, still
drooping and desponding, he received dis
patches from his own government urging the
necessity of his going to Amsterdam to nego
tiate another loan. It was winter, his health

was delicate, yet he immediately set out, and
through storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,
he made the trip.
February 24, 1785, congress appointed.
Mr. Adams envoy to the court of St. James.
Here he met face to face the king of England,
who had so long regarded him as a traitor.
As England did not condescend to appoint a
minister to the United States, and as Mr.
Adams felt that he was accomplishing but lit
tle, he sought permission to return to his own
country, where he arrived in June 1788.
When Washington was first chosen presi
dent, John Adams, rendered illustrious by his-
signal services at home and abroad, was
chosen vice president. Again at the second
election of Washington as president, Adams
was chosen vice president. In 1796, Wash
ington retired from public life, and Mr Adams-
was elected president, though not without
much opposition. Serving in this office four
years, he was succeeded by Mr. Jefferson, his
opponent in politics.
While Mr. Adams was vice president the
great French revolution shook the continent
of Europe, and it was upon this point which
he was at issue with the majority of his
countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Adams
felt no sympathy with the French people in
their struggle, for he had no confidence in
their power of self-government, and he utterly
abhorred the class of atheist philosophers who
he claimed caused it. On the other hand
Jefferson's sympathies were strongly enlisted
in behalf of the French people. Hence origi
nated the alieniation between these distin
guished men, and two powerful parties were
thus soon organized, Adams at the head of
the one whose sympathies were with England,,
and Jefferson led the other in sympathy with
France. In 1824, his cup of happiness was
filled to the brim, by seeing his son elevated
to the highest station in the gift of the people.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

33

The 4th of July, 1826, which completed
the half century since the signing of the Dec
laration of Independence, arrived, and there
were but three of the signers of that immortal
instrument left upon the earth to hail its
morning light. And, as it is well known, on
that day two of these finished their earthly
pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as to
seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr.
Adams had been rapidly failing, and, on the
4th, he found himself too weak to rise from his
bed. On being requested to name a toast for
the customary celebration of the day, he ex
claimed "Independence forever." When
the day was ushered in, by the ringing of bells
and the firing of cannons, he was asked by
one of his attendants if he knew what day it
was? He replied, " Oh, yes; it is the glorious
Fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you
all." In the course of the day he said, " It is
a great and glorious day." The last words he
uttered were "Jefferson survives." But he
liad, at one o'clock, resigned his spirit into the
hands of his God. The personal appearance
and manners of Mr. Adams were not particu
larly prepossessing. His face, as his portrait
manifests, was intellectual and expressive, but
his figure was low and ungraceful, and his
manners were frequently abrupt and uncour
teous.

>HOMAS JEFFERSON, third presi
dent of the United States, was born
April 2, 1743, at Shadwell, Albemarle
county, Va. His parents were Peter
and Jane (Randolph) Jefferson, the former a
native of Wales, and the latter born in Lon
don. To them were born six daughters and
two sons, of whom Thomas was the eldest.
When fourteen years of age his father died.
He received a most liberal education, having
been kept diligently at school from the time

he was five years of aget. In 1760 he entered
William and Mary college. Williamsburg was
then the seat of the colonial court, and it
was the abode of fashion and splendor. Young
Jefferson, who was then seventeen years old,
lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine
horses, and was much caressed by gay society,
yet he was earnestly devoted to his studies,
and irreproachable in his morals. In the
second year of his college course, moved by
some unexplained inward impulse, he discarded
his horses, society, and even his favorite violin,
to which he had previously given much time.
He often devoted fifteen hours a day to hard
study, allowing himself for exercise only a run
in the evening twilight of a mile out of the city
and back again. He thus attained very high
intellectual culture, and excellence in philoso
phy and the languages. The most difficult
Latin and Greek authors he read with facility.
Immediately upon leaving college he began
the study of law. For the short time he con
tinued in the practice of his profession he rose
rapidly and distinguished himself by his energy
and acuteness as a lawyer. But the times
called for greater action. The policy of
England had awakened the spirit of resistance
of the American colonies, and the enlarged
views which Jefferson had ever entertained
soon led him into active political life. In 1 769
he was chosen a member of the Virginia house
of burgesses. In 1772 he married Mrs.
Martha Skelton, a very beautiful, wealthy and
highly accomplished young widow.
Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shad-
well, there was a majestic swell of land, called
Monticello, which commanded a prospect of
wonderful extent and beauty. This spot Mr.
Jefferson selected for his new home; and here
he reared a mansion of modest yet elegant
architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon,
became the most distinguished resort in our
land.

34

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

In 1775 he was sent to the colonial con
gress, where, though a silent member, his
abilities as a writer and a reasoner soon be
came known, and he was placed upon a num
ber of important committees, and was chairman
of the one appointed for the drawing up of a
declaration of independence. This committee
consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Rob
ert R. Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman,
was appointed to draw up the paper. Frank
lin and Adams suggested a few verbal changes
before it was submitted to congress. On June
28, a few slight changes were made in it by
congress, and it was passed and signed July 4,
1776. What must have been the feelings of
that man — what the emotions that swelled his
breast — who was charged with the preparation
of that declaration, which, while it made
known the wrongs of America, was also to
publish her to the world, free, sovereign and
independent! In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor
to Patrick Henry, as governor of Virginia. At
one time the British officer, Tarleton, sent a
secret expedition to Monticello, to capture the
governor. Scarcely five minutes elapsed after
the hurried escape of Mr. Jefferson and his
family ere his mansion was in possession of
the British troops. His wife's health, never
very good, was much injured by this excite
ment and in the summer of 1782 she died.
Mr. Jefferson was elected to congress in
1783. Two years later he was appointed
minister plenipotentiary to France. Return
ing to the United States in September, 1789,
he became secretary of state in Washington's
cabinet. This position he resigned January 1,
1794. In 1797, he was chosen vice president
and four years later was elected president over
Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as vice president.
In 1804 he was re-elected with wonderful
unanimity, and George Clinton, vice president.

The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second
administration was disturbed by an event
which threatened the tranquility and peace of
the Union; this was the conspiracy of Aaron
Burr. Defeated in the late election to the
vice presidency, and led on by an unprincipled
ambition, this extraordinary man formed the
plan of a military expedition into the Spanish
territories on our southwestern frontier, for the
purpose of forming there a new republic.
In 1809, at the expiration of the second
term for which Mr. Jefferson had been elected,
he determined to retire from political life.
For a period of nearly forty years, he had
been continually before the public, and all
that time had been employed in offices of the
greatest trust and responsibility. Having
thus devoted the best part of his life to the serv
ice of his country, he now felt desirous of
that rest which his declining years required,
and upon the organization of the new adminis
tration, in March, 1809, he bade farewell for
ever to public life, and retired to Monticello.
The 4th of July, 1826, being the fiftieth
anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,
great preparations were made in every part of
the Union for its celebration, as the nation's
jubilee, and the citizens of Washington, to
add to the solemnity of the occasion, invited
Mr. Jefferson, as the framer, and one of the
few surviving signers of the Declaration, to
participate in their festivities. But an illness,
which had been of several week's duration, and
had been continually increasing, compelled
him to decline the invitation.
On the 2d of July, the disease under
which he was laboring left him, but in such a
reduced state that his medical attendants en
tertained no hope of his recovery. From this
time he was perfectly sensible that his last
hour was at hand. On the next day, which
was Monday, he asked, of those around him
the day of the month, and on being told that

</.AAf.ES MAD/SOAf."

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

37

it was the 3d of July, he expressed the earnest
wish that he might be permitted to breathe
the air of the fiftieth anniversary. His prayer
was heard — that day, whose dawn was hailed
with such rapture through our land, burst
upon his eyes, and then they were closed for
ever. And what a noble consummation of a
noble life ! To die on that day, — the birth of
a nation — the day which his own name and
own act had rendered glorious; to die amidst
the rejoicings and festivities of a whole nation,
who looked up to him, as the author, under
God, of their greatest blessings, was all that
was wanting to fill up the record of his life.
Almost at the same hour of his death, the kindred
spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear him
company, left the scene of his earthly honors.
In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin,
rather above six feet in height, but well formed;
his eyes were light, his hair, originally red, in
after life became white and silvery; his com
plexion was fair, his forehead broad, and his
whole countenance intelligent and thoughtful.
He possessed great fortitude of mind as well
as personal courage; and his command of tem
per was such that his oldest and most intimate
friends never recollected to have seen him in a
passion. His manners, though dignified, were
simple and unaffected, and his hospitality was
so unbounded that all found at his house a
ready welcome. In conversation he was fluent,
eloquent and enthusiastic; and his language was
remarkably pure and correct. He was a
finished classical scholar, and in his writings
is discemable the care with which he formed
his style upon the best models of antiquity.

>nJAMES MADISON, fourth president of
¦ the United States, was born March 16,
(• / I75I, and died at his home in Virginia,
'*"" June 28, 1836. He was the last of the
founders of the Constitution of the United

States to be called to his eternal reward.
The Madison family were among the early
emigrants to the New World, landing upon the
shores of the Chesapeake but fifteen years
after the settlement of Jamestown. The father
of James Madison was an opulent planter, re
siding upon a very fine estate called "Mont
pelier," Orange county, Va. The mansion
was situated in the midst of scenery highly
picturesque and romantic, on the west side of
Southwest Mountain, at the foot of Blue
Ridge. It was but twenty-five miles from the
home of Jefferson at Monticello. The closest
personal and political attachment existed be
tween these illustrious men from their early
youth until death.
The early education of Mr. Madison was
conducted mostly at home under a private
tutor. At the age of eighteen he was sent
to Princeton college, in New Jersey. Here he
applied himself to study with the most im
prudent zeal, allowing himself for months but
three hours' sleep out of the twenty-four. His
health thus became so seriously impaired that
he never recovered any vigor of constitution.
He graduated in 1771, when a feeble boy, but
with a character of utmost purity, and with a
mind highly disciplined and richly stored with
learning. Returning to Virginia, he commenced the
study of law and a course of extensive and
systematic reading. This educational course,
the spirit of the times in which he lived, all
combined to inspire him with a strong love of
liberty, and to train him for his life-work of a
statesman. In the spring of 1776, when twenty-five
years of age, he was elected a member of the
Virginia convention, to frame the constitution
of the state. The next year (1777) he was a
candidate for the general assembly. He re
fused to treat the whisky-loving voters, and con
sequently lost his election; but those who had

38

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit
of the modest young man, enlisted themselves
in his behalf and he was appointed to the
executive council.
Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson
were governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison
remained member of the council; and their
appreciation of his intellectual, social and
moral worth, contributed not a little to his
subsequent eminence. In the year 1780, he
was elected a member of the continental con
gress. Here he met the most illustrious men
in our land, and he was immediately assigned
to one of the most conspicuous positions
among them. For three years Mr. Madison
continued in congress, one of its most active
and influential members. Tn the year 1784,
his term having expired, he was elected a
member of the Virginia legislature.
No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison
the utter inefficiency of the old confederacy,
with no national government, with no power
to form treaties which would be binding, or to
enforce law. There was not any state more
prominent than Virginia in the declaration,
that an efficient national government must be
formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison car
ried a resolution through the general assembly
of Virginia, inviting the other states to appoint
commissioners to meet in convention at Ann
apolis to discuss the subject. Five states only
were represented. The convention, however,
issued another call, drawn up by Mr. Madison, '
urging all the states to send their delegates to
Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft a consti
tution for the United States, to take the place
of that confederate league. The delegates met
at the time appointed. Every state but Rhode
Island was represented. George Washington
was chosen president of the convention; and
the present constitution of the United States
was then and there formed. There was, per
haps, no mind and no pen more active in

framing this immortal document than the mind
and pen of James Madison.
The constitution, adopted by a vote of 8 1
to 79, was to be presented to the several states
for acceptance. But grave solicitude was felt.
Should it be rejected we should be left but a
conglomeration of independent states, with
but. little power at home and little respect
abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the
convention to draw up an address to the peo
ple of the United States, expounding the prin
ciples of the constitution, and urging its adop
tion. There was great opposition to it at first,
but it at length triumphed over all, and went
into effect in 1789.
Mr. Madison was elected to the house of
representatives in the first congress, and soon
became the avowed leader of the republican
party. While in New York attending congress,
he met Mrs. Todd, a young widow of remark
able power of fascination, whom he married.
She was in person and character queenly, and
probably no lady has thus far occupied so
prominent a position in the very peculiar soci
ety which has constituted our republican court,
as Mrs. Madison.
Mr. Madison served as secretary of state
under Jefferson, 'and at the close of
his administration was chosen president.
-At this time the encroachments of Eng
land had brought us to the verge of war.
/British orders in council destroyed our com
merce, and our flag was exposed to constant
insult. Mr. Madison was a man of peace.
Scholarly in his taste, retiring in his disposi
tion, war had no charms for him. But the
meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's
blood boil, even now, to think of an American
ship brought to upon the ocean by the guns of
an English cruiser. A young lieutenant steps
on board and orders the crew to be paraded
before him. With great nonchalance he selects
any number whom he may please to designate

t

V.

JAMES MONROE.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

41

as British subjects; orders them down the
ship's side into the boat; and places them on
the gun-deck of the man-of-war to fight, by
compulsion, the battles of England. This
right of search and impressment, no efforts of
our government could induce the British cabi
net to relinquish.
On the 1 8th of June, 1812, President Madi
son gave his approval to an act of congress de
claring war against Great Britain. Notwith
standing the bitter hostility of the federal
party to the war, the country in general ap
proved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th of March,
18 1 3, was re-elected by a large majority, and
entered upon his second term of office. The
contest commenced in earnest by the appear
ance of a British fleet early in February, 18 1 3,
in Chesapeake bay, declaring nearly the whole
coast of the United States under blockade.
The emperor of Russia offered his services
as mediator. America accepted; England re
fused. A British force of five thousand men
landed on the banks of the Patuxant river, near
its entrance into Chesapeake bay, and marched
rapidly, by way of Bladensburg, upon Wash
ington. The straggling little city of- Washington
was thrown into consternation. The cannon
of the brief conflict at Bladensburg echoed
through the streets of the metropolis. The
whole population fled from the city. The
president, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White
House, with her carriage drawn up at the door
to await his speedy return, hurried to meet
the officers in a council of war. He met our
troops utterly routed, and he could not go
"back without danger of being captured. But
few hours elapsed ere the presidential mansion,
the capitol, and all the public buildings in
Washington were in flames.
The war closed after two years of fighting,
-and on February 13, 181 5, the treaty of peace
was signed at Ghent. . -_ _=.....

March 4, 18 17, James Madison's second
term of office expired, and he resigned the
presidential chair to his friend, James Monroe.
He retired to his beautiful home at Montpelier
and there passed the remainder of his days.
On June 28, 1836, then at the age of eighty-
five years, he fell asieep in death. Mrs. Madi
son died July 12, 1849.

>-j»AMES MONROE, the fifth president of
A the United States, was born in West-
m J moreland county, Va. , April 28, 1758.
He joined the colonial army when every
thing looked hopeless and gloomy. The num
ber of deserters increased from day to day.
The invading armies came pouring in, and the
tories not only favored the cause of the mother
country, but disheartened the new recruits.
who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect
of contending with an enemy whom they had
been taught to deem invincible. To such brave
spirits as James Monroe, who went right on
ward undismayed through difficulty and danger,
the United States owe their political eman
cipation. The young cadet joined the ranks
and espoused the cause of his injured country,
with a firm determination to live or die with
her strife for liberty. Firmly, yet sadly, he
shared in the melancholy retreat from Harlaem
Heights and White Plains, and accompanied
the dispirited army as it fled before its foes
through New Jersey. In four months after
the Declaration of Independence, the patriots
had been beaten in seven' battles. At the bat
tle of Trenton he led the vanguard, and. in the
act of charging upon the enemy he received a
wound in the left shoulder. As a reward for
his bravery, Mr. Monroe was promoted a cap
tain of infantry; and, having recovered from
his wound, he rejoined the army. , He, how
ever, receded from the line of promotion by

42

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED SiAii,a.

becoming an officer on the staff of Lord Stir
ling. During the campaigns of 1777 and 1778,
in the actions of Brandywine, Germantown,
and Monmouth, he continued ai3-de-camp;
but becoming desirous to regain his position in
the army, he exerted himself to collect a regi
ment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed
owing to the exhausted condition of the state.
Upon this failure he entered the office of Mr.
Jefferson, at that period governor, and pursued
with considerable ardor the study of common
law. He did not, however, entirely lay aside
the knapsack for the green hag; but on the in
vasions of the enemy, served as a volunteer
during the two years of his legal pursuits.
In 1782, he was elected from King George
county a member of the legislature of Virginia,
and by that bod}- he was elevated to a seat in
the executive council. He was thus honored
with the confidence of his fellow citizens at
twenty-three years of age; and at this early
period displayed some of that ability and apti
tude for legislation, which were afterward
employed with unremitting energy for the pub
lic good; he was in the succeeding year chosen
a member of the congress of the United States.
Deeply as Mr. Monroe felt the imperfec
tions of the old confederacy, he was opposed
to the new constitution, thinking, with many
others of the republican party, that it gave too
much power to the central government, and
not enough to the individual states. In 1789
he became a member of the United States sen
ate, which office he held for four years. Every
month the line of distinction between the two
great parties which divided the nation, the
federal and the republican, was growing more
distinct. The two prominent ideas which now
separated them were, that the republican party
was in sympathy with France, and also in
favor of such a strict construction of the con
stitution as to give the central government as
little power, and the state governments as

much power, as the constitution would war
rant. The federalists sympathized with Eng
land, and were in favor of a liberal construc
tion of the constitution, which would give as .
much power to the central government as that
document could possibly authorize.
Washington was then president. England
had espoused the cause of the Bourbons
against the' principles of the French revolu
tion. All Europe was drawn into the conflict.
We were feeble and far away. Washington
issued a proclamation of neutrality between
these contending powers. France had helped
us in the struggle for our liberties. All the
despotisms of Europe were combined to pre
vent the French from escaping from a tyranny
a thousand-fold worse than that which we had
endured. Col. Monroe, more magnanimous
than prudent, was anxious that, at whatever
hazard, we should help our old allies in their
extremity. It was the impulse of a generous
and noble nature. He violently opposed the
president's proclamation as ungrateful and
wanting in magnanimity.
Washington, who could appreciate such a,
character, developed his clam, serene, almost
divine greatness, by appointing that very-
James Monroe, who was denouncing the policy
of the government, as the minister of that
government to the republic of France. Mr.,
Monroe was welcomed by the national conven
tion in France with the most enthusiastic
demonstrations. Shortly after his return to this country, Mr.
Monroe was elected governor of Virginia, and
held the office for three years. He was again
sent to France to co-operate with Chancellor
Livingston in obtaining the vast territory
then known as the province of Louisiana,
which France had but shortly before obtained
from Spain. Their united efforts were suc
cessful. For the comparatively small sum of
fifteen millions of dollars, the entire territory

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

45

of Orleans and district of Louisiana were
added to the United States. This was prob
ably the largest transfer of real estate which
was ever made in all the history of the world.
From France Mr. Monroe went to England
to obtain from that country some recognition
of our rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate
against those odious impressments of our sea
men. But England was unrelenting. He
again returned to England on the same mis
sion, but could receive no redress. He returned
to his home and was again chosen governor of
Virginia. This he soon resigned to accept the
position of secretary of state under Madison.
While in this office war with England was de
clared, the secretary of war resigned, and dur
ing those trying times the duties of the war de
partment were also put upon him. He was
truly the armor-bearer of President Madison,
and the most efficient business man in his cab
inet. Upon the return of peace he resigned
the department of war, but continued in the of
fice of secretary of state until the expiration of
Mr. Madison's administration. At the election
held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe had been
chosen president with but little opposition, and
upon March 4, 18 17, was inaugurated. Four
years later he was elected for a second term.
Among the important measures of his presi
dency were the cession of Florida to the United
States; the Missouri compromise, and the
"Monroe doctrine." This famous "Monroe
doctrine" was enunciated by him in 1823. At
that time the United States had recognized
the independence of the South American
states, and did not wish to have European
powers longer attempt to subdue portions of
the American continent. The doctrine is as
follows: "That we should consider any at
tempt on the part of European powers to ex
tend their system to any portion of this hemi
sphere as dangerous to our peace and safety,"
and "that we could not view any interposi

tion for the purpose of oppressing or controll
ing American governments or provinces in any
other light than as a manifestation by Euro
pean powers of an unfriendly disposition to
ward the United States." This doctrine imme
diately affected the course of foreign govern
ments, and has become the approved senti-'
ment of the United States.
At the end of his second term Mr. Monroe
retired to his home in Virginia, where he lived
until 1830, when he went to New York to live
with his son-in-law. In that city he died on
the 4th of July, 1831.

>^OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the sixth
a president of the United States, was
(• 1 born in Quincy, Mass., on the 1 ith of
"*~* July, 1767. His mother, a woman of
exalted worth, watched over his childhood
during the almost constant absence of his
father. When but eleven years old he took a tear
ful adieu of his mother, to sail with his father
for Europe, through a fleet of hostile British
cruisers. The bright, animated boy spent a
year and a half in Paris, where his father was
associated with Franklin and Lee as minister
plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted the
notice of these distinguished men, and he re
ceived from them flattering marks of attention.
Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to
this country, in 1779, ere he was again sent
abroad. Again John Quincy accompanied his
father. At Paris he applied himself with great
diligence, for six months, to study; then accom
panied his father to Holland, where he entered
first a school in Amsterdam, then the univer
sity at Leyden. About a year from this time,
in 1 78 1, when the manly boy was but fourteen
years of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana,
our minister to the Russian court, as his pri
vate secretary.

46

PRESIDENT8 OF THE UNITED STATES.

In this school of incessant labor and of en
nobling culture he spent fourteen menths, and
then returned to Holland through Sweden,
Denmark, Hamburg and Bremen. This long
journey he took alone, in the winter, when in
his sixteenth year. Again he resumed his
studies, under a private tutor, at Hague.
Thence, in the spring of 1782, he accompa
nied his father to Paris, traveling leisurely, and
examining architectural remains, galleries of
paintings and all renowned works of art. At
Paris he again became associated with the
most illustrious men of all lands in the con
templations of the loftiest temporal themes
which can engross the human mind. After a
short visit to England he returned to Paris,
and consecrated all his energies to study until
May, 1785, when he returned to America.
After leaving Harvard college at the age
of twenty, he studied law for three years. In
June, 1 794, being then but twenty-seven years
of age, he was appointed, by Washington, res
ident minister at the Netherlands. Sailing
from Boston in July, he reached London in
October, where he was immediately admitted
to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinck-
ney, assisting them in negotiating a commer
cial treaty with Great Britain. After thus
spending a fortnight in London, he proceeded
to the Hague.
In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to
Portugal as minister plenipotentiary, On his
way to Portugal, upon arriving in London, he
met with despatches directing him to the court
of Berlin, but requesting him to remain in
London until he should receive his instruc
tions. While waiting he was married to an
American lady to whom he had been previ
ously engaged — Miss Louisa Catherine John
son, daughter of Mr. Joshua Johnson, Ameri
can consul in London.
He reached Berlin with his wife in Novem
ber, 1797, where he remained until July,

1 799, when, having fulfilled all the purposes, of
his mission, he solicited his recall. Soon after
his return, in 1802, he was chosen to the sen
ate of Massachusetts from Boston, and then
was elected senator of the United States for
six years, from the 4th of March, 1804. His
reputation, his ability and his experience,
placed him immediately among the most prom
inent and influential members of that body.
Especially did he sustain the government in its
measures of resistance to the encroachments
of England, destroying our commerce and in
sulting our flag.
In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in
the presidential chair, and he immediately
nominated John Quincy Adams minister to St.
Petersburg. Resigning his professorship in
Harvard college, he embarked at Boston, in
August, 1809. While in Russia, Mr. Adams
was an intense student. He devoted his at
tention to the language and history of Russia;
to the Chinese trade; to the European system
of weights, measures, and coins; to the
climate and astronomical observations; while
he kept up a familiar acquaintance with the
Greek and Latin classics. All through life the
Bible constituted an important part of his
studies. It was his rule to read five chapters
every day.
On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe
took the presidential chair, and immediately
appointed Mr. Adams secretary of state.
Taking leave of his friends in public and pri
vate life in Europe, he sailed in June, 18 19,
for the United States. On the 18th of August,
he again crossed the threshold of his home in
Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon
roe's administration, Mr. Adams continued
secretary of state.
Some time before the close of Mi. Mf """
roe's second term of office, new candidates
began to be presented for the presidency.
The friends of Mr. Adams brought forward

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

4<>

his name. It was an exciting campaign.
Party spirit was never more bitter. Two
hundred and sixty electoral votes were cast.
Andrew Jackson received ninety-nine; John
Quincy Adams, eighty-four; William H. Craw
ford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirty-seven.
As there was no choice by the people, the
question went to the house of representatives.
Mr. Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr.
Adams, and he was elected.
Mr, Adams was, to a very remarkable de
gree, abstemious and temperate in his habits;
always rising early, and taking much exercise.
When at his home in Quincy, he has been
known to walk, before breakfast, seven miles
to Boston. In Washington, it was said that
he was the first man up in the city, lighting
his own fire and applying himself to work in
his library often long before dawn.
On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams
retired from the presidency, and was suceeded
by Andrew Jackson. John C. Calhoun was
elected vice president. The slavery question
now began to assume portentous magnitude.
Mr. Adams returned to Quincy, and to his
studies, which he pursued with unabated zeal.
But he was not long permitted to remain in
retirement. In November, 1830, he was
elected representative to congress. For sev
enteen years, until his death, he occupied the
post as representative, ever ready to do brave
battle for freedom, and winning the title ' of
"the old man eloquent." Upon taking his
seat in the house, he announced that he should
hold himself bound to no party. He was
usually the first in his place in the morning,
and the last to leave his seat in the evening.
Not a measure could be brought forward and
escape his scrutiny. The battle which Mr.
Adams fought almost singly, against the
proslavery party in the government, was sub
lime in its moral daring and heroism. For
persisting in presenting petitions for the aboli

tion of slavery, he was threatened with indict
ment by the grand jury, with expulsion from
the house, and also with assassination, but
no threats could intimidate him and his final
triumph was complete.
On the 2 ist of February, 1848, he rose on
the floor of congress, with a paper in his hand,
to address the speaker. Suddenly he fell,
again stricken by paralysis, and was caught in
the arms of those around him. For a time he
was senseless, as he was conveyed to the
sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious
ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around
and said: "This is the end of earth;" then,
after a moment's pause, he added, "I am
content. " These were the last words of the sixth
president.HNDREW JACKSON, the seventh
president of the United States, was
born in Waxhaw settlement, N. C. ,
March 15, 1767, a few days after his
father's death. His parents were from Ireland,
and took up their abode in Waxhaw settle
ment, where they lived in deepest poverty.
Andrew, or Andy, as he was universally
called, grew up a very rough, rude, turbulent
boy. His features were coarse, his form un
gainly; and there was but very little in his char
acter, made visible, which was attractive.
When only thirteen years old he joined the
volunteers of Carolina against the British in
vasion. In 1 78 1, he and his brother Robert
were captured and imprisoned for a time at
Camden. A British officer ordered him to
brush his mud-spattered boots. ' ' I am a
prisoner of war, "not your servant, " was the
reply of the dauntless boy. The brute drew
his sword, and aimed a desperate blow at the
head of the helpless young prisoner. Andrew
raised his hand, and thus recived two fearful
gashes — one on the hand and the other upon
the head. The officer then turned to his

50

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

brother Robert with the same demand. He
also refused, and received a blow from the
keen-edged saber, which quite disabled him,
and which probably soon after caused his
death. They suffered much other ill-treat
ment, and were finally stricken with the small
pox. Their mother was successful in obtain
ing their exchange, and took her sick boys
home. After a long illness Andrew recovered,
and the death of his mother soon left him en
tirely friendless.
Andrew supported himself in various ways,
such as working at the saddler's trade, teaching
school and clerking in a general store, until
1784, when he entered a law office at Salis
bury, N. C. In 1788, he was appointed solicit
or for the western district of North Carolina,
of which Tennessee was then a part. This in
volved many long and tedious journeys amid
dangers of every kind, but Andrew Jackson
never knew fear.
In 1 79 1, Jackson was married to a woman
who supposed herself divorced from her former
husband. Great was the surprise of both
parties, two years later, to find that the con
ditions of the divorce had just been definitely
settled by the first husband. The marriage
ceremony was performed a second time, but
the occurrence was often used by his enemies
to bring Mr. Jackson into disfavor. During
these years he worked hard at his profession,
and frequently had one or more duels on hand,
one of which, when he killed Dickinson, was
especially disgraceful.
In January, 1 796, the territory of Tennes
see then containing nearly 80,000 inhabitants,
the people met in convention at Knoxville to
frame a constitution. Five were sent from each
of the eleven counties. Andrew Jackson was
one of the delegates. The new state was en
titled to but one member in the national house
of representatives. Andrew Jackson was
chosen that member. Mounting his horse he

rode to Philadelphia, where congress then
held its sessions— a distance of about 800
miles. Jackson was an earnest advocate of the
democratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He
admired Bonaparte, loved France and hated
England. As Jackson took his seat, Gen.
Washington, whose second term of office was
then expiring, delivered his last speech to
congress. A committee drew up a compli
mentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson
did not approve of the address, and was one
of the twelve who voted against it. He was
not willing to say that Gen. Washington's
administration had been "wise, firm and
patriotic. "
Jackson was elected to the United States
senate in 1797, but soon resigned. Soon after
he was chosen judge of the supreme court of
his state, which position he held for six years.
When the war of 18 12 with Great Britain
commenced, Madison occupied the presidential
chair. Aaron Burr sent word to the president
that there was an unknown man in the west,
Andrew Jackson, who would do credit to a
commission if one were conferred upon him.
Just at that time Gen. Jackson offered his
services and those of 2, 500 volunteers. His
offer was accepted, and the troops were assem
bled at Nashville. As the British were hourly
expected to make an attack upon New Orleans,
where Gen. Wilkinson was in command, he
was ordered to descend the river with 1,500
troops to aid Wilkinson. The expedition
reached Natchez, and after a delay of several
weeks there, the men were ordered back to
their homes. But the energy Gen. Jackson
had displayed, and his entire devotion to the
comfort of his soldiers, won him golden
opinions; and he became the most popular man
in the state. It was in this expedition that his
toughness gave him the nickname of "Old
Hickory."

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

53

Soon after this, while attempting to horse
whip Col. Thomas H. Benton, for a remark
that gentleman made about his taking a part
as second in a duel, in which a younger brother
of Benton's was engaged, he received two
severe pistol wounds. While he was lingering
upon a bed of suffering news came that the
Indians, who' had combined under Tecumseh
from Florida to the lakes, to exterminate the
white settlers, were committing the most
awful ravages. Decisive action became neces
sary. Gen. Jackson, with his fractured bone
just beginning to heal, his arm in a sling, and
unable to mount his horse without assistance,
gave his amazing energies to the raising of an
army to rendevous at Fayettesville, Ala.
The Creek Indians had established a strong
fort on one of the bends of the Tallapoosa
river, near the center of Alabama, about fifty
miles below Fort Strother. With an army'of
2,000 men, Gen. Jackson traversed the path
less wilderness in a march of eleven days. He
reached their fort, called Tohopeka or Horse
shoe, on the 27th of March, 18 14. The bend
of the river inclosed 100 acres of tangled
forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow
neck the Indians had constructed a formidable
breastwork of logs and brush. Here 900 war
riors, with an ample supply of arms, were as
sembled. The fort was stormed. The fight
was utterly desperate. Not an Indian would
accept of quarter. When bleeding and dying,
they would.fight those who endeavored to spare
their lives. From ten in the morning until
dark, the battle raged. The carnage was awful
and revolting. Some threw themselves into
the river; but the unerring bullet struck their
heads as they swam. Nearly every one of the
900 warriors was killed. This closing of the
Creek war enabled us to concentrate all our
militia upon the British, who were the allies of
the Indians. No man of less resolute will than
Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian

campaign to so successful an issue. Immedi
ately he was appointed major-general.
Late in August, with an army of 2,000
men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson went
to Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensa-
cola, landed a force upon the beach, anchored
near the little fort, and from both ship and
shore commenced a furious assault. The battle
was long and doubtful. At length one of the
ships was blown up and the rest retired.
Garrisoning Mobile, Jackson moved his
troops to New Orleans, and the battle of New
Orleans, which soon ensued, was in reality a
very arduous campaign. Here his troops,
which numbered about 4,000 men, won a
signal victory over the British army of about
9,000. His loss was but thirteen, while the
loss of the British was 2,600.
The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to
be mentioned in connection with the presi
dency, but, in 1824, he was defeated by Mr.
Adams. He was, however, successful in the
election of 1828, and was re-elected for a
second term in 1832. In 1829, he met with
the most terrible affliction of his life in the
death of his wife. At the expiration of his two
terms of office he retired to the Hermitage,
where he died June 8, 1845. The last years
of Jackson's life were that of a devoted chris
tian man.

QARTIN VAN BUREN, the eighth
president of the United States, was
born at Kinderhook, N. Y. , Decem-
- ber 5, 1782. He died at the same
place, July 24, 1862, and his body rests in the
cemetery at Kinderhook. Above it is a plain
granite shaft fifteen feet high, bearing a sim
ple inscription about half way up on the face.
The lot is unfenced, unbordered or unbounded
by shrub or flower. His ancestors, as his
name indicates, were of Dutch origin, and

54

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

were among the earliest emigrants from Hol
land to the banks of the Hudson". His father
was a farmer, residing in the old town of
Kinderhook. His mother, also of Dutch
lineage, was a woman of superior intelligence
and exemplary piety. . At the age of fourteen,
he had finished his academic studies in his na
tive village, and commenced the study of law.
As he had not a collegiate education, seven
years of study in a law office were required of
him before he could be admitted to the bar.
Inspired with a lofty ambition, and conscious
of his powers, he pursued his studies with in
defatigable industry, After spending six years
in an office in his native village, he went to
the city of New York, and prosecuted his
studies for the seventh year.
In 1803, Van Buren, then twenty-one
years of age, commenced the practice of law
in his native village. The great conflict be
tween the federal and republican parties was
then at its height. Van Buren was in cordial
sympathy with Jefferson, and earnestly and
eloquently espoused the cause of state rights;
though at that time the federal party held the
supremacy both in his town and state. His
success and increasing reputation led him, after
six years of practice, to remove to Hudson,
the county seat of his county. Here he spent
seven years, constantly gaining strength by
contending in the courts with some of the
ablest men who have adorned the bar of his
state. Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson,
Mr. VanBuren married a lady alike distinguished
for beauty and accomplishments.- After
twelve short years she sank into the grave,
the victim of consumption, leaving her hus
band and four sons to weep over her loss. In
1 812, when thirty years of age, he was chosen
to the state senate, and gave his strenuous
support to Mr. Madison's administration. In
181 5, he was appointed attorney-general, and

the next year moved to Albany, the capital of
the state.
While he was acknowledged as one of the
most prominent leaders of the democratic
party, he had the moral courage to avow that
true democracy did not require that ' 'univer
sal suffrage" which admits the vile, the de
graded, the ignorant, to the right of governing
the state. In true consistency with his demo
cratic principles, he contended that, while
the path leading to the privilege of voting
should be open to every man without distinc
tion, no one should be invested with that
sacred prerogative, unless he were in some
degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue
and some property interests in the welfare of
the state.
In 1 82 1 he was elected a member of the
United States senate, and in the same year he
took a seat in the convention to revise the
constitution of his native state. His course in
this convention secured the approval of men
of all parties. In the senate of the United
States, he rose at once to a conspicuous posi
tion as an active and useful legislator. In
1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the
presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re
elected to the senate. He had been, from the
beginning, a determined opposer to the ad
ministration, adopting the state rights view in
opposition to what was deemed the federal
proclivities of Mr. Adams.
Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen
governor of the state of New York, and ac
cordingly resigned his seat in the senate.
Probably no one in the United States con
tributed so much towards ejecting John Q.
Adams from the presidential chair, and placing
in it Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van
Buren. Whether entitled to the reputation
or not, he certainly was regarded throughout
the United States as one of the most skillful,
sagacious and cunning politicians. It was sup-

* >

W/i-L/AM HENRY HARRISON.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

57

posed that no one knew so well as he how to
touch the secret springs of action; how to pull
all the wires to put his machinery in motion;
and how to organize a political army which
would, secretly and stealthily, accomplish the
most gigantic results. By these powers it is
said that he outwitted Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay,
Mr. Webster, and secured results which few
thought then could be accomplished.
When Andrew Jackson was elected presi
dent, he appointed Mr. Van Buren secretary
of state. This position he resigned in 1831,
and was immediately appointed minister to
England, where he went the same autumn.
The senate, however, when it met, refused to
ratify the nomination, and he returned home,
apparently untroubled; was nominated vice
president in the place of Calhoun, at- the re-
eLection of President Jackson; and with smiles
for all and frowns for none, he took his place
at the head of that senate which had refused
to confirm his nomination as ambassador. His
rejection by the senate aroused all the zeal
of President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated
favorite; and this, probably more than any
other cause, secured his elevation to the chair
of the chief executive. On the 20th of May,
1836, Van Buren received the democratic nom
ination to succeed Gen. Jackson as president
of the United States. He was elected by a
handsome majority, to the delight of the retir
ing president.
His administration was filled with exciting
events. The insurrection in Canada, which
threatened to involve this country in war with
England, the agitation of the slavery question,
and finally the great commercial panic which
spread over the country, all were trials to his
wisdom. The financial distress was attributed
to the management of the democratic party,
and brought the president into such disfavor
that he failed of re-election. With the ex
ception of being nominated for the presidency

by the free soil democrats, in 1848, Mr. Van
Buren lived quietly upon his estate until his
death. He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal
habits, and, living within his income, had now
fortunately a competency for his declining
years. It was on the 4th of March, 1841,
that Mr. Van Buren retired from the presidency.
From his fine estate at Lindenwald, he still
exerted a powerful influence upon the politics
of the country. From this time until his death,
on the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty
years, he resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman
of leisure, of culture and of wealth; enjoying
in a healthy old age, probably far more happi
ness than he had before experienced amid the
stormy scenes of his active life.

m.

'ILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, the
ninth president of the United
States; was born at Berkeley, Va. ,
Feb. 9, 1773. His father, Benja
min Harrison, was in comparatively opulent
circumstances, and was one of the most dis
tinguished men of his day. He was an inti
mate friend of George Washington, was early
elected a member of the continental congress,
and was conspicuous among the patriots of
Virginia in resisting the encroachments of the
British crown. In the celebrated congress of
1775, Benjamin Harrison and John Hancock
were both candidates for the office of speaker.
Mr. Harrison was subsequently chosen
governor of Virginia, and was twice re-elected.
Having received a thorough common-
school education, William Henry Harrison
entered Hampden Sidney college, where he
graduated with honor soon after the death of
his father. He then repaired to Philadelphia
to study medicine under the instructions of
Dr. Rush and the guardianship of Robert

58

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

Morris, both of whom were, with his father,
signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles,
and notwithstanding the remonstrances of his
friends, he abandoned his medical studies and
entered the army, having obtained a commis
sion of ensign from President Washington. He
was then but nineteen years old. From that
time he passed gradually upward in rank until
he became aid to Gen. Wayne, after whose
death he resigned his commission. He was
then appointed secretary of the Northwestern
territory. This territory was then entitled to
but one member in congress, and Capt. Harri
son was chosen to fill that position.
In the spring of 1800 the Northwestern
territory was divided by congress into two
portions. The eastern portion, comprising
the region now embraced in the state of Ohio,
was called "The Territory northwest of the
Ohio." The western portion, which included
what is now called Indiana, Illinois, and Wis
consin, was called the "Indiana territory."
William Henry Harrison, then twenty-seven
years of age, was appointed, by John Adams,
governor of the Indiana territory, and imme
diately after, also governor of upper Louisi
ana. He was thus ruler over almost as
extensive a realm as any sovereign upon the
globe. He was superintendent of Indian af
fairs, and was invested with powers nearly
dictatorial over the now rapidly increasing
white population. The ability and fidelity
with which he discharged these responsible
duties may be inferred from the fact that he
was four times appointed to this office — first
by John Adams, twice by Thomas Jefferson
and afterward by President Madison.
When he began his administration there
were but three white settlements in that al
most boundless region, now crowded with
cities and resounding with all the tumult of
wealth and traffic. One of these settlements

was on the Ohio, nearly opposite Louisville;
one at Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the
third a French settlement.
The vast wilderness over which Gov. Har
rison reigned was filled with many tribes of
Indians. About the year 1806, two extraordi
nary men, twin brothers, of the Shawnee
tribe, rose among them. One of these was
called Tecumseh, or "The Crouching Pan
ther;" the other, Olliwacheca, or "The Pro
phet." Tecumseh was not only an Indian
warrior, but a man of great sagacity, far-
reaching foresight and indomitable persever
ance in any enterprise in which he might en
gage. He was inspired with the highest
enthusiasm, and had long regarded with dread
and with hatred the encroachments of the
whites upon the hunting grounds of his fath
ers. His brother, the Prophet, was an orator,
who could sway the feelings of the untutored
Indian as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath
which they dwelt.
Gov. Harrison made many attempts to
conciliate the Indians, but at last the war
came, and at Tippecanoe the Indians were
routed with great slaughter. October 28,
1 812, his army began its march. When near
the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made
their appearance and inquired why Gov. Har
rison was approaching them in so hostile an
attitude. After a short conference, arrange
ments were made for a meeting the next day,
to agree upon terms of peace. But Gov. Har
rison was too well acquainted with the Indian
character to be deceived by such protestations.
Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en
campment, he took every precaution against
surprise. His troops were posted in a hollow
square, and slept upon their arms. The
troops threw themselves upon the ground for
rest; but every man had his accoutrements
on, his loaded musket by his side, and his
bayonet fixed. The wakeful governor, between

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

59

three and four o'clock in the morning, had
risen and was sitting in conversation with his
aids by the embers of a waning fire. It was a
chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain.
In the darkness, the Indians had crept as near
as possible, and just then, with a savage yell,
rushed with all the desperation which supersti
tion and passion most highly inflamed could
give, upon the left flank of the little army.
The savages had been amply provided with
guns and ammunition by the English. Their
war-whoop was accompanied by a shower of
bullets. The camp-fires were instantly extin
guished, as the light aided the Indians in their
aim. With hideous yells, the Indian bands
rushed on, not doubting a speedy and entire
victory. But Gen. Harrison's troops stood as
immovable as the rocks around them until day
dawned; they then made a simultaneous charge
with the bayonet, and swept everything before
them, and completely routed the foe. Gov.
Harrison now had all his energies tasked to the
utmost. The British, descending from the Can-
adas, were of themselves a very formidable
force; but with their savage allies, rushing like
wolves from the forest, searching out every
remote farm house, burning, plundering, scalp
ing, torturing, the wide frontier was plunged
into a state of consternation which even the
most vivid imagination can but faintly con
ceive. Gen. Hull had made the ignominious
surrender of his forces at Detroit. Under
these despairing circumstances, Gov. Harrison
was appointed by President Madison comman
der-in-chief of the Northwestern army, with
orders to retake Detroit, and to protect the
frontiers. Harrison won the love of his soldiers by
always sharing with them their fatigue. His
whole baggage, while pursuing the foe up the
Thames, was carried in a valise; and his bed
ding consisted of a single blanket lashed over
his saddle. Thirty-five British officers, his

prisoners of war, supped with him after the bat
tle. The only fare he could give them was beef
roasted before the fire, without bread or salt.
In 1816, Gen. Harrison was chosen a mem
ber of the national house of representatives to
represent the district of Ohio. In congress he
proved an active member, and, whenever he
spoke, it was with force of reason and power
of eloquence, which arrested the attention of
all the members.
In 1 8 19, Harrison was elected to the sen
ate of Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presi
dential electors of that state, he gave his vote
for Henry Clay. The same year he was chosen
to the United States senate.
In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison
brought him forward as a candidate for the
presidency against Van Buren, but he was de
feated. At the close of Mr. Van Buren's term,
he was re-nominated by his party, and Harri
son was unanimously nominated by the whigs,
with John Tyler for the vice presidency. The
contest was very animated. Gen. Jackson
gave all his influence to prevent Harrison's
election; but his triumph was signal.
The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel
Webster at its head as secretary of state, was
one of the most brilliant with which any presi
dent had ever been surrounded. In the midst
of these bright and joyous prospects, Gen.
Harrison was seized by a pleurisy-fever, and,
after a few days of violent sickness, died on
the 4th of April; just one month after his inau
guration as president of the United States.
With the exception, perhaps, of the death
of George Washington, the demise of no presi
dent of the United States, down to this time,
had created a deeper thrill of sympathy through
out the country than that of President Harri
son. North and south, his obsequies were ob
served with unaffected sorrow, and men of all
parties seemed to forget differences of opinion
in doing honor to the memory of the dead.

60

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

>--r,OHN TYLER, the tenth president of
m the United States, was born in Charles
A J City county, Va. , March 29, 1790.
At the early age of twelve, John entered
William and Mary college and graduated with
much honor when but seventeen years old.
He devoted himself with great assiduity to the
study of law, partly with his father and partly
with Edmund Randolph, one of the most dis
tinguished lawyers of Virginia.
At nineteen years of age, he commenced
the practice of law. His success was rapid
and astonishing. It is said that three months
had not elapsed ere there was scarcely a case
on the docket of the court in which he was not
retained. When but twenty-one years of age,
he was almost unanimously elected to a seat in
the state legislature. He connected himself
with the democratic party, and warmly ad
vocated the measures of Jefferson and Madison.
For five successive years he was elected to the
legislature, receiving nearly the unanimous
vote of his county.
When but twenty-six years of age, he was
elected a member of congress. Here he acted
earnestly and ably with the democratic party,
opposing a national bank, internal improve
ments by the general government, a protective
tariff, and advocating a strict construction of
the constitution, and the most careful vigilance
over state rights. His labors in congress were
so arduous that before the close of his second
term he found it necessary to resign and retire
to his estate in Charles City county, to recruit
his health. He, however, soon after consented
to take his seat in the state legislature, where
his influence was powerful in promoting public
works of great utility. He was then chosen
by a very large majority of votes, governor of
his native state. His administration was sig
nally a successful one, and his popularity
secured his re-election.
John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-

crazed man, then represented Virginia in the
senate of the United States. A portion of the
democratic party was displeased with Mr.
Randolph's wayward course, and brought
forward John Tyler as his opponent, and
Tyler was the victor. In accordance with his
professions, upon taking his seat in the senate,
he joined the ranks of the opposition. He
opposed the tariff; he spoke against and voted.
against the bank as unconstitutional; he stren
uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery,
resisting all projects of internal improvements-
by the general government, and avowed his-
sympathy with Mr. Calhoun's view of nullifica-.
tion; he declared that Gen. Jackson, by his-
opposition to the nullifiers, had abandoned the
principles of the democratic party. Such was
Mr. Tyler's record in congress — a record in
perfect accordance with the principles which
he had always avowed.
Returning to Virginia, he resumed the
practice of his profession. There was a split
in the democratic party. His friends still re
garded him as a true Jeffersonian, gave him a
dinner, and showered compliments upon him.
He had now attained the age of forty-six.
Soon after this he removed to Williamsburg,
for the better education of his children; and
he again took his seat in the legislature of Vir
ginia. By the southern whigs, he was sent to the
national convention at Harrisburg to nominate
a president in 1839. The majority of votes
were given to Gen. Harrison, a genuine whig,
much to the disappointment of the south, who
wished for Henry Clay. To conciliate the
southern whigs and to secure their vote, the
convention then nominated John Tyler for
vice president. Thus it happened that a whig
president and, in reality, a democratic vice
president were chosen.
In 1 84 1, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated vice
president of the United States. In one short-

JOHN TYLER.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

63

month from that time Pres. Harrison died, and
Mr. Tyler thus found himself, to his own sur
prise and that of the whole nation, an occu
pant of the presidential chair. This was a new
test of the stability of our institutions, as it
was the first time in the history of our country
that such an event had occurred. Mr. Tyler
was at home in Williamsburg when he received
the unexpected tidings of the death of Pres.
Harrison. He hastened to Washington, and
on the 6th of April was inaugurated to the high
and responsible office. Gen. Harrison had
selected a whig cabinet. Should he retain
them, and thus surround himself with coun
selors, whose views were antagonistic to his
own? or, on the other hand, should he turn
against the party which had elected him and
select a cabinet in harmony with himself, and
which would oppose all those views which the
whigs deemed essential to the public wel
fare? This was his fearful dilemma, and so he
invited the cabinet which Pres. Harrison had
selected to retain their seats.
The whigs carried through congress a bill
for the incorporation of a fiscal bank of the
United States. The president, after ten days'
delay, returned it with his veto. He suggested,
however, that he would approve of a bill
drawn up upon such a plan as he proposed.
Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and
privately submitted to him. He gave it his
approval. It was passed without alteration,
and he sent it back with his veto. Here com
menced the open rupture. It is said that Mr.
Tyler was provoked to this measure by a pub
lished letter from the Hon. John M. Botts, a
distinguished Virginia whig, who severely
touched the pride of the president.
The opposition now exultingly received the
president into their arms. The party which
elected him denounced him bitterly. All the
members of his cabinet, excepting Mr. Web
ster, resigned. Thewhigsof congress, both the

senate and the house, held a meeting and issued
an address to the people of the United States,
proclaiming that all political alliances between
the whigs and Pres. Tyler were at an end. '
Still the president attempted to conciliate.
He appointed a new cabinet of distinguished
whigs and conservatives, carefully leaving out
all strong party men. Mr. Webster soon
found it necessary to resign, forced out by the
pressure of his whig friends. Thus the four
years of Mr. Tylor's unfortunate administra
tion passed sadly away. More and more,
however, he brought himself into sympathy
with his old friends, the democrats, until, at
the close of his term, he gave his whole influ
ence to the support of Mr. Polk, the demo
cratic candidate for his successor.
On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from
office, to the regret of neither party, and
probably to his own unspeakable relief. His
first wife, Miss Letitia Christian, died in
Washington, in 1842; and in June, 1844,
Pres. Tyler was again married, at New York, to
Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of many
personal and intellectual accomplishments.
The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed
mainly in retirement at his beautiful home —
Sherwood Forest, Charles City county, Va.
A polished gentleman in his manners, richly
furnished with information from books and
experience in the world, and possessing bril
liant powers of conversation, his family circle
was the scene of unusual attractions. With
sufficient means for the exercise of a generous
hospitality, he might have enjoyed a serene
old age with the few friends who gathered
around him, were it not for the storms of civil
war which his own principles and policy had
helped to introduce.
When the great rebellion rose, which the
state rights and nullifying doctrines of John C.
Calhoun had inaugurated, Pres. Tyler re
nounced his allegiance to the United States,

64

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

and joined the confederates. He was chosen
a member of their congress; and while engaged
in active measures to destroy, by force of arms,
the government over which he had once pre
sided, he was taken sick and soon died.

>Y»AMES KNOX POLK, the eleventh
m president of the United States, was
/• 1 born in Mecklenburg county, N. C. ,
November 2, 1795. His parents were
Samuel and Jane (Kncx) Polk, the former a
son of Col. Thomas Polk, who located at the
above place, as one of the first pioneers, in
1735- In the year 1 806, with his wife and chil
dren, and soon after followed by most of the
members of the Polk family, Samuel Polk emi
grated some two or three hundred miles further
west, to the rich valley of the Duck river, Tenn.
Here, in the midst of the wilderness, in a
region which was subsequently called Maury
county, they reared their log huts, and estab
lished their homes. In the hard toil of a new
farm in the wilderness, James K. Polk spent
the early years of his childhood and youth.
His father, adding the pursuit of a surveyor to
that of a farmer, gradually increased in wealth
until he became one of the leading men of the
region. Very early in life, James developed a taste
for reading and expressed the strongest desire
to obtain a liberal education. His mother's
training had made him methodical in his habits,
had taught him punctuality and industry, and
had inspired him with lofty principles of
morality. His health was frail; and his father,
fearing that he might not be able to endure a
sedentary life, got a situation for him behind
the counter, hoping to fit him for commercial
pursuits. He remained in this uncongenial
occupation but a few weeks, when at his
earnest solicitation his father removed him,

and made arrangements for him to prosecute
his studies. Soon after he sent him to Mur-
freesboro academy. In the autumn of 1 8 1 5 he
entered the sophomore class in the university
of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill. He grad
uated in 181 8, with the highest honors, being
deemed the best scholar of his class, both
in mathematics and classics. He was then
twenty-three years of age. Mr. Polk's health
was at this time much impaired by the assi
duity with which he had prosecuted his studies.
After a short season of relaxation he went to
Nashville, Tenn., and entered the office of
Felix Grundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk
renewed his acquaintance with Andrew Jack
son, who resided on his plantation, the Her
mitage, but a few miles from Nashville.
James K. Polk was a popular public speaker,
and was constantly called upon to address the
meetings of his party friends. His skill as a
speaker was such that he was popularly called
the Napoleon of the stump. He was a man
of unblemished morals, genial and courteous
in his bearing, and with that sympathetic na
ture in the joys and griefs of others which ever
gave him troops of friends. In 1823, Mr.
Polk was elected to the legislature of Tennes
see. Here he gave his strong influence toward
the election of his friend, Mr. Jackson, to the
presidency of the United States.
In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss
Sarah Childress, of Rutherford county, Tenn.
His bride was altogether worthy of him — a
lady of beauty and culture. In the fall of 1825,
Mr. Polk was chosen a member of congress.
The satisfaction which he gave to his constit
uents may be inferred from the fact, that for
fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was
continued in that office. He then voluntarily
withdrew, only that he might accept the
gubernatorial chair of Tennessee. In congress
he was a laborious member, a frequent and
popular speaker. He was always in his seat,

JAMES K. POLK.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

67

always courteous; and whenever he spoke it
was always to the point, and without any am
bitious rhetorical display.
During five sessions of congress, Mr. Polk
was speaker of the house. Strong passions
were aroused, and stormy scenes were witness
ed; but Mr. Polk performed his arduous duties
to a very general satisfaction, and a unani
mous vote of thanks to him was passed by the
house as he withdrew on the 4th of March,
1839. On the 14th of October, 1839, he took the
oath of office as governor of Tennessee at
Nashville. In 1841, his term of office ex
pired, and he was again the candidate of the
democratic party, but was defeated. On the
4th of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was inaugurated
president of the United States. The verdict
of the country in favor of the annexation of
Texas exerted its influence upon congress; and
the last act of the administration of President
Tyler was to affix his signature to a joint reso
lution of congress, passed on the 3d of March,
approving of the annexation of Texas to the
American Union. As Mexico still claimed
Texas as one of her provinces, the Mexican
minister, Almonte, immediately demanded his
passports and left the country, declaring the
act of annexation to be an act hostile to
Mexico. In his message, President Polk urged that
Texas should immediately, by act of congress,
be received into the Union on the same foot
ing with the other states. In the meantime,
Gen. Taylor was sent with an army into Texas
to hold the country. He was sent first to
Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the
western boundary of Texas. Then he was
sent nearly two hundred miles further west, to
the Rio Grande, where he erected batteries
which commanded the Mexican city of Matamo-
ras, which was situated on the western banks.
The anticipated collision soon took place, and

war was declared against Mexico by President
Polk. The war was pushed forward by Mr.
Polk's administration with great vigor. Gen.
Taylor, whose army was first called one of
"observation," then of "occupation," then of
"invasion," was sent forward to Monte
rey. The feeble Mexicans, in every encounter,
were hopelessly and awfully slaughtered. It
was by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administra
tion that the war was brought on.
"To the victors belong the spoils." Mex
ico was prostrate before us. Her capital was
in our hands. We now consented to peace
upon the condition that Mexico should sur
render to us, in addition to Texas, all of New
Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Califor
nia. This new demand embraced, exclusive
of Texas, 800,000 square miles. This was an
extent of territory equal to nine states of the
size of New York. Thus slavery was securing
eighteen majestic states to be added to the
Union. In the prosecution of this war we ex
pended 20,000 lives and more than $100,000,-
000. Of this more than $15,000,000 were
paid to Mexico.
On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk re
tired from office, having served one term. The
next day was Sunday. On the 5th, Gen.
Taylor was inaugurated as his successor. Mr.
Polk rode to the capitol in the same carrriage
with Gen. Taylor; and the same evening, with
Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to Ten
nessee. He was then but fifty-four years of
age. He had ever been strictly temperate in
all his habits and his health was good. With
an ample fortune, a choice library, a cultivated
mind, and domestic ties of the dearest nature,
it seemed as though long years of tranquility
and happiness were before him. But the
cholera — the awful scourge — was then sweep
ing up the valley of the Mississippi. This he
contracted, and died on the 1 5th of June, 1849,
in the fifty-fourth year of his age.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

fc-^-ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth presi-
J^^f dent of the United States, was born
f M on the 24th of November, 1784, in
Orange county, Va. His father,
Colonel Taylor, was a Virginian of note, and
a distinguished patriot and soldier of the Revo
lution. When Zachary was an infant, his
father, with his wife and two children, emi
grated to Kentucky, where he settled, a few
miles from Louisville. In this frontier home
young Zachary could enjoy but few social and
educational advantages. When six years of
age he attended a common school, and was
then regarded as a bright, active boy, rather
remarkable for bluntness and decision of char
acter. He was strong, fearless and self-reli
ant, and manifested a strong desire to enter
the army to fight the Indians who were ravag
ing the frontiers.
In 1808, his father succeeded in obtaining
for him the commission of lietenant in the
United States army; and he joined the troops
which were stationed at New Orleans under
Gen. Wilkinson. Soon after this he married
Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady from one
of the first families of Maryland.
Immediately after the declaration of war
with England, in 1812, Capt. Taylor (for he
had then been promoted to that rank) was put
in command of Fort Harrison, on the Wa
bash, about fifty miles above Vincennes.
This fort had been built in the wilderness by
Gen. Harrison, on his march to Tippecanoe.
It was one of the first points of attack by the
Indians, led by Tecumseh. Its garrison con
sisted of a broken company of infantry num
bering fifty men, many of whom were sick.
Early in the autumn. of 1812, the Indians,
stealthily, and in large numbers, moved upon
the fort. Their approach was first indicated
by the murder of two soldiers just outside of
the stockade. Capt. Taylor made every possi
ble preparation to meet the anticipated as

sault. On the 4th of September, a band of
forty painted and plumed savages came to the
fort, waving a white flag, and informed Capt.
Taylor that in the morning their chief would
come to have a talk with him. It was evident
that their object was merely to ascertain the
state of things at the fort, and Capt. Taylor,
well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept
them at a distance. The sun went down; the
savages disappeared, the garrison slept upon
their arms. One hour before midnight the
war-whoop burst from a thousand lips in the
forest around, followed by the discharge of
musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every
man, sick and well, sprang to his post. Every
man knew that defeat was not merely death,
but in case of capture, death by the most
agonizing and prolonged torture. The savages
succeeded in setting fire to one of the block
houses. Until six o'clock in the morning, this
awful conflict continued. The savages then,
baffled at every point, and gnashing their teeth
with rage, retired. Capt. Taylor, for this gal
lant defense, was promoted to the rank of
major by brevet.
Until the close* of the war, Major Taylor
was placed in such situations that he saw but
little more of active, service. He was sent far
away into the depths of the wilderness, to
Fort Crawford, on Fox river, which empties
into Green bay. Gradually he rose to the
rank of colonel. In the Black Hawk war,
which resulted in the capture of that renowned
chieftain, Col. Taylor took a subordinate but
a brave and efficient part. For twenty-four
years Col. Taylor was engaged in the defense
of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in
employments so obscure, that his name was
unknown beyond the limits of his own imme
diate acquaintance. In the year 1836, he was
sent to Florida to compel the Seminole Indians
to vacate that region and retire beyond the
Mississippi, as their chiefs, by treaty, had

ZACHARY TAYLOR.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

71

promised they should do. The services ren
dered here secured Col. Taylor the high ap
preciation of the government; and as a reward,
he was elevated to the rank of brigadier-gen
eral by brevet; and soon after, in May, 1838,
was appointed to the chief command of the
United States troops in Florida. After two
years of such wearisome employment, Gen.
Taylor obtained, at his own request, a change
of command, and was stationed over the de
partment of the southwest. This field em
braced Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and
Georgia. Establishing his headquarters at
Fort Jesup, in Louisiana, he removed his fan>
ily to a plantation which he purchased near
Baton Rouge. Here he remained for five
years, buried, as it were, from the world, but
faithfully discharging every duty imposed upon
him. In 1846 Gen. Taylor was sent to guard the
land between the Nueces and Rio Grande,
the latter river being the boundary of Texas,
which was then claimed by the United States.
Soon the war with Mexico was brought on,
and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Gen.
Taylor won brilliant victories over the Mex
icans. The rank of major-general by brevet
was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and
his name was received with enthusiasm almost
everywhere in the nation. Then came the
battles of Monterey and Buena Vista, in which
he won signal victories over forces much larger
than he commanded. His careless habits of
dress and his unaffected simplicity, secured for
Gen. Taylor among his troops the sobriquet of
"Old Rough and Ready."
1 The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena
Vista spread the wildest enthusiasm over the
country. The whig party decided to take ad
vantage of this wonderful popularity in bring
ing forward the unpolished, uncultured, honest
soldier as their candidate for the presidency.
Gen. Taylor was astonished at the announce

ment, and for a time would not listen to it;
declaring that he was not at all qualified for
such an office. So little interest had he taken
in politics that, for forty years, he had not
cast a vote.
Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker
nor a fine writer. His friends took possession
of him, and prepared such few communica
tions as it was needful should be presented to
the public. The popularity of the successful
warrior swept the land. He was triumph
antly elected over two opposing candidates —
Gen. Cass and ex-Pres. Martin Van Buren.
Though he selected an excellent cabinet, the
good old man found himself in a very uncon
genial position, and was, at times, sorely per
plexed and harassed. His mental sufferings
were very severe, and probably tended to has
ten his death. The proslavery party was
pushing its claims with tireless energy; expedi
tions were fitting out to capture Cuba; Cali
fornia was pleading for admission to the
Union, while slavery stood at the door to bar
her out. Gen. Taylor found the political con
flicts in Washington to be far more trying to
the nerves than battles with Mexicans or
Indians. In the midst of all these troubles, Gen.
Taylor, after he had occupied the presidential
chair but little over a year, took cold, and .
after a brief sickness, of but litttle over five
days, died on the 9th of July, 1850. His last
words were; " I am not afraid to die. I am
ready. I have endeavored to do my duty. "
He died universally respected and beloved.
Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted
with Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic
and truthful description of his character:
" With a good store of common sense, Gen.
Taylor's mind had not been enlarged and re
freshed by reading, or much converse with the
world. Rigidity of ideas was the consequence.
The frontiers and small military posts had

72

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant
for his rank, and quite bigoted in* his igno
rance. His simplicity was child-like and
with innumerable prejudices, amusing and in
corrigible, well suited to the tender age.
Thus, if a man, however, respectable, chanced
to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat
a little on one side of his head; or an officer
to leave a corner of his handkerchief dangling
from an outside pocket — in any such case, this
critic held the offender to be a coxcomb (per
haps something worse), whom he would not,
to use his oft repeated phase, "touch with a
pair of tongs."

(D

ILLARD FILLMORE, thirteenth
president of the United States, was
born at. Summer Hill, Cayuga
county, N. Y. ,. on the 7th of Janu
ary, 1800. His father was a farmer, and,
owing to misfortune, in humble circumstances.
Of his mother, the daughter of Dr. Abiathar
Millard, of Pittsfield, Mass. , it has been_ said
that she possessed an intellect of very high
order, united with much personal loveliness,
sweetness of disposition, graceful manners and
exquisite sensibilities. She died in 1831;
.having lived to see her son a young man of
distinguished promise, though she was not per
mitted to witness the high dignity which he
finally attained.
In consequence of the secluded home and
limited means of his father, Millard enjoyed
but slender advantages for education in his
early years. The sacred influences of home
had taught him to revere the Bible, and had
laid the foundations of an upright character.
When fourteen years of age his father sent
him some hundred miles from home, to the
then wilds of Livingston county, to learn the
trade of a clothier. Near the mill there was

a small village, where some enterprising man
had commenced the collection of a village
library. This proved an inestimable blessing
to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent
in reading. Soon every leisure moment was
occupied with books. His thirst for knowledge
became insatiate, and the selections which he
made were continually more elevating and
instructive. He read history, biography,
oratory, and thus gradually there . was en
kindled in his heart a desire to be something
more than a mere worker with his hands; and
he was becoming, almost unknown to himself,
a well informed, educated man.
The young clothier had now attained the
age of nineteen years, and was of fine per
sonal appearance and of gentlemanly demeanor.
It so happened that there was a gentleman in
the neighborhood of ample pecuniary means
and of benevolence — Judge Walter Wood —
who was struck with the prepossessing appear
ance of young Fillmore. He made ' his ac
quaintance, and was so much impressed
with his ability and attainments that he ad
vised him to abandon his trade and devote
himself to the study of law. The young man
replied that he had no means of his own, no
friends to help him, and that his previous edu
cation had been very imperfect. But Judge
Wood had so much confidence in him that he
kindly offered to take him into his own office,
and to loan him such money as he needed.
Most gratefully the generous offer was ac
cepted. In 1823, when twenty-three years of age,
he was admitted to the court of common pleas.
He then went to the village of Aurora, and
commenced the practice of law. In this
secluded, peaceful region, his practice, of
course, was limited, and there was no oppor
tunity for a sudden rise in fortune or in fame.
Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of
great moral,. worth, and one capable of adorn-

MILLARD FILLMORE.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

75

ing any station she might be called to fill —
Miss Abigail Powers.
His elevation of character, his untiring in
dustry, his legal acquirements, and his skill as
an advocate, gradually attracted attention;
and he was invited to enter into partnership,
under highly advantageous circumstances, with
an elder member of the bar in Buffalo. Just
before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, he took
his seat in the house of assembly, of the state
of New York, as a representative from Erie
county. Though he had never taken a very
active part in politics, his vote and his sympa
thies were with the whig party. The state
was then democratic, and he found him
self in a helpless minority in the legislature,
still the testimony comes from all parties, that
his courtesy, ability, and integrity, won, to
a very unusual degree, the respect of his asso
ciates. In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to
a seat in the United States congress. He en
tered that troubled arena in some of the most
tumultuous hours of our national history.
The great conflict respecting the national bank
and the removal of the deposits was then
raging. His term of two years closed, and he re
turned to his profession, which he pursued with
increasing reputation and success. After a
lapse of two years he again became a candi
date for congress; was re-elected, and took his
seat in 1837. His past experience as a repre
sentative gave him strength and confidence.
The first term of service in congress to any
man can be but little more than an introduc
tion. He was now prepared for -active duty.
Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and
his popularity filled the state, and in the year
1847 he was elected comptroller of the state.
Fillmore had attained the age of forty-
seven years. His labors at the bar, in the
legislature, in congress, and as comptroller,

had given him very considerable fame. The
whigs were casting about to find suitable can
didates for president and vice president at the
approaching election. Far away, on the
waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough
old soldier, who had fought successful battles
with the Mexicans, which had caused his
name to be proclaimed in trumpet-tones all
over the land. But it was necessary to asso
ciate with him, on the same ticket, some
man of reputation as a statesman. Under the
influence of these considerations, the names of
Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became
the rallying cry of the whigs, as their candi
dates for president and vice president. The
whig ticket was signally triumphant. On the
4th of March, 1 849, Gen. Taylor was inaugu
rated president, and Millard Fillmore vice
president, of the United States.
On the 9th of July, 1850, Pres. Taylor, but
one year and four months after his inaugura
tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By
the constitution, Vice Pres. Fillmore thus be
came president. He appointed a very able
cabinet, of which the illustrious Daniel Web
ster was secretary of state.
Fillmore had very serious difficulties to
contend with, since the opposition had a ma-
jorty in both house. He did everything in
his power to conciliate the south; but the pro-
slavery party in the south felt the inadequacy
of all measures of transient conciliation. The
population of the free states was so rapidly in
creasing over that of the slave states that it
was inevitable that the power of the govern
ment should soon pass into the hands of the
free states. The famous compromise meas
ures were adopted under Fillmore's administra
tion, and the Japan expedition was sent out.
On the 4th of March, 1853, Fillmore, having
served one term, retired.
In 1856, Fillmore was nominated for the
presidency by the '"know nothing" party, but

76

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

was beaten by Mr. Buchanan. After that
Fillmore lived in retirement. Durifig the ter
rible conflict of civil war he was mostly silent.
It was generally supposed that his sympathies
were rather with those who were endeavoring
to overthrow our institutions. He lived to a
ripe old age, and died in Buffalo, N. Y.,
March 8, 1874.

BRANKLIN PIERCE, the fourteenth
president of the United States, was born
in Hillsborough, N. H., November 23,
1804. Franklin was a very bright
and handsome boy, generous, warm-hearted
and brave. He won alike the love of old and
young. The boys on the play ground loved
him. His teachers loved him. The neigh
bors looked upon him with pride and affection.
He was by instinct a gentleman; always speak
ing kind words, doing kind deeds, with a
peculiar unstudied tact which taught him what
was agreeable. Without developing any pre
cocity of genius, or any unnatural devotion to
books, he was a good scholar; in body, in mind,
in affections, a finely developed boy.
When sixteen ,years of age, in the year
1820, he entered Bowdoin college at Bruns
wick, Maine. He was one of the most popu
lar young men in the college. The purity of
his moral character, the unvarying courtesy of
his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and genial
nature, rendered him a universal favorite.
There was something very peculiarly winning
in his address, and it was evidently not in the
slightest degree studied; it was the simple out-
gushing of his own magnanimous and loving
nature. Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Frank
lin Pierce commenced the study of law in the
office of Judge Woodbury, one of the most
distinguished lawyers of the state, and a man
of great private worth. The eminent social

qualities of the young lawyer, his father's
promince as a public man, and the brilliant
political career into which Judge Woodbury
was entering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce
into the fascinating, yet perilous, path of po
litical life. With all the ardor of his nature
he espoused the cause of Gen. Jackson for the
presidency. He commenced the practice of
law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected to
represent the town in the state legislature.
Here he served for four years. The last two
years he was chosen speaker of the house by a
very large vote.
In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was
elected a member of congress. Without tak
ing an active part in debates, he was faithful
and laborious in duty, and ever rising in the
estimation of those with whom he was associ
ated. In 1837, being then but thirty-three
years of age, he was elected to the senate of
the United States, taking his seat just as Mr.
Van Buren commenced his administration.
He was the youngest member in the senate.
In the year 1834 he married Miss Jane Means
Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom
plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn
every station with which her husband was
honored. Of the three sons who were born
to them, all now sleep with their parents in
the grave.
In the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing
fame and increasing business as a lawyer, took
up his residence in Concord, the capital of
New Hampshire. President Polk, upon his
accession to office, appointed Mr. Pierce at
torney-general of the United States; but the
offer was declined in consequence of numerous
professional engagements at home and the
precarious state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He
also about the same time declined the nomina
tion for governor by the democratic party.
The war with Mexico called Mr. Pierce to the
army. Receiving the appointment of briga-

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

70

dier-general, he embarked with a portion of
his troops at Newport, R. I., on the 27th of
May, 1847. He took an important part in
this war, proving himself a brave and true
soldier. When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his
native state he was received enthusiastically
by the advocates of the Mexican war, and
coldly by its opponents. He resumed the
practice of his profession, very frequently tak
ing an active part in political questions, giving
his cordial support to the pro-slavery wing of
the democratic party. The compromise meas
ures met cordially with his approval; and he
strenuously advocated the enforcement of the
infamous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked
the religious sensibilities of the north. He thus
became distinguished as a "northern man with
southern principles." The strong partisans of
slavery in the south consequently regarded
him as a man whom they could safely trust in
office to carry out their plans.
On the 1 2th of June, 1852, the democratic
convention met in Baltimore to nominate a
candidate for the presidency. For four days
they continued in session, and in thirty-five
ballotings no one had obtained a two-thirds
vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown
for Gen. Pierce. Then the Virginia delega
tion brought forward his name. There were
fourteen more ballotings, during which Gen.
Pierce constantly gained strength, until, at the
forty-ninth ballot, he received 282 votes, and
all other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield
Scott was the whig candidate. Gen. Pierce
was chosen with great unanimity. Only four
states — Vermont, Massachusetts, Kentucky
and Tennessee — cast their electoral votes
against him. Gen. Franklin Pierce was there
fore inaugurated president of the United States
on the 4th of March, 1853.
His administration proved one of the most
stormy our country had ever experienced. The

controversy between slavery and freedom was
then approaching its culminating point. It
became evident that there was an ' 'irrepress
ible conflict" between them, and that the
nation could not long exist "half slave and
half free." President Pierce, during the whole
of his administration, did everything he could
to conciliate the south; but it was all in vain.
The conflict every year grew more and more
violent, and threats of the dissolution of the
Union were borne to the north on every
southern breeze.
On the 4th of March, 1857, President
Pierce retired to his home in Concord. Of
three children, two had died, and his only sur
viving child had been killed before his eyes by
a railroad accident; and his wife, one of the
most estimable and accomplished of ladies,
was rapidly sinking in consumption. The hour
of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left
alone in the world without wife or child.
Such was the condition of affairs when
Pres. Pierce approached the close of his four
years' term of office. The north had become
thoroughly alienated from him. The anti-
slavery sentiment, goaded by great outrages,
had. been rapidly increasing; all the intellectual
ability and social worth of Pres. Pierce were
forgotten in deep reprehension of his adminis
trative acts. The slaveholders of the south,
also, unmindful of the fidelity with which he
had advocated those measures of government
which they approved, and perhaps, also, feel
ing that he had rendered himself so unpopular
as no longer to be able acceptably to serve
them, ungratefully dropped him, and nomi
nated James" Buchanan to succeed him.
When the terrible rebellion broke forth,
which divided our country into two parties,
Mr. Pierce remained steadfast in the principles
which he had always cherished and gave his
sympathies to that pro-slavery party with
which he had ever been allied. He declined

80

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

to do anything, either by voice or pen, to
strengthen the hand of the national govern
ment. He continued to reside in- Concord
until the time of his death, which occurred in
October, 1869. He was one of the most genial
and social of men, an honored communicant
of the Episcopal church, and one of the kind
est of neighbors. Generous to a fault, he con
tributed liberally for the alleviation of suffer
ing and want, and many of his townspeople
were often gladdened by his material bounty.

Vj'AMES BUCHANAN, the fifteenth presi-
M\ dent of the United States, was born in
SB 1 Franklin county, Pa., on the 23d of
April, 1 79 1. His father was a native
of the north of Ireland; a poor man, who had
emigrated in 1783, with little property save his
own strong arms. Five years afterward he
married Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a
respectable farmer, and, with his young bride,
plunged into the wilderness, staked his claim,
reared his log hut, opened a clearing with his
ax, and settled down to perform his obscure
part in the drama of life. In . this secluded
home, where James was born, he remained for
eight years, enjoying but few social or intel
lectual advantages. When James was eight
years of age his father removed to the village
of Mercersburg, where his son was placed at
school, and commenced a course of study in
English, Latin and Greek. His progress was
rapid, and at the age of fourteen he entered
Dickenson college at Carlisle. Here he de
veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand
among the first scholars of the institution. His
application to study was intense, and yet his
native powers enabled him to master the most
abstruse subjects with facility. In the year
1809, he graduated with the highest honors of
his class. He was then eighteen years of age;

tall and graceful, vigorous in health, fond of
athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened
with an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He
immediately commenced the study of law in
the city of Lancaster, and was admitted to the
bar in 1812, when he was but twenty-one
years of age. Very rapidly he rose in his pro
fession, and at once took undisputed stand
with the ablest lawyers of the state. When
but twenty-six years of age, unaided by coun
sel, he successfully defended before the state
senate one of the judges of the state, who was
tried upon articles of impeachment. At the
age of thirty it was generally admitted that he
stood at the head of the bar.
In 1820 he reluctantly consented to run as
a candidate for congress. He was elected,
and for ten years he remained a member of
the lower house. During the vacations of
congress, he occasionaily tried some important
case. In 1831 he retire! altogether from the
toils of his profession, having acquired an
ample fortune.
Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the
presidency, appointed Mr. Buchanan minister
to Russia. The duties of his mission he per
formed with ability which gave satisfaction to
all parties. Upon his return, in 1833, he was
elected to a seat in the United States senate.
He there met, as his associates, Webster,
Clay, Wright, and Calhoun. He advocated
the measures proposed by Pres. Jackson, of
making reprisals against France, to enforce
the payment of our claims against that country;
and defended the course of the president in
his unprecedented and wholesale removal from
office of those who were not supporters of his
administration. Upon this question he v/as
brought into direct collision with Henry Clay.
He also, with voice and vote, advocated ex
punging from the journal of the senate the
vote of censure against Gen. Jackson for re
moving the deposits. Earnestly he opposed

JAMES BUCHANAN.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

the abolition of slavery in the District of Co
lumbia, and urged the prohibition of the circu
lation of anti-slavery documents by the United
States mail.
Upon Mr. Polk's accession to the presi
dency, Mr. Buchanan became secretary of
state, and as such took his share of the respon
sibility in the conduct of the Mexican war. Mr.
Polk assumed that crossing the Nueces by the
American troops into the disputed territory was
not wrong, but for the Mexicans to cross the
Rio Grande into that territory was a declara
tion of war. Mr. Buchanan identified himself
thoroughly with the party devoted to the per
petuation and extension of slavery, and brought
all the energies of his mind to bear against the
Wilmot Proviso. He gave his approval of
the compromise measures of 1850, which in
cluded the fugitive slave law. Mr. Pierce, upon
his election to the presidency, honored Mr.
Buchanan with the mission to England.
In the year 1856, a national democratic
convention nominated Mr. Buchanan for the
presidency. The political conflict was one of
the most severe in which our country has ever
engaged. All the friends of slavery were on
one side; all the advocates of its restriction
and final abolition on the other. Mr. Fre
mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery,
received 114 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan
received 174, and was elected. The popular
vote stood 1,341,264 for Fremont, 1,838,160
for Buchanan. On March 4, 1857, Mr. Bu
chanan was inaugurated. Mr. Buchanan was
far advanced in life. Only four years were
wanting to fill up his three score years and
ten. His own friends — those with whom he
had been allied in political principles and
action for years — were seeking the destruction
of the government, that they might rear upon
the ruins of our free institutions a nation
whose corner stone should be human slavery.
In this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hope

lessly bewildered. He could not, with his
long avowed principles, consistently oppose
the state-rights party in their assumptions.
As president of the United States, bound by
his oath faithfully to administer the laws, he
could not, without perjury of the grossest kind,
unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the
republic. He therefore did nothing. Mr.
Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slavery
party was such, that he had been willing to
offer them far more than they had ventured to
claim. All the south had professed to ask of
the north was non-interference with the sub
ject of slavery. Mr. Buchanan had been
ready to offer them the active co-operation of
the government to defend and extend the in
stitution. As the storm increased in violence,
the slave holders claiming the right to secede,
and Mr. Buchanan avowing that congress had
no power to prevent it, one of the most piti
able exhibitions of governmental imbecility
was exhibited the world has ever seen. He
declared that congress had no power to enforce
its laws in any state which had withdrawn, or
which was attempting to withdraw from the
Union. This was not the doctrine of Andrew
Jackson, when, with his hand upon his sword
hilt, he exclaimed: "The Union must and
shall be preserved."
South Carolina seceded in December, 1 860,
nearly three months before the inauguration
of Pres. Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in
listless despair. The rebel flag was raised in
Charleston; Fort Sumter was besieged; our
forts, navy yards and arsenals were seized;
our depots of military stores were plundered;
and our custom houses and post offices were
appropriated by the rebels. The energy of
the rebels, and the imbecility of our executive,
were alike marvelous. The nation looked on
in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glidf
away and close the administration, so terrible
in its weakness. At length the long looked

84

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

for hour of deliverance came, when Abraham
Lincoln was to receive the scepter.
The administration of President Buchanan
was certainly the most calamitous our country
has experienced. His best friends cannot re
call it with pleasure. And still more deplor
able it is for his fame, that in that dreadful
conflict which rolled its billows of flame and
blood over our whole land, no word came
from his lips to indicate his wish that our
country's banner should triumph over the flag
of the rebellion. He died at his Wheatland
retreat, June i, 1868.

HBRAHAM LINCOLN, the sixteeeth
president of the United States, was
born in Hardin county, Ky. , Febru
ary 12, 1809. About the year 1780,
a man by the name of Abraham Lincoln left
Virginia with his family and moved into the
then wilds of Kentucky. Only two years after
this emigration, still a young man, while work
ing one day in a field, he was stealthily ap
proached by an Indian and shot dead. His
widow was left in extreme poverty with five
little children, three boys and two girls,
Thomas, the youngest of the boys, was four
years of age at his father's death. This
Thomas was the father of Abraham Lincoln,
the president of the United States, whose
name must henceforth forever be enrolled with
the most prominent in the annals of our world.
When twenty-eight years of age Thomas
Lincoln built a log cabin of his own, and mar
ried Nancy Hanks, the daughter of another
family of poor Kentucky emigrants, who had
also come from Virginia. Their second child
was Abraham Lincoln. The mother of Abra
ham was a noble woman, gentle, loving, pen
sive; created to adorn a palace, doomed to
toil and pine, and die in a hovel. ' 'All that I

am, or hope to be," exclaims the grateful son,
' T owe to my angel mother. "
When Abraham was eight years of age, his
father sold his cabin and farm, and moved to
Harrison county, Ind, where two years later
his mother died. Abraham soon became the
scribe of the uneducated community around
him. He could not have had a better school
than this to teach him to put thoughts into
words. He also became an eager reader. The
books he could obtain were few; but these he
read and re-read until they were almost com
mitted to memory. As the years rolled on,
the lot of this lowly family was the usual lot of
humanity. There were joys and griefs, wed
dings and funerals. Abraham's sister, Sarah,
to whom he was tenderly attached, was mar
ried when a child of but fourteen years of age,
and soon died. The family was gradually
scattered. Thomas Lincoln sold out his
squatter's, claim in 1830, and emigrated to
Macon county, 111. Abraham Lincoln was
then twenty-one years of age. With vigorous
hands he aided his father in rearing another
log cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this
until he saw the family comfortably settled,
and their small lot of inclosed prairie planted
with corn, when he announced to his father
his intention to leave home, and to go out into
the world and seek his fortune. Little did he
or his friends imagine how brilliant that
fortune was to be. He-saw the value of educa
tion and was intensely earnest to improve his
mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the
ruin which ardent spirits were causing, and
became strictly temperate; refusing to allow a
drop of intoxicating liquor to pass his lips.
And he had read in God's word, "Thou shalt
not take the name of the Lord thy God in
vain;" and a profane expression he was never
heard to utter. Religion he revered. His
morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated
by a single vice.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

97

Young Abraham worked for a time as a
hired laborer among the farmers. Then he
went to Springfield, where he was employed in
building a large flat-boat. In this he took a
herd of swine, floated them down the Sanga
mon to the Illinois, and thence by the Missis
sippi to New Orleans. In this adventure his
employers were so well pleased, that upon his
return they placed a store and mill under his
care. In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black
Hawk war, he enlisted and was chosen captain
of a company. He returned to Sangamon
county, and although only twenty-three years
of age, was a candidate for the legislature, but
was defeated. He soon afterward received
from Andrew Jackson the appointment of post
master of New Salem. His only postoffice
was his hat. All the letters he received he
carried there ready to deliver to those he
chanced to meet. He1 studied surveying and
soon made this his business. In 1834 he again
became a candidate for the legislature, and
was elected. Mr. Stuart, of Springfield, ad
vised him to study law. He walked from New
Salem to Springfield, borrowed of Mr. Stuart
a load of books, carried them back and began
his legal studies. When the legislature assem
bled he trudged on foot with his pack on his
back 100 miles to Vandalia, then the capital.
In 1836 he was re-elected to the legislature.
Here it was he first met Stephen A. Douglas.
In 1839 he removed to Springfield and began
the practice of law. His success with the jury
was so great that he was soon engaged in al
most every noted case in the circuit.
In 1854 the great discussion began between
Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery
question. In the organization of the republi
can party in Illinois, in 1856, he took an active
part, and at once became one of the leaders in
that party. Mr. Lincoln's speeches in opposi
tion to Senator Douglas in the contest in 1858
for a seat in the senate, form a most notable

part of his history. The issue was on the
slavery question, and he took the broad ground
of the Declaration of Independence, that all
men are created equal. Mr. Lincoln was de
feated in this contest, but won a far higher
prize — the presidency.
The great republican convention met at
Chicago on the 16th of June, i860. The del
egates and strangers who crowded the city
amounted to 25,000. An immense building,
called ' ' The Wigwam, " was reared to accom
modate the convention. There were eleven
candidates for whom votes were cast. William
H. Seward, a man whose fame as a statesman
had long filled the land, was the most prom
inent. It was generally supposed he would be
the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however,
received the nomination on the third ballot.
Little did he then dream of the weary years of
toil and care, and the bloody death, to which
that nomination doomed him; and as little did
he dream that he was to render services to his
country which would fix upon him the eyes of
the whole civilized' world, and which would
give him a place in the affections of his coun
trymen, second only, if second, to that of
Washington. Election day came and Mr. Lincoln re
ceived 180 electoral votes out of 203 casf, and
was, therefore, constitutionally elected presi
dent of the United States. The tirade of
abuse that was poured upon this good and
merciful man, especially by the slaveholders,
was greater than upon any other man ever
elected to this high position. In February,
1 86 1, Mr. Lincoln started for Washington,
stopping in all the large cities on his way,
making speeches. The whole journey was
fraught with much danger. Many of the
southern states had already seceded, and sev
eral attempts at assassination were afterward
brought to light. A gang in Baltimore had
arranged, upon his arrival, to "get up a row,"

98

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

and in the confusion to make sure of his death
with revolvers and hand grenades. A detect
ive unraveled the plot. A secret and special
train was provided to take him from Harris-
burg, through Baltimore, at an unexpected
hour of the night. The train started at half-
past ten; and to prevent any possible com
munication on the part of the secessionists
with their confederate gang in Baltimore, as
soon as the train had started the telegraph
wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln reached Wash
ington in safety and was inaugurated, although
great anxiety was felt by all loyal people.
In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln
gave to Mr. Seward the department of state,
and to other prominent opponents before the
convention he gave important positions.
During no other administration have the
duties devolving upon the president been so
manifold, and the responsibilities so great, as
those which fell to the lot of President Lincoln.
Knowing this, and feeling his own weakness
and inability to meet, and in his own strength
to cope with the difficulties, he early learned
to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in deter
mining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his
trials, both personal and national. Contrary
to his own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln
was one of the most courageous of men. He
went directly into the rebel capital just as the
retreating foe was leaving, with no guard but
a few sailors. From the time he had left
Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had been
made for his assassination, and he at last fell
a victim to one of them. April 14, 1865, he,
with General Grant, was urgently invited to
attend Ford's theater. It was announced that
they would be present. Gen. Grant, however,
left the city. Pres. Lincoln, feeling, with his
characteristic kindliness of heart, that it would
be a disappointment if he should fail them,
very reluctantly consented to go. While
listening to the play an actor by the name of

John Wilkes Booth entered the box where the
president and family were seated, and fired a
bullet into his brains. He died the next morn
ing at seven o'clock, and now, if never before,
the nation was plunged into the deepest
mourning, and truly mourned the "country's
loss."

HNDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth
president of the United States, was
born December 29, 1 808, in Raleigh,
N. C. When Andrew was five years
of age, his father accidentally lost his life
while heroically endeavoring to save a friend
from drowning. Until ten years of age, An
drew was a ragged boy about the streets, sup
ported by the labor of his mother, who ob
tained her living with, her own hands. He
then, having never attended a school one day,
and being unable either to read or write, was
apprenticed to a tailor in his native town. A
gentleman was in the habit of going to the
tailor's shop occasionally and reading to the
boys at work there. He often read from the
speeches of distinguished British statesmen.
Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of
more than ordinary native ability, became
much interested in these speeches; his ambi
tion was roused, and he was inspired with a
strong desire to learn to read. He according
ly applied himself to the alphabet, and, with
the assistance of some of his fellow-workmen,
learned his letters. He then called upon the
gentleman to borrow the book of speeches.
The owner, pleased with his zeal, not only
gave him the book, but assisted him in learn
ing to combine the letters into words. Under
such difficulties he pressed onward laboriously,
spending usually ten or twelve hours at work
in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest
and recreation to devote such time as he could
to reading.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

101

He went to Tennessee in 1826 and located
at Greenville, where he married a young lady
who possessed some education. Under her
instructions he learned to write and cipher.
He became prominent in the village debating
society, and a favorite with the students of
Greenville college. In 1828 he organized a
workingman's party, which elected him alder
man, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which
position he held three years. He now began
to take a lively interest in political affairs,
identifying himself with the working classes to
which he belonged. In 1835 he was elected
a member of the house of representatives of
Tennessee. He was then just twenty-seven
years of age. He became a very active mem
ber of the legislature, gave his adhesion to the
democratic party, and in 1840 "stumped the
state," advocating Martin Van Buren's claims
to the presidency in opposition to those of
Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he ac
quired much readiness as a speaker, and ex
tended and increased his reputation.
In 1 84 1 he was elected state senator; in
1843 he was elected a member of congress,
and by successive elections held that important
post for ten years. In 1853 he was elected
governor of Tennessee, and was re-elected in
1855. In all these responsible positions he
discharged his duties with distinguished ability
and proved himself the friend of the working
classes. In 1857 Mr. Johnson was elected a
United States senator.
Years before, in 1845, he had warmly ad
vocated the annexation of Texas, stating
however, as his reason, that he thought
this annexation would probably prove "to be
the gateway out of which the sable sons of Africa
are to pass from bondage to freedom, and be
come merged in a population congenial to
themselves." In 1850 he also supported the
compromise measures, the two essential fea

tures of which were, that the white peopie
of the territories should be permitted to de
cide for themselves whether they would en
slave the colored people or not, and that the
free spates of the north should return to the
south persons who attempted to escape from
, slavery. Mr. Johnson was never ashamed of his
lowly origin; on the contrary he often took
pride in avowing that he owed his distinction
to his own exertions. "Sir," said he on the
floor of the senate, "I do not forget that I
am a mechanic; neither do I forget that Adam
was a tailor and sewed fig leaves, and that our
Savior was the son of a carpenter."
In the Charleston-Baltimore convention of
i860, he was the choice of the Tennessee
demoprats for the presidency. In 1861, when
the purpose of the southern democracy became
apparent, he took a decided stand in favor of
the Union, and held "slavery must be held
subordinate to the Union at whatever cost."
He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly im
periled his own life to protect the Unionists oi
Tennessee. Tennessee having seceded from
the Union, President Lincoln, ' on March 4,
1862, appointed him military governor of the
state, and he established the most stringent
military rule. His numerous proclamations
attracted wide attention. In 1864 he was
elected vice president of the United States, and
upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 1865,
became president. In a speech two days later
he said: "The American people, must be
taught, if they do not already feel, that trea
son is a crime and must be punished; that the
government will not always bear with its ene
mies; that it is strong not only to protect, but
to punish. * * The people must under
stand that it (treason) is the blackest of crimes
and will surely be punished." Yet his whole
administration, the history of which is so well

102

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

known, was in utter inconsistency with, and
the most violent opposition to, the principles
laid down in that speech.
In his loose policy of reconstruction and
general amnesty he was opposed by congress;
and he characterized congress as a new rebel
lion, and lawlessly defied it in everything pos
sible to the utmost. In the beginning of 1868,
on account of "high crimes and misdemean
ors," the principal of which was the removal
of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten
ure of Office act, articles of impeachment
were preferred against him, and the trial began
March 23.
It was very tedious, continuing for nearly
three months. A test article of the impeach
ment was at length submitted to the court for
its action. It was certain that as the court
voted upon that article, so would it vote upon
all. Thirty-four voices pronounced the presi
dent guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces
sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced
acquitted, notwithstanding the great majority
against him. The change of one vote from
the not guilty side would have sustained the
impeachment. The president for the remainder of his
term was but little regarded. He continued,
though impotently, his conflict with congress.
His own party did not think it expedient to
renominate him for the presidency. The bul
let of the assassin introduced him to the presi
dent's chair. Notwithstanding this, never
was there presented to a man a better oppor
tunity to immortalize his name and win the
gratitude of a nation. He failed utterly. He
retired to his home in Greenville, Tenn. , tak
ing no very active part in politics until 1875.
On January 26, after an exciting struggle, he
was chosed by the legislature of Tennessee
United States senator in the forty-fourth con
gress; and took his seat in that body at the
special session convened by President Grant

on the 5th of March. On the 27th of July,
1875, the ex-president made a visit to his.
daughter's home, near Carter Station, Tenn.
When he started on his journey he was appar
ently in his usual vigorous health, but on
reaching the residence of his child the follow
ing day was stricken with paralysis, rendering
him unconscious. He rallied occasionally, but
finally passed away at 2 A. M. , July 31, aged
sixty-seven years. He was buried at Green
ville, on the 3d of August, 1875.

aLYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth
president of the United States, was-
born on the 29th of April, 1822, of
christian parents, in a humble home,,
at Point Pleasant, Va. , on the banks of the Ohio.
Shortly after his father moved to Georgetown,
Brown county, Ohio. In this remote frontier
hamlet, Ulysses received a common school
education. At the age of seventeen, in the-
year 1839, he entered the Military academy at
West Point. Here he was regarded as a solid,
sensible young man of fair abilities, and of
sturdy, honest character. He took respect
able rank as a scholar. In June, 1843, he
graduated, about the middle in his class, and
was sent as lieutenant of infantry to one of
the distant military posts in the Missouri terri
tory. Two years he passed in these dreary
solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasper
ating Indians.
The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant.
was sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi.
His first battle was at Palo Alto. There was-
no chance here for the exhibition of either
skill or heroism, nor at Resaca de la Palma,.
his second battle. At the battle of Monterey,
his third engagement, it is said that he per
formed a signal service of daring and skillful
horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its-
ammunition. A messenger must be sent for

ULYSSES S. GRANT.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

105

more, along a route exposed to the bullets of
the foe. Lieut. Grant, adopting an expedient
learned of the Indians, grasped the mane of
his horse, and hanging upon one side of the
animal, ran the gauntlet in entire safety.
From Monterey he was sent, with the Fourth
infantry, to aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of
Vera Cruz. In preparation for the march to
the city of Mexico, he was appointed quarter
master of his regiment. At the battle of
Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a first
'lieutenancy, and was brevetted' captain at
Chapultepec. At the close of the Mexican war, Capt.
•Grant returned with his regiment to New
York, and was again sent to one of the mili
tary posts on the frontier. The discovery of
-gold in California causing an immense tide of
emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt.
Grant was sent, with a battalion, to Fort
Dallas, in Oregon, for the protection of the
interests of the emigrants.. Life was weari
some in those wilds. Capt. Grant resigned
his commission and returned to the states;
and having married, entered upon the cultiva
tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He
had but little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil
not remunerative, he turned to mercantile
life, entering into the leather business, with a
younger brother at Galena, 111. This was in
the year 1 860. As the tidings of the rebels
firing on Fort Sumter reached the ears of
Capt. Grant in his counting room, he said —
"Uncle Sam has educated me for the army;
though I have served him through one war, I
do not feel that I have yet repaid the debt.
I am still ready to discharge my obligations. I
shall therefore buckle on my sword and see
Uncle Sam through this war, too."
He went into the streets, raised a company
of volunteers, and led them, as their captain,
10 Springfield, the capital of the state, where
their services were offered to Gov. Yates. The

governor, impressed by the zeal and straight
forward executive ability of Capt. Grant, gave
him a desk in his office, to assist in the volun
teer organization that was being formed in the
state in behalf of the government. On the
1 5th of June, 1 86 1, Capt. Grant received a
commission as colonel of the Twenty-first
regiment of Illinois volunteers. His merits as
a West Point graduate, who had served for
fifteen years in the regular army, were such
that he was soon promoted to the rank of
brigadier general and was placed in command
at Cairo. The rebels raised their flag at Pa-
ducah, near the mouth of the Tennessee river.
Scarcely had its folds appeared ere Gen. Grant
was there. The rebels fled. Their banner
fell, and the stars and stripes were unfurled in
its stead. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur
prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort
Henry won another victory. Then came the
brilliant fight af Fort Donelson. The nation
was electrified by the victory, and the brave
leader of the boys in blue was immediately
made a major general, and the military district
of Tennessee was assigned to him.
Like all great captains, Gen. Grant knew
well how to secure the results of a victory. He
immediately pushed on to the enemy's lines.
Then came the terrible battles of Pittsburg
Landing, Corinth, and the siege of Vicksburg,
where Gen. Pemberton made an unconditional
surrender of the city with over 30,000 men
and 172 cannon. The fall of Vicksburg was
by far the most severe blow which the rebels
had thus far encountered, and opened up the
Mississippi from Cario to the gulf.
Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate
with Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas,
and proceeded to New Orleans, where he was
thrown from his horse and received severe in
juries, from which he was laid up for months.
He then rushed to the aid of Gens. Rosecrans

106

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

and Thomas at Chattanooga, and by a won
derful series of strategtic and technical measures
put the Union army in fighting condition.
Then followed the bloody battles of Chatta
nooga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary
Ridge, in which the rebels were routed with
great loss. This won for him unbounded
praise in the north. On the 4th of February,
1864, congress revived the grade of lieutenant
general, and the rank was conferred on Gen.
Grant. He repaired to Washington to receive
his credentials and enter upon the duties of his
new office.
Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took
charge of the army to concentrate the widely
dispersed national troops for an attack on
Richmond, the nominal capital of the rebel
lion, and endeavor there to destroy the rebel
armies which would be promptly assembled
from all quarters for its defense. The whole
continent seemed to tremble under the tramp
of these majestic armies, rushing to the deci
sive battle-field. Steamers were crowded with
troops; railway trains were burdened with
closely packed thousands. His plans were
comprehensive and involved a series of cam
paigns, which were executed with remarkable
energy and ability, and were consummated at
the surrender of Lee, April 9, 1865.
The war was ended. The Union was saved.
The almost unanimous voice of the nation de
clared Gen. Grant to be the most prominent
instrument in its salvation. The eminent
services he had thus rendered the country
brought him conspicuously forward as the re
publican candidate for the presidential chair.
At the republican convention held at Chicago,
May 21, 1868, he was unanimously nominated
-for the presidency, and at the autumn elec
tion received a majority of the popular
vote, and 214 out of 294 electoral votes. The
national convention of the republican party
which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June,

1872, placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a
second term by a unanimous vote. The selec
tion was emphatically endorsed by the people
five months later, 292 electoral votes being
cast for him.
Soon after the close of his second term,
Gen. Grant started upon his famous trip
around the world. He visited almost every
country of the civilized world, and was every
where received with such ovations and demon
strations of respect and honor, private, as well
as public and official, as were never before
bestowed upon any citizen of the United States.
He was the most prominent candidate
before the republican national convention in
1880 for a renomination for president. But he
went to New York and embarked in the
brokerage business under the firm name of
Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain,
wrecked Grant's fortune, and for larceny was
sent to the penitentiary. The general was
attacked with cancer in the throat, but suffered
in his stoic-like manner, never complaining.
He was re-instated general of the army and
retired by congress. The cancer soon finished
its deadly work, and July 23, 1885, the nation
went in mourning over the death of the illus
trious general.

%J~\ UTHERFORD B. HAYES, the nine-
I /^ teenth president of the United States,
J|_F was born in Delaware, Ohio, October
4, 1852, almost three months after
the death of his father, Rutherford Hayes.
His ancestry, an both the paternal and mater
nal sides, was of the most honorable character.
It can be traced, it is said, as far back as
1280, when Hayes and Rutherford were two
Scottish chieftains, fighting side by side with
Baliol, William Wallace and Robert Bruce.
Both families belonged to the nobility, owned
extensive estates, and had a large following.

RUTHERFORDIB. HAYES.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

109

Misfortune overtaking the family, George
Hayes left Scotland in 1680, and settled in
Windsor, Conn. His son George was born
in Windsor, and remained there during his
life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, married
Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his
marriage until his death in Simsbury, Conn.
Ezekiel, son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and
was a manufacturer of scythes at Bradford,
Conn. Rutherford Hayes, son of Ezekiel and
grandfather of President Hayes, was born in
New Haven, in August, 1756. He was a
farmer, blacksmith and tavern-keeper. He
emigrated to Vermont at an unknown date,
settling in Brattleboro, where he established a
hotel. Here his son, Rutherford Hayes, the
father of President Hayes, was born. He was
married, in September, 181 3, to Sophia Bir-
chard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors
emigrated thither from Connecticut, they hav
ing been among the wealthiest and best fami
lies of Norwich. Her ancestry on the male
side are traced back to 1635, to John Bir-
chard, one of the principal founders of Nor
wich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers
in the Revolutionary war.
The father of President Hayes was an in
dustrious, frugal and open-hearted man. He
was of a mechanical turn, and could mend a
plow, knit a stocking, or do almost any
thing else that he chose to undertake. He
was a member of the church, active in all the
benevolent enterprises of the town, and con
ducted his business on christian principles.
After the close of the war of 1812, for reasons
inexplicable to his neighbors, he resolved to
emigrate to Ohio.
The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that
day, when there were no canals, steamers, nor
railways, was a very serious affair. A tour of
inspection was first made, occupying four
months. Mr. Hayes determined to move to
Delaware, where the family arrived in 18 17.

He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial
fever, less than three months before the birth
of the son, of whom we now write. Mrs.
Hayes, in her sore bereavement, found the
support she so much needed in her brother
Sardis, who had been a member of the house
hold from the day of its departure from Ver
mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had
adopted some time before as an act of charity.
Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak,
and the subject of this sketch was so feeble at
birth that he was not expected to live beyond
a month or two at most. As the months went
by he grew weaker and weaker, so that the
neighbors were ,in the habit of inquiring from
time to time "if Mrs. Hayes' baby died last
night." On one occasion a neighbor, who
was on familiar terms with the family, after
alluding to the boy's big head, and the moth
er's assiduous care of him, said in a bantering
way, "That's right! Stick to him. You have
got him along so far, and I shouldn't wonder
if he would really come to something yet."
"You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes.
"You wait and see. You can't tell but I
shall make him president of the United States
yet." The boy lived in spite of the universal
predictions of his speedy death; and when, in
1825, his older brother was drowned, he be
came, if possible, still dearer to his mother.
The boy was seven years old before he
went to school. His education, however, was
not neglected. He probably learned as much
from his mother and sister as he would have
done at school. His sports were almost wholly
within doors, his playmates being his sister
and her associates. His uncle Sardis Birchard
took the deepest interest in his education; and
as the boy's health had improved, and he was
making good progress in his studies, he pro
posed to send him to college. His preparation
commenced with a tutor at home; but he was
afterward sent for one year to a professor in

110

PRESIDENTS OF^THE UNITED STATES.

the Wesleyan university, in Middletown, Conn.
He entered Kenyon college in 1838, at the
age of sixteen, and was graduated at the head
of his class in 1842.
Immediately after his graduation he began
the study of law in the office of Thomas Spar
row, Esq. , in Columbus. Finding his oppor
tunities for study in Columbus somewhat
limited, he determined to enter the law school
at Cambridge, Mass., where he remained two
years. In 1845, after graduating at the law
school, he was admitted to the bar at Marietta,
Ohio, and shortly afterward went into practice
as an attorney-at-law with Ralph P. Buck-
land, of Fremont. Here he remained three
years, acquiring but/ a limited practice, and
apparently unambitious of distinction in his
profession. In 1849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his
ambition found a new stimulus. Two events,
occurring at this period, had a powerful influ
ence upon his subsequent life. One of these
was his marriage with Miss Lucy Ware Webb,
daughter of Dr. James Webb, of Chillicothe;
the other was his introduction to the Cincin
nati Literary club, a body embracing among
its members such men as Chief Justice Salmon
P. Chase, Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F.
Noyes, and many others hardly less distin
guished in after life. The marriage was a
fortunate one in every respect, as everybody
knows. Not one of all the wives of our presi
dents was more universally admired, rever
enced and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and
no one did more than she to reflect honor
upon American womanhood. The Literary
club brought Mr. Hayes into constant associa
tion with young men of high character and
noble aims, and lured him to display the
qualities so long hidden by his bashfulness and
extreme modesty.
In 1856 he was nominated to the office of
judge of the court of common pleas; but he

declined to accept the nomination. Two
years later, the office of city solicitor becoming
vacant, the city council elected him for the un
expired term.
In 1 86 1, when the rebellion broke out, he
was at the zenith of his professional life. His
rank at the bar was among the first. But the
news of the attack on Fort Sumter found him
eager to take up arms for the defense of his
beloved country.
His military record was bright and illus
trious. In October, 1861, he was made
lieutenant-colonel, and August, 1862, promoted
colonel of the Seventy-ninth Ohio regiment,
but he refused to leave his old comrades and
go among strangers. Subsequently, however,
he was made colonel of his old regiment. At
the battle of South Mountain he received a
wound, and while faint and bleeding displayed
courage and fortitude that won admiration
from all.
Col. Hayes was detached from his regiment,
after his recovery, to act as brigadier-general,
and placed in command of the celebrated Kana
wha division, and for gallant and meritorious
services in the battles of Winchester, Fisher's
Hill and Cedar Creek, he was promoted briga
dier-general. He was also brevetted major-
general ' ' for gallant and distinguished services
during the campaigns of 1864 in West Vir
ginia." In the course of his arduous services
four horses were shot from under him, and he
was wounded four times.
In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to con
gress, from the Second Ohio district, which
had long been democratic. He was not pres
ent during the campaign, and after his election
was importuned to resign his commission in
the army; but he finally declared: " I shall
never come to Washington until I can come by
the way of Richmond." He was re-elected
in 1866. In 1 867, Gen. Hayes was elected governor

JAMES A. GARFIELD.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

113

of Ohio over Hon. Allen G. Thurman, a popu
lar democrat. In 1869 was re-elected over
George H. Pendleton. He was elected gov
ernor for the third term in 1875.
In 1876 he was the standard-bearer of the
republican party in the presidential contest,
and, after a hard, long contest, was chosen
president, and was inaugurated Monday, March
5- 1875- He served one full term of four years, then
retired to his peaceful home, where he expired
January 17, 1893.

>-r*AMES A. GARFIELD, twentieth pres-
¦ ident of the United States, was born
/• 1 November 19,, 1831, in the woods of
Orange, Cuyahoga county, Ohio. His
parents were Abram and Eliza (Ballou) Gar
field, both of New England ancestry, and from
families well known in the early history of that
section of our country, but had moved to the
Western Reserve, in Ohio, early in its settle
ment. The house in which James A. was born
was about 20x30 feet, built of logs, with the
spaces between the logs filled with clay. His
father was a hard-working farmer, and he soon
had his fields cleared, an orchard planted, and
a log barn built. The household comprised
the father and mother and their four children —
Mehetabel, Thomas, Mary and James. In
May, 1823, the father, from a cold contracted
in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At
this time James was about eighteen months
old, and Thomas about ten years old. He
now lives in Michigan, and the two sisters live
in Solon, Ohio, near their birth-place.
The early educational advantages young
Garfield enjoyed were very limited, yet he
made the most of them. He labored at farm
work for others, did carpenter work, chopped

wood, or did anything that would bring in a
few dollars. Nor was Gen. Garfield ever
ashamed of his origin, and he never forgot the
friends of his struggling childhood, youth and
manhood, neither did they ever forget him.
When in the highest seats of honor, the
humblest friend of his boyhood was as kindly
greeted as ever.
The highest ambition of young Garfield
until he was about sixteen years old was to be
a captain of a vessel on Lake Erie. He was
anxious to go aboard a vessel, which his
mother strongly opposed. She finally con
sented to his going to Cleveland, with the
understanding, however, that he should try to
obtain some other kind of employment. He
walked all the way to Cleveland. After
making many applications for work, and try
ing to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meet
ing with success, he engaged as a driver for his
cousin, Amos Letcher, on the Ohio & Penn
sylvania canal. He remained at this work
but a short time when he went home, and
attended the seminary at Chester for about
three years, when he entered Hiram and the
Eclectic institute, teaching a few terms of
school in the meantime, and doing other work.
This school was started by the Disciples of
Christ in 1850, of which church he was then
a member. He became janitor and bell-ringer
in order to help pay his way. He then be
came both teacher and pupil. In the fall of
1854, he entered Williams college, from which
he graduated in 1856, taking one of the high
est honors of his class. He afterward re
turned to Hiram college as its president. Dr.
Noah Porter, president of Yale college, says oi
him in reference to his religion:
' 'President Garfield was more than a man
of strong moral and religious convictions. His.
whole history, from boyhood to the las'i.
shows that duty to man and to God, and de
votion to Christ and life and faith and spiritual

114

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

commission were controlling springs of his
being, and to a more than usual degree."
Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with
Miss Lucretia Rudolph, November n, 1858,
who proved herself worthy as the wife of one
whom all the world loved and mourned. To
them were born seven children, five of whom
are still living, four boys and one girl.
Mr. Garfield made his first political
speeches in 1856, in Hiram and the neighbor
ing villages, and three years later he began to
speak at county mass meetings, and became
the favorite speaker wherever he was. Dur
ing this year he was elected to the Ohio
senate. He also began to study law at Cleve^
land, and in 1861 was admitted to the bar.
The great rebellion broke out in the early part
of this year, and Mr. Garfield at once resolved
to fight as he had talked, and enlisted to de
fend the old flag. He received his commission
as lieutenant-colonel of the Forty-second reg
iment' of Ohio volunteer infantry, August 14,
1 86 1. He was immediately put into active
service, and before he had ever seen a gun
fired in action, was placed in command of four
regiments of infantry and eight companies of
cavalry, charged with the work of driving out
of his native state the officer (Humphrey Mar
shall) reputed to be the ablest of those, not
educated to war, whom Kentucky had given to
the rebellion. This work was bravely and
speedily accomplished, although against great
odds. President Lincoln, on his success, com
missioned him brigadier general, January 10,
1862; and as "he had been the youngest man
in the Ohio senate two years before, so now
he was the youngest general in the army."
He was with Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh, in
its operations around Corinth and its march
through Alabama. He was then detailed as a
member of the general court-martial for the
trial of Fitz-John Porter. He was then or
dered to report to Gen. Rosecrans, and was.

assigned to the chief of staff. The military
history of Gen. Garfield closed with his brill
iant services at Chickamauga, where he won
the stars of the major-general.
Without an effort on his part Gen. Garfield
was elected to congress in the fall of 1862
from the Nineteenth district of Ohio. This
section of Ohio had been represented in con
gress for sixty years mainly by two men —
Elisha Whittlesey and Joshua R. Giddings. It
was not without a struggle that he resigned
his place in the army. At the time he entered
congress he was the youngest member in that
body. Here he remained by successive re-
elections until he was elected president in 1 880.
Of his labors in congress Senator Hoar says:
' 'Since the year 1 864 you cannot think of a
question which has been debated in congress,
or discussed before a tribunal of the American
people, in regard to which you will not find,
if you wish instruction, the argument on one
side stated, in almost every instance, better
than by anybody else, in some speech made in
the house of representatives or on the hustings
by Mr. Garfield."
Upon January 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was
elected to the United States senate, and on
the 8th of June, of the same year, was nom
inated as the candidate of his party for presi
dent at the great Chicago convention. He was
elected in the following November, and on
March 4, 1881, was inaugurated. Probably
no administration ever opened its existence
under brighter auspices than that of President
Garfield, and every day it grew in favor with
the people, and by the first of July he had
completed all the initiatory and preliminary
work of his administration and was preparing
to leave the city to meet his friends at Will
iams college. While on his way and at the
depot, in company with Secretary Blaine, a
man stepped behind him, drew a revolver, and
fired directly at his back. The president

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

117

tottered and fell, and as he did so the assassin
fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the left
coat sleeve of his victim, but inflicting no
further injury. For eighty days all during
the hot months of July and August, he lingered
and suffered. He, however, remained master
of himself till the last, and by his magnificent
bearing was teaching the country and the
world the noblest of human lessons — how to
live grandly in the very clutch of death. He
passed serenely away September 19, 1881, at
Elberon, N. J., on the seashore, where he had
been taken shortly previous. The murderer
was tried, found guilty and executed, in one
year after he committed the foul deed.

a HESTER A. ARTHUR, twenty-first
president of the United States, was
born in Franklin county, Vermont,
on the fifth of October, 1830, and is
the eldest of a family of two sons and five
daughters. His father was the Rev. Dr.
William Arthur, a Baptist clergyman, who
emigrated to this country from the county
Antrim, Ireland, in his eighteenth year, and
died in 1875, in Newtonville, near Albany, N.
Y., after a long and successful ministry.
Young Arthur was educated at Union col
lege, Schenectady, N. Y. , where he excelled
in all his studies. After his graduation, he
taught school in Vermont for two years, and
at the expiration of that time went to New
York, with $500 in his pocket, and entered
the office of ex- Judge E. D. Culver, as student.
After being admited to the bar he formed a
partnership with his intimate friend and room
mate, Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention
of practicing in the west, and for three months
they roamed about in the western states in
search of an eligible site, but in the end re
turned to New York, where they entered upon
a successful career almost from the start.

Gen. Arthur soon afterward married the daugh
ter of Lieut. Herndon, of the United States
navy, who was lost at sea. Congress voted a
gold medal to his widow in recognition of the
bravery he displayed on that occasion. Mrs.
Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's nomi
nation to the vice presidency, leaving two
children. Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal
celebrity in his first great case, the famous
Lemmon suit, brought to recover possession of
eight slaves who had been declared free by
Judge Paine, of the superior court of New
York city. It was in 1852 that Jonathan
Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with
his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas,
when they were discovered and freed. The
judge decided that they could not be held by
the owner under the Fugitive Slave law. A
howl of rage went up from the south, and the
Virginia legislature authorized the attorney
general of that state to assist in an appeal.
William M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur
were employed to represent the people, and
they won their case, which then went to the
supreme court of the United States. Charles
O'Conor here espoused the cause of the slave
holders, but he too, was beaten by Messrs.
Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken
toward the emanicipation of the black race.
Another great service was rendered by
Gen. Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Liz
zie Jennings a respectable colored woman,
was put ofi a Fourth avenue car with violence
after she had paid her fare. Gen. Arthur sued
on her behalf, and secured a verdict of $500
damages. The next day the company issued
an order to admit colored persons to ride on
their cars, and the other car companies quickly
followed their example. Before that the Sixth
avenue company ran a few special cars for col
ored persons and the other lines refused to let
them ride at all.

118

PRESIDENT8 OF THE UNITED STATES.

Gen. Arthur was a delegate to the conven
tion at Saratoga that founded the republican
party. Previous to the war he was judge-ad
vocate of the Second brigade of the state of
New York, and Governor Morgan, of that
state, appointed him engineer-in-chief of his
staff. In 1861, he was made inspector gen
eral, and soon afterward became quartermas
ter general. In each of these offices he ren
dered great service to the government during
the war. At the end of Gov. Morgan's term
he resumed the practice of the law, forming a
partnership with Mr. Ransom, and then Mr.
Phelps, the district attorney of New York,
was added to the firm. The legal practice of
this well known firm was very large and lucra
tive; each of the gentlemen composing it was
an able lawyer, and possessed a splendid local
reputation, if not indeed one of national
extent. Arthur was appointed collector of the port
of New York by President Grant, November
21, 1872, to succeed Thomas Murphy, and
held the office until July 20, 1878, when he
was succeeded by Collector Merritt. Mr.
Arthur was nominated on the presidential
ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the
famous national republican convention held at
Chicago in June, 1880. This was perhaps the
greatest political convention that ever assem
bled on the continent. It was composed of
the leading politicians of the republican party,
all able men, and all stood firm and fought
vigorously and with signal tenacity for their
respective candidates that were before the con
vention for the nomination. Finally Gen.
Garfield received the nomination for president
and Gen. Arthur for vice president. Ihe cam
paign which followed was one of the most
animated known in the history of our country.
Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of the
democratic party, was a popular man, and his
party made a valiant fight for his election.

Finally the election came and the country's
choice was Garfield and Arthur. They were
inaugurated March 4, 1881, as president and
vice-president. A few months only had passed
ere the newly chosen president was the
victim of the assassin's bullet. The remarka
ble patience that Garfield manifested during
those hours arid weeks, and even months, of
the most terrible suffering man has often been
called upon to endure, was seemingly more
than human. It was certainly God-like.
During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr.
Arthur's every move was watched, and be it
said to his credit, that his every action dis
played only an earnest desire that the suffer
ing Garfield might recover, to serve the re
mainder of the term he had so auspiciously
begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested
in deed or look of this man, even though the
most honored position in the world was at any
moment likely to fall to him.
At last God in his mercy relieved President
Garfield from further suffering. Then it be
came the duty of the vice president to assume
the responsibilities of the high office, and he
took the oath in New York, September 20,
1 88 1. The position was an embarrassing one
to him, made doubly so from the facts that all
eyes were on him, anxious to know what he
would do, what policy he would pursue, and
whom he would select as advisers. The duties
of the office had been greatly neglected during
the president's long illness, and many import
ant measures were to be immediately decided
by him; and still farther to embarrass iiim he
did not fail to realize under what circumstances
he became president, and knew the feelings of
many on this point, Under these trying cir
cumstances President Arthur took the reins of
the government in his own hands; and as em
barrassing as was the condition of afiairs, he
happily surprised the nation, actign so wisely
that but few criticised his administration. He

STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

121

served until the close of his administration,
March 4, 1885, and was a popular candidate
before his party for a second term. His name
was ably presented before the convention at
Chicago, and was received with great favor,
and doubtless but for the personal popularity
of one of the opposing candidates, he would
have been selected as the standard-bearer of
his party for another campaign. He retired
to private life carrying with him the best
wishes of the American people, whom he had
served in a manner satisfactory to them and
with credit to himself. Although not a man
of the transcendent ability possessed by the
lamented Garfield, Mr. Arthur was able for
the emergency he was so unexpectedly called
to fill, and was a worthy successor to his chief.

(£"V,TEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND,
V^^kT the twenty-second and twenty-fourth
K^_J president of the United States, was
born in 1837, in the town of Cald
well, Essex county, N. J. , and in a little two-
and-a-half story white house which is still
standing, characteristically to mark the hum
ble birth-place of one of America's great men
in striking contrast with the old world, where
all men high in office must be high in origin,
and born in the cradle of wealth. When three
years of age, his father, who was a Presbyte
rian minister with a large family, and a small
salary, moved by the way of the Hudson river
and Erie canal to Fayetteville in search of an
increased income and a larger field of work.
Fayetteville was then the most straggling of
country villages, about five miles from Pompey
Hill, where Gov. Seymour was born. At the
last mentioned place young Grover commenced
going to school in the "good old-fashioned
way," and presumably distinguished himself
after the manner of all village boys in doing

the things he ought not to do. Such is the
distinguishing trait of all village geniuses and
independent thinkers. When he arrived at
the age of fourteen years he had outgrown the-
capacity of the village school and expressed a.
most emphatic desire to be sent to an acad
emy. To this his father decidedly objected.
Academies in those days cost money; besides,
his father wanted him to become self-support
ing by the quickest possible means, and this-
at that time in Fayetteville seemed to be a.
position in a country store, where his father,
with the -large family on his hands, had con
siderable influence. Grover was to be paid
$50 for his services the first year, and if he.
proved trustworthy he was to receive $100 the.
second year. Here the lad commenced his
career as a salesman, and in two years he had
earned so good a reputation for trustworthi
ness that his employers desired to retain him
longer. But instead of remaining with this firm in
Fayetteville, he went with the family in their
removal to Clinton, where he had an oppor
tunity of attending a high school. Here he.
industriously pursued his studies until the
family removed with him to a point on Black
river known as the Holland Patent, a village
of 500 or 600 people, fifteen miles north of.
Utica, N. Y. At this place his father died,
after preaching but three Sundays. This event.
broke up the family, and Grover set out for
New York city to accept, at a small salary,
the position of "under-teacher" in an asylum
for the blind. He taught faithfully for two
years, and although he obtained a good repu
tation in this capacity, he concluded that
teaching was not his calling for life, and, re
versing the traditional order, he left the city to
seek his fortune, instead of going to a city.
He first thought of going to Cleveland, Ohio,.
as there was some charm in that name for him;
but before proceeding to that place he went to

122

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

Buffalo to ask advice of his uncle, Lewis
F. Allan, a noted stock breeder of that place.
After a long consultation, his uncle offered
him a place temporarily as assistant herdkeeper
at $50 a year, while he could "look around."
One day afterward he boldly walked into the
office of Rogers, Bowers & Rogers, of Buffalo,
and told them what he wanted. A number of
young men were already engaged in the office,
but Grover's persistency won, and he was fin
ally permitted to come as an office boy and
have the use of the law library for the nomi
nal sum of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he
had to pay for his board and washing. The
walk to and from his uncle's was a long and
rugged one; and, although the first winter was
a memorably severe one, yet he was neverthe
less prompt and regular. On the first day of
his service there, his senior employer threw
down a copy of Blackstone before him with a
bang that made the dust fly, saying, ' 'That's
where they all begin." A titter ran around
the little circle of clerks and students, as they
thought that was enough to scare young
Grover out of his plans; but in due time he
mastered that cumbersome volume. Then, as
ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland exhib
ited a talent for executiveness rather than for
chasing principles through all their metaphys
ical possibilities. "Let us quit talking and go
and do it," was practically his motto.
The first public office to which Mr. Cleve
land was elected was that of sheriff of Erie
county, N. Y., in which Buffalo is situated;
and in such capacity it fell to his duty to in
flict capital punishment upon two criminals.
In 1 88 1 he was elected mayor of the city of
Buffalo on the democratic ticket, with especial
reference to the bringing about certain reforms
in the administration of the municipal affairs
of that city. In this office, as well as that of
sheriff, his performance of duty has generally
been considered fair, with possibly a few ex

ceptions, which were ferreted out and magni
fied during his last presidential campaign.
The editorial manager or the New York Sun
afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve
land's administration as mayor of Buffalo, and
thereupon recommended him for governor of
the Empire state. To the latter office he was
elected in 1882, and his administration of the
affairs of state was generally satisfactory. The
mistakes he made, if any, were made very
public throughout the nation after he was nom
inated for president of the United States. For
this high office he was nominated July n,
1884, by the national democratic convention
at Chicago, when other competitors were
Thomas F. Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas
A. Hendricks, Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G.
Thurman, etc. ; and he was elected by the
people by a majority of about a thousand over
the brilliant and long-tried James G. Blaine.
President Cleveland resigned his office as gov-
erner of New York in January, 1885, in order
to prepare for his duties as the chief executive
of the United States, in which capacity his term
commenced at noon on the 4th of March, 1885.
In November, 1892, Mr. Cleveland was re
elected to the presidency by the democratic
party, the candidate of the republican party
being their ex-chief, Benjamin Harrison, a
sketch of whom follows this. The popular
vote on this occasion stood: Cleveland, 5,556-
562; Harrison, 5,162,874; the electoral vote
was 277 for Cleveland, and 145 for Harrison.
During the early part of his first administra
tion, Mr. Cleveland was married to Miss
Frances Folsom, of Buffalo, N. Y. , and in Oc
tober, 1 89 1, a daughter, Ruth, came to bless
the union, and a second daughter, Esther, was
born in July, 1893. The first act of Mr.
Cleveland, on taking his seat for his second
term, was to convene congress in extra session
for the purpose of repealing the Sherman sil
ver bill, and accordingly that body met Sep-

[Note. — During the second administration of Mr. Cleveland, a third daughter, Frances Marian, was born.]

BENJAMIN HARRISON.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

125

tember 4, 1893, and both houses being demo
cratic, the bill, in accordance with the recom
mendation of the president, was uncondition
ally repealed. The special feature, however,
ot the second administration of Grover Cleve
land was the repeal of the McKinley tariff bill
by congress and the substitution of the bill re
ported by William L. Wilson, of West Vir
ginia, as chairman of the ways and means com
mittee of the house of representatives, which
bill, being concurred in, with sundry amend
ments, by the senate, was finally passed and
went into effect in the latter part of 1894,
materially reducing the duties on imports.

K*S~\ ENJAMIN HARRISON, the twenty-
If^ third president, is the descendant of
J^3 one of the historical families of this
country. The head of the family
was a Major General Harrison, one of Oliver
Cromwell's trusted followers and fighters. In
the zenith of Cromwell's power it became the
duty of this Harrison to participate in the
trial of Charles I, and afterward to sign the
death warrant of the king. He subsequently
paid for this with his life, being hung October
13, 1660. His descendants came to America,
and the next of the family that appears in his
tory is Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia, great
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, and
after whom he was named. Benjamin Har
rison was a member of the continental con-
gress.during the years 1774-5-6, and was one
of the original signers of the Declaration of
Independence. He was three times elected
governor of Virginia.
Gen. William Henry Harrison, the son of
the distinguished patriot of the Revolution,
after a successsul career as a soldier during the
war of 18 12, and with a clean record as gov
ernor of the Northwestern territory, was
elected president of the U.T ited States in 1 840.

His career was cut short by death in one
month after his inauguration.
President Benjamin Harrison was born at
North Bend, Hamilton county, Ohio, August
20, 1833. His life up to the time of his grad
uation by the Miami university, at Oxford,
Ohio, was the uneventful one of a country lad
of a family of small means. His father was
able to give him a good education, and nothing
more. He became engaged while at college
to the daughter of Dr. Scott, principal of a
female school at Oxford. After graduating,
he determined to enter upon the study of the
law. He went to Cincinnati and there read
law for two years. At the expiration of that
time young Harrison received the only inher
itance of his life; his aunt, dying, left him a
lot valued at $800. He regarded this legacy
as a fortune, and decided to get married at
once, take this money and go to some eastern
town and begin the practice of law. He sold
his lot, and with the money in his pocket, he
started out with his young wife to fight for a
place in the world. He decided to go to
Indianapolis, which was even at that time a
town of promise. He met with slight encour
agement at first, making scarcely anything the
first year. He worked diligenlly, applying
himself closely to his calling, built up an ex
tensive practice and took a leading rank in the
legal profession. He is the father of two
children. In i860 Mr. Harrison was nominated for
the position of supreme court reporter, and
then began his experience as a stump speaker.
He canvassed the state thoroughly, and was
elected by a handsome majority. In 1862 he
raised the Seventeenth Indiana infantry, and
was chosen its colonel. His regiment was
composed of the rawest of material, but Col.
Harrison employed all his time at first master-.
ing military tactics and drilling his men; when
he therefore came to move toward the east

126

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

with Sherman his regiment was one of the
best drilled and organized in the army. At
Resaca he especially distinguished himself,
and for his bravery at Peachtree Creek he was
made a brigadier general, Gen. Hooker speak
ing of him in the most complimentary terms.
During the absence of Gen. Harrison in
the field the supreme court declared the office
of the supreme court reporter vacant, and
another person was elected to the position.
From the time of leaving Indiana with his
regiment until the fall of 1864 he had taken
no leave of absence, but having been nomi
nated that year for the same office, he got a
thirty-day leave of absence, and during that
time made a brilliant canvass of the state, and
was elected for another term. He then started
to rejoin Sherman, but on the way was
stricken down with scarlet fever, and after a
most trying siege made his way to the front in
time to participate in the closing incidents of
the war.
In 1868 Gen. Harrison declined a re-elec
tion as reporter, and resumed the practice of
law. In 1876 he was a candidate for governor.
Although defeated, the brilliant campaign he
made won for him a national reputation, and
he was much sought, especially in the east, to
make speeches. In 1880, as usual, he took
an active part in the campaign, and was elected
to the United States senate. Here he served
six years, and was known as one of the ablest
men, best lawyers and strongest debaters in
that body. With the expiration of his sena
torial term he returned to the practice of his
profession, becoming the head of one of the
strongest firms in the state of Indiana.
The political campaign of 1888 was one of
the most memorable in the history of our coun
try. The convention, which assembled in
Chicago in June and named Mr. Harrison as
the chief standard bearer of the republican
party, was great in every particular, and on

this account, and the attitude it assumed upon
the vital questions of the day, chief among
which was the tariff, awoke a deep interest in
the campaign throughout the nation. Shortly
after the nomination delegations began to visit
Mr. Harrison at Indianapolis, his home. This
movement became popular, and from all sec
tions of the country societies, clubs and dele
gations journeyed thither to pay their respects
to the distinguished statesman. The popu
larity of these was greatly increased on ac
count of the remarkable speeches made by Mr.
Harrison. He spoke daily all through the
summer and autumn to these visiting delega
tions, and so varied, masterly and eloquent
were his speeches that they at once placed
him in the foremost rank of American orators
and statesmen. On account of his eloquence
as a speaker and his power as a debater, he
was called upon at an uncommonly early age
to take part in the discussion of the great.
questions that then began to agitate the coun
try. He was an uncompromising anti-slavery
man, and was matched against some of the
most eminent democratic speakers of his state.
No man who felt the touch of his blade de
sired to be pitted with him again. With all
his eloquence as an orator he never spoke for
oratorical effect, but his words always went
like bullets to the mark. He is purely Ameri
can in his ideas and is a splendid type of the
American statesman. Gifted with quick per
ception, a logical mind and a ready tongue, he
is one of the most distinguished impromptu
speakers in the nation. Original in thought,
precise in logic, terse in statement, yet withal
faultless in eloquence, he is recognized as the
sound statesman and brilliant orator of the
day. His term of office as president of the
United States expired on March 4, 1893, when
he surrendered the high position to Stephen
Grover Cleveland, allusion to which fact is
made on a preceding page.

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

HRTHUR ST. CLAIR, one of the most
noted characters of our early colonial
days, was a native of Scotland, being
born at Edinburg in 1735. Becom
ing a surgeon in the British army, he subse
quently crossed the Atlantic with his regiment
arid thenceforward was identified with the
history of this country until the day of his
death. Serving as a lieutenant with Wolfe in
the memorable campaign against Quebec, St.
Clair won sufficient reputation to obtain ap
pointment as commander of Fort Ligonier, Pa. ,
where a large tract of land was granted to him.
During the Revolutionary war he espoused the
colonial cause, and before its close had risen
to the rank of major-general. In 1875 he was
elected a delegate to the Continental congress
and afterward became its president. After the
passage of the ordinance of 1787, St. Clair
was appointed first military governor of the
Northwest territory, which then embraced the
territory now comprised within the boundaries
of the present state of Ohio, with headquarters
at Fort Washington, now Cincinnati. In 179 1
he undertook an expedition against the north
western Indians, which resulted in the great
disaster known in western history as "St
Clair's defeat. " On November 4 the Indians
surprised and routed his whole force of about
1,400 regulars and militia, in what is now

Darke county, Ohio, killing over 900 men and
capturing his artillery and camp equipage.
Gen. St. Clair held the office of territorial
governor until 1802, when he was removed by
President Jefferson. He returned to Ligonier,
Pa., poor, aged and infirm. The state granted
him an annuity which enabled him to pass the
last years of his life in comfort. He died near
Greensburgh, Pa., August 31, 18 18, leaving a
family of one son and three daughters.

aHARLES WILLING BYRD, who was
secretary of the Northwest territory,
and who succeeded Gov. St. Clair as
governor, on the removal of the latter
from office, was born in Virginia, received a
liberal education and settled in Ohio. While
it is not practicable to find fully authentic
material for a full biography of Gov. Byrd,
it may be of interest to recite briefly the rea
sons for the removal of Gov. St. Clair, which
are of course the reasons for Mr. Byrd becom
ing governor of the territory. St. Clair's gov
ernment was very unpopular, and when the
people became desirous of forming a state gov
ernment in 1 80 1, and found themselves unable
to secure a majority of the legislature, they
sent Thomas Worthington to congress to ob
tain if possible a law under which a conven-

132

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

tion could be called to consider the expediency
of forming a state, and framing a constitution
therefor. This convention met in Chillicothe
in November, 1802, voted to form a state gov
ernment and adopted a constitution, all this
notwithstanding the fact that the territory did
not then contain the 60,000 inhabitants re
quired at that time.
But this was a small difficulty compared
with the prohibition in the ordinance of 1787
against slavery in the territory of the north
west. This clause tended to prevent immigra
tion to Ohio from Virginia and other southern
states; and the attempt was made to so frame
a constitution for the new state that slavery in
a somewhat modified form could be established.
When this clause was proposed it was discov
ered by the opponents of slavery that on the
morrow there would be a majority of one in its
favor, and thus, if it were adopted, the curse
of slavery would be fixed upon the state.
Judge Ephraim Cutler, of Washington county,
a delegate to the convention, and a son of
one of the principal framers of the ordinance
of 1787, was lying sick in bed, when this situ
ation was revealed, and Gen. Putnam, hasten
ing to his bedside, urged him to reach the con
vention hall at the earliest practicable moment
the next morning. Judge Cutler having next
day reached the hall, made an impassioned
appeal to the delegates in opposition to the
proposed action of the convention, and won
over the one delegate necessary to save the
state from the blighting curse of slavery.
Gov. St. Clair and his friends looked upon
the convention as little short of revolutionary,
the governor taking strong grounds against the
formation of a state government, before the
convention began the labors of the day. Their
utter disregard of this advice filled him with
irritation, and in the bitterness of his heart he
declared, in the hearing of unfriendly listeners,
that he no longer had confidence in republican

institutions, and that in his opinion, without
some stronger form of government, anarchy
seemed inevitable. These remarks were quickly
reported to President Thomas Jefferson, who
immediately removed St. Clair from his office,
and the secretary of the territory, Charles W.
Byrd, became acting governor, serving until
the state government was formed under the
constitution, which, as framed by the conven
tion, was declared by that convention, without
having been submitted to the people for their
ratification, to be the fundamental law of the
land. After the expiration of his brief term as
governor of the Northwest territory, Gov.
Byrd was appointed by President Jefferson
United States judge for the district of Ohio.

eDWARD TIFFIN, first governor of
Ohio upon the organization of the
state, in 1803, was a native of Eng
land, born in the city of Carlisle on
the 19th day of June, 1766. After coming to
the United States he studied medicine, located
at Charlestown, W. Va. , in 1784, and in 1789
received his degree from the university of Penn
sylvania. In the year last named he was
united in marriage with Mary Worthington,
sister of Gov. Thomas Worthington, and in
1790 united with the Methodist church, of
which he soon afterward became a local
preacher. In 1796 Mr. Tiffin settled at Chilli
cothe, Ohio, where he preached and practiced
medicine, and was instrumental in organizing
a number of local congregations in that part of
the state. The same year he was elected to the
legislature of the Northwest territory, became
speaker of that body, and in 1 802 was chosen
president of the convention that formed the
state constitution. He proved to be a potential
factor in political affairs, and in 1803 was
elected first governor of the state under the
constitution. He was re-elected in 1805, and

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

133

proved a most capable chief executive, but re
signed in 1807 to become United States sena
tor, having been elected to the latter body as
successor to his brother-in-law, Hon. Thomas
Worthington. Gov. Tiffin's senatorial career
was cut short on account of the death of his
wife, by reason of which he resigned in March,
1809, and for a time lived a retired life. Sub
sequently he married again, and afterward was
elected to the lower house of the state legis
lature, in which he served two terms as speaker.
At the expiration of his legislative experi
ence, Gov. Tiffin resumed the practice of medi
cine at Chillicothe, and in 18 12 was appointed
by President Madison commissioner of the
general land office, having been the first person
to fill that position. On assuming his official
functions he removed to the national capital
and organized the system that has obtained
in the land office until the present time; in
18 14 he was instrumental in having the papers
of 'his office removed to Virginia, thus saving
them from destruction when the public build
ings in Washington were burned by the British.
Becoming dissatisfied with residing in Wash
ington and wishing to return west, Gov. Tiffin
succeeded in exchanging his position for that of
surveyor of public lands northwest of the Ohio
river, held by Josiah Meigs, the change being
sanctioned by the president and senate, and he
discharged the duties of the latter position
until July, 1829, receiving while on his death
bed an order from President Jackson to deliver
the office to a successor. During his long
period of public service, Gov. Tiffin maintained
most scrupulously his ministerial relations, and
preached the gospel whenever occasion would
.admit. He was on familiar terms with Gen.
Washington, who always spoke of him in terms
of praise, and he will always be remembered
as one of the leading spirits in the formative
period of Ohio's history. His death occurred
at Chillicothe on the 9th day of August, 1829.

HOMAS KIRKER, who succeeded
Edward Tiffin as governor of Ohio, is
one of the few governors of the state
of whom but little can be learned.
In 1807 there was a remarkable contest for
the governorship of the state. The two oppos
ing candidates were Return Jonathan Meigs
and Nathaniel Massie. The former received a
majority of the votes, and therefore, so far as
the people were concerned, was elected gov
ernor of the state. The general assembly, how
ever, declared him to be ineligible to the
office, on the ground that he was not a resi
dent of the state, and as Mr. Massie had not
received a sufficient number of votes, he had
not been elected governor, and the election
was therefore entirely void. Hon. Thomas
Kirker bing then speaker of the state senate,
became acting governor by virtue of his office
as speaker, when Gov. Edward Tiffin resigned
his office in order to take his seat in the United
States senate. Gov. Kirker remained in the
office of governor until after the election, in
1808, of Samuel Huntington, who had been
elected by the people. At the time of serving
as governor he was a resident of Adams county,
and he served in the general assembly of the
state for twenty-five years.

^"V'AMUEL HUNTINGTON, the second
<Y^^a! g°vernor elected by the people of
j^ J Ohio, was born at Norwich, Conn.,
in 1765, and graduated at Yale col
lege in 1785. He adopted the profession of
law, in 1795 married a lady of his own name,
and attended strictly to the duties of his pro
fession in the town of his birth until the year
1800, when he resolved to visit that western
country which was then attracting to it so
many residents of the New England states.
First stopping at Youngstown, Ohio, he from
there went to Marietta, where he spent the

134

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

summer, and in the fall of that year returned
to Norwich. The following spring, taking his
wife and children in an Ohio wagon (then so
called), they arrived, after weeks of toilsome
travel, at Cleveland, then a settlement of
doubtful name as a healthy abode, as they
found that many who had preceded them had
vacated the cabins they had first built and
had removed to the higher ground back of the
town to escape the sickness so prevalent near
the lake. He erected a strongly-built house,
as attacks by drunken and riotous Indians were
not uncommon. Mr. Huntington soon. entered
upon public life. Gen. Saint Clair appointed
him second in command of a regiment of
Trumbull county militia, and he was shortly
afterward elevated to the position of presiding
judge in the first court in that part of the ter
ritory. In 1802 he was a member of the con
stitutional convention, and by that body ap
pointed state senator from Trumbull county,
the name then borne by the territory now
known as the northeastern portion of the state
and which at present is divided into six coun
ties.' For some time he was speaker or presi
dent of the state senate, and by the legislature
elected to a seat on the supreme bench. When
Michigan was organized as a territory Judge
Huntington was offered the position of judge
of the district court of that territory, but this
he declined, as well as other important offices
which were pressed upon him. The prevailing
unhealthiness of Cleveland finally induced him
to remove his residence to Newburg, where he
erected a grist-milll, then a very important
construction and advantageous to the settlers.
In 1809 he purchased a mill, located on the
eastern shore of Grand river, between Paines-
ville and the lake, and erected a mansion —
commodious, and, for those days, rather im
posing in its style of architecture. This house
remains to attest by its position the good taste
of him who built it. A conflict of authority

arose between the legislative and judicial de
partments of the state while Judge Huntington
was on the supreme bench. The legislature
passed a law conferring certain rights upon
justices of the peace which the judges of the
supreme court declared to be unconstitutional.
Thereupon the whole house filed articles of
impeachment against the judges, but in the
midst of this confusion the people of Ohio had
elected Judge Huntington governor of the state.
He, having resigned, was therefore not brought
to trial, and it being impossible to obtain two-
thirds of the legislative vote against the other
two judges, they consequently escaped convic
tion. Nothing of particular moment occurred
the term he held office, but his prominence
prevented his retiring to private life. In 18 12
he was, during the second war with Great
Britain, a member of the Ohio legislature.
The destruction of life and property by the
Indians during that year was such that Gov.
Huntington, having with Gen. Cass visited
Washington to represent to the authorities
there the condition of affairs in Ohio, was ap
pointed district paymaster, with the rank of
colonel, and returned to the camp of Gen.
Harrison with a supply of funds in the shape
of government drafts. He remained for many
months in the army and until peace was de
clared, when he returned to his home, where
he subsequently lived peacefully until 18 17,
during which year he died a comparatively
young man, being but fifty-two years old. His
character for strict integrity, great executive
ability and accomplished scholarship was sec
ond to that of no other governor.

SETURN JONATHAN MEIGS, who
succeeded Samuel Huntington in the
gubernatorial chair, was born in Mid-
dletown, Conn., in March, 1765, the
son of Return J. Meigs, a distinguished Ameri-

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

135

can soldier, whose name is inseparably con
nected with the war of American independence.
Gov. Meigs was graduated from Yale college
in 1785, after which he studied law and began
the practice of the same at Marietta, Ohio, at
which place his father had previously settled.
He entered the army at the breaking out of
the Indian war, and was sent on a commission
to the British commander at Detroit, by Gen.
St. Clair, in 1790, and later took part in a
number of battles with the savages. He rose
rapidly in his profession and in 1803-4 was
chief justice of the Ohio supreme court; later
he had charge of the Saint Charles circuit in
Louisiana until 1806, with the brevet rank of
lieutenant-colonel in the United States army,
being also judge of the supreme court of said
district during the years of 1805 and 1806.
Mr. Meigs was further honored, in 1807, by
being appointed judge of the United States
district court of Michigan, in which capacity
he continued until 1808, when he was elected
to the United States senate from Ohio. The
honorable distinction acquired by Mr. Meigs
as a jurist was not dimmed by his senatorial
experience, and his record in the national legis
lature is replete with duty ably and conscien
tiously performed. He served in the senate
from January, 1809, till May, 1810.
In October, 1807, Mr. Meigs was the dem
ocratic candidate for governor of Ohio, and
after the election, which went in his favor by
a decided majority, his competitor, Nathaniel
Massie, contested the same on the ground that
Meigs had not been a resident of the state for
the four years next preceding the election, as
provided by the constitution. The general
assembly, in joint convention, decided that
Meigs was not entitled to the office, but it does
not appear that his competitor was allowed to
assume the same; Thomas Kirker, acting gov
ernor, continued to discharge the duties of the
office until December, 1808, when Samuel

Huntington was inaugurated as his immediate
successor. In 1 8 10 Mr. Meigs was again a candidate
for governor, and at the ensuing election was
victorious, defeating his competitor by a
large majority. He was triumphantly re
elected in 18 1 2 and filled the office with dis
tinguished ability during the trying years of
the last war with England, his services in be
half of the national government throughout
that struggle being far greater than those of
any other governor, and of such a patriotic
character as to elicit the warmest praise from
the president and others high in authority.
He assisted in the organization of the state
militia, garrisoned the forts on the border,
thus securing safety to the exposed settlements,
and did much toward strengthening the army
under Gen. Harrison. Near the expiration of
his gubernatorial term, in 18 14, Gov. Meigs
resigned to accept the appointment of post
master-general in the cabinet of President
Madison, to fill the place made vacant by the
death of Gideon Granger; he continued in
office under President Monroe until 1823, in
December of which year he retired from active
life and spent the remainder of his days at his.
home in Marietta, dying March 29, 1825.

OTHNIEL LOOKER, the fourth gov
ernor of Ohio, was born in the state of
New York in 1757. He was a private
soldier in the Revolutionary war, go
ing into the army from his native state, and serv
ing through the war. He was a man of humble
origin and a farmer most of his life. In 1784,
having received a land warrant for his services
during the war of the Revolution, he crossed the
Alleghany mountains, and located his land in
what was then the wilderness of the territory
northwest of the Ohio river, within the limits of
the future state of the same name. Upon this

136

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

grant he erected his cabin and began the labor
of clearing his farm, as did other pioneers of
his day. Upon the organization of the state
he was elected a member of the lower house of
the general assembly, and by increasing his
knowledge and acquaintanceship with the peo
ple of the new state, he so rose in popular favor
and esteem as to be elected to the senate. Of
this body he eventually became president, and
by virtue of holding this office, when Gov.
Return J. Meigs resigned, in 1814, to accept
the position of postmaster-general in the cabi
net of President Madison, became governor of
Ohio. He served eight months, and afterward
was a candidate before the people for election
to the office of govenor, but was defeated by
his opponent, Thomas Worthington. Mr.
Looker afterward returned to his farm, where
he lived respected by all for his unusual intelli
gence, his clear logical mind, and his pleasing
disposition. But little else is known of Gov.
Looker, except that he died unmarried.

IHOMAS WORTHINGTON, fourth
elected governor of Ohio, was born
near Charlestown, Va. , July 16, 1773.
He received a liberal education, but
when a young man went to sea and continued
before the mast for three years — from 1790 to
1793. In 1797 he became a resident of Ross
county, Ohio, served as a member of the ter
ritorial legislature in 1 799-1 801, and was
chosen delegate to the state constitutional
convention in the year 1802. He was elected
to the United States senate as a democrat
immediately after the adoption of the state
constitution and served in that body from
October 17, 1803, till March 7, 1807; was
again chosen to fill the unexpired term caused
by the resignation of Return J. Meigs, Jr., and
served from January 8, 181 1, until his resigna
tion in 1 8 14. Mr. Worthington was elected

governor of Ohio in 18 14 and served till 1818
— having been chosen his own successor in
1 8 16. After the expiration of his second
gubernatorial term Gov. Worthington became
canal commissioner, which position he held
till his death. He was a public -spirited man
and to him is the great commonwealth not a
little indebted for much of its development
and prosperity.
To Gov. Worthington belongs the unique
distinction of being the only Ohio governor
ever arrested and started to jail for debt. In
181 5 or 1 8 16, Gov. Worthington contracted
with Judge Jarvis Pike to grub and chop the
timber off the present state-house square. The
governor was a non-resident of Franklin
county, residing at Chillicothe. Some mis
understanding arose as to the payment of
Judge Pike for his labors, whereupon he sued
a capias from the court of Squire King, and
had the governor arrested and marched off to
jail. He was not locked up, however, the
matter having been amicably adjusted. Gov.
Worthington departed this life in the city of
New York, June 20, 1827.

eTHAN ALLEN BROWN, seventh
governor and the fifth elected by the
people of Ohio, was born on the
shores of Long Island Sound in Fair
field county, Conn., July 4, 1766, and died at
Indianapolis, Ind., February 24, 1852. His
father, Roger Brown, was an intelligent
farmer of wealth, who, to secure the advan
tages of a liberal education for his children,
employed a teacher of good ability to instruct
them at home. Under such tuition Ethan's
quickness of apprehension and extraordinary
memory enabled him to acquire a knowledge
of the Latin, Greek and French languages not
inferior to that of most college graduates of
the present day. Having determined to adopt

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

137

the profession of a lawyer, he then procured
the necessary books and began the study of
law at home, at the same time assisting in the
labors of his father's farm. After thus ac
quiring some legal knowledge he went to New
York city and entered the law office of Alex
ander Hamilton, who, as a lawyer and states
man, had achieved at that time a national
reputation. Here he soon won the esteem
and friendship of Mr. Hamilton, while also he
was brought into contact with others of the
ablest men of the day, and, mingling with the
most refined and cultivated society of the city,
his mind was developed and stimulated and he
acquired the elegance and polish of manners
for which he was remarkable in after-life.
Diverted from the study of law at this time,
he engaged in business, by which he obtained
very considerable property, but subsequently
he again entered upon his neglected study, and
in 1802 he was admitted to practice. Then,
urged by love of adventure and a desire to see
the principal portion of that state which, in
that year, had qualified for admission into the
Union, he, with a cousin, Capt. John Brown,
started on horseback and followed the Indian
trails from east to west through middle and
western Pennsylvania until they reached
Brownsville on the Monongahela river. Hav
ing brought a considerable sum of money with
them they here purchased two flat-bottomed
boats, loaded them with flour, and placing
crews upon them started for New Orleans,
which city they reached in safety, but not be
ing able to sell their cargoes to advantage they
shipped the flour to Liverpool, England, and
took passage themselves in the same vessel.
Having disposed of their flour at good prices,
they returned to America, landing at Baltimore
the same year. Then his father, wishing to
secure a large tract of western land, eventually
to make it his home, he empowered his son to
select and purchase the same, which he pro

ceeded to do, locating it near the present town
of Rising Sun, Ind., that locality having
attracted his attention on his flat-boat trip to
New Orleans. Hither his father removed
from Connecticut, in 18 14, when that part of
the Northwest territory which subsequently
became Indiana was canvassing delegates to
hold a territorial convention.
Ten years subsequently, however, and after
securing the land mentioned, Ethan Allen
Brown began the practice of law in Cincinnati,
where he soon took a prominent position in the
profession and secured a large income for his
professional services. In 18 10 he was chosen
by the Ohio legislature a judge of the supreme
court of the state, a position he held with dis
tinguished ability during the eight following
years, and in 18 18 was elected governor of the
state. His administration is marked for the
prosecution and completion of important inter
nal improvements, among the chief of which
may be mentioned that important work, the
"Ohio canal," and which was nicknamed
" Brown's Folly. " In 1820 he was re-elected,
and in 1821 elected to the United States senate
and served one term with distinction. In 1830
he was appointed minister to Brazil, remaining
in that country four years and giving general
satisfaction, when he resigned and came home.
A few months later, at the urgent request of
President Andrew Jackson, he accepted the
position of commissioner of public lands, held
the office two years, and then retired finally
from public life. Gov. Brown never married,
and the close of his life was spent among his
relatives at Rising Sun. After reaching the age
of eighty -two years, with not more than a week's
sickness during all the years of his long life,
he died suddenly while attending a democratic
convention at Indianapolis, and was buried at
Rising Sun, near the grave of his venerated
father, leaving an enduring record of a useful
and well-spent life.

138

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

HLLEN TRIMBLE, who filled out the
unexpired term of Ethan Allen Brown
as governor of Ohio, and also served
as governor by election from 1827 to
1830, was born in Augusta county, Va. , March
24, 1783. He was the son of. Capt. James
Trimble, who removed in 1784 to Lexington,
Ky., and who died in that state about the year
1804. Later Allen Trimble came to Ohio,
settling in the county of Highland, where he
served in various official positions, including
those of clerk of the courts and recording sec
retary, filling the last two offices for a period
of about seven years. He took part in the
war of 1 812 as commander of a regiment of
mounted troops under Gen. William Henry
Harrison, and in 18 16 was chosen a member
of the state legislature. Subsequently, from
1 8 1 7 to 1826, he served as state senator, and
was also speaker of the house for several terms.
In 1 82 1 he was appointed governor, and, as
already stated, was elected to the office in 1 826,
and discharged the duties of the position in
an eminently satisfactory manner until 1830.
In 1846, Gov. Trimble was chosen president
of the state board of agriculture, being the
first man honored with that office, and served
as such until 1848. While governor he was
untiring in promoting the cause of education
in Ohio, and the present excellent public
school system is indebted to him for much of
its efficiency; he also encouraged manufactur
ing and did much toward improving the penal
institutions of the state. Politically Gov.
Trimble was a federalist; his death occurred at
Hillsborough, Ohio, February 2, 1870.

>TJEREMIAH MORROW, sixth governor
M elected under the state constitution,
A ¦ was born in Gettysburg, Pa., October
6, 1 77 1. In early manhood he removed
to the Northwest territory and in 1802 was

chosen delegate to the convention that framed
the constitution of Ohio. Politically he was
an ardent democrat, and in 1803 was elected
a representative in the congress of the United
States, in which body he served for a period
of ten years. He did much toward promoting
legislation in behalf of the western section of
the United States, and for some time was
chairman of the committee on public lands.
In 1 8 14 he was commissioner to treat with the
Indians west of the Miami river, and from 18 13
till 1 8 19 served with distinction in the United
States senate. In 1822 Mr. Morrow was elected
governor of Ohio and served as such until 1826,
having been re-elected in 1824. From 1826
to 1828 he was state senator, later became
canal commissioner, and for some time served
as president of the Little Miami Railroad com
pany. In 1 841 he was again elected to repre
sent his district in the national house of repre
sentatives, in which capacity he served a single
term. Gov. Morrow left the impress of his
character on the commonwealth and his is
among the many illustrious names which have
given Ohio so prominent a position among her
sister states; his death occurred in the county
of Warren, on the 22nd day of March, 1852.

t*S~\ UNCAN McARTHUR, distinguished
l I as a soldier and statesman, and gov-
/*\^y ernor of Ohio from 1831 to 1832, was
a native of the state of New York,
born in the county of Dutchess, on the 14th
day of June, 1772. When he was a mere lad
his parents emigrated to the western part of
Pennsylvania, and at the age of eighteen
he volunteered in Gen. Harmar's expedition
against the Miami Indians, in which he dis
tinguished himself by many acts of bravery.
Subsequently he acted as scout in the warfare
with the Indians in Ohio and Kentucky, and
after the cessation of hostilities, in 1 794, set-

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

139

tied near Chillicothe, Ohio, where he became
the possessor of large tracts of real estate.
For some years after settling in Ohio Gov.
McArthur followed the profession of civil engi
neer, later he became interested in political
matters and in 1805 was elected to the lower
house of the Ohio legislature. In 1808 he was
appointed major-general of the territorial mili
tia, and at the begirining of the war of 18 12
was commissioned colonel of the First Ohio
volunteers. He was second in command at
Detroit, when that ill-fated post was surren
dered to the British by Gen. Hull, and it is
stated that so great was his chagrin and anger
at the capitulation that he tore off his epau
lettes and broke his sword in a fit of indigna
tion. Gov. McArthur was commissioned brig
adier-general in 18 1 3, and upon the resigna
tion of Gen. William Henry Harrison the year
following, he succeeded to the command of
the western army. He planned the conquest
of Canada, crossed the Saint Clair river in
18 14 with a strong force, and after consider
able manuvering returned to Detroit by way of
Saint Thomas, and discharged his force at
Sandwich the latter part of the aforesaid year.
In the meantime, 18 13, he had been elected
by the democrats to a seat in the congress of
the United States, but declined to leave the
army, remaining with the command until hon
orably discharged June 15, 1815. On leaving
the army Gov. McArthur was returned to the
state legislature, and during the years 18 16-17
served as commissioner to negotiate treaties
with the Indians, by which their lands in Ohio
were ceded to the general government in 1818.
From 18 1 7 to 18 19 he was again a member of
the lower house of the legislature, of which he
was made speaker, and in 1822 was elected
to congress on the democratic ticket and served
as a member of that body from December 1,
1823, till March, 1825. In 1830 he was
elected governor of Ohio, which position he

filled very acceptably for one term, and in
1832 was again a candidate for congress, but
lost the election by a single ballot.
The record of Gov. McArthur, both mili
tary and civil, is without a blemish, and he
will ever be remembered as one of the leading
soldiers and officers of the great commonwealth
of Ohio. While governor he suffered severe
injuries from an accident, and never entirely
recovered from the effects of the same. He
died near Chillicothe, on the 28th day of
April, 1839.

KOBERT LUCAS, the immediate suc
cessor of Duncan McArthur, was born
in Shepherdstown, Va., April 1,1781,
and was a direct descendant of Will
iam Penn, the founder of the commonwealth
of Pennsylvania. His father bore a distin
guished part in the war of the Revolution,
serving thoughout that struggle as captain in
the American army, and was a trusted friend
of Gen. Washington. Robert Lucas spent his
youthful years in his native state, and about
the beginning of the present century removed
to Ohio, where in due time he became major-
general of the state militia. Subsequently he
was commissioned captain in the Ninteenth
United States infantry, and in February, 181 3,
became lieutenant-colonel of the same, serving
as such until June of the same year, when he
resigned. Immediately after leaving the gov
ernment service Mr. Lucas was made brigadier-
general of Ohio militia, and as such served from
July, 1813, till the following September, in
defense of the frontier. In 1 8 14 he was elected
to the Ohio legislature, in the deliberations of
which he took a prominent part, and in 1832
presided over the democratic national conven
tion which nominated Andrew Jackson for a
second term. In 1832 General Lucas was
elected governor of Ohio, was re-elected in

140

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

1834, and in 1838 was made first territorial
governor of Iowa, at which time the now state
of that name was erected into a territory, in
cluding Minnesota and the Dakotas, and De
cember 28, 1846, as a state. He was a man
of marked ability, possessing great energy, and
was noted as a man of strong impulses and
strict integrity. He died February 7, 1853, in
Iowa City, at the advanced age of nearly sev
enty-two years.

>^*OSEPH VANCE, governor of Ohio for
M one term, 1837-38, was a native of
A J Pennsylvania, born March 21, 1 781, in
the county of Washington, of Scotch-
Irish descent. While quite young he was taken
by his parents to Kentucky, where he grew to
manhood, after which he removed to Ohio,
locating at Urbana, where he became a suc
cessful merchant and married Miss Mary
Lemen, of that city. Subsequently he turned
his attention to farming and stock raising, in
which he also met with success and financial
profit, in the meantime becoming conversant
with public affairs. Gov. Vance, becoming
quite popular, was elected to and served in the
legislature in 1812-16, and in 1822 was elected
to the congress of the United States, in which
he served by successive re-elections until
March, 1835. Originally Gov. Vance was a
democrat, and as such was elected to the
aforesaid offices, but later he became a whig,
which party sent him to congress in 1842. He
served through two terms, during one of them
as chairman of the committee on claims. In
the meantime, 1836, he was elected governor,
and as chief executive of the commonwealth
his record will compare favorably with those of
his illustrious predecessors and successors. He
was a delegate to the whig national conven
tion of 1848, and while attending the consti
tutional convention of 1850 was stricken with

paralysis, from which he suffered extremely
until his death, August 24, 1852, near the city
of Urbana.

'ILSON SHANNON, the eleventh
governor of Ohio whom the people

\_jLA elected, was born F ebruary 24, 1 803,
in Belmont county, and was the first
white child born in Mount Olivet township,
that county. He was also the first governor
of Ohio who was a native of the state. His
parents crossed the Alleghany mountains from
Pennsylvania and settled in Belmont • county,
Ohio, in 1802. In January of the next year
the father of the future governor, whose name
was George Shannon, and who had settled on
a farm, upon his arrival in that county went
out hunting. Late in the day, while returning
home, he lost his way, became bewildered and
wandered round and round, finally sitting down
by a large maple tree and freezing to death.
His tracks were plainly visible next morning
in the deep snow that had fallen during
the night.
Upon the farm his father had selected
young Wilson Shannon was reared. When
fifteen years old he attended the Ohio univer
sity at Athens, remaining one year, and for
two years afterward was a student at the
Transylvania university at Lexington, Ky.
Returning home, he began the study of law in
the office of Charles Hammond and David
Jennings, completing his studies with them in
Saint Clairsville, which town became the
county seat. There he practiced for eight
years. In 1832 he was the democratic nomi
nee for congress, but was defeated by a small
majority. In 1834 he was elected prosecuting
attorney, and was so assiduous in the perform
ance of his duties that his party elected him
governor of the state in 1838 by a majority of
3,600. At the close of his first term he was

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

141

again a candidate, but was defeated by his
opponent, Thomas Corwin, the whig candi
date, who was opposed to slavery, while Gov.
Shannon, together with the entire democratic
party, favored it. The most remarkable thing
about this election was that the democratic
candidate for president carried the state by
about 25,000 majority. Gov. Shannon then
returned to Belmont county to the practice of
the law. In 1842 he was again elected gov
ernor of the state over Gov. Corwin, both of
whom during the campaign had thoroughly
canvassed the entire state, as they had done
in 1840. In the spring of 1843 President Tyler
offered Gov. Shannon the appointment of
minister to Mexico, which he accepted, resign
ing his governorship and going to the city of
Mexico, where he remained two years, when
he was compelled to return home, because
Mexico, on account of difficulties between the
two countries over the annexation of Texas to
the Union, severed all diplomatic relations
with the United States. After being then en
gaged for several years in the practice of the
law, Gov. Shannon was elected to congress by
a majority of 1,300. In congress, by the man
ner in which he performed his duties, he
attracted the attention of President Pierce,
and was appointed territorial governor of
Kansas, the most difficult position he had tried
to fill. The contest on the soil of Kansas was
more bitter and persistent than anywhere in
the country, both pro-slavery and anti-slavery
partisans being determined to carry out their
own views in that state. It was therefore
impossible for any man to preserve peace
within her borders, especially as the weight of
the administration at Washington was in favor
of the pro-slavery party. Shannon, therefore,
after fourteen months as governor in Kansas,
was superseded by John W. Geary, who gave
but little better satisfaction than had Gov.

Shannon. The following year Gov. Shannon
removed his family to Lecompton, Kans., the
capital, and began the practice of the law in
that turbulent state. His reputation soon
gained for him a very large and profitable
practice, as there was much litigation under
the pre-emption laws of the United States.
When Kansas was admitted to the Union,
Topeka became the capital, Lecompton rap
idly declined, and Gov. Shannon removed his
office and residence to Lawrence, where he
resided until his death, highly regarded by all
who knew him as having been a faithful public
servant, and as a most conscientious man.
His death occurred in September, 1877.

HOMAS CORWIN, the twelfth gov
ernor of Ohio elected by the people,
was born in Bourbon county, Ky.,
July 29, 1794. In 1798 his father,
Matthias Corwin, who subsequently became a
judge, removed to what afterward became
Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, and there, in
a log school-house, taught by a school teacher
named Dunlevy, young Corwin obtained what
was then considered a thorough English edu
cation. When he was seventeen years old he
drove a wagon-load of provisions for the army
to the headquarters of Gen. Harrison, and this
event had a potential influence upon his sub
sequent career. In 181 7, after having studied
law one year, he was admitted to practice, and
in March, 18 18, was elected prosecuting attor
ney of his county. . In 1822 he was elected to
the legislature, having become by this time a
well-read lawyer and a fluent speaker. Re
turning to his law practice he was again elected
prosecuting attorney. In 1829 he was again
elected to the Ohio legislature, and the follow
ing year to congress on the whig ticket. By
subsequent re-elections he was kept in congress
for ten years. In 1840 he was elected gov-

142

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

ernor of Ohio, serving one term. In 1845 ne
was elected to the United States senate, and
discharged his duties there with great ability and
faithfulness until 1850. It is on his attitude
while in this body that his memory will be per
petuated to posterity, for he showed the great
est courage imaginable, and took the true
ground in reference to the war with Mexico,
which is now generally recognized as a wholly
unnecessary and unwarranted war, begun with
out proper authority from congress, and solely
for the purpose of conquest, in order that
slavery might be extended into free territory.
His speech against that war was bold, pa
triotic and high-toned, and it is probable that
had he subsequently been consistent in the
attitude he then assumed his party would have
made him its candidate for the presidency in
1852, but he became an advocate of the Wil
mot proviso, which by many is believed to
have sealed his political career, so far as
national promotion is concerned. For his ac
tion, however, in connection with this proviso,
he was appointed, by President Fillmore, sec
retary of the United States treasury, a position
which he held until 1852, when he resigned,
and returned to private life among the hills of
Warren county.
Not long afterward he opened a law office
in Cincinnati, and was again elected to con
gress in 1858 and i860. By President Lincoln
he was appointed minister to Mexico, and on
April 1 1 , i,86 1 , he embarked for Vera Cruz,
whence he went to the city of Mexico, where
he served his country efficiently until the close
of the war, returning to the United States in
April, 1865, opening a law office in Washington,
D. C, but had no more than, settled down to
practice there than he was stricken with apo
plexy, and died after an illness of three days.
While he was in congress he never rose to
speak unless he had something to say; hence
he always commanded the attention of that

branch in which he was serving. His great
ness in oratory is beyond question, his patriot
ism no one ever doubted, and in his private
life, from boyhood until his death, every one
recognized the integrity and purity of his char
acter, which, during his whole public career,
took on the form of the highest sense of honor,
and through which he always maintained his
reputation among his countrymen.
November 13, 1822, he married Miss Sarah
Ross, a sister of Hon. Thomas R. Ross, who
served three terms in congress. By his mar
riage he had no children, so that he left noth
ing to his country but his labor therefor and
his great and his everlasting fame.

HOMAS WELLES BARTLEY, who
succeeded Gov. Wilson Shannon as
governor of Ohio, upon that gentle
man's resignation, as mentioned in his
life above inserted, was born February 11,
18 1 2, at the home of his parents, in Jefferson
county, Ohio. His ancestry emigrated from
Northumberland county, England, in 1724,
and settled in Londoun county, Va., but sub
sequently removed to Fayette county, Pa.,
where his father, Mordecai Bartley, was born.
His mother was Elizabeth Welles, and Gov.
Bartley was named Thomas Welles, from her
father, Thomas Welles, of Brownsville, Pa.
Having received a liberal education under his
father's care and guidance, and having grad
uated with the degree of bachelor of arts
from Washington & Jefferson college, a Pres
byterian institution of learning located at
Washington Pa., and founded in 1802, Mr.
Bartley studied law in Washington, D. C,
and was licensed to practice at Mansfield,
Ohio, in 1834. The following year he had
conferred upon him by his alma mater the
honorary degree of master of arts. Having
taken a high position at the bar he was elected

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

143

attorney-general of Ohio and served as such
four years; being afterward appointed United
States district attorney, he served in that po
sition also four years. Subsequently he was
elected to the lower house of the general as
sembly of the state, served therein one term,
and was then elected to the state senate, in
which he served four years. While president
of the senate of Ohio, in 1844, he became
governor of the state, through the resignation
of Gov. Shannon, who had been appointed,
by President Tyler, minister to Mexico, and
he administered the affairs of the office until
he was succeeded therein by his father, Mor-
decai Bartley, in December of that year.
In 1 85 1 he was elected judge of the su
preme court of the state, served two terms in
this high position, and then resumed the prac
tice of the law, in Cincinnati, continuing there,
thus engaged, for several years, when, owing
to the ill health of his family, he removed, in
1869, to Washington, D. C, where he followed
his profession until his death.
Gov. Bartley was a sound attorney, a faith
ful public official, a wise judge and a most
courteous gentleman, and his removal to the
capital of the nation placed him in a field
where he enjoyed full scope for the exercise of
his powers, untrammeled by local politics, for
in that city, where the people have no vote,
politics does not enter into their business and
their profession as it does elsewhere in the
United States. Gov. Bartley is well remem
bered by many of the leading men of the state.

(D

ORDECAI BARTLEY, who suc
ceeded his son Thomas W. Bartley
as governor, was born in Fayette
county, Pa., December 16, 1783.
He was reared to manhood on his father's
farm, attended school at intervals during his
minority, and in 1809 moved to Ohio. He

tendered his services to the government in the
war of 1812, served as captain and adjutant
under Gen. William Henry Harrison, and on
leaving the army settled, in 18 14, in Richland
county, where he remained until his removal
to the city of Mansfield in 1834. For some
years Mr. Bartley was engaged in mercantile
pursuits in Mansfield, but previous to locating
there, had served as a member of the Ohio
state senate, to which he was elected in 18 17.
In 18 1 8 he was chosen, by the legislature,
registrar of the land office of Virginia Mili
tary school-lands, which position he held until
1823, when he resigned in order to take his
seat in the congress of the United States, to
which he had been elected in the meantime.
He served in congress until March, 1831, and
in 1844 was elected, on the whig ticket, gov
ernor of the state, the functions of which office
he discharged in a very creditable manner
until 1846, declining a renomination and retir
ing to private life. After the nomination by
the whigs for governor of Mordecai Bartley, the
democrats in their convention, in the same
year, came within one or two votes of placing
his son Thomas once again in the field as his
opponent. Gov. Bartley was very decided in
his opposition to the Mexican war, but when
the president issued a call for troops, he
promptly responded and superintended the
organization of the Ohio forces in person.
Politically Gov. Bartley affiliated with the
whigs until the disruption of that party, after
which he espoused the cause of the republican
party. He died in the city of Mansfield Oc
tober 10, 1770.

m

ILLIAM BEBB, lawyer and judge,
the fourteenth governor elected by
the people of Ohio, was born in
Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1804, and
died at his home in Rock River county, 111.,

144

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

October 23, 1873. His father emigrated from
Wales, Great Britian, in 1795, and first located
in the Keystone state. Traveling 'across the
mountains to the valley of the Miami on foot,
he purchased in the neighborhood of North
Bend an extensive tract of land, returned to
Pennsylvania and married Miss Robert, to whom
he had been engaged in Wales, and, with his
bride, riding in a suitable conveyance, again
crossed the mountains and settled on his land
in what was then but a wilderness. He was a
man of sound judgment, and, in common with
many of his countrymen, of a joyous and ever
hopeful disposition. His wife was a lady of
culture and refinement, and her home in the
valley of the Miami, with few neighbors except
the wild, unshorn, and half-naked savages,
was a great change from her previous life.
There were of course no schools there to send
her children to, and this was a matter of grave
concern to the parents of our subject, who was
in consequence taught to read at home. In
those years the Western Spy, then published
in Cincinnati, and distributed by a private post-
rider, was taken by his father, and William
read with avidity its contents, especially the
achievements of Napoleon Bonaparte. His
education advanced no further until a peripa
tetic schoolmaster, passing that way, stopped
and opened a school in the neighborhood, and
under him our subject studied English, Latin
and mathematics, working in vacation on his
father's farm When twenty years old he him-
" self opened a school at North Bend and resided
in the home of Gen. Harrison. In this em
ployment he remained a year, during which he
married Miss Shuck, the daughter of a wealthy
German resident of the village. Soon after
ward he began the study of law while continu
ing his school, and as a teacher was eminently
successful, and his school attracted pupils from
the most distinguished families of Cincinnati.
In 1 83 1 he rode to Columbus on horseback,

where the supreme court judges examined him
and placed him in the practice of the state. He
then removed to Hamilton, Butler county, and
opened a law office, where he continued quietly
and in successful practice fourteen years. Dur
ing this period he took an active interest in
political affairs, and advocated during his first
(called the " Hard Cider ") campaign, the claims
of Gen. Harrison, and no less distinguished
himself during that ' ' Tippecanoe and Tyler,
too, " campaign, in which the persons indicated
were successful, and the whigs in 1840, for the
first time, succeeded in electing their candi
dates. Six years afterward he was elected
governor of the state, and the war with Mexico
placed him, as the governor of Ohio, in a very
trying position. As a whig he did not person
ally favor that war, and this feeling was greatly
entertained by the party who made him their
leader in the state, but he felt that the ques
tion was not one of party but of cordial support
of the general government, and his earnest
recognition of this fact eventually overcame
the danger that had followed President Polk's
proclamation of war. His term of office
(1846-48) was distinguished by good money,
free schools, great activity in the construction
(5f railroads and turnpikes; the arts and in
dustry generally were well revived, and high
prosperity characterized the whole state.
In 1844 Gov. Bebb purchased 5,000 acres
of land in Rock River county, 111., of which
the location was delightful and the soil rich;
500 acres were wooded and constituted a
natural park, while the remainder was pasture
of the best quality, with a stream of water fed
by perpetual springs. No man of moderate
ambition could desire the possession of a more
magnificent portion of the earth's surface.
Three years after making this purchase he re
moved to it, taking with him fine horses, and
a number of the choicest breeds of cattle, and
entered upon the cultivation of this fine prop-

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

145

erty. Five years afterward he visited Great
Britain and the continent of Europe. In the
birth-place of his father he found many de
sirous to immigrate to America, and encourag
ing the enterprise a company was formed and
a tract of 100,000 acres purchased for them in
east Tennessee, where he agreed to preside
over their arrangements in the settlement of
this land. In 1856 a party of the colonists
arrived on the land and Gov. Bebb resided
with them until the war of the Rebellion began,
when he left the state with his family. The
emigrants, discouraged by the strong pro-
slavery sentiment, scattered and settled in va
rious parts of the northern states.
On the inauguration of President Lincoln
Gov. Bebb was appointed examiner in the pen
sion department at Washington, and held this
position until 1 866, when he returned to his
farm in Illinois and the peaceful pursuits of
agriculture. His scale of farming was the cul
tivation of 2,000 acres in a season, while an
other 1,000 formed his cattle pasture. He
took an active part in the election of Gen.
Grant, and the first sickness of any conse
quence he ever experienced was an attack of
pneumonia following an exposed ride to his
home from Pecatonica, where he had addressed
the electors. From this he never recovered,
and although he spent the following winter in
Washington, occupied mainly as a listener to
the debates in the senate, he felt his vital forces
declining. Returning home the next summer,
and feeling that he was no longer able to su
perintend his farm operations, he resided at
Rockford until his death.

?"^EABURY FORD, the fifteenth gov-
•t^^K* ernor of Ohio elected by the people,
^ y was born in Cheshire, Conn., in 1802.
John Ford, his father, was a native
of New England, but of Scotch descent, while

his mother, Esther Cook, was of English
Puritan ancestry. She was a sister of Nabbie
Cook, the wife of Peter Hitchcock, the first
chief justice of Ohio. In 1805, John Ford
explored the Western Reserve in search of
lands and a home in the west, purchasing
2,000 acres in what is now the township of
Burton, Geauga county, Ohio, and removing to
this land in the fall of 1807. Seabury was
then but five years old, but even then gave in
dications of superior intelligence. He pre
pared for college at the academy in Burton,
entering Yale college in 1821, in company with
another young Ohioan, named D. Witter, they
two being the first young men from Ohio to
enter Yale. Graduating from Yale in 1825,
he then began the study of the law in the
office of Simon W. Phelps, of Painesville,
completing his course in the office of his uncle.
Judge Peter Hitchcock, in 1827. Being ad
mitted to practice he opened an office in Bur
ton, and grew rapidly in popular favor. He
was always interested in military affairs, in ag
ricultural pursuits and in politics, and was in
1835 elected by the whigs to the legislature
from Geauga county. Being twice re-elected,
he served three terms, during the latter term
acting as speaker of the lower house. In 1841
he was elected to the state senate from Cuya
hoga and Geauga counties, and remained a
member of that body until 1844, when he was
again elected to the lower house. In 1846 he
was again elected to the senate and was chosen
speaker of that body. In 1848 he was elected
governor by a small majority, retiring at the
close of his term to his home in Burton, much
broken in health. On the Sunday after reach
ing his home he was stricken with paralysis,
from which he never recovered.
During twenty years of his life he was an
honored member of the Congregational church,
and was always a highly respected citizen. As
a representative of the people he was faithful

146

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

to their interests, and was possessed of the
most rigid integrity. A private letter, pub
lished in a Cleveland, Ohio, paper, said of him,
in 1839, that he was one of the most useful
men in the legislature and that in a few years
he had saved the state millions of dollars.
September 10, 1828, he married Miss Har
riet E. Cook, a daughter of John Cook, of
Burton, by whom he had five children, three
of whom reached mature age, as follows:
Seabury C, George H., and Robert N. Gov.
Ford died May 8, 1855.

\S~*\ EUBEN WOOD, the successor of
I f^l Seabury Ford, was born in Rutland
f pP county, Vt., in the year 1792. He
was reared to manhood in his native
state, served with distinction in the war of 1 8 1 2
as captain of a company of Vermont volun
teers, and afterward studied law and began the
practice of his profession in Cleveland, Ohio.
From 1825 till 1828 Mr. Wood served in the
state senate; in 1830 was appointed president-
judge of the Third district, and in 1833 was
elected associate judge of the state supreme
court, which office he held until 1845.
In 1848 Mr. Wood was the democratic
nominee for the governorship, to which office
he was elected by a handsome majority, and
with such ability and satisfaction did he dis
charge his official functions that in 1850 he
was chosen his own successor, being the first
governor under the new constitution. Gov.
Wood was prominently spoken of in 1852 as
an available presidential candidate, but the
party, while admitting his fitness for the
high position, finally united upon Franklin
Pierce. In addition to the honorable positions
above mentioned, Gov. Wood served eighteen
months as United States consul at Valpa
raiso, Chili, resigning at the end of that time and
retiring to private life. The death of this

eminent jurist and statesman occurred in Rock-
port, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, October 2nd,
1864, in his seventy -second year.

ax

ILLIAM MEDILL, the seventeenth
governor of Ohio elected by the
people, was born in New Castle
county, Del., in 1801. He gradu
ated from Delaware college in 1825, and stud
ied law with Judge Black, of New Castle city.
Removing to Lancaster, Ohio, in 1830, he
began there the practice of the law, being regu
larly admitted to the bar by the supreme court
in 1832. In 1835 he was elected to the lower
house of the general assembly from Fairfield
county, and served several years with great
ability. In 1838 he was elected to congress
from the counties of Fairfield, Perry, Morgan
and Hocking, and was re-elected in 1840,
serving to the satisfaction of his constituents.
In 1845 he was appointed by President Polk
second assistant postmaster-general, perform
ing his duties with marked ability. The same
year he was appointed commissioner of Indian
affairs, and as such commissioner introduced
many needed reforms. Indeed, he was one
of the few men holding office under the gov
ernment of the United States who have treated
the unfortunate sons of the forest with any
semblance of justice. Both these offices he
held during President Polk's administration, at
its close returning to Ohio and resuming the
practice of the law. In 1849 he was elected
a member of the constitutional convention that
gave us the present constitution of the state of
Ohio, serving with impartial ability as presid
ing officer of that body. In 1851 he was
elected lieutenant-governor, and in 1853 as
the second governor under the new constitution.
In 1857 he was appointed by President Bu
chanan first controller of the United States
treasury, holding that office until March 4,1 861,

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

147

when he retired to private life in Lancaster,
Ohio, holding no office afterward.
Gov. Medill was a man of great ability, a
true patriot, of spotless character, a faithful
friend and an incorruptible public servant. He
never married, and died at his residence in
Lancaster, Ohio, September 2, 1865.

?~V*ALMON P. CHASE, the eighteenth
•t^^hkT governor of Ohio elected by the peo-
h<_J pie, was born at Cornish, N. H., Jan
uary 13, 1808. His father, Ithaman
Chase, was descended from English ancestry,
while his mother was of Scotch extraction.
Ithaman Chase was a farmer, was a brother of
the celebrated Bishop Philander Chase, and
died when his son, Salmon P., was yet a lad.
In 18 1 5 his father removed his family to
Keene, Cheshire county, N. H., where young
Salmon received a good common-school edu
cation. Bishop Chase, having removed to
Ohio, invited his young nephew to the state,
and in Worthington, Franklin county, he pur
sued his studies preparatory to entering col
lege, becoming a student at Dartmouth in
1825, and graduating in 1826. He then went
to Washington, D. C, where for some time he
taught a classical school, which did not prove
successful. For this reason he made applica
tion to an uncle of his, in the Umted States
senate, to secure for him a position in one of
the government offices, but was met with the
reply from that uncle that he had already
ruined two young men in that way, and did
not intend to ruin another. Young Chase then
secured the patronage of Henry Clay, Samuel
L. Southard and William Wirt, who placed
their sons under his tuition, and he in the
meantime studied law with William Wirt.
In 1830, having been admitted to the bar,
he settled down in Cincinnati to the practice
of the law, but meeting for some years with

indifferent success, he spent his leisure time in
revising the statutes of Ohio, and introduced
his compilation with a brief historical sketch
of the state. This work, known as Chase's
Statutes, in three octavo volumes, proved of
great service to the profession, and its sale was
so great a success that his reputation as a
lawyer of ability was at once established.
In 1834 he became solicitor of the branch
bank of the United States in the city of Cin
cinnati, and soon afterward of one of the city
banks, and in 1837 he distinguished himself
by defending a negro woman who had been
brought by her master to Ohio, and who had
escaped from his possession. This gave him
considerable prominence as an abolitionist, and
by some it was thought he had ruined his pros
pects, especially when he enhanced that repu
tation in the defense of James G. Birney, whose
newspaper, the Philanthropist, had been de
stroyed by the friends of slavery. Mr. Chase
had always looked upon things from the moral
standpoint, believed ever in freedom, and that
if Christ died for any man he died for all men,
and hence Mr. Chase was always the friend of
man. The position he took in the defense of
slaves who had escaped to or were brought to
free soil, was that by that act alone, even
under the constitution of the United States,
they obtained their freedom.
In 1846 Mr. Chase, in the supreme court
of the United States, defended Van Zandt
(who was the original of John Van Trompe, in
"Uncle Tom's Cabin"), who was prosecuted
for harboring fugitive slaves, taking the ground,
as before, that, even though the constitution
contained a provision for the return of such
fugitives, no legislative power on the subject
had been granted to congress, and that there
fore the power to devise legislation thereon
was left to 'the states themselves. The bold
statements and forcible arguments of Mr.
Chase in his management of such cases,

148

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

alarmed the southern states, and ultimately
led to the enactment of the fugitive slave law
in 1850, as a portion of the compromise meas
ures of that period.
In 1 84 1 Mr. Chase united with others op
posed to the further extension of slavery, in a
convention for which he was the principal
writer of the address to the people on that
subject. He also wrote the platform for the
liberty party when it nominated James G.
Birney as its candidate for the presidency. In
1842 he projected a convention of the same
party in Cincinnati, the result of which was
the passage of a resolution declaring the ur
gent necessity for the organization of a party
committed to the denationalization of slavery.
In 1848 Mr. Chase presided over the Buffalo
free soil convention, which nominated Martin
Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams for
president and vice-president. On the 22d of
February, 1849. Mr. Chase was elected to
the United States senate by a coalition of
democrats and free soilers, who had declared
slavery to be an evil, but when the Baltimore
convention in 1852 approved of the compro
mise measures of 1850 he withdrew from
their ranks, and advocated the formation of an
independent democratic party, which should
oppose the extension of slavery. In 1855 Mr.
Chase was elected governor of Ohio by the
newly organized republican party by a ma
jority of 15,651 over Gov. Medill, and in 1857
he was elected governor, the second time, over
Henry B. Payne.
At the national republican convention in
i860 Mr. Chase received on the first ballot
forty-nine votes, in a total of 375, and im
mediately withdrew his name. By President
Lincoln he was appointed secretary of the
treasury of the United States, holding this
position until July, 1864, when he resigned.
His management of the nation's finance was
marked with consummate ability, and con

tributed largely to the success of the govern
ment in its efforts to suppress the Rebellion.
In November, 1864, he was nominated by
President Lincoln as chief justice of the-
United States, to succeed Chief Justice Taney,
who had then recently died, and he filled this.
great office until his death.
In 1868 he permitted his name to go be
fore the democratic national convention as a
candidate for the presidency, but received only
four votes out of 663, Horatio Seymour of
New York securing the nomination. The most
valuabe public service rendered the nation by
Mr. Chase, as secretary of the treasury, was-
the origination by him of the bill under which,
in 1863, state and private banks became na
tional banks, and under which the govern
ment of the United States became responsible-
for the circulation of national bank notes,
the government being secured by a de
posit of bonds equal in amount to the pro
posed circulation, plus ten per cent. While-
this law was at first opposed by many public
men, yet in time it won its way into their
judgment long before Mr. Chase's death, and
he had the satisfaction of realizing that its ad
vantages were such that the people of the;
United States were more greatly benefited
by this than by any previous monetary meas
ure, as under it the money of the banks was-
made equally valuble in all parts of the United.
States. Mr. Chase was married three times, and of
six children born to him, two accomplished
daughters survived him at his death, which.
occurred of paralysis, May 7, 1873.

ax

ILLIAM DENNISON, Jr., nine
teenth governor of Ohio, was born
in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 23,
1 81 5. His father and mother emi
grated from New Jersey to Ohio, settled in the.

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

149

Miami valley about 1805, gave their son a
liberal education, and he graduated from
Miami university in 1835 with high honors in
political science, belles lettres and history.
After his graduation he became a law student
in the office of Nathaniel C. Pendleton, father
of Hon. George H. Pendleton, and was ad
mitted to the bar in 1840. The same year he
married a daughter of William Neil, of Co
lumbus, to which city he removed and applied
himself with energy and diligence to the prac
tice of the law. In 1848 he was elected to
the Ohio senate as a whig for the district com
posed of Franklin and Delaware counties. At
that time the slavery question was a promi
nent one in politics, men taking positive posi
tions on one side or the other, and a desperate
struggle was made throughout the state for the
¦control of the general assembly. After failing
by a small adverse majority to be elected
president of the senate he was appointed to a
leading position on a committe having in charge
the revisal of the statutes, which had become
in the opinion of most of the people a disgrace
to the state, especially those laws which pro
hibited black men and mulattoes from gaining
a permanent residence within the state, and
from testifying in courts against white persons.
Mr. Dennison warmly advocated the repeal of
these laws, and with complete success. He
was equally opposed to the extension of slavery,
with its blighting effects, into new territory.
From 1850 to 1852 he was engaged in the
practice of the law, and in the latter year, as
a presidential elector, he cast his vote for
Gen. Winfield Scott. From this time on for
some years he took great interest in the sub
ject of railroads in the west, and was. elected
president of the Columbus & Xenia Railroad
company, and was very active as a director of
all railroads entering Columbus. In 1856 he
was a delegate to the republican national con
vention at Pittsburg, and voted for Gen. John

C. Fremont for president. In 1859 he was
elected governor of Ohio by the republican
party, and in his first message to the general
assembly took the position that "The federal
Union exists by solemn compact voluntarily
entered into by the people of each state and
thus they became the United States of Amer
ica, e pluribus unum, and this being so, no
state can claim the right to secede from or
violate that compact."
When the war was begun he exerted all the
authority of his office to aid the general govern
ment to suppress the Rebellion, and as the first
war governor of Ohio his name will go down
to posterity as one of the most patriotic of men.
When Gov. Magoffin, of Kentucky, telegraphed
to President Lincoln that Kentucky would fur
nish no troops for such a wicked purpose as
the subduing of the sister southern states,
Gov, Dennison telegraphed that if Kentucky
would not fill her quota, Ohio would fill it for
her, and in less than two weeks, under the in
fluence of her patriotic governor, Ohio raised
enough soldiers to fill the quota of three states,
and it was not long before the attention of the
entire country was directed to Ohio as the
leading state in the suppression of the Rebel
lion, a position which she proudly maintained
all through the war. The people of West
Virginia owe to Gov. Dennison the fact of their
separate existence as a state, the story of
which is well known and too long for publica
tion here.
At first Gov. Dennison opposed Sec. Chase's
national banking system, but as its beneficial
effects became apparent he gave it his unquali
fied support, and it is well known that Ohio
took the lead in the establishment of national
banks, a system of banking which, among its
other features, has done much to cement the
union of the states since the war. After his
term of office as governor had expired he be
came a favorite speaker in defense of the Union.

150

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

As a delegate to the national republican con
vention, in 1864, he did much to secure the
renomination of Abraham Lincoln, and suc
ceeded Montgomery Blair as postmaster-gen
eral, but resigned his office when President
Johnson had defined his ' ' policy. " For several
years after this Gov. Dennison lived in retire
ment, but was called on by President Grant,
in 1875, to act as one of the commissioners of
the District of Columbia, a position which he
filled until 1878.
By his marriage to Miss Neil he became the
father of three children, the first-born dying in
infancy, and the others being named Neil and
Elizabeth. He died June 15, 1882, respected
by all people as an able, patriotic and good man.

K.S~\ AVID TOD, Ohio's twentieth elect-
Is I ed governor, was born in Youngs-
f^^_J town, Mahoning county, February 21,
1805, received a good literary educa
tion, and after studying for the legal profession
was admitted to the bar in the year 1827. He
practiced about fifteen years at Warren, where
his talents soon won him recognition among
the leading lawyers of the northeastern part of
the state, and while a resident of Warren was
elected, in 1838, a member of the state senate.
Gov. Tod soon took high rank as a successful
politician, made a brilliant canvass for Martin
Van Buren in 1840, and in 1844 was nominated
for governor, but was defeated by a small ma
jority. One of the issues of the gubernatorial
campaign of 1844 was "hard" and "soft"
money, the democrats representing the former
and the whigs the latter. In a speech David
Tod, the democratic candidate, said that
sooner, than adopt "soft " or paper money, it
would be better to go back to the Spartan idea
of finance and coin money from pot-metal.
His opponents seized upon this expression,
dubbed him "pot-metal" Tod, and insisted

that he was really in favor of coining pot-metal
into currency. Medallions of Mr. Tod about
the size of a silver dollar were struck off by his
opponents by the thousands, being composed
of pot-metal and circulated throughout the
state. The "pot-metal" cry doubtless had
much to do in bringing about his defeat by a
slender margin, showing that small things are
often effective in political campaigns, if the
people happen to be in the humor to be influ
enced by them, which not infrequently hap
pens to be the case. In 1847 he was ap
pointed, by President Polk, minister to Brazil,
and represented his government until 1852,
when he returned to the United States and
took an active part in the campaign which re
sulted in the election of Franklin Pierce to the
presidency. In i860 he was chosen delegate
to the Charleston convention, of which he was
made vice-president, and after the withdrawal
of the southern wing of the democratic party,
presided over that body until its adjournment.
Upon the breaking out of the Civil war, Gov.
Tod was earnest in his advocacy of a compro
mise between the north and south, but with
the commencement of hostilities he became a
firm supporter of the Union and did much to
arouse enthusiasm in the prosecution of the
struggle. In 1861 he was the republican nom
inee for governor, and at the ensuing election
defeated his competitor by an overwhelming
majority of 55,000 votes. He proved a very
popular and capable executive, and during his
term of two years, greatly aided the national
administration.

>Y*OHN BROUGH, the twenty-first gov-
¦ ernor of Ohio elected by the people
mj of the state, was born at Marietta,
*""'* Ohio, September 17, 181 1. His father,
John Brough, was a companion and friend of
Blennerhassett, both coming to the United

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

151

States in the same ship in 1806. They re
mained in close friendship for many years, but
Mr. Brough was not connected with the unfor
tunate complications between Blennerhassett
and Aaron Burr. John Brough died in 1822,
leaving his wife with five children, and with
but small means of support.
John Brough, who became governor of Ohio,
was sent to learn the trade of printer in the
office of the Athens Mirror before he was four
teen. After a few months he entered the Ohio
university at Athens, reciting with his class in
the day time, and setting type mornings and
evenings to support himself. He was a good
compositor and also a good student, and was
distinguished for his skill in athletic games.
Having completed his education at the univer
sity he began the study of law, but soon after
ward went to Petersburg, Va. , to edit a news
paper. Returning to Marietta, Ohio, in 1831,
he became proprietor of the Washington county
Republican, a democratic paper, which he con
ducted until 1833, when he sold out, and in
partnership with his brother, Charles H., pur
chased the Ohio Eagle, published at Lancas
ter, Ohio, and while he was a strong partisan,
yet he had no patience for any kind of under
hand work in either party. In 1835 he was
elected clerk of the Ohio senate, and retained
this position until 1838. He was chosen rep
resentative from Fairfield and Hocking coun
ties in 1838, and the next year he was chosen
by the legislature to fill the office of auditor
of state. To this latter office he was again
elected and served six years. Many evils then
existed in the finances of the state, but, not
withstanding much opposition and many em
barrassments, he succeeded in finding remedies
therefor, and the pecuniary affairs of the state
were placed on a solid foundation. The re
ports he made upon the state's financial sys
tem are among the ablest and most valuable of
our state papers.

During his second term as auditor of state
he purchased the Phoenix, a newspaper in Cin
cinnati, changed its name to the Enquirer and
placed it in charge of his brother, Charles H.,
and at the close of that term removed to Cin
cinnati, opened a law office and wrote edi
torials for his paper. He also became a power
ful and effective public speaker, and while he
was becoming a distinguished leader in the
democratic party he was also becoming with
equal rapidity thoroughly disgusted with party
politics. In 1848 he retired from partisan
strife, sold one-half interest in the Enquirer,
and devoted his attention to railroads. Being
elected president of the Madison & Indiana
Railroad company, he removed to Madison,
Ind., but later, at the invitation of one of his
friends, Stillman Witt, of Cleveland, Ohio,
he accepted the presidency of the Bellefon-
taine Railroad company, which, under his man
agement, became one of the leading railroads
of the country. In 1861 he removed to Cleve
land, and during the first two years of the war
was untiring in his efforts to serve the govern
ment by the prompt transportation of troops to
the front.
In 1863, that portion of the democrats of
Ohio that was opposed to the further prose
cution of the war nominated C. L. Vallandig-
ham for governor of the state, and Stillman
Witt, having urged Mr. Brough to take an ac
tive part in politics, generously offering to per
form the duties of the president of the railroad,
and permit Mr. Brough to draw the salary,
Mr. Brough was at length nominated by the
republican party as its candidate in opposition
to Vallandigham. The result of the election
was that Mr. Brough was elected by a majority
of 101,099, the total vote being 471,643. It
was at the suggestion of Gov. Brough that an
extra force of 100,000 men was raised to aid
Gen. Grant in his arduous campaign of 1864,
Ohio's quota of this 100,000 being 30,000.

152

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

Within ten days Ohio raised 38,000 men, the
result being due largely to Gov. Brough's ener
getic action, which called out the warmest
commendation from both President Lincoln
and Gen. Grant.
While Gov. Brough lived to see the war
brought to a successful close, yet he died be
fore the close of his term, on August 29, 1865.
He was of the honest men in politics, just in
all his motives and acts. Though not a
member of any church, yet he took a deep in
terest in religion and died in the hope of an
eternal life. Gov. Brough was twice married —
first to Miss Acsah P. Pruden, of Athens,
Ohio, who died in 1838 at the age of twenty-
five years, and second, to Miss Caroline A.
Nelson, of Columbus, Ohio, whom he married
in 1843 at Lewiston, Pa. By this latter mar
riage he had two sons and two daughters.

aHARLES ANDERSON was put in
nomination as lieutenant-governor of
Ohio on the ticket in 1863, with John
Brough for governor and elected. The
death of the latter transferred Col. Anderson
to the office of governor in August of the same
year. Charles Anderson was born June 1, 18 14,
at the residence of his father, called Soldiers'
Retreat, or Fort Nelson, near the falls of the
Ohio, and which locality is about nine miles
from the city of Louisville, Ky. His father,
Col. Richard Clough Anderson, a gentleman
of high character, who was an aid-de-camp to
Lafayette, removed to Soldiers' Retreat from
Virginia in 1793, and there, in the capacity
of surveyor-general of the Virginia military
land grant, made his residence three years be
fore Kentucky was recognized as a territory.
His mother was a relative of Chief-Justice
Marshall, and his eldest brother, Richard
Clough Anderson, represented his district in

congress, was the first United States minister
to the republic of Columbia and commissioner
in congress at Panama. Robert Anderson,
another brother of Gov. Anderson, was the
Major Anderson commanding Fort Sumter in
April, 1 86 1.
Charles Anderson graduated from Miami
university at Oxford, Ohio, in 1833, began the
study of law in Louisville in his twentieth year
in the office of Pirtle & Anderson, and in 1835
was admitted to practice. He then went to
Dayton, Ohio, and September 16th married
Miss Eliza J. Brown, a young lady of that
place. He remained a resident of Dayton,
Ohio, varying his professional engagement by
working the farm during the following ten
years, having in that time been elected prose
cuting attorney of the county, and in 1 844 was
elected to the state senate. His vote in this
body in favor of bills to give to the colored men
the privilege of testifying in court caused him
the enmity of all the pro-slavery element among
his constituency, but of this he took no notice.
He resolved that at the close of his term he
would recuperate his health by a protracted
sea voyage, and, descending to New Orleans,
he took a vessel for Havana, and there took
passage on a vessel bound for Europe, and
with much advantage to his health returned
by the way of Paris and Liverpool. Arriving
in Cincinnati, he entered into a law partner
ship with Rufus King, Esq., and for eleven
years practiced his profession. Then his
original love of farming still influencing his
life, he went to Texas in 1859, and found the
people greatly excited on account of the polit
ical condition of the country. Demagogues
had advocated dissolution of the Union there
as elsewhere, and the establishment of a new
southern states' government of a monarchical
form, its foundation-stone human slavery, and
under the protectorate of Great Britain, to
which people their cotton would be exchanged

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

153

for goods of British manufacture exclusively.
He soon saw that this treasonable project had
taken deep root among the ignorant masses of
the south. There was no term that had been
uttered that could be more opprobrious than
abolitionist, and his well-known love of free
dom prompting him to boldly address the
people, he did so at a great gathering at San
Antonio November 20, i860, advocating, in
the most stirring and patriotic language, the
perpetuity of the national Union. Though the
recipient subsequently of letters threatening his
life, he continued to reside in San Antonio in
spite of the forty-day resident act passed by
the Confederate congress at Montgomery, Ala. ,
and was therefore confined as a political pris
oner in the guard-tent of Maclin's battery of
artillery. By the assistance of two persons,
who subsequently were maltreated for so assist
ing him, he escaped to the north. It was not
reasonable to suppose that Mr. Anderson, born
in Kentucky, and from infancy surrounded by
and breathing the atmosphere of slavery, could
have regarded that institution as it was looked
upon by the millions who had not been simi
larly situated. Hence the original idea of the
war, restoring the Union as it was, caused him
to offer his services to Gov. Tod, and he was
appointed colonel of the Ninety-third Ohio
regiment, in command of which brave body of
men he was seriously wounded in the battle of
Stone River. After his term of service as
lieutenant-governor and governor of Ohio he
removed to a large iron estate on the Cumber
land river, in Lyon county, Ky., where he
spent the remainder of his life.

>-j* ACOB DOLSON COX, the twenty-sec-
M ond governor of Ohio elected by the
/• 1 people, was born in Montreal, Canada,
October 27, 1828, to which city his
parents, who were natives of the United States,

and who were then residents of New York, had
gone for a temporary purpose, Mr. Cox being
a master builder, and having in charge in Mon
treal the erection of the frame work, roofing,
etc., of the church of Notre Dame. The fol
lowing year they returned to New York, where
were spent the childhood days of the subject
of this sketch. In 1 846 he entered Oberlin
college, from which he graduated in 185 1, and
in 1852 he removed to Warren, Ohio, where
for three years he was superintendent of the
high school. In the meantime he studied law
and was admitted to the bar, and in 1859 he
he was elected, from the Trumbull and Mahon
ing district, to the legislature, where throughout
his term he was regarded as a "radical," not
only on account of the section of the state from
which he came, but also on account of his hav
ing married the daughter of President Finney
of Oblerlin college. He took his seat in the
senate on the first Monday in January, i860.
After the enactment of the fugitive slave
law of 1850 the state of Ohio passed a law
providing penalties for carrying free blacks out
of the state without first having recourse to
judical proceedings. The democrats in the
legislature earnestly desired to repeal this law,
and Mr. Cox, as chairman of the judiciary com
mittee, made a minority report against its re
peal, to which report the support of the entire
republican party was given. While Mr. Cox
was not in favor of any unnecessarily harsh
measures to grieve the southern states, yet he
was always uncomprisingly in favor of support
ing the government in its efforts to suppress
the Rebellion. Ten days after President Lin
coln's first call for troops, Mr. Cox was com
missioned, by Gov. Dennison, a brigadier-gen
eral of Ohio volunteers for the three months'
service, and placed in command of Camp
Jackson, which was established for the re
ception of troops. A larger camp being nec
essary, President Lincoln commissioned him

154

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

brigadier-general of volunteers, and with
the assistance of Gen. Rosecrans he laid out
Camp Dennison. On the 6th of July, 1861, he
was ordered by Gen. McClellan to take a posi
tion at the south of the Great Kanawha, whence
he drove the rebels under Gen. Wise out of the
valley of that river, and took and repaired the
bridge at Gauley, and other bridges ; and it is
owing to the success of these early military
maneuvers that West Virginia became an inde
pendent state. In August, 1862, he was as
signed to the army of Virginia under Gen.
Pope, and when Gen. Reno fell succeeded to
his command, that of the Ninth corps, which
he commanded at the battle of Antietam, in
which battle his troops so distinguished them
selves that he was appointed to a full major-
generalship. On April 16, 1863, Gen. Cox
was in command of the district of Ohio, and
also of a division of the Twenty-third army
corps, with headquarters at Knoxville, Tenn.
In the Atlanta campaign he led the Third di
vision of the Twenty-third army corps, and in
the engagement at Columbus had entire com
mand, as he had also at Franklin, November
30, where he felt the full force of Hood's at
tack. On reaching Nashville Gen. Thomas
assumed command of the army, Gen. Scho
field of the Twenty-third corps, and Gen. Cox
of his division — his division in this battle cap
turing an important rebel position and eight
pieces of cannon. In January, 1865, Gen.
Cox, with his division, performed important
service in North Carolina, aiding in the cap
ture of Kingston, and then he united his forces
with Sherman's army. Gen. Cox had charge
of the details connected with the surrender of
Gen. Johnston's soldiers. In July, 1865, he
was placed in command of the district of Ohio,
and while in charge of the discharge of Ohio
soldiers was elected governor of the state, and
was inaugurated January 15, 1866. Through
out the war Gen. Cox was steadily pro

moted, and won golden opinions from all pa
triots, but after the close of the struggle he
supported President Johnson's "policy, " which
gave great dissatisfaction to loyal people. In
1 869 President Grant appointed him secretary
of the interior, which position he resigned
after a few months, and returned to Cincin
nati, where he was appointed receiver of the
Toledo, Wabash & Western railroad, and re
sided temporarily at Toledo, where, in 1875,
he was elected to congress from the Sixth dis
trict. He was appointed a ¦ member of the
Potter committee, which investigated the man
ner in which the presidential election of 1876
had been conducted in the "disputed states,"
South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. Sub
sequently he removed to Cincinnati, where
he died.

\S^\ UTHERFORD B. HAYES.— For a
I /^ sketch of the life of Rutherford B.
jj _p Hayes, the twenty-third governor of
Ohio elected by the people and elec-
ed to succeed himself, and also elected to
succeed William Allen, the reader is referred
to that portion of this work which is devoted
to the lives of the presidents of the United
States.

eDWARD FOLLANSBEE NOYES,
twenty-fourth governor of Ohio elect
ed by the people, was born in Hav
erhill, Mass., October 3, 1832. His
parents, Theodore and Hannah Noyes, both
died before he was three years old, and he was
reared by his grandparents, Edward and Han
nah Stevens, who resided at East Kingston,
Rockingham county, N. H. His grandfather
Stevens having died, he was taken when
twelve years of age by his guardian, Joseph
Hoyt, of Newton, N. H. For two years he

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

155

worked on his guardian's farm in summer and
attended schools in winter, and at fourteen he
was apprenticed to the printer's trade in the
office of the Morning Star at Dover, N. H.,
the organ of the Free Will Baptist church.
In this office he remained four years. Though
his apprenticeship required him to remain un
til he was twenty-one, yet his employer
released him at eighteen, in order that he
might secure an education. He prepared
himself for college at the academy at Kingston,
N. H., and entered Dartmouth college in 1853,
graduating at that institution in 1857. In the
winter of his senior year he began to read law
in the office of Stickney & Tuck at Exeter,
N. H., and before leaving Dartmouth he had
become really an abolitionist. Being a good
speaker, he was appointed by £he republican
state executive committee of New Hampshire to
traverse the state in the interest of Gen. John
C. Fremont for the presidency. The next win
ter he entered the law office of Tilden, Raridan
& Curwen, -and attended lectures on law at the
Cincinnati Law school during the winter of
1857-58, being admitted to the bar during the
latter year, and not long afterward established
himself in a profitable practice. Giving atten
tion to the political crises then impending, he
became convinced that secession, if accom
plished, would finally disrupt the Union, and
on the 8th of July, 1861, converted his law
office into a recruiting station, and was com
missioned major of the Thirty-ninth regiment
Ohio volunteer infantry. On August 20, 1861,
the Twenty-seventh and the Thirty-ninth regi
ments were transferred from the eastern to
the western army, the latter being officered
as follows: John Groesbeck, colonel; A. W.
Gilbert, lieut. -colonel, and, as stated above,
Edward F. Noyes, major. Early in 1862 this
latter regiment joined the army of the Mis
sissippi, then commanded by Gen. Pope, and
took part in the capture of New Madrid and

Island No. 10. From that time until Gen.
Pope was assigned to the command of the
Potomac, Maj. Noyes was on that general's
staff, and when the colonel and lieutenant-col
onel of the Thirty-ninth, as named above, re
signed, Maj. Noyes was commissioned colonel,
and took command of his regiment in October,
1862. In 1864 his regiment was one of those
composing the First division of the Seven
teenth army corps, and on July 4, of that year,
took part in the assault on Ruff's Mill, in which
he was shot in the leg, which had to be am
putated on the field of battle. The operation
not proving successful, the colonel was taken
to Cincinnati, and operated on by Dr. W. H.
Mussey, and in the following October he re
ported for duty to Gen. Hooker, who assigned
him to the command of Camp Dennison. Upon
the recommendation of Gen. Sherman he was
promoted to the full rank of brigadier.
He was soon afterward elected city solicitor
of Cincinnati, and in 1871 was elected gov
ernor of Ohio by a majority of 20,000, while at
the election of 1873, when he was again a can
didate, he was defeated by an adverse majority
of 800. In the presidential campaign of 1876
he was an active participant, and was later
appointed by his old friend, President Hayes,
minister to France. He remained in Paris
four years, in the meantime, however, making
an extensive tour through the countries along
the Mediterranean sea for the purpose of inves
tigating the condition of the laboring classes,
making an able report to the government. He
resigned in 1881 and resumed his law practice
in Cincinnati. He was very enthusiastic and
cheerful in his disposition, and kindly in his
manner. In February, 1863, on a leave of
absence, he married Miss Margaret W. Proc
tor, at Kingston, N. Hi, with whom he be
came acquainted while in the academy in his
youthful days. He died September 4, 1 890,
nearly fifty-eight years of age.

156

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

ax

'ILLIAM ALLEN, twenty-fifth gov
ernor of Ohio elected by the peo
ple, was born in Edenton, Chowan
county, N. C, in 1807. His par
ents both died within a few months of each
other before he was one year old, and he was
cared for by an only sister, who soon afterward
removed with her husband to Lynchburg, Va. ,
taking young William with her. This sister
was the wife of an itinerant Methodist minis
ter and the mother of Hon. Allen G. Thurman.
She was a very superior woman, and was well
fitted for the task of rearing two of Ohio's dis
tinguished statesmen, whose names are given
above. About 1821 Mrs. Thurman, with her
husband and family, removed to Chillicothe,
Ohio, leaving her brother to attend an acad
emy at Lynchburg, Va. , but he rejoined her
two years later, and attended the academy in
Chillicothe, and later read law in the office of
Edward King, the most gifted son of Rufus
King, of Revolutionary fame, and a popular
statesman for many years. Having been ad
mitted to the bar in his twentieth year, he be
came a partner of his preceptor, and early in
his career manifested that forensic ability to
which he was mainly indebted for his success.
This, together with his tall, commanding fig
ure and powerful, penetrating voice, attracted
people to him, the latter giving him the name
of the "Ohio Gong," and all together secured
his nomination to congress, he being elected
by the democrats in 1832, in a whig district,
by a majority of one vote. While he was the
youngest man in the Twenty-third congress,
yet he was recognized as a leading orator, tak
ing part in the most important discussions in
that body.
In January, 1837, on what was called
"Saint Jackson's Day," at a supper given in
Columbus, Ohio, he made a speech which un
expectedly led to his election to the United
States senate, to succeed Hon. Thomas Ewing.

He remained in the senate twelve years, or
until 1849, during which time he was at the
full measure of his powers.
In 1845 Senator Allen married Mrs. Effie
(McArthur) Coons, a daughter of ex-Gov. Mc
Arthur, who had been, in 1830, elected gov
ernor of Ohio. She inherited from her father
the old homestead, "Fruit Hill" farm, upon
which Gov. Allen resided with his only daugh
ter, Mrs. Scott, his wife having died in Wash
ington soon after the birth of her daughter. In
August, 1873, Mr. Allen was elected governor
of Ohio, being the only man on the demo
cratic ticket not defeated. As governor he
recommended the reduction of taxation and
economy instate affairs. He was the first demo
cratic governor of Ohio after the war, and though
his administration gave general satisfaction, he
was defeated with the rest of the democratic
ticket in 1875. It has been said of him that
he originated the political catch-word, "Fifty-
four forty, or fight," in reference to the
boundary question between the United States
and the British dominions, from which posi
tion the democratic party so ignominiously
backed down. Gov. Allen died at Fruit Hill
farm in 1879. He was a man of high charac
ter, cordial manners, and above all political
chicanery of every kind, and his name will
long be an honored one in American history.

HOMAS L. YOUNG, ex-officio gov
ernor of Ohio, succeeding to the
office by the election of Gov. R. B.
Hayes to the presidency of the United
States, taking possession of the office in Feb
ruary, 1877, was born December 14, 1832, on
the estate of Lord Dufferin in the north of
Ireland. Of Lord Dufferin it may perhaps be
permissible, parenthetically, to remark that as
governor-general of Canada, in 1874, he made
a remarkable report on the loyalty of the peo-

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

157

pie of Canada to the British government, which
appeared to him so ' ' wholesome and satisfac
tory." This estate of Lord Dufferin was in
Down county, Ireland. When Mr. Young was
twelve years old his parents brought him to
this country, and he was educated in the com
mon schools of New York city. When he was
sixteen years old he enlisted in the regular
army, serving in all ten years. At the expira
tion of his enlistment he visited the home of
his parents, in the northern part of Pennsyl
vania, on one of the upper tributaries of the
Susquehanna river, where he engaged in the
business of country merchant until 1859, when
he removed to Cincinnati, and' took charge of
the house of refuge, a youths' reformatory in
stitution, which position he retained until the
breaking out of the war of the Rebellion.
Having, while in the regular army, spent sev
eral years among the people of the south, he
knew that they had determined upon war, and
in March, 1861, he wrote to Gen. Scott, whom
he personally knew, offering to assist in organ
izing volunteers for the defense of the govern
ment. Gen. Scott thanked him for his loyalty,
but expressed his incredulity as to the southern
people entertaining any such purpose.
In August, 1 86 1, Mr. Young was commis
sioned a captain in Gen. Fremont's body guard,
serving in that capacity until the following
January, when that organization was disbanded
by Gen. Halleck. For some months after
ward. Capt. Young was engaged in editing a
democratic paper in Sidney, Ohio, in which he
severely condemned the indecision manifested
in the conduct of the war. In August, 1862,
he was appointed to raise a company for the
One Hundred and Eighteenth regiment Ohio
volunteer infantry, and became the first major
of the regiment. In February, 1863, he was
promoted to lientenant-colonel, and com
manded his regiment in the Tennessee cam
paign. In April, 1864, he was commissioned

colonel of his regiment and served as such
until the 4th of September following, when he
was honorably discharged on account of phys
ical disability resulting from his services and
exposures in the field. At the battle of Re-
saca, Ga., Col. Young led the first charge on
the enemy's works, the severity of the contest
being indicated by the fact that he lost 116
men out of 270 engaged. For this and other
acts of bravery the president brevetted him
brigadier-general of volunteers, March, 13, 1865.
Upon leaving the service he engaged in the
study of law, and was admitted to the bar in
April, 1865, being in the same month appointed
assistant city auditor of Cincinnati. In Oc
tober, 1865, he was elected to the Ohio house
of representatives for Hamilton county, and in
December, 1868, was appointed, by President
Johnson, supervisor of internal revenue for the-
southern district of Ohio. This position he re
signed at the end of one year. For some time
afterward he was engaged in the purchase and
sale of real estate, and in 1871 was the only
republican elected to the state senate from
Hamilton county. In 1873 he formed a law
partnership with Gen. H. B. Banning and
Jacob McGarry, and in 1875 he was elected
lieutenant-governor. Upon the resignation of
Gov. Hayes he became governor, serving the-
remainder of the term. In 1878 he was elected
to congress by the republicans of the second dis
trict, and died July 19, 1888, thoroughly admired
for his integrity of character and manliness.

K^\ ICHARD M. BISHOP, the twenty-
I ^Z sixth governor of Ohio, was born No-
j W vember 4, 1812, in Fleming county,
Ky. His parents, who were of Ger
man and English lineage, removed from Vir
ginia in 180c. They were members of the
regular Baptist church, of which he also be
came a member in 1828.

158

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

At this lime the Baptist churches in Ken
tucky were greatly excited in consequence of
the criticisms made by Mr. Campbell, and his
co-laborers, upon the religious corruption of
the age. This excitement continued to in
crease in the immediate neighborhood of the
Bishop family until 1832, when they and
others were excluded from the Baptist church
on account of " Campbellite heresy." Since
then Mr. Bishop has been associated with
the church of the Disciples or Christians.
Mr. Bishop began his business career in Flem
ing county, Ky. , at the age of seventeen, and
before he was twenty-one he became a part
ner in the store which he had entered as a
clerk. From 1838 to 1 841 he was engaged
with his brother in the pork business, which
proved unfortunate in consequence of the sud
den depression in prices, and the failure of the
Mississippi banks, in which state they sold
largely. They were compelled to suspend,
but this temporary embarrassment did not dis
courage him, for he soon resumed business in
the same place, where he continued until 1847.
He then removed to Mount Sterling, Kentucky,
where he established a branch house, his
brother remaining at the old stand. In 1848
he removed to Cincinnati and commenced the
wholesale grocery business under the style
of Bishop, Wells & Co. This firm continued
until 1855, when the business was reorganized
and conducted under the firm name of R. M.
Bishop & Co. The firm was composed of
himself and three sons, and at one time did
the largest business in the city, the sales
amounting in some years to nearly $5,000,-
000. In April, 1857, he was nominated for
council in the Second ward and was elected
by a large majority. At the end of the second
year he was elected presiding officer. In
1859 he was elected mayor of Cincinnati by a
handsome majority, holding the same office
until 1 86 1, when he declined the renomination

tendered him by each of the political par
ties. In January, i860, when the Union was
threatened by the leaders of the Rebellion,
the legislatures of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky
and Tennessee visited Cincinnati to encourage
each other to stand by the old flag. At a
grand reception given them at Pike's opera
house, Mayor Bishop delivered an address of
welcome amid a storm of applause. In the
September ensuing his Royal Highness, the
Prince of Wales, visited Cincinnati at the in
vitation of the mayor and received from him
a cordial welcome. In February, 1861, when
President Lincoln was passing on his way to
his inauguration through Cincinnati, he was
received in a speech by the mayor. During
his administration the laws were rigidly en
forced, of which the Sunday ordinance, and
those against gambling houses, were notable
examples. Liquor selling and various other
forms of Sabbath desecration were in the main
suppressed. He inaugurated, amid much op
position, most important reforms in the man
agement of the city prison, work-house and
the police.
Mr. Bishop has become widely known for
his liberality and devotion to the Christian
church. From 1859 to 1867 he was president
of the Ohio State Missionary society, and was
the successor of the late Dr. Alexander Camp
bell in the presidency of the general Christian
Missionary conference, which office he held
until 1875. He was president of the board of
curators of Kentucky university from its or
ganization until 1880, when he declined a re
election; he was also one of the curators of
Bethany college; also for many years trustee
of the McMicken university. He was director
of the First National bank for many years,
and of several other business enterprises, as
well as philanthropic institutions. He was a
member of the Ohio state constitutional con
vention held in 1873 and 1874, and was presi-

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

159

dent of the great national commercial conven
tion held in Baltimore in 187 1. He was one
of the prime movers in that great enterprise,
the Southern railway, the building of which
he so successfully managed, having been a
trustee from the beginning, and the laborious
work of obtaining charters for the road is
largely his.
In 1877 he was elected governor of Ohio
by a majority of nearly 23,000 over the domi
nant party, and served two years with entire
satisfaction to all parties. His first annual
message was well received and complimented
by the press generally. Upon his return to
Cincinnati he was given a cordial and enthu
siastic reception at Lytle hall, where a large
number of ladies and gentlemen had assembled
to welcome him home. Since the expiration
of his term as governor he has been urged by
his friends to accept the nomination for various
important offices, but always declined.
Few men in the state can point to so many
substantial benefits conferred upon society as
the results of their single labors. Prompt de
cision, constant industry, sound judgment, and
a desire to benefit his fellow-men, are his
chief characteristics.

aHARLES FOSTER, twenty-seventh
governor of Ohio elected by the peo
ple, was born in Seneca county, Ohio,
April 12, 1828. His parents, Charles
W. Foster and wife, the latter of whom was a
daughter of John Crocker, were from Massa
chusetts, .reaching Seneca county, Ohio, in 1827.
Charles Foster received only a common-
school education, and went to Rome, now
Fostoria, Ohio, when he was fourteen years
old, where he was compelled to take charge of
his father's store, and thus failed to secure a
liberal education, which his father intended he

should receive, and for which he had prepared
himself at the Norwalk seminary. His success
in the management of the store was very
marked, and he soon became sole manager.
The town of Fostoria, named from the Foster
family, was the result of the consolidation of
Rome and Risdon, which lay but a mile or two
apart. In 1870 Mr. Foster was induced to
accept the nomination for congress at the
hands of the republicans of his district, and he
was elected by a majority of Jy6 over Hon.
E. F. Dickinson. In 1872 he was again elected
to congress by a majority of 726 over Rush R.
Sloane. In 1874 he was elected by a majority
of 1 59 over Hon. George E. Seney, and in
1876 he was elected by a majority of 271. In
1878, the democratic party having secured a
majority of the state legislature, in order to
defeat Mr. Foster most outrageously gerry
mandered his district, and he was defeated by
a majority of 1,255. In 1879 he was elected
governor of Ohio over Hon. Thomas Ewing,
by a plurality of 17,129, and in 1881 he was
again elected, by a plurality of 24,309, over
John W. Buchwalter.
Upon the death of the secretary of the
United States treasury, William Windom, Mr.
Foster was appointed his successor by Presi
dent Harrison, February 27, 1891, and served
until the close of the Harrison administration,
March 4, 1893. The successful adjustment of
the four and one-half per cent, loan was one
of the notable events of his first years admin
istration of the treasury department of the
government. Of the $50,869,200 of the four
and one-half per cent, bonds, July 1, 1891,
$25,364, 500 were presented for continuance at
two per cent. , the rest being called in for re
demption. No other financial officer of the
general government has ever negotiated a
public loan at so low rate of interest. Since
retiring from the national treasury, Mr. Foster
has been engaged in arranging his own financial

160

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

affairs, which were thrown into confusion,
while he was in public office by those whom he
had trusted.

@EORGE HOADLY, who was the
twenty-eighth governor of Ohio, was
born in New Haven, Conn. , July 3 1 ,
1826. He is the only son of George
and Mary Ann (Woolsey) Hoadly. Mary Ann
Woolsey was a daughter of William Walton
and Elizabeth (Dwight) Woolsey of New York,
and she was a great-granddaughter of Jonathan
Edwards, the famous New England theologian.
She was a niece of President Dwight of Yale
college, and the eldest daughter in a family
containing among its members President Wool
sey of Yale college. Theodore Winthrop was
her nephew and Sarah Woolsey, known in
literature as "Susan Coolidge," her niece.
George Hoadly, Sr. , was at one time mayor
of New Haven, Conn., removed in 1830 to
Cleveland, Ohio, and resided there the re
mainder of his life, serving as mayor of that
city five terms, from 1832 to 1837, and again
one term, 1846-47.
George Hoadly, the subject of this sketch,
received his preliminary education in Cleve
land, and when fourteen years old was sent to
the Western Reserve college at Hudson, Ohio,
where he was graduated in 1844. He then
spent one year in the Harvard law school
under the tuition of Judge Story and Prof.
Simon Greenleaf, and after studied a year with
Charles C. Convers, of Zanesville, Ohio, then
removed to Cincinnati and entered the office
of Chase & Ball as a student. He was
admitted to practice in 1847 and in 1849 be
came a member of the firm of Chase, Ball &
Hoadly, the senior member of which was Sal
mon P. Chase. In 185 1 he was elected judge of
the supreme court of Cincinnati, and in 1853
formed a co-partnership with Edward Mills.

In 1855-56 he was city solicitor of Cincinnati,
and in 1859 succeeded Judge W. Y. Gholson'
as judge of the new superior court, holding
this office uutil 1866, when he resigned, in
order to form the firm of Hoadly, Jackson &
Johnson. He was a member of the constitu
tional convention of 1873-74, and served as
chairman of the committee on municipal cor
porations. For eighteen years, he was profes
sor in the law school at Cincinnati, trustee
of the university, and of the Cincinnati mu
seum. He was one of the counsel in behalf of
the board of education in its famous case of
resistance to the attempt to compel Bible
reading in the public schools, in which the
victory was with the board.
Originally a democrat, he left that party
and became a republican on the question of
slavery, but during the campaign of 1876 sup
ported Tilden as against Hayes. In 1877 he
appeared as counsel before the electoral com
mission and argued in favor of the democratic
electors from Florida and Oregon. In 1880
he was temporary chairman of the democratic
national convention" which nominated W. S.
Hancock for president. In 1883 he was
elected governor of Ohio, and in March, 1887,
he removed to New York city, became the
head of a law firm there, and has resided there
ever since.
In 1 85 1 he married Mary Burnet Perry,
third daughter of Capt. Samuel Perry, one of
the earliest settlers of Cincinnati. He and his
wife have had three children, viz: George,
Laura and Edward Mills.

>j*OSEPH BENSON FORAKER, ex-gov-
m ernor of Ohio and United States senator,
/• 1 elect, was born near Rainsborough,
~~ Highland county, Ohio, July 5, 1846.
His parents, who are still living, represent the

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

161

agricultural class of the population of this
country, and upon their farm he spent his ear
lier years.
When the war of the Rebellion broke out
young Foraker enlisted in company A, Eighty-
ninth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, being
then but sixteen years of age. With this regi
ment he served until after the fall of Atlanta,
at which time, by successive promotions, he
had risen to the rank of first lieutenant. Im
mediately after the fall of Atlanta he was
detailed for service in the signal corps as a sig
nal officer on the staff of Maj. -Gen. Slocum,
commanding the left wing of the army of
Georgia. After the marches through Georgia
and the Carolinas he was promoted brevet
captain of United States volunteers, and as
signed to duty as aid-de-camp on the staff of
Gen. Slocum, holding this position until he was
mustered out of service at the close of the war.
Returning home and resuming his studies,
he graduated from Cornell university, Ithaca,
N. Y., in 1869. To gain time lost while in
the service of his country in the army he read
law while attending the university, and was
admitted to the bar in Cincinnati, October 14,
1869, and he at once began in that city the
practice of his profession. He was married
October 4, 1870, to MissBulia Bundy, a daugh
ter of Hon. H. S. Bundy, of Wellston, Ohio,
and they have five children, two sons and
three daughters.
In April, 1879, he was elected judge of the
superior court of Cincinnati, Ohio, and held
this position until May 1, 1882, when he re
signed on account of ill health. Recovering
his health he resumed the practice of the law
in Cincinnati, and in 1883 was nominated for
governor of Ohio, but was defeated by his op
ponent, Judge George Hoadly. In 1884 he
was a delegate to the national convention of
the republicans which met in Chicago, and as
chairman of the Ohio delegation, placed Hon.

John Sherman in nomination before the con
vention for the presidency. In 1885 he was
again a candidate for governor of Ohio, and
this time was elected, defeating his former
opponent, Judge Hoadly, and in 1887 he was
re-elected governor of the state. In 1888 he
was again a delegate to the republican national
convention and was again chairman of the
Ohio delegation, placing Hon. John Sherman
again in nomination before the convention for
the presidency of the United States. In 1889
he was again nominated for governor of Ohio,
but through the persistent cry of ' ' third term-
ism " he was defeated by James E. Campbell.
In January, 1892, he was a candidate for
United States senator, receiving thirty-eight
votes, but was defeated by Senator John Sher
man. This year he was a delegate at large to
the national republican convention, which met
at Minneapolis, serving in that body as chair
man of the committee on resolutions. The
state convention held at Zanesville, May 28,
1895, unanimously endorsed him as the repub
lican candidate for United States senator to
succeed Hon. Calvin S. Brice, whose term ' of
office will expire March 4, 1897, and at the
November election, 1895, a republican legisla
ture was chosen by a majority of nearly 100,-
000, which was practically instructed by the
people to elect Mr. Foraker to the position
named above. In obedience to these instruc
tions the legislature of the state, on January
14, 1896, elected Mr. Foraker United States
senator from Ohio, for six years from March
4, 1897, by a majority, on joint ballot, of
eighty -five, the majority in the senate being
twenty -three, and in the house of representa
tives being sixty-two, the entire legislative ma
jority being, as stated, eighty-five. Mr. For
aker is, therefore, the people's choice for this
high position, in which it is confidently pre
dicted he will confer honor on his native state,
even as he has had honor conferred upon him.

162

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

In his speech accepting the office Mr. Foraker
used the following language:
" I go there (to the United States senate)
as a republican. I belong to that party. I
believe in that party. I believe in its past; I
believe in its present; I believe in its future.
I believe it the most acceptable agency we can
command in the administration of national
affairs. I believe it is better calculated than
any other political organization to contribute
to the strength, power, dignity, happiness and
glory of the American people." After speak
ing in favor of the American marine interests
and of the construction of the Nicaragua ca
nal he then referred to financial questions as
follows: " I believe in bi-metallism. I be
lieve the world made a mistake when it de
monetized silver. I sincerely hope some safe
way may be found for the restoration of silver
to its rightful place alongside of gold as a
money of ultimate redemption. I shall favor
every measure calculated in my judgment to
bring about that result, subject always, how
ever, to the condition that it provides for the
maintenance of the parity of the two metals."

>^t*AMES EDWIN CAMPBELL, ex-gov-
m ernor of Ohio, was born in Middletown,
A 1 Ohio, July 7, 1843. He is a son of
Dr. Andrew and Laura P. (Reynolds)
Campbell, the former of Scotch and the latter
of English descent. John P. Reynolds, the
father of Mrs. Laura P. Campbell, was at one
time a publisher of the state of New York, but
later a resident of Madison, Ohio. The Rey
nolds family came originally from Devonshire,
England. Jonathan Reynolds emigrated from
Plympton Earl, in that country, in 1645, to
America, taking up his residence near Plymp
ton, in the colony of Massachusetts bay, and
from Jonathan Reynolds Mr. Campbell is of
the sixth generation. By another branch of

his family on his mother's side he is a descend
ant of John Parker, who commanded the
American troops at the battle of Lexington,
the first battle of the American Revolution.
Both his grandfathers were in the war of 1812.
Upon reaching his maturity Mr. Campbell
began reading law. In the summer of 1863 he
became a master's mate on the gunboats Elk
and Naiad, and took part in several engage
ments, but on account of ill health he was dis
charged at the end of one year's services.
During the winter of 1864-65 he was a law
student in the office of Doty & Gunckel at,1
Middletown, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar.
in 1865. Beginning practice in 1867, he was
elected prosecuting attorney of Butler county
in 1875 and again in 1877. In 1879 he was
defeated for the state senate by twelve votes.
Up to 1872 he was a republican, but then voted
for Greeley, and has since acted with the demo
crats. He was elected to the Forty-eighth,
Forty-ninth and Fiftieth congresses, and in
1889 was elected governor of Ohio. In 1891
he was again a candidate, but was defeated by
Maj. McKinley. In 1895 he was the third
time a candidate, but was defeated by the pres
ent incumbent of the office, Hon. Asa S.
Bushnell, by a plurality of 92,622 votes.
On January 4, 1870, Mr. Campbell was r
married to Miss Libbie Owens, a daughter of
Job E. and Mary A. (Price) Owens, the former
of whom was a native of Wales, and the latter
of Welsh descent.

'w * ON. WILLIAM McKINLEY, who has
l^\ recently retired from the governor-
M . r ship of Ohio, is one of the most dis
tinguished politicians of the state and
nation. His ancestry lived in western Penn
sylvania, his father, William McKinley, who
died recently at the age of eighty-five years,
having been born on a farm in Pine township,

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

163

\h

Mercer county, that state — a farm which was
recently and may be to-day in the possession
of the Rose family, which is related to Mr. Mc-
Kinley, and of which ex-mayor W. G. Rose of
Cleveland, Ohio, is a member. William Mc-
Kinley, Sr. , was in the iron business all his
life, as was also his father before him.
Gov. William McKinley was born at Niles,
Trumbull county, Ohio, January 29, 1843. He
was educated in the common schools, in the
academy at Poland, Ohio, and in the fall of
i860 he entered Allegheny college at Mead-
ville, Pa., with the view of taking a full college
course; but owing to sickness he was obliged
to return home before the winter came on.
During the winter of 1 860-6 1 he taught a dis
trict school, and intended to return to Alle
gheny college, but in April, 1861-, Fort Sumter
was fired upon by the rebels*, and the spirit
of patriotism in young McKinley's heart was
so strong that he enlisted in company E,
Twenty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, as a
private soldier, and in that company and regi
ment he marched and fought in the ranks for
fourteen months. His regiment was with
Rosecrans and McClellan in Virginia and
West Virginia. His first battle was that of
Carnifax Ferry. After this he joined the army
of the Potomac and fought with McClellan.
Subsequently Private McKinley was promoted,
first to second lieutenant September 24, J862;
then to first lieutenant, February 7, 1863, and
then to captain, July 25, 1864. Then he
served on the staff of Gen. R. B. Hayes and
was afterward detailed to act as assistant
adjutant-general on the staff of Gen. George
Crook. He was with Sheridan in the Shenan
doah valley, in the battles of Winchester,
Cedar Creek, Fisher's Hill, Opequan, Kerns-
town, Cloyd Mountain and Berryville. For
meritorious conduct he was brevetted major
by President Lincoln, and after Gen. Crook's
capture, in Maryland, he served on the staff

of Major Gen. Hancock, and later on that
of Gen. S. S. Carroll, commander of the
veteran reserve corps at Washington, D. C.
He was present at the surrender of Gen. Lee,
April 9, 1865, was with his regiment all through
its campaigns and battles, and was mustered
out of service July 26, 1865, having been in
the army four years and one month.
Returning to Ohio Maj. McKinley studied
law with Hon. Charles S. Glidden and David
Wilson of Mahoning county, • and then at
tended the law school at Albany, N. Y. In
1867 he was admitted to the bar, and in May
of that year located in Canton, Ohio, where
he formed a law partnership with Judge Bel-
den, practicing in that relationship for two
years. In 1869 he was elected prosecuting
attorney of Stark county, notwithstanding that
county was democratic usually by a reliable
majority, but in 1871 he was defeated for re
election by an adverse majority of forty-five.
In 1876 he ran for congress, and to the sur
prise of the older politicians was elected, and
was then continuously in congress, from his
district (notwithstanding several gerrymanders
made for the sake of defeating him), for four
teen consecutive years, with the exception of a
part of his fourth term, when he was unseated by
a democratic majority in congress and his place
given to his competitor. He was a candidate for
re-election to congress in 1890, but on account
of fictitious alarm awakened by his political
enemies as to the effect, and the probable effect,
of the " McKinley tariff bill, " which went into
effect about October 1 , 1 890, a little more
than one month before the election, he was
defeated, the majority against him and in favor
of his competitor, Lieut. -Gov. Warwick, being
303 votes. The year before the counties com
posing this district, which had been most out
rageously gerrymandered for the sake of ac
complishing his defeat, gave a majority to
James E. Campbell for governor of 2,900.

164

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

But while this defeat retired him from con
gress it at the same time made him governor
in 1 89 1, when he was elected over Ms opponent
by a plurality of 21,511. In 1 893 he was
again elected governor by the phenomenal
plurality of 80,995, his opponent this time be
ing the Hon. Lawrence T. Neal.
In 1884 Maj. McKinley was a delegate at
large to the republican national convention
which nominated Hon. James G. Blaine. In
1888 he was again a delegate at large to the
republican national convention, and this time
was in favor of the Hon. John Sherman for
the party's candidate, but the complications
then were numerous and difficult of solution,
because of Mr. Blaine's refusal to be again the
nominee. Many thought the nomination of
Maj. McKinley would solve all problems and
harmonize all factions, but in spite of all argu
ments and all persuasions he remained true to
his state and to himself by steadfastly refusing
to permit his name to be used as a presidential
candidate. Again, in 1892, Maj. McKinley
was a delegate at large to the Minneapolis
convention which renominated President Har
rison, and in this convention, in spite of all
remonstrances that he could make, he re
ceived within a fraction of as many votes as
were given to the idol of the republican party,
James G. Blaine, the latter receiving 182 5-6
votes, while McKinley received 182 1-6 votes.
President Harrison was, however, renominated
only to be defeated by the present incumbent
of the presidential chair, Grover Cleveland.
In his political campaigns he has mani
fested brilliant qualities as an orator. It is
probably true that more people have heard
him discuss political questions than have ever
listened to any other campaign speaker in the
United States. Thousands of people assemble
to hear him; he always commands the rapt
attention of his hearers, and he frequently
elicits at least hearty applause. One of his

most notable addresses was that delivered at
the Atlanta Chautauqua in 1888, upon the in
vitation of the late Henry W. Grady, the sub
ject selected for discussion being protection to
American industries. Although the weather
was threatening in the morning, and notwith
standing that the people had to ride on the
cars about thirty-five miles out from Atlanta to
reach the Chautauqua, yet there were assem
bled about 4,000 Georgians; and despite the
deprecatory manner in which the subject of
protection was referred to by the introductory
speaker, yet Maj. McKinley completely carried
the day with his audience, a fact which indi
cates that the people of that state are inter
ested in the subject.
His great tour in the fall of 1894 is prob
ably without a parallel in the history of the
United States. Everywhere thousands greeted
him. For more than eight weeks he averaged
seven speeches a day, and it is estimated that
during that time 2,000,000 people listened to
him. It is altogether likely that the secret of
his power over an audience lies in his sincerity,
as he employs no adventitious methods and is
not amusing, his simple and single aim being
apparently to convince by argument fairly
and squarely.
Gov. McKinley was married January 25,
1 87 1, to Miss Ida Saxton, daughter of James
A. Saxton, of Canton, Ohio, who is an ac
complished lady, but through illness is com
pelled to remain at home much of the time.
When health will permit she accompanies her
husband on his travels. They have had born
to them two children, both of whom died in
infancy. In religion both Gov. McKinley and
his wife are Methodists, as were his father and
mother, and he has placed a memorial window
to his father in the little Methodist church at
Poland, Ohio. His grandfather, however, was
a Presbyterian, and was a member of the Lis
bon Presbyterian church from 1822 to 1836,

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

during the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Vallandig-
ham, father of Clement L. Vanlandigham.
Gov. McKinley's father died recently at the
age of eighty -five, but his mother is still living,
aged eighty-seven years.

HSA S. BUSHNELL, governor of Ohio
at the present time, is, without doubt
and without qualification, one of the
ablest men in the state. In many
respects his career has been an exceptional
one. His education and training have been
those of a practical man of affairs, and to-day,
at the age of sixty-two, having been born at
Rome, Oneida county, N. Y., in 1834, he is
one of the most clear-headed business men in
the country.
At the age of eleven he left his home in
the Empire state to begin his career in the
Buckeye state, reaching Cincinnati in 1845,
where he spent six years in the public schools,
paying his own expenses by working out of
school hours and in vacation seasons. At the
end of the six years spent in Cincinnati he re
moved, in 1851, to Springfield, Ohio, in which
city he has since lived and in which city he has
acquired a princely fortune. His first three
years in the "Champion City" were spent as
a dry-goods clerk, during which time he be
came a thoroughly practical book-keeper, and
at their expiration he was given a position as
book-keeper with the old and well-known
water-wheel firm of Leffel, Cook & Blakeney,
which was even then doing an extensive busi
ness. This position he retained until 1857,
when he foamed a partnership with Dr. John
Ludlow in the drug business, a partnership
which lasted ten years, or until 1867. The
only break in the continuity of his labors here
was while he was engaged as captain of com
pany E, One Hundred and Fifty-second Ohio
volunteer infantry, in 1864, in the Shenandoah

valley. Here his bravery and his kindly man
ner won for him the admiration of and made
him very popular among his fellow-soldiers of
the entire regiment. While he was in the army
he was somewhat slight in build and light in
weight, and he was not much given to physi
cal exercise, while at the present time he is
unusually active and weighs fully 200 pounds.
In 1867 Capt. Bushnell purchased an in
terest in the large manufacturing firm of what
is now known as the Warder, Bushnell &
Glessner Co., of which the late Benjamin F.
Warder was then the head, and of which the
junior member was J. J. Glessher, now a
prominent capitalist of Chicago. And it is in
connection with this concern, which Mr. Bush
nell has so long and so successfully managed,
that he has made the fortune which he to-day
possesses. Hon. Asa S. Bushnell has long been closely
identified with the republican party in Ohio,
though his attempt to become governor of the
state was the first he ever made to secure pub
lic office. He became chairman of the repub
lican state executive committee in 1885, and
from 1886 to 1890, he served the state as
quartermaster-general, having been appointed
by Gov. Foraker, who was largely instru
mental in securing for him the nomination for
governor in 1895, at Zanesville. In the fall of
1888 he was assaulted in the streets of Spring
field by political enemies, and through that as
sault came near losing his life. This assault
still remains a mystery, and no one has been
brought to punishment. He was chosen as
a delegate at large to the republican national
convention which met at Minneapolis in 1892,
and which nominated President Harrison for
re-election, and on November 2, 1895, he was
elected governor of Ohio by a plurality of
92,622, over Hon. James E. Campbell, the
democratic candidate, this plurality being the
largest ever given to a governor with the ex-

166

GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

ception of that given Gov. John Brough, dur
ing the progress of the Civil war, when the
soldiers at the front voted almost unanimously
for Brough as against Vallandigham. He was
inaugurated governor on January 13, 1896.
In the affairs of the Grand Army of the
Republic, Gov. Bushnell has long been a prom
inent participant, being a member of Mitchell
post, of Springfield, Ohio. He is also an ar
dent Free Mason. Among other of Gov.
Bushnell's benefactions may be mentioned the
Ohio Masonic Home, which was in all proba
bility preserved to Springfield by his unsolicited
contribution of $10,000, at a time, too, when
he was not a Mason.
Dr. John Ludlow, with whom Mr. Bushnell,
as a young man, found employment, had at
that time a pretty daughter named Ellen, and
these two young people were eventually mar
ried. Several children blessed the union, three
of whom survive, as follows: Mrs. J. F. Mc-
Grew: Mrs. H. C. Dimond, and John Ludlow
Bushnell, the latter of whom graduated with
honors from Princeton in 1894. Mrs. Bushnell
.is an ideal woman in every relation. While
she is a society woman, yet she is not so in the
ordinary sense of the phrase, her principal
strength lying in her domestic qualities. Her
two daughters are as happily married as is she
herself. Mrs. McGrew is the wife of one of

Springfield's most promising young attorneys,
and is the mother of two children, Ellen and
Fanny; while Mrs. Dimond is the wife of a
prominent young physician and also the mother
of two children, Asa Bushnell and Douglas
Marquand Dimond.
Brief reference can be made to the inau
gural address of Gov. Bushnell. Among other
things he commended was the proposition of
home rule or local option in matters pertaining
to taxation — which means that counties should
provide their own systems of taxation for their
necessary expenses; that double taxation should
be avoided, and that such taxation as is nec
essary should be distributed as to lighten the
burden of government, and so as to retain and
attract capital to the state. He also favored
a purchasing board for state .institutions, and
the providing of some means by which the state
could supply employment to such of its prison
ers as are now compelled to remain perpetually
idle. He also favored the limitation by statute
of local indebtedness to ten per cent of the tax
duplicate, and in closing said: "Time only can
tell how much or how little I shall merit your
commendation, but it will be my constant aim
and purpose to serve you as faithfully and as
wisely as there is light given me to show the
path of right, and I shall ever remember that
I am the servant of the people."

AbbEN COUNTY,

OHIO.

-;--- «s

Akk§N COUNTY.

BON. CALVIN S. BRICE, one of
Ohio's favorite and most distinguished
sons, was born in Denmark, Marion
(now Morrow) county, of the Buckeye
state, September 17, 1845, and is a son of Will
iam Kirkpatrick and Elizabeth (Stewart) Brice.
The father was descended from an old Mary
land and Pennsylvania family, was a graduate
of Hanover college and the Princeton Theo
logical seminary, and was a clergyman of much
note, while the mother, a lady of fine educa
tion and exemplary traits of character, was a
native of Carrollton, Ohio.
Calvin S. Brice, now United States senator
from the great commonwealth of Ohio, ob
tained his early education in the common
schools of his district, and this was supple
mented by attendance at schools of a higher
grade at Lima, and such was his native ability
and industry that, at the early age of thirteen
years, he was so far advanced that he was able
to enter the preparatory department of Miami
university, at Oxford, in his native state, where
he studied one year, and then entered the fresh
man class. To those who knew the man, when
a young, red-haired boy, endeavoring to get an
education at Miami university, his after life has
always been a story of exceeding interest. What
1

wealth he may have has been earned through
his own efforts, supplemented by a judgment
and business capacity rarely equaled. He in
herited none of it. The only heritage that
came to young Brice was a sound constitution,
an active mind, a thorough brand of American
pluck and grit, and an intelligent comprehen
sion of the way in which to put these to the
best use. While at school his progress was
marked, and he was looking forward to gradu
ation, when there came a call that his patriotic
impulses and the ardor of a true-hearted
American boy would not permit' him to ignore.
When the call of the president came, young
Brice, although but fifteen years of age, re
linquished his studies, enlisted as a member of
Capt. Dodd's Uuiversity company, and in
April, 1861, took his first lesson in military dis
cipline at Camp Jackson, Columbus. In April,
1862, he was enrolled a member of company
A, Eighty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, of
which Prof. R. W. McFarland was captain,
and served with the regiment during the sum
mer of that year in West Virginia. Returning
to the university, he resumed his studies, com
pleted the regular course, and graduated in
June, 1863.
Mr. Brice then took charge of one of the

172

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

public schools of Lima, and while so engaged
acted for some time as deputy county auditor.
He had already formed the purpose of devoting
himself to the profession of law, and made use
of such spare time as he could command in
study until the spring of 1864, when the old
impulse to make his power effective for the
good of the Union cause led him to again re
turn to the field. He recruited company E,
One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio volunteer
infantry, and as captain served in the First
division of the Twenty-third corps in Tennes
see, Georgia, and the Carolinas, until July,
1865. While still in the field he was pro
moted to lieutenant-colonel for meritorious
services, but owing to the return of peace he
was never mustered in under this commission.
With the return of peace, Mr. Brice again
devoted himself to what he felt was the real
work of his life. He applied himself, with re
newed activity and interest, to the study of
law, subsequently entering the law department
of the university of Michigan, at Ann Arbor,
and was admitted to practice by the state and
the United States district and circuit courts
at Cincinnati, in the spring of 1866. Asso
ciating himself with Mr. Irvine, he formed the
law firm of Irvine & Brice, and began the
practice of his chosen profession in Lima,
where he remained more than ten years. As
a member of this law firm Mr. Brice became
connected with the legal department of the old
Lake Erie & Louisville railroad. This was
the beginning of the career of Mr. Brice as a
railroad magnate. As one of the counsel for
this road, he obtained an insight into the actual
work of railroading and saw spread before him
the opportunities which he subsequently
grasped. He became interested in the road
financially, modestly it is true, but his hold
ings gradually increased. His mind, capable
of looking into the future, foreseeing what
should be done and doing it at the right time,

saw where the money was being lost in the
railroad business and where it should be made.
Quick of conception and equally quick in exe
cution, Mr. Brice recognized that the exten
sion of systems and the opening up of new
territory would enhance the property.
This idea developed and resulted in the
construction of the "Nickel Plate" railroad, a
name given to the road in jest by Mr. Brice,
and which he and his associates constructed
parallel to the Lake Shore road. The Lake
Shore had refused to make a satisfactory ar
rangement for taking care of the traffic turned
over to it by the Lake Erie & Western, andits
refusal led to the building of this new line
from Chicago to Buffalo, which it was com
pelled to buy to get rid of the dangerous op
position that it gave promise of being. This
operation opened the eyes of the eastern rail
road world to this rising genius of the west.
His subsequent career as the moving spirit of
large railroad interests and corporate invest
ments is thoroughly familiar to the public.
In politics, Mr. Brice has likewise been
singularly fortunate. He stands to-day the
leading politician in a great state, and one of
the men of national prominence as a demo
crat, with courage to do what he believes to
be right, and what the best interests of the
whole people demand. He first came before
the people in politics when he was named for
the Tilden electoral ticket in 1876. He was also
on the Cleveland electoral ticket in 1884, and
was a delegate to the Saint Louis convention in
1 888, where he was elected to represent Ohio on
the national democratic committee, and he was
made chairman of the campaign committee in
the ensuing national campaign. At the death
of M. William H. Barnum, in 1889, Mr. Brice
was made chairman of the national committee,
making a vigorous, but unsuccessful fight for
the re-election of Mr. Cleveland. No man
ever spent more of his time for the advance-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

173

i i i u

ment of his party than did Mr. Brice in that
campaign, and it is notorious that no man ever
spent more of his private means for the ad
vancement of the cause of the ticket which he
was championing.
In January, 1890, Mr. Brice was elected
by the legislature as a United States senator
to succeed Hon. Henry B. Payne. In the
senate Mr. Brice has not been compelled to
serve the probationary period that usuall falls
to the lot of young members. He forged at
once to the front and became an active and
important figure in the councils of his party.
On the troublesome questions growing out of
the railroad system and transportation prob
lems, his advice has been eagerly sought by
statesmen of both parties. He devoted much
time to the tariff question, and it was largely
through his work that the party was able, so
far as the senate was concerned, to agree upon
a bill that consolidated the party vote in that
body, and made it possible for the bill to be
come a law and tariff reform to be an assured
fact. Mr. Brice will never be counted an
orator. He is not gifted with rhetorical.
speech, but his short pithy five-minute speeches
have condensed within them the essence of the
subject upon which he speaks and drives a
point home to his hearers in a way that im
presses itself upon the understanding. He has
been a hard-working member and has reflected
credit upon the state, which has honored him
with a seat in the senate of the United States.
The vast railroad interests with which Mr.
Brice has been and is connected, have not pre
vented his active labor in other fields of invest
ment or development. He organized and be
came president of the gaslight company at
Lima; assumed a controlling interest in the
First National Bank of Lima upon its incor
poration, and has been the promoter of, or a
large stockholder in, many of the manufac
turing interests in that thriving place. He is

also identified with the Chase National Bank
of New York, and a leading spirit and director
of the Southern Trust company. Contrary to
an opinion expressed, Mr. Brice does not specu
late in stocks. Purely speculative profits appear
to have little charm for Mr. Brice, he rather
preferring the fruits of a bold enterprise in his
particular field wherein his many friends can
share; and such is his prestige that the sub
scribers to such as are brought out by him are
only limited by the amount of the subscription.
As a trustee of the Miami university in
Ohio, vice-president of the Ohio society in
New York, vice-president of the Delta Kappa
Epsilon fraternity of New York, a member of
the Manhattan, the Lotos, the Athletic, and
other leading clubs, and in like position of a
public or social character, Mr. Brice has proven
himself a useful and campanionable man.
Calvin S. Brice was most happily united
in marriage September 9, 1869, at Lima, Ohio,
with Miss C. Olivia Meily, and this union is
blessed by the birth of three sons and two
daughters. Although engrossed in business
and social affairs he never carries them into
the quiet atmosphere of home. As soon as he
turns from his office in the afternoon, by a
wonderful power of self-control, he shakes off
all business care, and goes happily to a home
that is palatial in its appointments and restful
in its luxury. There, environed by the tender
ness of family ties, and delighted by the grace
of culture and the beauty of art, Mr. Brice
welcomes his friends to royal hospitality and
most enjoyable entertainment.

<*S^% EV. WM. KIRKPATRICK BRICE,
I /^ deceased, was born in Adams county,
fs ¥ Pa., near Gettysburg, November 12,
1812.
Alexander and Margaret (Kearsley) Brice,
his parents, moved to Springboro, Warren

174

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

county, Ohio, in 1 815. In 1830 he became a
member of the Washington church, and hav
ing the ministry in view, soon began his studies
at Walnut Hills at the opening of Lane semi
nary, which was then a classical as well as a
theological school. In 1836 he graduated at
Hanover college and at once went to the
Princeton seminary, where he finished his course
in 1 84 1. He was licensed to preach, by the
Second presbytery of New York, March 17,
1 841, and began his ministry in the churches
of Washington and Muddy Run, in Miami
presbytery, serving them six months and then
took charge of Canaan church in Marion pres
bytery, and in 1843 he was ordained and in
stalled as pastor of Canaan church, also preach
ing as stated supply of Mount Gilead one-
third of his time. In the beginning of the
year 1849 he took charge of the Truro, Kalida
and Ottawa churches in Putnam county, Ohio,
and was installed as pastor of Truro in 1850.
His labors at Truro were blessed, the church
becoming self-supporting and growing to be
one of the largest in the synod. Here he re
mained about twenty years, up to the time of
his death. In 1869 he had an attack of pneu
monia which left him with impaired lungs, from
the effect of which he died July 19, 1870. In
1845 he married Elizabeth Stewart, of Carl
ton, Ohio, who died April 16, 1852, leaving three
children — Calvin S., William and James, the
last named died in infancy. William died in
the spring of 1890. In 1854 Rev. Brice married
Clementine Cunningham, of Lima, Ohio, who
is still living, by whom he had four children —
John K., Anna E. (Mrs. O. B. Selfridge, Jr.),
Herbert L. and Mary, wife of Edward Ritchie,
of Cincinnati, Ohio. By the first marriage of
the Rev. William Kirkpatrick Brice, it will be
perceived that he became the father of Ohio's
eminent statesman and business prodigy, Cal
vin S. Brice, whose biography and portrait
precede this sketch.

EERBERT L. BRICE.— Among the
most active and prominent young at
torneys of Lima, Ohio, is Herbert L.
Brice, a son of Rev. William K. and
Clementine Brice. Mrs. Brice is a daughter of
William Cunningham, a leading citizen of the
same place. Herbert L. Brice, the subject of
this sketch, was born near Columbus Grove,
Ohio, April 9, 1865, and at the death of his
father, which occurred when young Herbert
was about five years of age ; his mother set
tled in Lima, her present home. Here Mr.
Brice obtained his early education in the pub
lic schools, remaining in these schools until he
was fifteen years old, and in 1880 entered Ox
ford academy, where he prepared for Wooster
university. Entering Princeton college in 1883,
he pursued his studies there three years, and
was graduated from that institution in 1886.
Having already chosen his profession he at
once entered Columbia Law school in New
York city, and was admitted to the bar at
Columbus, Ohio, in 1888. So careful and
thorough had he always been in his school and
college courses that he found himself prepared
to immediately engage in the practice of his
profession, and at once formed a partnership
with S. S. Wheeler at Lima, Ohio, which
partnership continues to the present time.
? Politically Mr. Brice is a republican and
has always taken great interest in the success
of his party. He is also to some extent en
gaged in business, being at the present writing
president of the Lima Natural Gas company,
and he is also a member of the B. P. O. E.,
No. 9, of Lima, Ohio. Few men in this part
of Ohio have a brighter prospect before them
than has Mr. Brice, who is thoroughly well
qualified for any practice that may fall to his
share. His social standing, it is needless to
say, is co-equal with that of the most promi
nent citizens of the county, his ancestors, as-
well as himself, having been quite eminent.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

175

(D

ADISON W. ALEXANDER, farm
er of Marion township, Allen county,
Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the late
Civil war, was born in Lima, Ohio,
November, 1838, and is of Scotch and Dutch
descent. His paternal great-grandfather, com
ing from Scotland, settled in South Carolina,
and of his children one of his sons fought in
the patriot army during the Revolutionary
war and one adhered the cause of his king.
John Alexander, the grandfather of our
subject, was born in South Carolina, was there
a slave-owner, but in an early day left his
native state and became a pioneer of Greene
county, bringing his family with him, his chil
dren being John, George W., Isabella, one
whose name has lapsed from memory, and
Bell. Mr. Alexander was a lawyer by profes
sion, was a member of congress, and a promi
nent resident of Xenia, Ohio, in his early days,
and there died at- a very advanced age. John
Alexander, son of the gentleman above named
and father of Madison W., the subject proper
of this memoir, was born in Xenia, Ohio, was
a graduate of Yale college, Mass., and a
Methodist minister of considerable note. He
married Eliza M. Hoover, daughter of Josiah
and Caroline (Adgate) Hoover — the Hoovers
being of Holland origin. The Rev. John
Alexander was a pioneer of Northwestern Ohio,
early preached at Saint Mary's mission in
Auglaize county, was a colleague of Rev.
James B. Findlay, and after retiring from the
ministry was one of the first clerks of Allen
county. He died in middle life, leaving three
children — Caroline, Madison W. and Isabella.
Madison W. Alexander was engaged in
farming until his enlistment, April 19, 1861,
in company A, Twentieth Ohio volunteer in
fantry, for three months, receiving an honor
able discharge at Lima, July 23, 1861. In
September, 1861, he again enlisted, entering
company B, Eighty-first Ohio infantry, for

three years. He afterward, having filled out
his term, veteranized, received a thirty-day
furlough home, and served until honorably
discharge at Camp Dennison July 25, 1865.
Among the many battles in which he took part
were Shiloh, Corinth, Iuka, Atlanta, Resaca,
Buzzard's Roost, Kenesaw Mountain, Jones-
boro and others, and was then with Sherman
on the great inarch to the sea, fought at Ben-
tonville, went clear through to the culmina
tion, and took part in the grand review at
Washington, D. C. His military record, it
may be said to his honor, is as long as that of
any volunteer from Allen county. September
24, 1885, Mr. Alexander married, at Elida,
Ohio, Miss Mahala Sherrick, who was born
November 27, 1853, a daughter of Samuel
and Barbara (Stemen) Sherrick, and to this
happy union have been born five children, viz:
John L., Cloyd, Carl H., and Earl and Myrl
(twins). Mr. and Mrs. Alexander are sincere
members of the United Brethren church and
in politics Mr. Alexander is a republican. He
has been a man of industrious habits, owns
seven acres of the homestead and eighty acres
in Hancock county, and has an untarnished
reputation, both as a soldier and citizen.

*^% EV. JOSEPH D. ALLEN, one of the
I /^ best known and also one of the lead-
B_,F mg residents of German township, is
the son of George W. and Patience
(Lakin) Allen. The father was born in Rock
ingham county, Va., in 181 5, and died March
16, 1879; the mother was born in Ohio in
May, 18 19, and is yet living and a resident of
German township.
Joseph D. Allen was born in Hocking
county, Ohio, December 6, 1838. His boy
hood was spent in farming and his education
obtained in the district schools of the old log
school-house of the early day. When a boy

176

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of about seventeen years of age he came to
Allen county with his parents, in 1856, when
they located in German township. He re
mained at home until twenty-one years of age,
assisting in clearing up the home farm. De
cember 31, 1859, he was married to Miss
Catherine Shock, daughter of Peter and Mary
(Boyd) Shock, both natives of Mercer county,
Ohio. She was born in Coshocton county,
Ohio, May 21, 1837. The newly married
couple located in Amanda township, where they
bought fifty-three acres of timberland, erected
a log house and established their first home.
Here they remained four years, when they sold
the place and bought forty-seven acres in sec
tion No. 15, where they lived for twelve years,
making many improvements — erecting build
ings, putting out an orchard, ect. This place
they sold and purchased eighty acres in section
No. 32 — a partially cleared farm — on which
they now live and engaged in general farming
and stockraising, and keeping a fine draft stal
lion. Mr. Miller is a stanch prohibitionist
and a member of the radical branch of the
United Brethren church, in which he has been
a local preacher for the past thirty years.
Rev. Allen and wife are the parents of six
children living and seven deceased : James R. ,
Amos F., Charles W., John L. , all deceased;
William L., Emma T., Elmer W. ; Hanson R.
and Elias K., (twins) — the latter deceased;
Isaac A. and Anna B., both also deceased;
Emry F., and Patience N., deceased. Mr.
and Mrs. Allen are among the most highly re
spected citizens of the county. As remarked,
Mr. Allen is a thoroughgoing prohibitionist and
cast the first vote for that party in German
township, and has for years been a faithful
worker in the cause of temperance. He has
been a delegate to the two last state conven
tions and is always on hand and active at the
county conventions. He was a soldier in the
late rebellion, enlisting in May, 1864, in com

pany B, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio vol
unteer infantry. His company was stationed
on the Maryland side of the fortifications at
Washington, and he participated near the
Fort Reno skirmish line one day and night.
He was mustered out at Camp Chase, Colum
bus, Ohio, August 27, 1864.
George W. Allen, the father of Rev. J. D.
Allen, whose biography appears above, was
born in Loudoun county, Va., September 8,
1813, and was the son of Joseph and Mary
(King) Allen, who were of old Virginia stock.
Mr. Allen was one of a large family of children,
of which but six lived to manhood and woman
hood. When he was eight years old the fam
ily came to Fairfield county, Ohio, where he
grew to manhood — living on a farm — and
where he married, on June 23, 1833, Miss
Patience Lakin, who was a native of Fairfield
county and born near Rushville, May 22, 1817.
She was the daughter of Daniel and Theodosia
Lakin, who came from Cumberland county,
Pa. The father was a carpenter, shoemaker
and miller, and plied at times all of these oc
cupations. He died in Fairfield county. Mrs.
Allen came of a family of seven children, four
of whom are now living. She was reared in
Fairfield county and remained there two years
after her marriage, and then, with her family,
came to Hocking county, Ohio, whence, after
six years' residence, they moved to Perry
county, where they lived twelve years, then
returned to Fairfield county, and in the spring
of 1856 came to Allen county and bought a
farm of 160 acres in German township, where
they made their home and where Mrs. Allen
now lives, at the age of seventy-eight years.
The husband died March 16, 1878, a devout
member of the United Brethren church, deeply
respected and loved by a large circle of friends.
A family of fourteen children were born to
them: Mary E. ; James Q., deceased, died at
Jeffersonville, Ind., January 11, 1865; he was

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

177

a soldier in the Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer
infantry, having served almost three years;
Levi T. ; Joseph D. ; Savilla, deceased; Moses;
Sarah, deceased; Samuel, deceased; was a
soldier in the Civil war and served in the
Thirty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, and
was killed June 18, 1863, at Vicksburg, Miss.;
George A.; Isaac A.; Theodosia, deceased;
Leander; Emma J. and Patience A.

eETER ALTHAUS, one of the proprie
tors of the Bluffton Planing mills, and
a highly respected citizen of Allen
county, springs from sturdy German
stock on his father's side of the family. He is
a son of David and Mary A. (Kilchorfer)
Althaus, the latter being of Swiss descent.
David Althaus, the father of the subject, was
born in canton Berne, Switzerland, and when
about twenty years of age emigrated therefrom
to the United States. He settled in Wayne
county, Ohio, and there was married to Mary
A. Kilchorfer, by whom he became the father
of six children that grew to mature years, as
follows: David, John, Elizabeth, Peter, Abra
ham and Christian. The farm upon which
Mr. Althaus settled, in Wayne county, was at
the time a complete wilderness, nothing hav
ing been done upon it in the way of clearing.
Thus he was one of the pioneer settlers of that
county, and gradually became one of its sub
stantial and prominent farmers. He had 120
acres of good land, well improved. He was a
member of the Mennonite church, and died
when eighty-six years of age.
Peter Althaus, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on his
father's farm, May 8, 1841, and received the
education common to the children of the
pioneers of that early day. Having learned
the carpenter's trade, he went to Moniteau
county, Mo., where he followed his trade until

1869, when he returned to Ohio, in the fall of
that year. He here engaged alone in carpen
tering and contracting at Bluffton, Allen
county, until the fall of 1872, when, in part
nership with Peter Oberly, he erected the
present planing mill, in which this firm manu
factures all kinds of dressed lumber, doors,
sash and blinds, and all kinds of house wood
work, ornamental porches, etc. In 1883 Mr.
Oberly sold his interest in the business to P.
& A. Althaus, the firm name then becoming
P. Althaus & Bro, and in 1886 Althaus Bros.
sold to Frederick Geiger and this firm became
well-known as a reliable one throughout the
county; in 1896 Mr. Geiger sold to Althaus,
Ewing & Co.
Mr. Althaus, in 1875, married Christiana
Steiner, who was born in 1846 in Wayne
county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Christian
L. Steiner. To Mr. and Mrs. Althaus there
have been born five children, as follows:
Amos J., William H., MaryE., Florence A.,
and Wilbur R. Both parents of these five
children are members of the Mennonite church,
and highly respected people. Mr. Althaus is a
democrat in politics and has served for five
years as a member of the school board. Mr.
Althaus owns a fine residence in Bluffton, be
side other valuable real estate in the city, in ad
dition to his mill property. He also owns an
interest in the shoe store of Baumgartner,
Eiger & Co., and an interest in two farms.
Altogether he is one of the most substantial and
reliable citizens of Bluffton, and is highly re
garded because of the known integrity of his
character and the excellence of his family.

HSHTON BROTHERS.— One of the
well-known business firms of Spen-
cerville, Ohio, is that of S. L. & H.
M. Ashton. They are of English
descent, their father's parents coming from

178

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Lincolnshire, England, to America in 183 1.
Their mother's parents came from New York
state, settling in Hardin county, Ohio, when
it was but little more than an unbroken wilder
ness, here endured the hardships of a pioneer
life, and lived to a ripe old age. The broth
ers (Ashton) were born in Lima, Ohio, the
elder in 1863 and the younger in 1867. They
were given the advantage of a common-school
education, of which they ever availed them
selves to the fullest extent. S. L. x\.shton
started at sixteen years of age to learn the
printing trade, and, after mastering it, went
into the Merchants National bank, where he
remained for three years, and there acquired a
knowledge of banking and book-keeping. In
1885 the brothers came to Spencerville, July
ist, and took charge of the Spencerville Jour
nal, which was a very badly dilapidated and
practically a bankrupt concern. After resusci
tating the paper and putting it fairly on its
feet, and operating it for four years, they sold
it and began casting around for another loca
tion, but failing to find one they opened a dry-
goods house, and, although inexperienced, they
operated one of the most successful mercan
tile houses in Spencerville. This business they
followed for four years, when, at the beginning
of Harrison's administration, the senior brother
was appointed postmaster, which position he
very satisfactorily filled for nearly four years,
when ill health compelled him to resign and
seek a change of climate, which he did, going
to California and returning greatly improved.
The younger brother, H. M. Ashton, acted
as assistant postmaster during the older broth
er's term of office. Before this time they had
organized the Spencerville Home & Savings
association, which became one of the champion
institutions of the town and now holds first
mortgage loans, exceeding in value $75,000.
In August, 1893, the brothers again became
owners of the Spencerville Journal, and by

hard work and earnest application have made
it one of the best local newspapers in north
western Ohio.
The Ashton brothers are enthusiastic
champions of all improvements, take an active
part in public affairs, and, being large real
estate holders, their taxes practically aid in the
building up of the town. H. M. Ashton, the
junior brother, was united in marriage to Miss
Minnie Harbison, a daughter of Dr. Harbison,
one of the oldest practitioners of Allen county.
He was the founder of the Spencerville Stave
factory, which gave the place its first business
impulse. The senior brother is known all over
northwest Ohio as the " Bachelor Editor, " and
is the the butt of many a good-natured thrust
at his single blessedness from the newspaper
fraternity. It is a satisfaction to write of men
who have in so pronounced a manner come to
the front and substantially remained there. As
the pen is mightier than the sword, so, too, are
pluck, energy and perserverance, in comparison
with the inheritance of greatness or fortune.

a APT. JOHN AKERMAN, one of the
most gallant soldiers of the late Civil
war and now a prominent farmer of
Jackson township, Allen county, Ohio,
is a native of the county, was born May 12,
1838, and is of sturdy German descent, his
paternal great-grandfather having been the
first of the family to come to America. John
Akerman, son of this hardy immigrant and
grandfather of our subject, was a thrifty
farmer of Cumberland county, Pa., where he
married Miss Nancy Baird, and later came to
Ohio, settling in Perry county, where he and
wife passed their pure and simple lives, both
dying in the faith of the Presbyterian church —
the father, in his politics, being a democrat.
William Akerman, son of John and Nancy
(Baird) Akerman, and the father of our sub-

JOHN AKERMAN.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

181

ject, Capt. John Akerman, was born in Cum
berland county, Pa., April 17, 1810, and was
but five years of age when brought to Perry
county, Ohio. There he grew to manhood,
when he went to Morgan county, and met and
married, May 9, 1833, Miss Keziah Carroll,
who was born in Morgan county, May 17, 18 14,
a daughter of Andrew and Letitia (Beech)
Carroll, who came from Pennsylvania and were
the parents of the unusually large family of
thirteen children, viz: Sam B., Nancy (de
ceased), John, William H. (deceased), Maria
J., Andrew (deceased), James M., Mary S.,
David (deceased), Albert J., Newton, Letitia
(deceased) and Keziah. In 1834, William
Akerman came to Allen county, entered 120
acres of land in the forests of Jackson town
ship, and, being an industrious, intelligent, and
skillful woodsman and farmer, was successful
in bringing this tract under cultivation and in
-adding to it until he accumulated 254 acres.
He was very popular with the democratic
party, held all the township offices, and for
four full terms filled the office of county com
missioner, and it was during his incumbency of
the last-named office that the first county in
firmary was established. William Akerman
had one brother, John, and two sisters, Maria
and Jane; Mrs. Akerman had three sisters,
Margaret, Sabina and Ruth, and these consti
tuted all the members 6f their respected
families. When William Akerman came to Allen
county, in 1834, he and his wife, with their
first-born babe, were conveyed hither in a
wagon drawn by a small yoke of- oxen, which,
with a cow and $10 in cash, constituted his
worldly possessions. The use he made of this
small capital has already been explained. He
taught a few terms of school after his arrival,
more as an aid in the education of the children
of his neighbors than for any pecuniary profit
to be derived therefrom. Although he had

accepted the public position named above, also
as a matter of public duty, he steadfastly re
fused to accept a nomination for the office of
representative of this county in the state legis
lature. He was a master Mason and a char
ter member of Sager lodge, No. 513, and a
member of the Patrons of Husbandry. He
and wife were also charter members of La-
Fayette Christian church, in which he was a
deacon, and was a trustee during the erection
of the church edifice of that place. In this
austere faith his wife passed away February
27, 1887, and he October 9, 1878.
John Akerman, the subject proper of this
biography, was thoroughly trained to the vo
cation of farming and had his thews and sin
ews developed to the arduous labor necessary
to the development of a frontier farm. At
the age of about twenty years he married, Oc
tober 31, 1858, Miss Sarah A. Fisher, who
was born in Perry county, Ohio, September
15, 1840, a daughter of Christian and Eve
(Stumbaugh) Fisher. Christian Fisher was
for over thirty years a resident of Perry county,
and in 1855 came to Allen county and became
quite a wealthy farmer. He was a democrat
in politics and a faithful member of the Luth
eran church, in which faith he died August 21,
1864, and February 1, 1887, was followed to
the grave by his faithful wife, who died in the
same faith. To the union of Christian and
Eve Fisher were born the following children:
Joseph; Margaret, wife of Jackson Zartman;
Mary, deceased wife of G. W. Zartman; Eve,
deceased wife of Sam Ackerman; Charles;
Sarah A., Mrs. Capt. Akerman; Catherine,
Hannah, Frank and William, all four de
ceased. To the union of Capt. Akerman and
his wife have been born ten children, named
as follows: Norton J., William N., Emma
M., Eugene, Charles H. (deceased), Loran E.,
John J. (deceased), Junetta, Newton and Cora
— the last named also deceased.

182

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

John Akerman, while yet a young married
man, enlisted at La Fayette, Allen county,
January 4, 1862, in company I, Forty-sixth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and was under Gen.
Sherman nearly four years, campaigning in
the states of. Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama
and Georgia. He fought at Pittsburg Land
ing (Shiloh), siege of Corinth, siege of Vicks
burg, Jackson, siege of Knoxville, at Mission
ary Ridge, through the entire Atlanta cam
paign, at Dalton, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw
Mountain (at which point he had four rifle
balls shot through his clothing and cartridge
box in the grand assault), against Hood in his
first sortie from Atlanta, at Jonesboro (Ga.),
at Lovejoy Station, at Griswoldville, Savan
nah, Bentonville, and at every historical event
in which his regiment took part. He was in
the grand review at Washington, D. C. , and
was a witness of the fact that Gen. Sherman
refused to shake the proffered hand of Secre
tary Stanton, while passing the grand stand.
The line of promotion of private Akerman for
faithful attention to duty and meritorious con
duct in face of the enemy was as follows: To
sergeant in May, 1863, at La Grange, Tenn.,
at which point he was lying dangerously ill in
hospital of congestive chills; having veteran
ized at Scottsboro, Ala., January 4, 1864; he
was commissioned first lieutenant, September
7, 1864, and, having had the command of his
company thereafter, was brevetted captain.
He was first honorably discharged December
31, 1863, at Scottsboro, Ala., not for the rea
son that his term had expired but that he
intended to re-enlist; next, he was honorably
discharged on the seventh day of September,
1864, at East Point, Ga. , on account of being
commissioned first lieutenant, and finally hon
orably discharged, July 22, 1865, at Louis
ville, Ky., for the reason that the war had
come to a close.
Capt. Akerman was a charter member of

Dexter-Gilbert post, No. 206, G. A. R. ; is a
member of Sager lodge, No. 513, F. & A. M.,
of which he had been the worshipful master,
and is a member of Jackson grange, P. of H.
At the first re-union of his regiment, held at
Van Wert, Ohio, September 10, 1879, he was
chosen first chairman. While a resident of
Washington township, Hardin county, Ohio,
where he resided from 1865 until 1872, he
was township trustee and after his removal
to Latty township, Paulding county, he
was trustee for five years, justice of the
peace three years, and land appraiser one
year. In 1879 he was elected county commis
sioner from Jackson township, Allen county,
and filled the office six years, and during his
terms the county infirmary was remodeled and
the county children's home was built at a cost
of $50,000, and a large room added to the
courthouse. Capt. Akerman is a member of
the Christian church and has served as presi
dent of the Northwestern Ohio Christian con
ference. He is a member of the George A.
Taylor command of Union Veterans at Lima,
Allen county, Ohio. He has a farm of eighty
acres, formerly belonging to his father, delight
fully situated one mile east of LaFayette,
Allen county, and improved to the utmost in
every respect, and here he is passing away his
days — one of the most honored men of Allen
county.

>^OHN N. BAILEY, one of the leading
A representative men of Ohio, is by pro-
/• 1 fession a banker and an attorney at
law. He was born in Maulton town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, though now a part of
Auglaize county, September 3, 1839, and was
the eldest of five sons born to Christopher and
Nancy (Noble) Bailey. His grandparents were
natives of Virginia and of good old Quaker
stock, their family dating back in church rela-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

183

tions to the reign of King Charles II. The
father, Christopher Bailey, was born in Vir
ginia in September, 1807, being the son of
Thomas and Mary (Timberlake) Bailey, who
were also natives of Virginia and of good old
English stock. The grandfather, Thomas
Bailey, removed with his small family to High
land county, Ohio, in 1808, in which county
they became pioneers and were interested in
agricultural pursuits during the remainder of
their days. They experienced all the priva
tions of pioneer life, and here, in the woods,
reared their family and became first among
the well-known and highly popular citizens of
the neighborhood.
Christopher Bailey was scarcely a year old
when his parents immigrated to Highland
county, Ohio, where he was reared to man
hood upon a farm, and received his education
mainly in the subscription school of that day.
He early in life studied civil engineering, which
profession he followed occasionally at local
work, and also taught school during the win
ter seasons for several years. He remained in
Highland county, Ohio, until twenty-eight
years of age (1835), when he migrated to
Allen county, Ohio, and entered 160 acres of
land in what was then Maulton township, but
now belongs to Auglaize county. Here he
forged from the forest a good farm, upon which
he lived and enjoyed many of the comforts
and pleasures of this life, rearing his family to
man and womanhood, and upon which he
died. He was one of the prominent men of
his township and served in some of the minor
offices, such as justice of the peace and town
treasurer; politcally he affiliated with the whig
party. He was reared by Quaker parents and
adhered to their faith until middle age, when
he joined the Methodist Episcopal church, in
which he was a prominent worker until his
death. He was twice married, the first time
choosing Miss Phebe Baker for his companion;

she died a few years later, leaving two sons,
viz. : Jacob, now a resident of the state of
Iowa, and Walter, deceased. For his second
companion he chose Miss Nancy Noble, who
at that time was a resident of Mercer county,
Ohio, having been born in Clinton county in
September, 181 5; by this marriage they be
came the parents of five sons, namely: John
N., the immediate subject of this sketch;
Girard, a physician and farmer of Mercer
county, and an ex-soldier of the Civil war,
from which he was mustered out as captain;
Joshua, also a soldier in the late war, a mem
ber of company B, Ninety-ninth regiment,
Ohio volunteer infantry, and was killed in
battle in Saint Paris, Ky. ; Greene, a farmer
of Auglaize county, and Elisha, deceased in
early manhood. This old couple went hand
in hand down life's journey, living to see their
family all grown to manhood and established
in life, the mother dying in 1888, and the
father in the spring of 1891, having both been
highly esteemed citizens wherever known.
John N. Bailey, the subject of this sketch,
remained at home on the farm until seventeen
years of age, when he began working at the
carpenter trade, and continued in this until
twenty-four years of age — teaching meanwhile
three winters — and in all doing a large amount
of public work as bridge builder for railroad-,
etc. About this time he began reading law,
and in the winters of 1880-81-82, attended
the Cincinnati School of law, graduating in
1882, in which year he began the practice of
his profession in Spencerville, to which he has
since given his entire attention. He enjoys a
large and lucrative practice — the largest, with
out doubt, in Allen county, outside of the city
of Lima. In 1891, in company with his son-in-
law, Austin Britton, established the Farmers'
Bank of Spencerville, which is now doing a
large business, with Mr. Bailey as president and
Mr. Britton as cashier.

184

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mr. Bailey is slso an extensive farmer,
being the owner of 440 acres of good farmland
in Spencer and Amanda townships, operated
as stock farms. Mr. Bailey, in 1889, made a
trip to Europe, and he has otherwise traveled
extensively and is an intelligent and trustworthy
observer. It has been his aim to keep himself
in touch with the times and fully abreast with
current events. Politically he is a republican
to the core, and desires nothing better than
the republican party to interpret his political
views. He is a Mason, a member of Acadia
lodge, No. 306, and a Knight of Pythias of
Spencerville lodge, No. 251. Mr. Bailey has
been twice married, his first wife having been
Miss Minerva Babber, who died at the age of
thirty-six years, leaving seven children: Mary
A., Minnie, Alice (deceased), Emma, Charles
F., Lillian and Arthur H. Mr. Bailey was
married the second time, in 1879, to Mrs.
Hannah Caldwell of Darke county. The
family are members of the Methodist Episco
pal church and Mrs. Bailey is superintendent
of the Sunday-school. It would be fulsome to
add more to this sketch. A good wine needs
no bush, so does a good man need no spoken
praise. His deeds are his best friends; his
actions his stanchest champions.

WOHX A. BARR, a highly respected citi-
m zen of Beaver Dam, Allen county, and
m J one of the veterans of the war of the
"~ Rebellion, was born in Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, August 14, 1837. He is de
scended from Irish ancestry, his grandfather
having emigrated from Ireland, and settled in
Tuscarawas county. It is believed that his
father, John Barr, was born in Tuscarawas
county, and served as a soldier of the war of
1812-15, or, as it is sometimes called, the sec
ond war for independence. He was married
twice; first, to a Miss Baker, by whom he had

three children: Thomas, Hughes and Mar
garet. After the death of his first wife he was
married to a Miss Boone, who was born in
Maryland, of German ancestry, August 17,
18 14, and died in Tuscarawas county, Jan
uary 9, 1859. After this marriage he settled
down in Tuscarawas county on 100 acres of
land, and cleared it up. from the woods, mak
ing of it a good farm. To this second mar
riage there were born three children, one that
died in infancy, and James and John A., the
latter being the subject of this sketch. Thomas,
a son by his first wife, was in the Nineteenth
regiment Michigan volunteer infantry, and was
killed at Resaca, Ga. James was in the
Twenty-fifth Illinois volunteer infantry, and
served three years, being in the Atlanta cam
paign and being wounded near Marietta, Ga.
John A. Barr received in his youth the ed
ucation common to boys of that day and age
of the world. When he was but two years of
age his father died and he was reared among
strangers. He was living in Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, when the war broke out, and
was the first man in his company to enlist in
the service of his country, becoming a private
soldier in company B, Fifty-first regiment Ohio
volunteer infantry, under Captain Woods, his
term of enlistment being for three years or dur
ing the war. He served in this company until
he veteranized at Shell Mound, Tenn., Jan
uary 1, 1864, and continued in the service un
til honorably discharged as a corporal, October
3, 1865, at Victoria, Tex. During his period
of service, he participated in, the following bat
tles: Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Mis
sionary Ridge, and in most if not all of those of
the Atlanta campaign, including Resaca, Burnt
Hickory, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree
Creek, Jonesboro and Lovejoy Station, and
many smaller battles and skirmishes too numer
ous to mention. Afterward he was in the
Fourth corps under Gen. Thomas, and fought

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

185

at the battle of Franklin and that of Nashville,
and then went to Texas, where he remained
until honorably discharged. He was always
an active soldier, ready to perform any duty
assigned him, was never captured by the en
emy, and was never in the hospital. He was
in all the battles, skirmishes, marches, and
campaigns in which his regiment was engaged,
except the battle of Murfreesboro, when he
was sick in his tent. Always a faithful soldier,
his duty was promptly and cheerfully per
formed. His left eye was blinded early in the
war, and the sight of this eye was later entirely
destroyed. He was promoted corporal for
meritorious conduct near the close of his term
of service. After the war was over Mr. Barr
returned to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and not
long afterward removed to Williams county,
still later removing to Allen county, and was
married at Beaver Dam, April 26, 1883, to
Mrs. Levina (Dilly) Murray, who was born
August 14, 1855, and is a daughter of Jacob
and Anna (Johnson) Dilly.
Jacob Dilly was born in New Jersey July
15, 1809, of an old American family. On
February 13, 1834, he was married in his na
tive state, and moved to Ohio, settling in Tus
carawas county in 1837, and in the spring of
1855 he moved to Allen county. The farm
he purchased and cleared lies on the line of
Monroe and Richland townships, and here he
labored for years, making a good and com
fortable home for himself and family. In 1865
he removed to Beaver Dam and died when
eighty-three years of age. He and his wife
were the parents of nine children, beside Mrs.
Barr, as follows: Margaret, Catherine, James,
John, Leona A., and Aaron, and three that
died in youth. John and Aaron were soldiers
in the Civil war, serving in an infantry regi
ment. Mr. Dilly was a member of the Dis
ciples' church at Beaver Dam, was a repub
lican in politics, and a highly honored citizen.

Mr. and Mrs. Barr, soon after their mar
riage, settled at Beaver Dam and there he en
gaged in various kinds of employment for
some years, such as farming, running a sta
tionary engine, etc. In politics he is a prohi
bitionist, and both are members of the Dis
ciples' church. They are the parents of two
children, Sadie and Mary. Mr. Barr was one
of the best and bravest of the soldiers of the
Unoin army, and since then he has been one
of the Union's best citizens, standing high as
a man of honor and integrity. Mrs. Barr had
been married, previous to her marriage with
Mr. Barr, to George Murray, by whom she
had one child, Wilda.

aURTIS BAXTER, one of the oldest
and best known farmers of Marion
township, Allen county, was born in
Ross county, Ohio, October 26, 1822.
His great-grandfather was a native of Ireland
and an early settler of Pennsylvania. Samuel
Baxter, the father of our subject, it is thought,
was born in Knox county, Ohio, where he
married Polly Boyd, who became the mother
of three children — Sarah, Polly and John.
Polly (Boyd) Baxter died in Knox county,
where he married, for his second wife, Keziah
Cremean, daughter of Curtis Cremean, and
to this union were born nine children, viz:
Jane, James, Maria, Samuel, Curtis, Smith,
Rachael, David and Eliza, all of whom were
born in Ross county, with the exception of
Eliza, who was born in Allen county, Ohio.
Samuel Baxter, in October, 1828, came to-
Allen county and settled on the Auglaize river,
in Amanda township, about seven miles south
of the farm now occupied by our subject,
Curtis Baxter. The county was at that time
an utter wilderness, and Mr. Baxter's life here
was but brief, as he died two years after his
arrival, leaving his widow with her large family

186

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

to struggle with the adversities of life in the
dense forest. James, the eldest son, was at
that time but fourteen years of age, and two
years later the family moved to Huwey Run.
Curtis Baxter came to Allen county with
his parents, reaching Amanda township Octo
ber 29, 1828, and still has a vivid recollection
of the wolves and other beasts of prey, as well
as the abounding deer and other game that
roamed the forests through which his elders
had to cut their way to reach a site for the
erection of a cabin, and he also has pleasant
memories of the superabundance of fish that
made their home in the waters of the Auglaize
river. The grist-mill was fifty miles away, and
for daily use the pioneers ground their corn in
household hand-mills. An old fashioned log
school-house, with split logs for seats and
desks, and floors of clay or puncheons, was
the temple of learning, and here Curtis re
ceived his limited education. Amid such
scenes Mr. Baxter grew to manhood, but mar
ried early. January 8, 1843, he took to wife
Miss Emily Johns, daughter of Griffith and
Rachael Johns, who were the parents of thir
teen children, viz: Sarah, Emily, Ethan,
Vienia, Jesse, Biah, Martha, Louisa, Palina,
Meliss, Tamsa, Eliza, and one deceased. The
father lived to be over sixty years of age, and
he and wife were members of the Methodist
church. After marriage Mr. Baxter settled on a
farm of seventy-five acres in the woods, which
farm he later increased to 202 acres, but of
this he disposed of thirty-five acres subse
quently, retaining for his own use 167 acres.
On this homestead have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Baxter eleven children, viz: Samuel M.,
Eliza J., John, William A. B., David E.,
Curtis T., Clarissa A., Elizabeth, Emily M.,
Charles and one child that died in infancy.
Curtis Baxter was a soldier in the late Civil
war, serying in company A, Thirty-third Ohio

volunteer infantry, for eight months; his son,
Samuel M., was also a soldier and served for
two years in McLaughton's squadron. Curtis
was enrolled September 22, 1864, at Lima,
fought at Averysboro and Bentonville, N. C,
having accompanied Sherman on his march to
to sea, and was present at the grand review in
Washington, D. C, in which city he was hon
orably discharged June 5, 1865.
Npvember 14, 1888, Mr. Baxter was united
in marriage with his second wife, Cynthia E.
Hawkins. Of his children by his first wife,
Samuel M., deputy sheriff of Van Wert county,
and also city marshal of Van, Wert city, mar
ried Mary J. Miller, who became the mother
of four children, and then died; for his second
wife he married Ellen Cahill, but to this union
no children have been born; Eliza J., is the
wife of William J- Judkins and has six children;
John married Jennie Hayden, of Iowa, and has
two children; William A. B. married Sarah
Dennis, and has three children; David E.,
mayor of Delphos, married Vida Morgan, and
has one child; Curtis T. married Osie Wester-
field, and has four child; Clarissa A. married
James E. Wickham and has three children;
Elizabeth married Charles Mollenhour and has
five children; Emily M- married David Rosell,
and has six children; Charles -M., married
Estella Brickstell, and has three children.
Curtis Baxter is a highly respected citizen
and has the full confidence of the people of
his township, whom he has served as trustee,
constable, as a member of the board of
infirmary directors, and as a member of
the school board. He is an ardent member
of the Methodist church, in which he has
filled the office of steward for many years,
and his social standing is with the best fami
lies of Allen county, who have an enduring re
spect for him on account of his christian virtues
and usefulness as a citizen, not to mention the
esteem in which he is held as an ex-soldier.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

187

«V^V AVID BAXTER, Sr., a prominent
I 1 farmer of Marion township, Allen
/M^_J county, Ohio, is a son of Samuel and
Keziah (Cremean) Baxter, was born
in Ross county April 28, 1828, and was, about
six months old when brought by his parents
to Allen county. By reference to the sketch
of Curtis Baxter, which sketch precedes this
biographical notice, the reader will find further
details relating to the history of the Baxter
family. The opportunities afforded for an
education in the pioneer days were somewhat
meager and our subject was compelled to rest
satisfied with the knowledge to be obtained in
the old log school-house, but even that was
sufficient for the requirements of frontier life.
The services of our subject were in demand
as a woodsman and farmer and he was, at a
very early day, given full employment in clear
ing away the forest and in bringing the soil into
a state of productiveness, and he manfully de
voted himself to the performance of these
duties on the homestead until he was twenty-
two years of age, when he married Miss Eliza
beth Shock, daughter of Peter and Mary
(Boyd) Shock.
Peter Shock was born in Allegheny county,
Pa., in February, 1799, was married in his
native state, and came to Allen county, Ohio,
in 1846, settling in Amanda township on
eighty acres of woodland. He and wife are
still living at the ages respectively of ninety-
six and eighty-nine years, and are the parents
of eleven children, viz: Levi, Elizabeth,
Huldy, Carlisle, Mary A., George, Catherine,
Sarah, Alvina, William and Peter. The par
ents are members of the United Brethren
church and are greatly venerated by their
neighbors. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Baxter
settled on thirty-seven acres of woodland,
which Mr. Baxter cleared up and brought to a
fine state of cultivation, and added thereto

until he became possessed of 213 acres, all of
which he cleared from the timber as rapidly as
he acquired it. He has now a most beautiful
residence, and his farm buildings are models
of convenience and neatness. To the uuion of
Mr. and Mrs. Baxter have been born ten
children, viz: Lewis, Simon P., William,
Mary, James, Nelson, Franklin, Ulysses (who
died at the age of ten years), Lester and
Samuel, twins; Samuel died when six months
old. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter are consistent
members of the Methodist church, in which
Mr. Baxter has been a class leader for twelve
or fifteen years; as to a member of the church
he can count the years back to the number of
forty -six; but he does not confine his pecuni
ary aid to the Methodist congregation alone,
for he has contributed to the building fund of
every church edifice within a radius of ten
miles from his home. In politics Mr. Baxter
is a republican and has served as a member of
the township school board; he takes great in
terest, indeed, in educational matters, and is
equally ardent in his advocacy of good roads.
He is a most excellent farmer, is straightfor
ward in all his dealings, and has the esteem of
all the communitv in which he lives.

>-j*OHN F. BAXTER, member of the
A Delphos city council from the Fourth
A J ward, was born in Marion township,
Allen county, Ohio, December 14, 1857.
He is the son of Samuel and Mary (Robbins)
Baxter, both natives of Ohio and both de
ceased. Our subject was reared on the farm
in Allen county, and attended the district
schools, securing a fair English education. He
remained on the farm until 1880 and then
came to Delphos, and has resided here ever
since. His occupation has been chiefly that
of a salesman in the dry-goods business, hav
ing held positions with S. F. Shenk, H. J.

188

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Wolfhorst & Co., and other well-known firms.
He has always been a stanch republican in
politics and has taken an active interest in pub
lic affairs. He was the nominee of his party
in the Fourth ward for city councilman in the
spring of 1895, and was elected by a majority
of twenty-seven votes, which was an increase
over the party's last majority, and the largest
republican majority ever given for councilman
by the ward. In the council Mr. Baxter is one
of the leading members. He is chairman of
the claims committee, and is also on the com
mittee on street light and police, and on the
committee on sewers and on committe on
buildings and grounds.
Mr. Baxter resides on the corner of West
Third and Bredick streets, in the Fourth ward,
Delphos, Van Wert county. Mr. Baxter was
married on December 25, 1887, to Cora A.
Smith, daughter of Casper Smith, of Delphos.
.Mr. Baxter is a member of the I. O. O. F.,
fraternally, and the National Union Insurance
company. Mrs. Baxter is a member of the
Presbyterian church and of the Daughters of
Rebecca. For twelve years she' has held a
position as teacher in the Delphos . public
schools.

V^V AVID E. BAXTER, Jr., mayor of
I I the city of Delphos, Ohio, and one
{A^_J of the representative men of that
city, is a native of Allen county, Ohio,
having been born in Marion township, within
five miles of Delphos, on the 29th day of April,
1858, a son of Curtis and Emily (Johns) Bax
ter, of whom a full biography is given above.
While prominent in his neighborhood Curtis
never sought public office, the only position he
ever held being that of one. of the first infirm
ary directors of Allen county. He and his
three brothers — James, David E., Sr., and

Smith are the oldest living settlers of Allen
county in point of time. Emily Johns was
also born in 1822 in Ross county, Ohio. Her
death occurred on March 4, 1887. There
were bprn to Curtis Baxter and wife seven sons
and four daughters, one now deceased.
David E. Baxter, the eighth child born to
his parents, was reared on the farm in Marion
township, and while a boy attended the com
mon schools. When about eighteen years of
age he began teaching, which he continued for
a period of twelve years, and during that time,
in the intervals between the terms of his
schools, Mr. Baxter himself attended school at
Elida, Ohio, and at Valparaiso, Ind. He
began his political career in 1887, when he was
nominated by the democratic party of Allen
county for the state legislature, but was de
feated at the election, his party being generally
disrupted that year. In 1888 he was elected
as a democrat to the office of justice of the
peace of Marion township, which office he
holds at the present time, having been re
elected twice in succession. On June 30,1888,
he was appointed by President Cleveland post
master at Delphos, and held that office nearly
through President Harrison's administration.
His term of office as postmaster expiring on
Angust 15, 1 89 1, he accepted the position of
assistant postmaster under C. P. Washburn,
and held that position for three meoths. In
the spring of of 1892, he was elected mayor of
Delphos, and in 1894 was re-elected to that
honorable position. During Mayor Baxter's
administration some of Delphos' most exten
sive street improvements have been made —
the Minute Fire department inaugurated, water
works system constructed and the telephone
exchange established. His administration has
been singularly clean, energetic and satisfac
tory, winning for the mayor the high en
comiums of his fellow-citizens. Mayor Baxter
has three times been a delegate from Allen

M

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

191

county to the Ohio state conventions, taking
a prominent part in all.
Mayor Baxter is one of a company of citi
zens who are engaged in the development of
oil and gas wells in the neighborhood of Del
phos, the company having under lease 2,000
acres of lands. He is a member of the Masonic
fraternity, in which he has attained the degree
of knight templar, being a member of Shawnee
commandery, No. 14, at Lima. He is also
a member of the I. O. O. F., of which he has
filled all the chairs. He is at present the wor
shipful master of Hope lodge, No. 214, F &
A. M., of Delphos. He is also a member of
the Improved Order of Red Men, and the
Knights of Pythias. In November of 1895 he
was elected as representative to the grand lodge
of I. O. O. F. , from the twenty-sixth district.
Prior to Mayor Baxter's appointment as post
master, he was a county school examiner for
three months, which office he was compelled
to resign upon entering upon the discharge of
the duties of postmaster, but is at the present
time examiner for the Delphos union schools.
Mayor Baxter was married on December
23, 1884, to Miss Vida B. Morgan, who was
born near Gomer, Allen county, and is the
daughter of Thomas B. and Margaret Morgan.
To their union one son — Richard A. — has been
born. Mr. Baxter is now reading law, with the
expectation of making it his future profession.

(D

ARION F. BEALS, a highly re
spected resident of Bluffton, Allen
county, Ohio, and a veteran of the
Civil war, was born in Liberty town
ship, Hancock county, Ohio, February 12,
1839, and descends from an old Pennsylvania
colonial family of English extraction.
Abraham Beals, the father of Marion F.,
was a native of the Keystone state, was a
farmer and there married Miss Rebecca Alla-
2

way, who was born near Chambersburg, Bed
ford county, the marriage resulting in thirteen
children, all of whom lived to reach manhood
and womanhood, viz: Henry, Jonathan, John,
Isaac, Washington, Catherine A., Mary J.,
Hiram, Abraham, Marion F., Rebecca, Rhoda
and Emeline. The father of this family came
to Ohio in an early day and first located in
Stark county, cleared up eighty acres of wild
land, on which he resided some years and then
moved to another farm, three miles away,
comprising 1 20 acres, which he also cleared up
and became one of the substantial citizens of
the county. In politics Mr. Beals was a dem
ocrat. He was an upright and respected
gentleman and died on his farm at the age of
fifty-eight years.
Marion F. Beals, our subject, received a
good education in the district schools of his
native township and assisted his father on the
farm until his enlistment, at Findlay, Septem-
tember 6, 1861, under Capt. Henry H. Alben,
in company F, Twenty-first Ohio volunteer in
fantry, for three years, or during the war.
January 1, 1864, at Chattanooga, Tenn., he
veteranized in the same organization, and
served through until honorably discharged at
Columbus, Ohio, July 25, 1865, thus serving a
a continuous term of almost four years. He
took an active and gallant part in the following
sanguinary engagements: Ivy Mountain, No
vember 9, 1861; Bridgeport, Ala., April 15,
1862; LaVergne, Tenn., October 7, 1862;
Nashville, Tenn., November 5, 1862; Stone
River, Tenn., December 31, 1862, to January
2, 1863; Tullahoma campaign, Tenn., June
23 to 30, 1863; Dug Gap, Ga., September 11,
1863; Chickamauga, Ga., September 19 and
20, 1863; Missionary Ridge, Tenn., Novem
ber 25, 1863; Buzzard Roost, Ga., May 8,
1864; Resaca, Ga., May 13 to 16, 1864;
New Hope Church, Ga., May 28, 1864; Kene-
saw Mountain, Ga., June 9, 1864, and (in the

192

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

general assault) June 27, 1864; Vining's Sation,
July 25, 1864; Chattachoochie River, Ga.,
July 6 to 10, 1864; Peach Tree Creek, Ga. ;
Atlanta, Ga. (Hood's first sortie); Jonesboro,
Ga, , September 1, 1864; Averysboro, N. C,
March 16, 1865; Bentonville, N. C, March 19
to 21, 1865. During the Atlanta campaign, in
which some of the battles above enumerated
took place, the troops were under constant
fire for nearly four months, Gen. Sherman
having begun his march from Chattanooga,
Tenn., May 4, 1864, and the fall of Atlanta
having taken place September 2, 1864. In the
Atlanta campaign the troops were for nearly
four months under an incessant fire, but Mr.
Beals passed unscathed through it all. Fol
lowing Gen. Sherman in the renowned march
from Atlanta to the sea, he was present at the
surrender of Johnston near Goldsboro, N. C,
March 19, 1865. On the march from Raleigh,
N. C, to Richmond, Va., a friendly race was
made between the Fourteenth and Twentieth
army corps, the march being executed in six
days — about thirty -three miles being accom
plished each day. Many of the soldiers,
during this march, dropped, out of their ranks,
overcome with fatigue, and many others were
permanently disabled, among the latter Mr.
Beals — but he kept up with his company. He
had experienced a similar march from Beaver
Creek to Bowling Green in Kentucky, when
his regiment marched twenty -five miles, making
five miles the last hour, and then camped on
ground covered with snow. Mr. Beals, as will
be seen, has made an exceptionally fine mili
tary record.
February 11, 1864, while on veteran fur
lough, Mr. Beals married, in Hancock county,
Ohio, Miss Samantha Reed, who was born in
Putnam county, March 26, 1840, a daughter
of James I. and Mary (Edgerton) Reed. The
Reeds are of Irish descent, and were early
settlers of Pennsylvania, and their history,

after coming to America, is as follows, as far
as the immediate ancestry of Mrs. Beals is
concerned or interested:
John Reed, the great-grandfather of Mrs.
Beals, was a native of county Tyrone, Ireland,
and there married Miss Elizabeth Irwin, a
native of the same county. About 1800 they
came to America and settled on a farm
one mile from Darlington, Beaver county,
Pa., where they reared a family of six sons
and one daughter and where the parents
happily passed the remainder of their days.
The old farm is now the property of George
N. and J. P. Reed, Jr., sons of J. P. Reed,
eldest son of Samuel, sixth son of John Reed,
the ojiginal settler. The children of John and
Elizabeth (Irwin) Reed were born in the follow
ing order: William, who married Miss Eliza
beth Dilworth; both died in B.eaver county,
and their descendants are now living near Enon
Valley, Lawrence county, Pa-. John, the second
son, married Isabella Erwin, and lived near
Findlay, Ohio, the result of this union being
James I., father of Mrs. Beals; Jane, JohnT.,
Edson S., Eli and Samuel; of these, Jane
married Mr. Vaneman, but is now Mrs. Kerr;
several of these children still live near Findlay.
James Reed, the third son of John, the immi
grant, married Fanny White, and died in
Pittsburg, Pa., in 1846'; one of his children,
Mrs. O. Donnell, is still a resident of that city.
Joseph Reed, the fourth son, married Clemanda
Kerr, was a Presbyterian clergyman and died in
Freedom, Beaver county, Pa., in 1842; his
only daughter, Elizabeth, is the wife of John
V. McCullough, and resides in Seattle, Wash.
Robert Re.ed, the fifth son of John the first,
settled on a farm near Auburn, DeKalb county,
Ind., his eldest son, Joseph, died in Wasson,
Ohio; his daughter, Flora, is married to James
Wilson and lives near Ottawa, Ohio ; his young
est son, Robert R. , lives on a farm that formerly
belonged to his father, whose body lies interred

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

193

at Waterloo, Ohio. Samuel Reed, the sixth
son of John and Elizabeth (Irwin) Reed, mar
ried Elizabeth Cunningham, and lived and
died on the the old home farm in Beaver county,
Pa., his children are Nancy J., John P., Archi
bald S., James J., Rebecca, Samantha, Eliza
beth and Isabella M. Elizabeth Reed, the
only daughter of John and Elizabeth (Irwin)
Reed, was married to Jesse Savine. The
father of these children, died at Darlington,
Pa., at the age of fifty-nine years, and his re
mains rest beside those of his wife, in the old
Wilson cemetery, near that town, in Beaver
county, Pa. John Reed (second), grandfather
of Mrs. Beals, married Isabella Irwin in Mercer
county, Pa., moved to Wooster, Ohio, and a
few years later removed to Findlay, and there
died. His four children were named James I.,
John (third), Ely (who was a soldier in the
Civil war and died shortly after his return
to his home,) and Isabel.
James I. Reed, father of Mrs. Beals, was
born in Lancaster county, Pa., August 28,
1812, was a farmer, and February 8, 1837,
married Mary Edgerton, of Richland county,
Ohio, and soon afterward settled on a farm in
Hancock county, which he cleared up from
the wilderness, and then moved to Crawford
county, but shortly afterward, about 1844 or
1845, returned to Hancock county, where his
death took place, in i860, at the age of forty-
eight years. Having lost his wife while resid
ing in Crawford county, he chose for a second
helpmate Susan K. Robinson. To his first
marriage were the following children: Isabel
J., Samantha L. (Mrs. Beals), Mary, John T.,
and Edson G. ; and to his second union were
born Samuel J., Rachael E. and Emma R.
In politics Mr. Reed was a democrat and in
religion a Methodist, and as a citizen was use
ful, upright, and highly respected. Of his
children, two of his sons were soldiers in the
late- Civil war — John T. and Edson G. The

elder of these two, John T. Reed, was born in
Putnam county, Ohio, February' 10, 1843, and
when but eighteen years old enlisted, Septem
ber 6, 1 86 1, in company F, Twenty-first Ohio
volunteer infantry, to serve three years or dur
ing the war. He served under this enlistment
until January 1, 1864, when he veteranized at
Chattanooga, Tenn., in the same organization,
and gallantly served until honorably discharged
at Columbus, Ohio, July 25, 1865. At Jones-
boro, Ga., he was>shot in the left thigh, Sep
tember 1, 1864, and in consequence was con
fined in hospital at Atlanta, Ga. , and at Nash
ville, Tenn., about two months — but stillsuffers
from his wound. On sufficiently recovering he
rejoined his regiment at Louisville, Ky., in
January, 1865, and served until the regiment
was mustered out of service. Edson G. Reed,
when but seventeen years old, enlisted at
Findlay, Ohio, August 23, 1862, also in com
pany F, Twenty-first Ohio volunteer infantry,
for three years, and valiantly served until
killed in the battle of Stone River December
31, 1862.
After his marriage, Marion F Beals lo
cated in Paulding county, Ohio, on a farm of
eight}' acres, which he partly cleared, and
then engaged in the milling business at Ant
werp, in the same county, where he remained
until 1872, when he came to Bluffton and en
tered into the grocery trade, at which he pros
pered for a few years, and then engaged in
carpentering, his present occupation. To Mr.
and Mrs. Beals have been born four children,,
who still survive to render the household more
happy and are named as follows: Etta M.,
Charles A., Frank C. and Henry G. In poli
tics Mr. Beals is a democrat, and for two terms.
served as constable, and for two years as
marshal of Bluffton; he is a member of Rob
ert Hamilton post, No. 262, G. A. R. , in which
he has filled the office of day guard. He is
highly honored by his comrades and fellow-

194

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

citizens and greatly respected for his military
record as well as his manly and upright
character.

at

•ILLIAM L. BECHTOL, one of the
prominent and successful citizens of
Allen county, residing at Elida, was
born in Marion township, Allen
county, Ohio, April 25, 1849, and is a son of
Jonathan and Mary (Bussard) Bechtol, both
of whom are also residents of Elida.
Jonathan Bechtol came to Allen county,
Ohio, in 1847, locating in Marion township.
He was born in Center county, Pa., February
28, 1826, and is a son of Samuel and Mary
(Epler) Bechtol, both natives of Pennsylvania.
The Bechtol family, as may be inferred from
the orthography of the name, are of German
origin, but when the first American progenitor
emigrated is not now remembered. Samuel
and Mary Bechtol came to Ohio in 1843, set
tling in Delaware county, where Mrs. Bechtol
died. Mr. Bechtol then removed to Allen
county, where he afterward lived with his son,
Jonathan, until he died. His family consisted
of fourteen children, seven sons and seven
daughters, some of whom still live in Pennsyl
vania. When Jonathan Bechtol located in
Allen county, he was accompanied by Peter
Fisher, and they together followed the occu
pation of digging wells and making pumps.
This business Mr. Bechtol followed for twenty
years, and even now occasionally makes one
of the old-fashioned wood pumps. At first he
located in Marion township, Allen county,
where he met and married Miss Mary Bussard,
a daughter of Peter and Catherine Bussard,
the marriage taking place April 26, 1848. Mr.
Bechtol then leased a tract of land containing
sixty acres, and upon this property he lived
five years, clearing the land and converting it
into a good farm. Moving then to Sugar

Creek township, he purchased forty acres of
timber land, which he cleared and improved
and made it his home until about 1865, when
he sold it and purchased eighty acres of par
tially improved land, also in Sugar Creek
township. These eighty acres lie about two
and a half miles north of Elida, and upon this
land he lived until about 1888, when he moved
to Elida, where he still resides, his son, Emmi
F., living upon the farm. Mr. Bechtol has
always followed farming, making pumps and
digging wells, and has been an unusually suc
cessful and prosperous man. He has always
been public spirited and enterprising, willing
to aid any enterprise which promised prosper
ity to the people. He and his wife are mem
bers of the United Brethren church. Jonathan
Bechtol and his wife are the parents of six
children, viz: William L. a farmer and a resi
dent of Elida; Emmi F., residing upon the
home farm ; Catherine A. , wife of Frank Morris,
of Ohio City; Sarah A., wife of Peter Collett,
of Logansport, Ind.; David L., a resident of
German township; and Mary E., wife of
Charles Baxter, of Marion township, Allen
county. Mr. and Mrs. Bechtol are both full
of public spirit. They have contributed largely
toward the building up and the improving of
Allen county, and are good, highly respected
Christian people. They are now enjoying the
evening of their days, surrounded by their chil
dren and by many warm and admiring friends.
William L. Bechtol, the subject of this
sketch, was born on the farm and brought up
to all kinds of farm labor. His education was
received in the old-fashioned log school-house,
and with the inadequate facilities common in
those days. As the land was all covered with
timber there was plenty of chopping to be
done, for that was long before the days of the
use of the saw for felling trees. He was there
fore early initiated into the art of chopping
down trees and chopping the fallen trees into

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

195

logs, to be split up into rails and for other
purposes. Thus he spent a good many years
of his life, feeling that the bodily strength ac
quired by hard work was a sufficient compen
sation. Remaining at home with his parents
until he was twenty-three years of age, he was
then married, in November, 1872, to Miss
Mary Cameron, who lived afterward only six
years, and, dying, left two children, viz: Mary
A., born January 3, 1874, and an infant, de
ceased. Mr. Bechtol married for the second
wife Miss Nannie Blossom, by whom he had
four children, viz: Earl, who died when six
years old; Grover, who died at the age of
three; Mina, born September 18, 1882, and
Hazel, born July 24, 1886. The mother of
these children died in 1888, March 13, and
Mr. Bechtol married for his third wife Miss
Anna Snyder, who was born in Van Wert
county, and is the daughter of Lafayette and
Mittie (Sidenbender) Snyder. His third, mar
riage occurred November 3, 1889.
Mr. Bechtol began life for himself by rent
ing a large farm for six years. He then pur
chased fifty-five acres of unimproved land in
Marion township, which he cleared and im
proved, and built upon it a good frame house,
and barns, beside other out-buildings. This
farm remained his home until 1886, when he
erected a neat and cosy frame cottage in
Elida, in which he has since resided. His
time is occupied in looking after his farm, and
in performing such duties as his fellow-citizens
intrust him with. Politically he is a democrat
and takes an active interest in anything that
pertains to his party's success and good stand
ing. He has held the office of councilman and
has been township trustee for three years. He
is a member of Lima lodge, No. 205, F. & A.
M., and Elida lodge, No. 818, I. O. O. F.
Both he and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and are of high
standing in the community.

>V OSEPH T. BENEDUM, one of the lead-
m ing citizens of Allen county, Ohio, was
A J born in Loudoun county, Va., Novem
ber 27, 1830. That he has been in
dustrious and economical is sufficiently evident
from his success in the world, and he is widely
known as a solid, substantial man. He has
assisted his children to get a good start in the
world, and he has always been a liberal, open-
hearted and open-handed man, ready at all
times to assist the cause of religion, the cause
of education, any any other good and worthy
cause, by which his friends and neighbors will
be benefited in any way.
Joseph T. Benedum is a son of John and
Mary (Carr) Benedum, who were respectively
natives of Maryland and Virginia. John Bene
dum was a farmer and beside followed teaming
over long distances, hauling freight from one
part of the country to another, there being
much of this kind of work to do before the age
of the iron horse. Politically he was origin
ally a whig, but later he united with the re
publican party. He was also a devout mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
was for many years a class leader. He was
emphatically a good man, large-hearted and
loved by all who knew him. Death overtook
him when he was eighty-four years of age, in
Carroll county, Ohio, his wife, who was, like
him, a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, dying when she was eighty-six years
old. John and Mary Benedum were the par
ents of nine children, viz: James, deceased;
Edmund, a tinner by trade, living at Leesville,
Carroll county, Ohio; William, a farmer living
at the same place; Martha, deceased wife of
George Long; Mary Ann, widow of John
Moore, now living in Tuscarawas county, Ohio;
Joseph T., the subject of this sketch; Amos
A. , who died while in the service of his coun
try; Franklin, who died in Carroll county;
and Susannah, deceased wife of Dr. Brower, of

196

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Coshocton, Ohio, of whom, it will be perceived,
the majority grew to years of maturity.
Joseph T. Benedum was reared on a farm
and received but a limited education in the
public schools. He remained at home until he
was twenty-one years of age, at which time he
rented a farm in Carroll county, and followed
farming four years, when he married Miss
Elizabeth Holmes, of that county. She was
born in 1832. After his marriage he contin
ued farming on rented land for about two
years, and then bought a farm of 100 acres in
Tuscarawas county, Ohio, upon which he lived
about eight years, when he sold that farm and
bought another, containing 110 acres, to
which he subsequently added forty acres, mak
ing 1 50 acres in all. This farm he held two
years, or until about 1863, when he sold out
and removed to Allen county, driving through
in wagons, and here purchased 200 acres in
German township, in sections 20 and 29. Of
these 200 acres he has cleared about 100, and
he has from time to time added other acres un
til in all his farm would have contained 270
acres, but for his having given to his children
some ninety acres, so that he has left but 180
acres. This is one of the best improved farms
in the township, and has good buildings,
house, barn, and other buildings needed by the
modern farmer who is abreast of the times.
Mr. Benedum has always followed general
farming and stock raising, and has met with
gratifying success.
Mr. Benedum has always been a republican,
and he and his wife are members of the Meth
odist Episcopal church. He has taken great
interest in the work of both church and
Sunday-school, having been assistant super
intendent of the latter for many years. Mr.
and Mrs. Benedum have a family of eight
children, viz: William, a farmer, owning
eighty acres of land in Amanda township;
Mary, wife of Thomas Long, a farmer of Ger

man township : John, also a farmer of German
township; Charles, living at home; Obed, of
Spencerville, Allen county, Ohio; Bertha, wife
James Kennedy, of Allentown, Allen county;
Thirza, wife of Charles Shook, of German
township, and Ida, living at home.

eDWARD R. BENTLEY, formerly and
for some years the leading blacksmith
and mechanic of Kalida, but since the
fall of 1895 a resident of Bluffton,
Ohio, was born May 8, 1866, in the last named
place. His parents were James D. and Eliz
abeth (Fenton) Bentley, the former of whom
was born in Youngstown, Mahoning county,
Ohio, July 27, 1826. James D. Bentley was
one of five children born to John Bentley, of
Irish parentage, and his wife, Margaret (Patent)
Bentley. He was educated in the common
schools near his home, and early learned the
trade of blacksmith. When a young man he
came with his parents in a wagon drawn by
oxen to Bluffton, where they were among the
early pioneers of that part of Allen county.
For some time he engaged in farming near
Bluffton and afterward engaged in the huckster
and trading business, spending several years of
his life upon the road, employed by Abram
Long. After settling in Bluffton he engaged
in smithing with Robert Cox, and was one of
the first blacksmiths in the eastern part of
Allen county. For twenty years he success
fully pursued his trade until failing eyesight
compelled him to give it up. He then again
took to the road and sold one of the first sew
ing machines put upon the market. He after
ward engaged in contracting and building
roads. Having recovered his eyesight, he re
turned to the forge and opened a shop on the
present site of the city building in Bluffton.
From that time he continued blacksmithing
until old age compelled him to give up active

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

197

work. Along with his smithing he had en
gaged in farming to a limited extent.
January i, 1830, he was married to Eliz
abeth, daughter of Robert and Mary (McRea)
Fenton, who was born in Mahoning county,
Ohio, in 1 83T , of Irish parentage. She was
one of seven children, being the twin sister of
John Fenton, of Bluffton. She was also edu
cated in the common schools of her native
county, and when a child she came with her
parents to Bluffton, where they were among
the early pioneers of that part of Allen county,
Ohio. Eight children blessed this union, viz:
William P. , ex-postmaster of Bluffton and now
a successful livery man there; John M., ex-
postmaster of Ada, Ohio, where he is now a
grocer and farmer; Jeanie, the wife of Albert
L. Clark, of Bluffton; Charles F., a painter
of the same place; Minerva I., married to H.
S. Martin, of Lima, Ohio; Della, who resides
in Bluffton; Frank, deceased; Edward R., the
subject of our sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Bentley
were prominent members of the Methodist
church, in the faith of which the wife died on
September 22, 1890. The husband was a
deacon in the church, and was also a charter
member of the Bluffton lodge, No. 371, I. O.
O. F., and member of the Rebecca lodge, No.
263, and was held in high esteem by its mem
bers. Politically he was a stanch supporter of
the principles of the republican party, and was
frequently elected by that party to local offices
of the community. He was charitable and
benevolent, honored and respected by all.
His death occurred July 16, 1892.
Edward R. Bentley was educated in the
Bluffton union schools, and learned the black
smithing trade of his father, with whom he
worked for a number of years, and worked in
various places in order to perfect himself in his
chosen profession. In 1891 he opened his
shop in Kalida, where he enjoyed a large and
profitable business. On September 12, 1894,

he married Lillian M. Bowman, who was born
in Columbus Grove, April 5, 1871, a daughter
of Daniel B. and Martha J. (Galbreth) Bow
man, and a member of the Methodist church.
Her father is a native of this county, and was
born in 1853 of good old Irish ancestry; he
was one of the twins born to Joseph and Cla
rissa (Bigum) Bowman, of Putnam county.
Her mother was born in Allen county, in 1854,
her parents being William and Christina
(Ahlefield) Galbreth, formerly of Allen county,
but now living in Kalida. To Mr. and Mrs.
Bentley one child has been born, Leon D.,
born August 6, 1895. In the fall of 1895, as
stated, Mr. Bentley found it to his advantage
to remove to Bluffton, where he enjoys the
respect of all who know him.

OHN H. BERRYMAN.— In the case of
the family whose history is here to be
briefly traced, there were seven broth
ers, who came together from England
to America. These seven brothers were
named, so far as their names can now be re
called, John,. James, George, William and
Thomas — the names' of two being lost. Their
emigration was made prior to the Revolution
ary war, and their settlement in this country
was made in New Jersey. From these seven
brothers have sprung all the Berrymans in the
United States, and they are now found in all
parts of the country. From William have de
scended the Berrymans of Ohio. William
Berryman served in the Revolutionary war
against the mother country, having felt her
oppression before his abandonment of her
some years before. He reared his family in
New Jersey, and it is presumed, though it is
not known, that he died in that state. He had
one son, WilHam, that emigrated to Virginia
after the close of the Revolutionary war, and
settled near Wheeling. Some time later he

198

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, and lo
cated near Dayton, on a farm, upon which he
lived some years, and then he removed to what
is now Auglaize county, but before that county
was organized. In Logan township he en
tered 200 acres of land, upon which he lived
the remainder of his days, dying in 1830, and
being buried in the Amanda grave yard. He
was a soldier in the war of 18 12-15 from Vir
ginia, in which state he married Miss Rachel
Clauson, of New jersey, whose parents emi
grated to Virginia when she was small, and by
whom he had the following children: Thomas,
who died in Allen county, Ohio; William, of
Spencerville, Ohio; Russell, Ephraim, and
John, deceased; Eliza, who married, for her
first husband, Abraham Whetstone, and for
her second, Henry Noble; Mattie, deceased
wife of Samuel Whetstone; Mercy, deceased
wife of Dye Sunderland, who settled in
Amanda township in 1820, and Annie M., who
married a Mr. Gregory.
Russell Berryman was born in Montgomery
county, Ohio, in 181 5, and wiften seven years
of age removed with his parents to Allen
county. During his boyhood days he spent
much time with the Indians, making them his
daily companions. Under these circumstances
it was perfectly natural for him to learn their
language, and the Shawnee language became
almost as familiar to him as his native tongue.
He was reared on the family homestead, and
there spent the most of his life. So far as
politics was concerned he was a democrat, and
took great interest in political and public af
fairs; but office was distasteful to him, and the
only office he could ever be prevailed upon to
accept was that of director of the infirmary.
He married Margaret Slain, of Virginia (now
West Va.), she dying in 1846, the mother
of the following children: Cornelia, wife
of Dr. E. A. Stockton, who died in Mexico;
Ephraim, who died in Spencer township;

Rosabel, wife of A. F. Blackburn, of Kansas;
John H., of Lima, and James of Saint Mary's,
Ohio. For his second wife Russell Berryman
married Elizabeth Whetstone, by whom he
had the following children: Flora, wife of J.
G. Miller; Mercy, deceased; Abraham, of
Paulding county; Margaret, wife of L. Cochran;
William, of Auglaize county; Rosetta, wife of
William Myers; Corabel, deceased wife of Ben
jamin Shoppel, and Warren, of Saint Mary's
Ohio. The father of these children died Jan
uary 9, 1878, his widow surviving him.
John H. Berryman, the immediate subject
of this sketch, was born August 19, 1843, on
the old homestead, upon which he remained
until he was twenty years of age, receiving in
the meantime a good education in the common
schools, which has been greatly extended and
perfected' by contract with the world. From
the age last mentioned for about three years
he was engaged in various occupations, testing
himself and testing the world, and in 1867 he
settled down upon a farm in Shawnee town
ship, upon which he lived some twelve or four-
teen,years. In 1880 he purchased his present
farm of 120 acres, to which he has since added
forty-two acres, so that at the present time his
farm is comprised of 162 acres. In 1891 he
established his present dairy business, and in
the winter of 1891-92 he established his dairy
store in Lima. .%-
Politically Mr. Berryman is a democrat and
he rakes great interest in the success of his
party. He has served two terms as township
trustee and has been several times a delegate
to county and state conventions. In 1896 he
was a prominent candidate for nomination to
congress at the hands of his party, showing
the prominence of the position he holds in the
estimation of his party friends. In religious
belief he is a Methodist, and is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church of Shawnee
township. Mr. Berryman was married March

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

199

12, 1868, to Miss Sallie Boyd daughter of Abra
ham Boyd of Trumbull county, who emigrated
from that county to Allen county in 1830. To
this marriage there bave been born the following
children: Myrtle, Margaret, John Russell, Mabel,
deceased; Harriet, Robert and Waldo. From
the foregoing sketch it is manifest that John H.
Berryman is a man of more than ordinary
ability and enterprise, and he is in point of
fact one of the most progressive and extensive
farmers and dairymen in the northwestern part
of the state, if not in the entire state. To
what extent his example has been contagious
can not be fully stated, though it is doubtless
true that his life has had a far-reaching influ
ence upon young men who have had before
them in his career a demonstration that inde
pendence and influence may be obtained, with
out going into any co-operative plans and
schemes, in which the individuality of each
member must necessarily be absorbed by and
swallowed up in the community to which he
may happen to belong.

at

'ILLIAM F. BLAIR, superintendent
of the Orphan Home of Allen
county, is a son of Dr. Brice and
Rebecca (Perdew) Blair, the former
of whom was a son of Brice Blair, of Bedford
county, Pa. The family belong to that famous
race, Scotch-Irish, which has -. given to this
¦ 1 *s
country so many of its sturdy sons, among
them the eighth president of the United States,
Andrew Jackson, whose personality produced
such a permanent effect upon the destiny of
the Union. The ancestors of Mr. Blair origin
ally came from Ireland, and settled in Cumber
land valley in Pennsylvania.
Brice Blair, the grandfather of the subject
of this sketch, was one of the early settlers of
Bedford county, that state. He married
Agnes McCauley, who was born in Baltimore,

Md., and to this union were born the following
children: John, Archibald, Edmund, James,
Brice, Rebecca, Rachel, Mary, Susanna, Sarah,
Elizabeth, Nancy. Mr. McCauley, father of
Mrs. Brice Blair, passed his life as a farmer in
Bedford county, where he died in the present
century. Dr. Brice Blair, father of the subject, was
born January 22, 1813, in Bedford county, Pa.
He read medicine with Dr. McPherson, of
Tuscarawas county, coming to Ohio in 1835,
and settling near New Albany, Tuscarawas
county, practicing there until the fall of 1854,
when he removed to Allen county, settling in
Jackson township, where he purchased a farm
of sixty acres of land. Besides this small
piece of land in Jackson township he also
owned 240 acres in Auglaize township, and also
160 acres in Stark county, Ind., which he,
however, purchased some time later, so that
he was somewhat of a landed proprietor at
one time.
The farm in Jackson township he cleared
up of its timber and improved as well as the
one in Auglaize township, so that he found but
little * time to devote to his profession. He
died in Jackson township on his farm, March
10, 1876, widely known as a wide-awake,
active, industrious and enterprising man.
Politically he was a democrat, and religiously
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
was a trustee of his church and took unusual
interest in the work and success of the Sunday-
school. Dr. Blair was married in 1843. His
wife, born January 19, 18 14, is a daughter of
William Perdew, of Bedford county, Pa., and
is still residing on the home farm in Jackson
township, the father of the following children:
Nancy, Sarah, Mary, William and Rebecca.
By her marriage to Dr. Blair Rebecca became
the mother of the following children: John, of
Auglaize township; Edward, of the same town
ship; Martin, who died in 1876; Nathan P., of

1 1

200

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Auglaize township; Brice, of the same town
ship; William F. ; James H. (deceased), of
Auglaize township; Nancy, widow of Isaac
Heffner; Clara, wife of Harrison Heffner; Jen
nie (deceased), wife of John McCullough;
Elizabeth, wife of Madill Fisher; and Mary,
wife of David Applas, and Jessie Allen
(deceased). William F. Blair was born October 23,
1849,' in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and was
reared in Jackson township, Allen county. His
education was superior to that generally re
ceived by the young men of that time, as in
addition to a good common-school training, he
attended the high school at Lima, and Dela
ware college, and also the Western Normal
university at Ada. Besides all this he read
medicine with his father; but notwithstanding
this preparation for the practice of one of the
most useful of the professions, he preferred
teaching school, for which he was eminently
prepared. He therefore taught in the public
schools of Allen county for twenty years — in
Jackson township, in Bath, in Auglaize and in
Perry township, in all of which has he scholars
who still pleasantly remember his work among
them and for them. In 1879, tired of the life
of a pedagogue, he settled down upon his
father's farm in Auglaize township, and became
a general farmer and stock raiser. The fol
lowing summer he purchased a farm in Jack
son township, supplying ample room for the
exercise of any ability he might possess. Upon
. this fine farm he was occupied in the way just
mentioned for twelve years, and then he ac
cepted a position with the Ohio Oil company,
being engaged with them leasing land, etc.,
until 1893, when he was appointed to his
present honorable position, that of superin
tendent of the Orphans' Home, Allen county,
which he fills to the acceptance of all. While
he was a resident of Jackson township he was
made a trustee thereof. Politically Mr. Blair

is a democrat, and he is a member of the
county central committee. Fraternally he is a
member of Lima lodge, No. 91, K. of P.
Mr. Blair was married, in 1879, to Miss
Rosetta E., daughter of W. H. Craig, of Jack
son township, and has a family of children
as follows: Luther C, Cliff, Harry, Ethel
and Leah. W. H. Craig, father of Mrs. Blair,
is one of the progressive and substantial farm
ers of Jackson township. He is of English
descent on both sides of his family. His great
grandfather, George Craig, came from England
and settled in Washington county, Pa., and it
is believed he was a soldier in the Revolution
ary war. He died in Washington county, in
which county the grandfather of the subject's
wife was born, was reared to manhood and
was married to a Miss Pittinger. After the
death of his wife he moved westward, to High
land county, Ohio, in 1833, and was there
among the pioneers. He was always a farmer,
did not remarry, and died -in the last named
county, being instantly killed while cutting
down a wild cherry tree, when working on the
public road.
Joseph Craig, his son, and the father of
W. H. Craig, was born in Washington county,
Pa. He was about twenty years of age when
his father came to Ohio, where Joseph mar
ried a Miss Charlotte Rains, daughter of
George and Nancy Rains. Joseph Craig and
his wife, Charlotte, were the parents of the fol
lowing children: George T. ; William H.;
Louisa, who died at the age of eighteen;
Martha, wife of W. F. Straw; Nancy, wife of
Frederick Bashore; Angeline, wife of Thomas
Bashore; and John. After their marriage the
parents of these children lived for a number of
years in Highland county, engaged in farming,
but in 1852 he removed to Jackson township,
Allen county. Upon his 160-acre farm he en
gaged in general farming and in raising stock.
He was an old-line whig, later a republican,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

201

was township trustee, township treasurer, and
a school-teacher, besides being one of the early
pioneers. He died in 1872, his widow dying
in February, 1881.
William H. Craig was born May 3, 1835,
in Highland county, and was seventeen years
of age when his parents removed into Allen
county. While he received a good education
in his youth, yet he always preferred farming
to any other calling, thereby showing excellent
judgment. Mr. Craig was married June 2,
1858, to Susan Hulliber, daughter of. John and
Mary (Keith) Hulliber, of Licking county, and
has children as follows: Rosetta E., wife of
Mr. Blair; Mary C. ; Iva C. , deceased; Ara-
minta L. ; Nora O. ; Walter W. Mary C. is
the wife of N. M. Boyd; Araminta L. is the
wife of Clement Patterson; Nora O., is the
wife of Percy A. Kershaw, a successful teacher
¦of Jackson township, and a printer by trade.
Mr. Craig enlisted in April, 1862, in company D,
One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio volunteer
infantry, and campaigned in Maryland, the Dis
trict of Columbia, and Virginia, doing consid
erable skirmishing near the capital, and was
honorably discharged in September, 1862.
Immediately upon his marriage he settled on a
farm of fertile land, well situated and well im
proved, which he has still more improved. He
is a strong republican, but has never cared for
office, preferring to devote his time to his legit
imate calling. He is widely known and a highly
respected citizen.

%/^\ AVID M. BLISS, one of the most
I I prominent agriculturists of Marion
*A^J township, Allen county, Ohio, is a
son of a pioneer, and was born in
Lima, the county seat of Allen county, July
17, 1845, OI good old English Puritan descent
paternally. Col. Lester Bliss, father of onr subject, is

a putative son of Knox (now Morrow) county,
Ohio, and was born August 10, 1847, although
is claimed by an elder sister that the place of
his nativity was Cooperstown, N. Y. Dr. David
Bliss, father of Col. Bliss, was a practitioner
at Cooperstown, N. Y., but was born in Con
necticut of English Puritan ancestry. He mar
ried Mary VanTress, of New York, of Holland
descent. Samuel Bliss, great-grandfather of
our subject, and father of Dr. David Bliss, was
a patriot in the war of the Revolution. Dr.
David Bliss was the pioneer physician of
Sparta, Morrow county, Ohio, where he prac
ticed until his death, which occurred in 1846,
at the age of about sixty years, and where he
also served as a justice of the peace. He was
the father of seven children, viz: Dr. Morgan
L., Maria, Mason, Mahala, Porter, Lester
and Mary A., all now deceased with the excep
tion of the two last named.
Col. Lester Bliss received a liberal educa
tion at Gambier (Knox county) and Granville
(Licking county), Ohio, and studied law in
Mount Vernon, Ohio, under the Hon. Henry
B. Curtis, a leading lawyer and a man of
wealth — practiced his profession at Lima,
Allen county, Ohio, until 1850, then removed
to Delphos, where he continued in practice
until the breaking out of the Civil war, in the
meantime having been elected, by the demo
cratic party, twice as prosecuting attorney of
Allen county; also, in 1850, as the first mayor
of Delphos, and in 1853 as a member of the
state legislature; the same year he was also
nominated for the office of lieutenant-governor
of the state of Ohio, but withdrew his name
from the ticket in order to accept the position
of superintendent of the Ohio & Indiana rail
road — an office he filled for several years.
August 1, 1862, Lester Bliss enlisted at
Delphos, in the One Hundred and Eighteenth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and was at once ap
pointed quartermaster, with the rank of major;

202

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

one year latter was commissioned lieutenant-
colonel and served with Burnside in the east,
and was also at the siege of Knoxville, and in
many minor engagements, and served until ill-
health compelled him to resign his commission
in 1865. In 1863 he purchased his present
farm, comprising 312 acres, on which he has
resided since the close of the war, when he
discontinued the practice of his profession, ill-
health precluding its further continuance. The
first marriage of Col. Bliss took place, in 1844,
to Miss Belinda Hover, daughter of Emanuel
and Caroline (Adgate) Hover, and this union
was blessed with two children — David M. and
Lester L., of whom the latter was a soldier in
the Civil war and died at Fort Scott, Kans.
The domestic happiness resulting from the
first matrimonial alliance of Col. Bliss was of
short duration only, as Mrs. Bliss was called
away in 1848, and the second marriage of
the colonel was with Miss Aldulia, daughter of
William Curtis, the result of this union being
one child only — Dr. Charles C. Bliss, of Del
phos. For thirty years Col. Bliss has been a
member of the Methodist church, in which he
has filled all the major offices. At the outset
of his political career Mr. Bliss was a demo
crat, and at the outbreak of the war became
a war democrat, and later on joined the repub
lican party; he is a member of the G. A. R.
post at Delphos, and has ever been an active
factor in the affairs of the county, which he
has guarded with the utmost care.
David M. Bliss, the subject of this sketch,
received his preliminary education in the com
mon schools of Delphos, and this was supple
mented by an attendance for two years at the
Wesleyan college of Delaware, Ohio; he then
read law with his father, but never engaged in
practice. For two years he was in mercantile
business at Delphos, and also conducted a
newspaper at Sidney, Ohio, two years, and
later a paper at Lima. His first marriage was

with Miss Mary A. Lytle, who died of con
sumption nine months after the wedding, and
Mr. Bliss, in 1870, was joined in wedlock with
Alice J. Neel, of Lima, Ohio — this union
being blessed with three children, viz: Lester
L., Neel V. and Mary A. In religion Mr.
Bliss is a Methodist; in politics he is independ
ent, but has filled the office of justice of the
peace and township trustee, and has been a
member of the board of education for fifteen
years. He is a member of the K. of P. at
Delphos and is well known throughout Allen
county for his integrity and unswerving devo
tion to his word. His skill as a farmer is
universally recognized, and his social standing,
with that of his family, is with the best circles
in the township and county.

>-r* OHN M. BOND, of Spencerville, Allen
A county, Ohio, is among the best known
A j citizens of the township and is a repre
sentative man among good men. His
birthplace is Summit county, Ohio, where he
was born March 28, 1836. He is the son of
Elijah and Catherine (Whipple) Bond, who
are supposed to be of English descent. The
father of John M. Bond came to Allen county
in the year 18 14 and rented a small farm
where the Lima cemetery is now located;
later he purchased 100 acres in Perry town
ship, where he moved his family in 1842 and
began clearing up the farm on which he lived
until 1 87 1, but had sold it in 1863 to a son-in-
law, with whom he made his home until he
and his wife moved to Lisbon, Ind., in 1871,
where they died — the father in 1876 and the
mother four years later. Mr. Bond was in
every sense a public -spirited man, a good citi
zen and a zealous Christian. Seven children
were born to this union: Mary, Philena, Char
lotte, Harriet, Jane, Marinda and John M.
JohnM., our subject, the youngest child,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

203

whose early years were spent in the shop, on
the farm and in assisting his father in clearing
up a home in Perry township, at the early
age of eighteen years began life for himself in
1856, and thereafter operated the home farm
and took care of his parents. In 1863 he
made a vigorous effort to get into the service,
but he did not succeed until May, 1864, when
he enlisted in company D, One Hundred and
Fifty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and served
four months, being quartered about Washing
ton. Returning west, he settled in Lima and
began carpentering and building, which work
he continued to follow until 1868, when he
engaged as pattern maker in the Lima machine
shops, remaining there four years. He then
bought an interest in a marble shop and
operated it for two years, as traveling sales
man, after which he engaged in the grocery
business for another two years, when he sold
out and again began traveling for a Philadel
phia wholesale grocery firm, but after a year
bought an interest in a grocery business at
Lima. In the meantime he had traded for
eighty acres of improved land in Spencer town
ship, and in the. fall of 1882 moved to Spencer
ville, pnrchased a lot and built a commodious
house, where he now lives, but has devoted
much of his time to the improvement of his
farm. Since i860 he has affiliated with the
republican party, and in politics, as in every
thing else he is interested in, puts a fair share
of enthusiasm into it. In 1895 he was nomi
nated as candidate for county commissioner on
the republican ticket, and has served as alder
man for four years in Lima. He has been an
Odd Fellow for thirty years, is a member of
Allen lodge, Lima, No. 223, and is also a
member of Lima encampment, No. 62. Mr.
Bond has been thrice married — his first wife
was Miss Fannie Davis, who died in March,
I859, at the age of twenty-three years; one
child blessed this union, Minnie, who grew to

young womanhood, was educated in the com
mon schools, and at the age of fifteen years
was called to her long home, being sadly
missed by her school-mates and friends. In
September, i860, Mr. Bond was united in
marriage with Sarah Franklin, who died Au
gust 7, 1 891, at the age of fifty-three years,
having borne here husband three children, viz:
Emma, Charley and Fanny, all now deceased.
Again, in August, 1893; Mr. Bond chose for his
third companion Mrs. Phebe Rose, who shares
his lot and enjoys the comfortable home that
he provided through his own industry and
good management. Mr. Bond is one of the
representative and well-to-do men of his neigh
borhood and he and his wife are both mem
bers of the Christian church, being numbered
a.mong the honored and highly respected citi
zens of Spencerville.

^y-j'ILLIAM BOOGHER, a young, en-
m B 1 terprising and popular citizen of
mJL^ Hume. Allen county, Ohio, was
born May 15, 1861, and is a son of
Seeley and Margaret (Helwig) Boogher. The
family have been residents of Ohio for at least
three generations, the grandfather, Daniel
Boogher, having been born in this state. His
parents settled at an early day in Dayton,
Montgomery county, and were among that
city's first residents, going there in 181 1.
Daniel Boogher was born in 1803, and was
eight years old when his parents located in
Dayton. What became of his parents is not
stated, but when he arrived at manhood's es
tate he began operating a stage-coach between
Dayton and Springfield, Ohio, which he con
tinued for some years. He subsequently be
came a traveling salesman for a Cincinnati
house, and was one of the very first salesmen
on the road from that city, and indeed from
any city in the country, although it has been

204

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

claimed for Chicago that she was the initiator
of this method of reaching the trade. Some
time about 1850 he purchased a farm about
five miles from Dayton, upon which he lived
until 1883, when he died.
Daniel Boogher married Rachel Danford,
of Dayton, by whom he had children as fol
lows: Mary, deceased, who married Cooper
Crew; Samantha, widow of Daniel Andrews,
of Mansfield; Daniel, who resides near Day
ton, and Seeley, the father, of the subject.
Seeley Boogher was born September 18, 1839,
in Dayton, Ohio, was well educated in the
common schools, and reared on the farm until
1862, when he enlisted in the Fourteenth
Ohio battery, afterward, however, being trans
ferred to the mounted cavalry and was dis
charged in 1865, having served until the close
of the war. His experience was very extensive
and varied, all the ordinary hardships of the
soldier's lot falling to his share, though he
was not taken prisoner nor seriously wounded.
The war having come to an end, he returned
to the old homestead, where he lived until his
death in 1872. Politically Mr. Boogher was a
democrat and an unusually patriotic man. His
wife survives him and now resides in Saint
Mary's, Ohio. Seeley Boogher and his wife
were the parents of two children — William,
of Hume, and Alvin G., of Auglaize county.
The old homestead was the scene of
William Boogher's boyhood days. There he
worked at whatever his hands could find to do,
assisting his father to carry on the farm. His
education was secured at the public schools
of Dayton, which have been for many years
well supplied with good teachers and the most
modern school appliances. After leaving school
he learned telegraphy, and for five years was
employed in telegraphingand in the post-office
at New Bremen, Auglaize county. After this
he was located at Saint Mary's, in the same
county, as operator for the Lake Erie & West

ern Railroad company, and finally, in 1880,
came to Hume, in Allen county, as telegraph
operator and station agent for the company
above named, and established himself, in 1881,
as a merchant in Hume. In 1890 he resigned
his position as telegraph operator, but con
tinued in his position as agent for the rail
road company. At the same time Mr. Boog
her is engaged in purchasing grain and lumber
for the eastern markets, finding in all ample
opportunity for the exercise of good judgment
and business talent.
Politically Mr. Boogher is an ardent re
publican, doing all that lies in his power, with
out reference to office or other reward, for his
party's success. In 1892 he was elected town
ship clerk in a democratic township, overcom
ing an adverse majority of upward of ninety, a
fact which by itself speaks volumes for his
popularity. In 1882 he was appointed post
master at Hume, and held this office until
1893, when, on account of a change in the
national administration from Benjamin Harri
son to Grover Cleveland, he was superseded
by the present incumbent. Fraternally Mr.
Boogher is a member of Lima lodge, No. 91,
K. of P. He was married August 13, 1882,
to Miss Louisa Fritz, daughter of Adam Fritz,
of New Bremen, Ohio, by whom he has had
four children, viz: Alice, William F., Charles
O. and Nellie — the latter deceased. Mr.
Boogher is a public -spirited citizen, adive in
all good works, not only in local politics, but
in school matters, in religious matters, and
in all social matters, where there is an oppor
tunity to confer a benefit on his fellow-men.

>^ACOB BOOK, one of the leading and
A prosperous men of Allen county, Ohio,
A ¦ is a resident of Spencer township. He
was born in Marion county, Ohio, July
24, 1844, and is the son of John and Cath-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

205

erine (Epley) Book, both deceased. They
were natives of Wittenburg, Germany, but
came to the United States before they were
married, in the year 1819, settling in Marion
county, where two sons were born to them,
viz: Adam and Jacob. The father of our
subject was born about the year 181 1, and
lived in Marion county until 1863, when he
bought a farm of 240 acres in Spencer town
ship, Allen county, and Jennings township,
Van Wert county, where Jacob Book, of whom
we write, now resides, on section No. 27. His
death occurred May 2, 1893, the mother's in
1878. A family of nine children were born to
them: Mary, Catherine, Lydia, Jacob, Car
oline, Adam, Rosannah, Annie, and Louisa.
Jacob Book remained on the farm the
most of the time until twenty-six years of age,
working now and then at the carpenter's trade.
At this time he married and located himself on
the home farm, operating the same until now,
devoting himself to stock raising of the higher
grade and general farming. He is the happy
possessor of 219 acres of excellently cultivated
land, with improvements of the very best. In
1 87 1 he was united in marriage to Miss Isabel
Masters, daughter of William and Malinda
(Ross) Masters. She was a native of Cler
mont county, Ohio, and born July 2, 1851.
To this union were born nine children, viz:
John F., an oil operator; Nancy, deceased;
William, deceased; James A.; Joseph and
Rosie, twins; Charley, deceased, infant daugh
ter, deceased, and Emma. Mr. Book is a
democrat in politics and a man of scrupulous
integrity. He has been justice of the peace of
Spencer township for the past six years, and
also served part of a new, uncounted term,
which he resigned March 3, 1893. He served
his township as trustee for four years, and has
been a member of the school board. He has
often been solicited by his party to accept
higher honors, but has so far declined, to the

loss perhaps of his constituents. He is a Free
mason and also belongs to the local grange.
He is a self-made man and is a product which
no good man need be ashamed of. Honor-'
able in his dealings, industrious in his habits,
and true in the best instinct of a generous na
ture, he has succeeded, as such qualities com
bined guarantee success. The parents of Mrs.
Book were natives of New Jersey, and War
ren count}'-, Ohio, and made their home in Jen
nings township, Van Wert county, until a
short time prior to the father's death, which
occurred December 10, 1891, when he was
living with his daughter in Allen county. The
mother died in 1855. The had seven children:
Joseph and Wilson, deceased; Nancy; Isabella;
Mahlan, deceased; James; and an infant daugh
ter, deceased; "the father was of German de
scent and the mother of English extraction.

at

ILLIAM S. BOTKINS, senior mem
ber of the firm of Botkins & Stol
zenbach, leading liverymen of Lima,
Ohio, having the largest and most
complete livery and boarding stable in this
section of the state, with accommodations for
seventy-five horses, and with the finest rigs in
Lima, was born at Botkins Station, Shelby
county, Ohio, February 22, 1855. He is a
son of Russell and Catherine (Elliott) Botkins,
the father of the former of whom, Richard
Botkins, was one of the early settlers of Shelby
county, and entered and purchased 500 acres
of land where the town of Botkins Station now
stands. He was of English descent, and
probably of English birth, and it is presumed
emigrated from England and settled at that
point. Russell Botkins, father of the subject,
was born in Botkins Station, and lived there
until he was thirty years of age, when he re
moved to Sidney, Ohio, where he engaged in
the livery business, and during the war was an

206

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

extensive purchaser of horses for the govern
ment of the United States. By his marriage
with Miss Elliott he had three children, viz:
Mattie, William S., and Edward, the latter of
whom is also engaged in business in Lima.
William S. Botkins was reared at Botkins
Station until he was ten years of age, when he
went with his parents to Sidney, Ohio, and
there received a good common-school educa
tion, and at the age of seventeen began work
ing as freight brakeman on the Cincinnati,
Hamilton & Dayton railroad. Holding this
position for three years, he was then promoted
to a similar position on a passenger train,
which position he held also three years, and
was then made conductor on a freight train.
Three years later he was again promoted — to
the position of conductor on a p'assenger train,
running from Cincinnati to Toledo, and resid
ing in the former city. This position he held
six years, and in 1887. located at Lima, Ohio,
where he became engaged in the livery busi
ness with S. F. Large. Later he engaged in
the same business with his brother, and in
1893 he became associated with Jacob N.
Stolzenbach, his present partner. Mr. Bot
kins was married, in 1876, to Miss Ella Han
son, daughter of Samuel Hanson, of Lima.
To this marriage there has been born one son,
Harry Botkins. Mr. Botkins is a repubican
in politics and is a member of the order of Odd
Fellows and also of the O. R. C. He is a
good man and citizen, and highly respected
by all who know him.

UMOTHY B. BOWERSOCK, a prom
inent man and a leading citizen of
Allen county, was born in Noble
county, Ohio, April 28, 1853. He is
a son of John and Ruth (Bates) Bowersock,
both of whom are now deceased. John Bow
ersock, the father of the subject, was born in

Pennsylvania, December 16, 181 1, and died
in Allen county, Ohio, March 1, 1889. Ruth
Bates, his wife, was born in Noble county, and
died March 21, 1862. John was a shoemaker
in his earlier life, but later he became a miller,
which latter trade he followed for ten years
after his marriage. During the war he made
considerable sums of money purchasing horses
for the government. In 1865, he removed to
Allen county, where he purchased 176 acres
of land in section No. 33, German township,
partially improved but which he improved
much more. Here he lived and followed farm
ing until his death. In politics he was a re
publican, and he was a member of the Chris
tian church. In every way he was above the
average of men, mentally, morally and phys
ically; and of the powers with which he was
endowed he made as good use as it was pos
sible for him to do. He and his wife, Ruth,
had a family of eight children, viz: Ruth,
born January 22, 1842, and now residing on
the home farm; Abigail, born February 2, 1844,
and married to K. Deffenbaugh, of German
township; Susannah, born March 21, 1846, and
married to Benjamin Bowersock, of German
township; Samuel, born July 25, 1848, and fol-
lowingfarming in section No. 33, German town
ship; Sarah, born January 11, 1851, and now
the wife of William Sarf, of German township;
Timothy B., born April 25, 1853; Luana C. ,
born July 4, 1858, and married to Charles
Herring, of Van Wert, Ohio, and Walter M.,
born June 13, 1861, and now following farm
ing in Montgomery county, Kans.
Timothy B. Bowersock was about twelve
years of age when the family moved into Allen
county, and he remained at home with his
father until he was married, September 25,
1873, to Miss Ellen Kemp, daughter of Rev.
J. W. Kemp. She was born in Allen county,
and died December 23, 1873, at the age of
nineteen. Mr. Bowersock was next married

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

207

March 25, 1876, to Miss Margaret L. Brew-
baker, daughter of Mr. G. W. Brewbaker.
She was born in Allen county, Ohio, October
16, 1857. G. W. Brewbaker was born in 1826,
on the banks of Honey Creek, in Perry county,
Ohio, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine
(Smith) Brewbaker. When Mr. Brewbaker
was seven years old his parents moved to Allen
connty, settling in Shawnee township, where
the father of the family leased a tract of land.
After living in this township for some years, he
removed to Franklin county, Ohio, where he
died at the age of fifty-two years, his wife
afterward dying in Illinois. They reared1 a
family of seven children, viz: Delilah, deceased;
Daniel, a resident of Springfield, Ohio; Kate,
deceased; Polly, deceased; and George W.,
who, as stated, came to Allen county with the
rest of the family when he was seven years of
age. Farm life was his portion, and to this
he has always been devoted, and since 1833
he has always lived in Allen county, with the
exception of about three years. In 1852 Mr.
Brewbaker was married to Miss Sarah Ridenour,
daughter of Isaac and Lydia (Cotterman) Rid
enour, who was born in Perry county, Ohio,
November22, 1829. Mr. and Mrs. Brewbaker
have six children, viz: George H., a resident
of German township; Emma J., wife of Abra
ham Cremean, of German township; Margaret
L., wife of T. B. Bowersock; William A., a
resident of Amanda township; Viella, wife of
William Clarke, of Lima, Ohio; and Winfield
C, deceased. Mr. Brewbaker is one of the
good honest and industrious citizens of Allen
county, and is a member of the Christian
church. Mr. and Mrs. Bowersock -]have a family of
eight children, viz: George A., born February
3, 1877; Walter M., born August 22, 1878;
William H., born February 26, 1880; Nora
M., born December 21, 1881; Roy E., born
May 3, 1883; Theresa, born November 21,
3

1884 and died April 17, 1887; Oscar, born
October 11, 1887, and Brice, born November
21, 1889. After his marriage Mr. Bowersock
erected a log cabin in which he lived until
1892, when he erected his present home, a
frame building 14x28 feel in size, with an " L "
14x14 feet. His farm contains twenty -three
acres of land, in section No. 33, German town
ship, and in addition to this he leases 160
acres, which he has had under lease for several
years. His little farm is known far and wide
as the Lima Jersey Stock farm, and here Mr.
Bowersock began in 1878 the breeding of
thoroughbred Jersey cattle. Of this breed he
has since made a specialty and sells annually
from his farm a large number of fine animals.
He carried this branch of farming on alone
until the fall of 1894, when he took into part
nership with him his brother-in-law, S. W.
Kemp, of Kempton, Allen county. From four
to five times a year they have public sales of
thoroughbreds, for beside raising cattle they
both buy and sell, but handle only high grades.
Mr. Bowersock devotes nearly the whole of his
time to the superintendedcy of his farming and
stock, business, knowing that if he neglects it
he will soon have no business to superintend.
Politically he is a democrat, and has held a
few local offices, but he has no time for politics.
The offices which he has held were those of
assessor, two terms, and land appraiser one
term. The offices he now holds are those of
township trustee and president of the school
board for his township. He has also been a
member of the county executive committee for
some time, and he has several times been a
delegate to county conventions. Mr. Bower
sock is truly one of the most active and pro
gressive men in Allen county, and as such is
highly respected by all. Although, as has been
stated, he has but little time to devote to poli
tics, he has always cheerfully done his duty
when called upon by his fellow. citizens.

208

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

(D

ADISON L. BOWYER, one of the
oldest living residents of Allen
county, Ohio, was born In Virginia,
January 12, 1826, and is the son of
Isaac and Elizabeth ("McMillan) Bowyer.
Isaac was born in the Old Dominion in 1802;
he was reared and married in this state, and
in 1839, with his family, loaded in a wagon
and started for Sangamon county, 111., but on
arriving in Ross county, Ohio, he was obliged
to lay up for the winter, and, hearing flatter
ing accounts of Allen county, in the following
spring he came here, leaving .his family in
Ross county, and entered 163, acres of land
in the vicinity of where Elida now stands in
German township. In 1831 he moved his
wife and child — our subject, Madison L. — to
their new home and erected a log cabin, where
they encountered the many hardships and had
usual thrilling experiences of pioneers and
frontiersmen. Mr. Bowyer bought a black
smith's outfit, erected a rude log shop, bought
a couple of cows of the Indians, and life began
in dead earnest. He did all the blacksmithing
for miles around and continued doing this
work until 1835, when he turned his attention
to farming, which occupation he continued
in until the time of his death, which occurred
in 1842. Politically, in early life he was a
democrat, but latter a whig. He was a man
of unswerving integrity, industrious, benevo
lent and kindhearted, and a true friend and
good neighbor. His religious affiliations were
with the Methodist Episcopal church, and his
home was the place of worship in his neighbor
hood for a long time. At his death Mr.
Bowyer left an estate of 258 acres. Mrs.
Bowyer married twice after the death of her
first husband- — William Briddy first, and Will
iam Denton second. She died at the home
of her son, Madison L., March 26, 1895, at
the age of eighty-eight years.
Madison L. Bowver was reared on the farm

and educated in the district schools, with two-
terms of select school at Lima and one year at
the Ohio Wesleyan university, at Delaware.
His father's death occurred when our subject
was seventeen years old, but the latter took
charge of affairs and operated the farm for two
years, when he attended school for a short
time and taught school for three terms. Oc
tober 29, 1846, he was united in marriage to
Miss Elizabeth S. Priddy, daughter of. William
and Eliza Priddy. After their marriage he
located on the old farm and engaged in general
farming and st'ockraising, in which he has-
ever since been very successfully engaged. He
has become one of the largest landowners in
Allen county, his estate consisting of 800 acres-
at one period, but at present of 600 acres only.
In July, 1 893,' he moved to his present home,
a half-mile out of the city of Lima, where he
owns twenty-five and one-half acres of land,
on which he has erected a handsome modern
residence. Politically he is a stanch repub
lican and a substantial figure in the party of
the county. He was a liberal supporter of the
Union cause in the late war, giving of his-
ample means ungrudgingly, has always been
interested in the matter of education and in
tellectual advancement, and contributed to the
endorsement of the female department of the
Ohio Wesleyan university. His first wife, who
was born in 1827, died March 20, 1870. The
fruit of this marriage was eleven children, viz:
Mary E., Anna E., Josephine E., Martha J.,
Isaac W., John N., Clarinda A., George A.,
Charles M., William A., and Amanda E. Mr.
Bowyer was married a second time January 4,
1877, his bride being Miss Della Strayer,
daughter of Daniel and Priscilla Strayer. She-
was born near Sugar Grove, Fairfield county,
Ohio, February 18, 1839. One child was born
to Mr. Bowyer in this marriage, a daughter.
Of Mr. Bowyer it could be difficult to say too
much, and yet his many good deeds are his-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

209

best orators; as men like our subject increase
in numbers, so fast does the world become bet
ter and life more worth the trouble of living.

>-j,OHN' N. BOWYER, one of the best-
A known men of German township, Allen
A J county, Ohio, is among the representa
tive citizens of the township. He is a
native of Allen county and German township,
was born on the Bowyer homestead, July 19,
1858, and is a son of Madison L. and Elizabeth
(Priddy) Bowyer. His early life was that of
the majority of farmers' boys — full of farm
work, school attendance, contentment and
rustic enjoyment. January 30, 1885, he was
united in marriage to Martha J. Craig, after
which they came to Elida, where they now
live, and where he is still engaged in farming,
having under his supervision ninety acres of
good land. He is one of the progressive men
of the township and is ever on the alert and
enterprising. In politics Mr. Bowyer is a re
publican, and a conscientious christian worker.
Mrs. Bowyer is the daughter of John and
Emeline (Vickers) Craig, both deceassd. Her
father died at Point Pleasant, W. Va., May
30, 1862, at the age of thirty-two years. He
was a soldier in the late war, enlisting at the
beginning at Ada, Ohio. He married his wife
at Fort Wayne, Ind., and she was born in
Wayne county, Ind., and the daughter of Jesse
and Eliza (Robinson) Vickers. She is a direct
descendent of the Anneka Jans Bogardus, who
came from Holland and over whose immense
estate in New York city there has been so
much litigation and which is still pending, in
volving property of 175 acres of land in the
center of the city, on which Trinity church now
stands. The date of this grant was in 1654.
Mrs. Bowyer was connected with Anneka
Jans Bogardus in the following order: Anneka
Jans Bogardus was a daughter of the king of

Holland, who with her husband, Breloff Janson,
or who was known as "Jans," came from Hol
land in 1630, and settled in New Amsterdam,
the chief Dutch settlement in the new world.
Her first husband, Breloff Janson, died in
1638, and for her second husband she married
Dominie Everardus Bogardus, a clergyman by
profession. Her daughter Sara married Cor
nelius Van Borsun. The next in line was a
Van Twiller, next a Valentine, next a Robin
son, and then the Vickers, which brings it
down to the present time, and our subject,
Mrs. Bowyer, who was one of four children,
viz: Sarah E., Emily E., wife of Robert Wil
son, William C. and Martha J., the wife of our
subject, John Nelson Bowyer. The mother of
Mrs. Bowyer married a second time, the last
time to John Hommel, of Snyder county, Pa.
She died in 1876, leaving five children by Mr.
Hommel, one of whom died in infancy — Etta,
wife of Cornelius Dusenberry, of New York
city; John, deceased in 1870; Mary, deceased
same year; Ora, a student in Lewiston, Penn
sylvania, college, and Wilbur, a resident of
Snyder county, Pa.

^""^EORGE BREESE, of Shawnee town-
¦ ^\ ship, Allen county, Ohio, the eldest
^LJ son of Griffith Breese, was born Octo
ber 1, 1817, in Franklin county, Pa.
Griffith Breese was among the earliest settlers
of Shawnee township, Allen county, Ohio, and
was a son of John Breese, a native of Mont
gomeryshire, an inland county of Wales.
From Wales he came to the United States in
1800, his wife having previously died. His
.children he brought with him. So far as is
known to his descendants his first permanent
location was near Chambersburg, Pa., in
Franklin county. A few years later he came
to Ohio, settling near Bellefontaine, in Logan
county, where he lived until his death, in 181 5.

210

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

His children were as follows: Susan, who mar
ried Humphrey Evans, and who died in Cin
cinnati; Griffith; 'Mary, who married Evan
Evans, and who died in Franklin county, Ky. ;
Robert, who married Lydia Henry, and lived
and died in Logan county, Ohio, and John,
who died in Pennsylvania.
Griffith Breese was born in Wales in 1 790,
and coming, as has been intimated, to the
United States in 1800, was reared in Pennsyl
vania. He early learned the trades of mason
and of weaver, working at the former in sum
mer and at the latter in winter. In company
with Humphrey Evans and Evan Evans, his
two brothers-in-law, he removed, in 18 19, by
way of the Ohio river, on flatboats, which they
had purchased, to Cincinnati, Ohio, and thence
he went to Butler county, Ohio, where he pur
chased eighty acres of land, upon which he
carried on farming and also his trades of
mason and weaver. Here he remained until
1832, when he removed to Allen county, and
lived in the Shawnee council house until Janu
ary, 1833, at which time the sale of the
reservation lands took place. Of these reserva
tion lands Griffith Breese purchased eighty
acres in section No. 10, and an equal amount
in each of sections Nos. 6 and 21, and kept
on purchasing other tracts and parcels of land
until before his death he owned 1, 100 acres at
once, all in Shawnee township, which he ulti
mately divided up among his children. On the
eighty acres in section No. 10 he settled,
cleared it of its timber in part, erected a brick
residence thereon, and lived upon it the re
mainder of his days, dying November 2, 1848.
Griffith Breese married Miss Mary L.
Mowen, daughter of Lewis Mowen, of Frank
lin county, Pa. She died in 1852. The chil
dren born to this marriage were as follows
Nancy, who resides on the old homestead
George, of Shawnee township; John (deceased)
William D. ; David M., of Shawnee township

and Griffith, who was a member of the Ninety-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and died from
exposure while in the service of his country.
Mr. Breese was one of the most prominent
men of his day in his township, and he took
great interest in all matters pertaining to the
development of his county's prosperity. In
the early days he was a democrat, and in later
life a whig. While not a member of any
church, yet he favored the doctrines of the
Baptist denomination, and was always upright
and true in his conduct. Public office he never
sought nor desired, but he was always alive to
the interests of the political party with which
he identified himself, -and also was ready to
further any movement promising to promote
the public good.
George Beese came with his parents to
Ohio, and remained upon the homestead until
after the death of his mother. His education
was such as the schools of that day afforded,
which, supplemented by intercourse with the
world, has always been sufficient for his neces
sities. In 1856 he settled upon a portion of
his father's land, in section No. 9, containing
160 acres, and in 1862 he removed to section
No. 21, on 240 acres. This latter farm he
cleared and improved, making of it an excel
lent piece of property. In 1865 he removed
his house to section No. 16, on the same 240-
acre tract, and he there engaged in farming
until 1882, when he purchased his present
farm in sections Nos. 6, and 16, where he is
living, retired from active business. At the
time of his retirement from the active control
of his property and business he owned 320
acres of land, which he has divided up among
his children. In 1855 Mr. Breese was married to Miss
Sarah Yoakam, daughter of Solomon and
Ruth-Yoakam, of Shawnee township, and to
this marriage have been born four children,
viz: Charles L., deceased; Mary E., wife of

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

211

C. D. Strawbridge; Ina, and John O. Politi
cally Mr. Breese is a republican, but cares not
for office, the performance of his private duties
having always been uppermost in his ambition.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and is a trustee of the church of which
he is a member. Mr. Breese is one of the
original settlers of Shawnee township, and as
sisted in its organization. He well remembers
the Shawnee Indians, who were still living on
their reservation when he came into the county.
That they were dissatisfied with its sale is also
one of the things he distinctly remembers, and
also that they spent considerable time in trying
to re-purchase it, which of course they could
not do. He has pleasant recollections of this
tribe of red men, and says that they were hon
orable to a high degree, which is in accordance
with what many early travelers among them
and writers about them also state.

@ALVA BREESE, of Shawnee town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, is a great-
grandson of John Breese, who was
born probably about 1780. John
Breese had a son, Griffith, and Griffith Breese
had a son, William D., who was the father of
G. Alva Breese, the subject of this sketch, who
was born December 26, 1859.
Most of the incidents of the life of William
D. Breese are well remembered by his child.
He was reared on the old Griffith Breese home
stead, and there received his education in the
schools of his day, which were not so well sup
plied with teachers and apparatus as those of
the present day. Upon this old homestead he
lived the greater part if not the whole of his
life, which extended much beyond the ordi
nary span, he dying in 1892. William D.
Breese was a prominent man in many ways,
and was honored by his party friends with the
offices of justice of the peace and treasurer of

his township, holding the former for many
years. In politics he was a republican and
labored earnestly and successfully for his
party's prosperity. He was a man of ideas,
was a great reader, and was tolerably well
versed in law, his necessities as justice of the
peace requiring him to read both general and
statute law. In his religious convictions he
was a Methodist, and he was a member of the
Shawnee Methodist Episcopal church, always
living consistently with his convictions as a
religious man. William D. Breese married
Miss Ellen Yoakum, daughter of Solomon and
Ruth Yoakum, who were among the early set
tlers of Shawnee township. To their marriage
was born one son, G. Alva, the subject, and
they are both now deceased, lying in the cem
etery at Shawnee.
G. Alva Breese, the date of whose birth
has already been stated, was, like his three di
rect ancestors, whose names have been given,
brought up to a farmer's life. His education
was received in the common schools of the
township in which he lived. He has always
followed the time-honored pursuit of his ances
tors, that of agriculture, and to that industry,
as carried on by his father, Mr. Breese has
added the department of dairying, keeping at
the present time nineteen cows. In all he cul
tivates 130 acres of land. In this calling he
has met with abundant success, and by keep
ing himself fully informed as to the improve
ments that are constantly being made, even in
agriculture, he is enabled to keep abreast of
the times and to make farming not only profit
able, but at the same time somewhat attract
ive, a feature which some people think it can
not possess.
In politics Mr. Breese is a republican, but
is not actuated in his party fealty by any con
sideration of office. His ambition does not lie
in that direction, although as far as qualifica
tion is concerned, of that there is no doubt.

212

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

But he believes the post of honor is the private
station. Mr. Breese was married to Miss Iva
John, daughter of Jehu John, of German town
ship, who is a descendant from Welsh Quaker
ancestry, and who was among the early set
tlers of Northumberland county, Pa. To this
marriage there have been born six children,
four of whom are still living, viz: Clifford E.,
Vida M., Don C. and Villa I. Mr. Breese is
descended from a long line of honorable ances
try, and is himself no discredit to their record.
He is upright and square in his dealings with
men, and desires to see all men prosper.
Nothing in the shape of underhanded tricks or
schemes find any countenance with him, feel
ing convinced, as he does, that what is done
is done forever, and can not be recalled.

^V^VAVID BRENNEMAN, of Marion
I I township, Allen county, Ohio, is a
/^_^ son of Jacob and Caroline (Ogden)
Brenneman, and was born in Fair
field county, Ohio, November 28, 1840. He
was brought to Allen county in September,
1853, by his parents, and was here reared to
manhood. August 12, 1862, he enlisted in
company A, One Hundred and Eighteenth
Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three years
or during the war, and was honorably dis
charged at Knoxville, Tenn., June 20, 1865.
His regiment left Lima September 12, 1862,
and in October of the same year was engaged
in guard duty on the Kentucky Central rail
road; later, he was at the siege of Knoxville,
and was twenty-one days and nights under
fire; next had a hard fight at Mossy Creek, in
Tennessee; then returned to Knoxville and
was engaged in building pontoon boats until
the spring of 1864, when he went on the At
lanta campaign, fighting at Resaca, Buzzard's
Roost, Kenesaw Mountain, Snake Creek Gap,
Peach Tree Creek, and at Atlanta. After the

fall of that city Mr. Brenneman was with Gen.
Thomas in Tennessee, was at Strawberry
Plains, Jonesboro, Morristown, and on to
Salisbury, N. C. ; was also at Lynchburg, Va.,
and several other points, doing good work in
the. engineer branch of the service until his
final discharge.
Returning from the war, Mr. Brenneman
engaged in the saw-mill business for four years,
but in the meantime, September 27, 1866,
married Phebe A. Lutz, who was born De
cember 13, 1846, a daughter of John and
Sarah A. (Griffith) Lutz. John Lutz was of
German descent and his wife of Welsh extrac
tion. The former was born in Perry county,
Ohio, January 13, 1820, a son of John Lutz,
who was born in Maryland in 1787 and mar
ried Louisa Leese, who was born October 14,
1794. To John and Louisa Lutz were born
nine children — George, John, Jacob, Solomon,
Michael, Noah, Catherine, Mary and Sarah.
John Lutz, the father of Mrs. Brenneman,
was thrice married — first to Sarah A. Griffith,
who was born March 19, 1837, a daughter of
David Griffith, who bore him four children;
his second wife Elizabeth Miller, who also be
came the mother of four children, and his
third wife was Sarah Doner, who bore him
four children, likewise.
After his marriage, Mr. Brenneman located
in Amanda township, Allen county, lived there
four years, and then came to his present farm
of 160 acres in Marion township. There have
been bom to him four children, named Laura
A., Irvin E., Sarah E. and Stephen A. Mr.
and Mrs. Brenneman are members of the
Methodist church, and for nine years Mr.
Brenneman has been trustee in that body. In
politics he is independent, and has served as
trustee of his township four years. He is a
member of the Grand Army of the Republic,
belonging to Armstrong post, at Lima. Of the
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Brenneman,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

213

Laura married David Williams, a farmer of
Van Wert county, and is the mother of three
children, named Groen Lenora, William David
and Anna; Irvin married Ollie Kircofe, and is
working on the home farm; Sarah E. is mar
ried to Albert Morris, a blacksmith in the Lake
Erie & Western Railroad shops, at Lima.
The Brenneman homestead was first settled
by Christian Stukey, the deed having been
signed by President Andrew Jackson, May 2,
I833. The next owner was Daniel Conrad,
and by him it was transferred to Jacob Brenne
man in March, 1853. It is now one of the
finest farms in the township, is one of the old
est settled in the neighborhood, and Mr. Bren
neman has cleared up the greater part of it.
Mr. Brenneman relates many reminiscences of
the Civil war, which are too voluminous for
repetition in a sketch of this character. He
was a brave and faithful soldier, and his con
duct in civil life has been such as to win the
esteem and heartfelt regard of all who know
him. He. is upright, public spirited, and gen-
*
erous in his impulses, and few citizens of
Marion township stand in a better light before
the public than he.
The family originally were German Men-
nonites, who fled from persecution in Germany
and sought shelter in the .country where all
religions and sects are given freedom to wor
ship in their own way. They were faithful
followers of Menno Symons, and the founder
of the branch of the family to which John L.
Brenneman belongs was Abraham, his grand
father, who was born- about 1745, so that it
was probable that the family first settled in
southeastern Pennsylvania, some time prior to
the Revolutionary war. Abraham Brenneman
first married a young lady named Maria, who
was born about 1747, and died March 29,
1788, the mother of seven children, viz: Mag
dalene, born December 6, 1770; Elizabeth,
born February 10, 1773; Malachi, born May

11, 1775; Francis, born October 18, 1777;
Barbara, born January 13, 1780; Daniel, born
March 24, 1782, and Abraham, born April 10,
1785. Abraham, after the death of his first
wife, married Magdalena Schenk, who was the
mother of seven children, viz: Henry, John,
Jacob, Catherine, Mary, David and Abraham.
Abraham Brenneman, when grown to man
hood, left the home in Pennsylvania, and set
tled on a farm in Rockingham county, Va.,
where he prospered and reared his family, and
there died March 8, 181 5, in his seventy-first
year. He was well remembered by many peo
ple of his latter day, as he was noted for his
hospitality and liberality to all poor people;
he always kept a large store of wheat on hands
to give to the poor and needy, and many were
those who could look to him as their bene
factor. He was honored and respected by all,
and from him fourteen children have descended,
of whom all grew to manhood and womanhood
and raised families, excepting Catherine, who
had no children. All the Brenneman family
who are settled in Allen county, except Chris
tian Brenneman, who lives in Sugar Creek
township, trace their descent back to this
Abraham Brenneman, while Christian Brenne
man traces his descent to a brother of Abraham.
Jacob Brenneman, the third son of Abra
ham, by his second wife, was the father of the
subject of this sketch, and was born on the
old homestead in Rockingham county, Va.,
October 7, 1796, and married Mary, the
daughter of John Berry. After marriage he
settled on the old homestead in Rockingham
county and eight children were born to them,
the four oldest of whom, John L. , Abra
ham, Barbara and Isaac, grew up and reared
families; the four youngest • died while
quite young after moving to Ohio. About
1828 Mr. Brenneman moved his family
from the old home in Virginia to Fairfield
county, Ohio, where he bought a farm of 120

214

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

acres of partly cleared land; this he improved
and was prospering when his wife died, about
October, 1832. In the fall of 1836 he mar
ried Caroline, the daughter of David and Re
becca (Frey) Ogden, who were natives of Vir
ginia and of English descent. By this mar
riage Mr. Brenneman had eight children, viz:
Catherine, David, Jacob, Rebecca, Noah,
William F. (deceased), Sarah A. and Charles B.
About September, 1853, Mr. Brenneman
moved his family to Marion township, Allen
county, and settled on a farm of 160 acres, a
small part of which had been cleared. He
improved this land and made it his home the
remainder of his life, dying January 1, 1865,
being in his sixty-ninth year. He was a pros
perous and very successful farmer, and a hard
working and honest man, and taught his chil
dren that hard work was honorable, and that
they should be honest and upright in all things.
It may be well said that his word was as good
as his bond. He was a democrat in politics,
and a faithful member of the Mennonite
church, and was honored and respected by all
who knew him.

HBRAHAM BRENNEMAN, one of the
oldest settlers of Sugar Creek town
ship, and one of the most successful
and wealthy farmers in Allen county,
comes from sturdy German ancestry. His
grandfather, Malachi Brenneman, was a farmer
of the state of Virginia, and David Brenneman,
son of Malachi, was the father of the subject
of this sketch, was born in Rockingham county,
Va., May 14, 1805, was a farmer by occupa
tion, was a well educated man, and was a
member of the Christian church. He married
Miss Catherine Myers, who was born January
15, 1809, in Shenandoah county, Va., she
being the daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth
(Crumpacker) Myers. Mr. Brenneman moved

to Fairfield county, Ohio, October 1, 1842,
and there rented land, and resided upon two
different places for three and a half years. He
then removed to Franklin county, where he
remained one and a half years, and in 1847
finally removed to Allen county (then Putnam
county), and settled in Monroe township. His
wife had some money and they together bought
1 10 acres of land, a little of which had been
cleared by some former owner, or, possibly,
squatter. With the assistance of his sons he
cleared the rest of this land, and afterward
bought eighty acres more, becoming one of the
substantial and prosperous farmers of his day.
David Brenneman and his wife were the par
ents of twelve children, viz: Daniel F., Abra
ham, Elizabeth A., Samuel C, Rebecca J.,
Mary A., Sarah E., Lydia F., David D., John
H., Jacob P. and Martha A. Mr. Brenneman
was a deacon in his church for many years,
and Mrs. Brenneman was a member of the
same church, and he assisted in building the
first Christian church in Monroe township. He
was a democrat, and was honored by his fel
low-citizens by being elected to the office of
township trustee, but cared less for political
affairs than for general matters of interest to
all, such as religion, education and social
progress. He was a hard-working man, and
reared his family to habits of industry, econ
omy and honesty. September 4, 1892, he
died at the age of eighty-seven years and four
months. Abraham Brenneman, the subject of this
sketch, was born February 21, 1831, in Rock
ingham county, Va. , was reared a farmer, and
has followed that occupation with more than
ordinary success all his life. When he was
about eleven years old his parents removed
from Virginia to Fairfield county, Ohio, mak
ing the journey with wagon and horses. This
journey is still fresh in his memory. Coming
with his father in 1847 to Alien county, he

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

215

here assisted in clearing the farm, and was
educated, as were other boys of that day, in
the common school. On August 21, 1856, he
was married to Eliza Ward, born July 18,
1835, a daughter of William and Elizabeth
(Ridenour) Ward.
William Ward was the grandson of an
Englishman who came to America before the
Revolutionary war, and fought in that war as
an American soldier. His name was William,
and his son's name was William, bringing the
name down to the father of Mrs. Brenneman,
so that there were three generations of Will
iam Wards. William Ward, father of Mrs.
Brenneman, was born in Fairfield county,
Ohio, July 1, 1 8 10. He and his wife were the
parents of four children, viz: Sarah, Eliza,
Mary A., and John H. Their marriage oc
curred in 1833, and Mr. Ward died October
12, 1894. He was a member of the United
Brethren church. The first wife of Mr. Ward
died when Mrs. Brenneman was six years old,
that is, in 1841, and he was then married to
Sarah Faustnaught, a widow, nee Sarah
Wright. To this marriage there were born
four children, viz: George H., Marion, Will
iam and David. After the death of his
second wife he married Hanna Angus, by whom
he had two children— Elizabeth and Leslie.
Mr. and Mrs. Brenneman, after their mar
riage, settled on 1 50 acres of land near Cairo,
in Allen county, a portion of which belonged
to his wife before her marriage. Part of the
town of Cairo is laid out on this land. When
he settled thereon but eight acres were cleared,
but the remainder was cleared by him and
was made into a good farm. A good and
pleasant house was erected by him, and also
other buildings, and many other improvements
were made. In 1877 Mr. Brenneman bought
his present farm, then containing 250 acres.
This farm was cleared and improved, and cost
him $80 per acre, the total cost being $20,000.

This is one of the best farms in Allen county,
together with its improvements. Previously
he had purchased, in Monroe township, 177^
acres, and in Monroe and Sugar Creek town
ships, 160 acres. He had also 166 acres in
Bath township, 185 acres in German township,
and eighty acres in Paulding county; making
in all 972 acres, all fine farming land. This
property, which is a good fortune in itself, he
has acquired and accumulated by his own in
dustry and good management, generally mak
ing sure of his investments beforehand, but
notwithstanding all the care he has taken, he
lost, by misfortune, some $15,000.
Mr. Brenneman and his wife are the par
ents of eight children, viz: Henrietta, born
October 24, 1858 — died October 20, 1887;
William C, born November 20, i860; Mary
C. , born February 2, 1863; David W., born
March 31, 1865 — and died October 15, 1868;
Sarah A., born July 20, 1867; Abraham P.,
born March 7, 1870 — died October 12, 1871;
Jacob B., born August 19, 1872, and Frank H.,
born December 23, 1874. Mr. and Mrs.
Brenneman are members of the Christian
church, and Mr. Brenneman has served his
church as trustee. In politics he is a democrat,
but as the above brief sketch indicates, he has
always cared less for politics than success in
life as an agriculturists and as an accumulator
of property. His career and example forcibly
illustrate the possibilities of American citizen
ship, teaching what may be accomplished by
industry, economy, hard work and good
judgment,

>-"T*OSEPH BROWER, one of the most
A substantial farmers and most highly
A 1 respected citizens of Allen county, is
descended from an old colonial Vir
ginia family of Holland origin. As will be
seen, however, the Virginia family traces its

216

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

first American ancestor back to Pennsylvania,
where he lived a very short time after coming
to America, more than 200 years 'ago. Four
brothers came to America together as early as
the time mentioned. One settled on Long
Island, in the state of New York, one in the
state of North Carolina, one in Kentucky and
the fourth in Pennsylvania. The Pennsyl
vania branch finally settled in Virginia. Enoch
Brower, the grandfather of the subject belong
ing to this branch, settled in Augusta county,
that state, where he died, about 1835, the
father of the following children: John, Daniel,
Christian and Magdalena — these are all that
are remembered. Enoch Brower was a Ger
man Baptist or Dunkard in religion. He was
a farmer by occupation and was always highly
esteemed by all that knew him.
John Brower, the eldest son of Enoch, and
the father of the subject of this sketch, was
born in Pennsylvania, and went with his father
to Virginia. Like his father he was a farmer,
likewise was a minister in the German Baptist
church, and was among the first to preach in
the English language in that state, beginning
his ministry about 1830. He married Hannah
Miller, who was born in Augusta county, Va.
To this marriage there were born fourteen
children; of these Samuel, Daniel, David,
Enoch, Joseph, Elizabeth and Lydia grew to
maturity — the others died in infancy or in
childhood. John Brower was a prosperous
farmer, owning several farms. He also owned
a carding-mill and a linseed-oil mill, hauling
the products of his mills to Richmond, Va.,
129 miles distant, to market. He prospered,
and in addition to all his other labors he
preached the gospel to the people of his vicin
ity. He lived to be fifty-five years of age, and
died in Rockingham county, in 1842. He was
•one of the most devout of Christians, and of
the strictest integrity in his life. He died as
he had lived, highly respected and loved by all.

Joseph Brower, the subject of this sketch,
was born February 16, 1827, in a hewed-log
house in Rockingham county, Va. , three miles
from Bridgewater, and twelve miles from
Harrisonburg. He has brought up to work on
his father's farm, and in his mills, and received
the usual pioneer education of that day,
attending school three months in the winter
season, and working the other nine months
throughout the year, until he was sixteen
years old. Being versed in all kinds of farm
labor he determined to make agriculture his
life calling, and in 1844 started out to seek
his own fortune in the new county of Allen,
Ohio. In fact, others of the family also de
termined then to leave Virginia, and when the
subject of this sketch came to Ohio he was
accompanied by his mother, and his brothers,
Daniel and Enoch. Daniel settled in what is
now Sugar Creek township, three miles east of
the home residence of the subject. The amount
of land taken up was 170 acres, all covered
with timber. It was then worth between $3
and $4 per acre. Upon this farm he lived
until twenty- one years of age, assisting his
elder brothers clear up the land, and then
began working out on other farms. On August
9, 1 849, he was married to Elizabeth Stephens,
of Pittsburg, Pa., who was born October 17,
1824. She was a daughter of John and
Rachel (Davis) Stephens. The name of the
father of John Stephens was John Jones, so
that John Stephen's name was in reality John
Jones, but in crossing the ocean he gave his
name to the captain of the ship as John Ste
phens, in order to preserve his father's christian
name, and in part in heedlessness. He was
always afterward known as John Stephens.
John Stephens was married in southern
Wales, and he and 'his wife .were natives of
that country. They came to the United
States about 1820, and settled in Pittsburg,
Pa., where Mr. Stephens followed his trade,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

217

that of merchant tailor. After living there
until 1836, he removed to Sugar Creek town
ship, Allen county, and settled on land he had
entered in 1834, the piece containing eighty
acres, all in the woods. Here he labored the
rest of his life, clearing up his land, putting in
and gathering his crops, erecting his buildings,
and altogether doing what was necessary to
make a good home. He and his wife were
the parents of five children, viz: David, Mary,
Stephen, William and Elizabeth. The first
three were born in Wales, the others in the
United States. Mr. Stephens lived to be
seventy-nine years old, and died at Lima,
Ohio, July 25, 1869. His wife died Septem
ber 23, 1865, on the farm, aged eighty -five
years. Mr. Stephens was during his entire
life a member of the Welsh Congregational
church, and was always honored and respected
by all that knew him.
After his marriage Mr. Brower first settled
on rented land and lived on it for a year.
This was east of his present farm, which he
bought in 1847, when he was nearly twenty-
one years old. The price paid for his first
land was $4 per acre, and he earned the money
with which to pay for it by splitting rails and
clearing land This farm he cleared, and im
proved, living on it until 1864, when he sold
it and moved to his present farm. This con
tains 157 acres. It is now highly improved,
well drained, and fenced, and has good build
ings upon it, so that it is in every way a splen
did farm and home.
To Mr. and Mrs. Brower. have been born
four children, viz: Rachel, who died at the age
of nine; John, who died at the age of five;
Alonzo, and Abraham L. Mr. and Mrs. Brower
are members of the United Brethren church,
in which Mr. Brower holds the office of trustee,
and of which he has been Sunday-school sup
erintendent for many years. He has always
been liberal with his means in the support of

the church, and aided to erect the present
church building in Elida belonging to his de
nomination. He served as township trustee
four years, and as justice of the peace two
terms, also as assessor and land appraiser. He
has been a republican during his entire life
since attaining his majority, and is one of the
patriotic and honored citizens of his county.
He is a successful farmer and stock raiser, is a
prominent man in many ways, and especially
in that of having acquired a comfortable for
tune by his own exertions, so that it is proper
to consider him one of the self-made men of
his day.

(D

ADISON BRYAN, city marshal of
Delphos, and one of the well known
citizens, is a native of Marion town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, where he
was born on August 26, 1852, is the son of
Morgan and Sarah (Seathers) Bryan, deceased,
both natives of Fairfield county, Ohio. They
were among the early settlers of Allen county,
at the time of their coming Delphos being
known as section No. 10. They lived and
died in Alien county, and of their twelve
children ten are now living.
Madison Bryan was reared on his father's
farm in Allen county, and attended the
country schools. He left the farm in 1872,
was elected city marshal of Delphos, for a
term of two years; in 1895 he was re-elected
for another term of two years, and is filling the
office at the present time in a most efficient
and satisfactory manner. In pplitics Mr.
Bryan is a democrat, and is quite prominent
in the councils of his party. He is a member
of the I. O. O. F. fraternity, and belongs to
the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Bryan
was married July 1, 1873, to Allie Lewis, who
was born in Van Wert county, Ohio, the

218

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

daughter of Morgan Lewis, deceased. To this
union two children have been born, as follows:
Arminta Gertrude and Nellie.

eNOS G. BURTON, M. D., of Lima,
Allen county, Ohio, with his office in
the Kendall block, was born in Pick
away county, Ohio, April 14, 1846,
and is of English-Scotch descent paternally,
and maternally of German extraction.
Thomas Burton, grandfather of the doctor,
was an early pioneer of Pickaway county, was
a substantial farmer, and married a Miss Cut
ler, of Scotch descent. Their son, Luke D.
Burton, father of the doctor, was born in Pick
away county in 1 818 and was also a farmer.
He married Cynthia A. Hoffhines, who was
born in Pickaway county January 10, 18 19,
this union resulting in the birth of the follow
ing children in the order named: William V.,
John H. and Sarah A., deceased; George W. ,
Enos G,, Edward T., Nelson J.; Luke, de
ceased. In i860 Luke D. Burton brought his
family to Auglaize county and bought a farm
in Douchequet township, which he cultivated
until his death, which occurred in June, 1876.
He was a sincere member of the Lutheran
church and in politics was a democrat, while
as a citizen he was public spirited, generous
and useful. His widow is now a resident of
Wapakoneta, Auglaize county, where she is
passing the declining years of her life in peace
and comfort.
Dr. Enos G. Burton was reared on the
farm until seventeen years of age, received a
good academical education, and for six years
followed the vocation of school-teaching. He
then read medicine under Dr. C. Berlin, of
Wapakoneta, and then attended the Medical
college at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he
graduated in September, 1871. He immedi
ately began the practice of his chosen pro

fession at Westminster, where his skill and
ability were quickly recognized and where he
has met with success in his practice and a re
munerative patronage seldom equaled in rural
towns. He is still an ardent student of the
science and practice of medicine, and beside
his well-assorted and well-stocked library of
choice standard medical works, he subscribes
for the best periodical literature devoted to
the science of medicine and surgery, published
either in America or Europe, and is thus en
abled to keep abreast of the progress made in
his profession from day to day and keep him
self fully posted in its technology.
The marriage of Dr. Burton took place
May 18, 1875, to Miss Emma J. Brown, and
to this felicitous union have been born the fol
lowing children: Greg E., deceased; Edna
O., Elma V., Don M. and Helen H. Of these
Miss Edna O. has been, for the past six years,
under the instruction of a noted local teacher
of music in Lima and is already quite profi
cient in the art. Fraternally Dr. Burton is a
master Mason of lodge No. 205, at Lima, and
is also chief ranger of tent No 650, Independ
ent Order of Foresters,' of the same city. In
politics he is active as a democrat.
Mrs. Emma J. (Brown) Burton was born
in Logan county, Ohio, December 6, 1856,
graduated from the high school at Rushsylva
nia, and for two years was engaged in teach
ing. The father of this accomplished lady was
born in Petersburg, Va. , April 7, 1824, and a
minister of the Methodist Protestant church
all his useful life, and never attended a con
ference to which he did not devote all his
salary. He married December 24, 1846, in
Rushsylvania, Logan * county, Ohio, Miss
Martha J. Blair, a native of Nicholas county,
Ky., born June 19, 1825, the union resulting in
the following children: William U. (deceased),
Henry M., John F. (deceased), Margaret A.
(wife of Samuel McCoy), Emma J. (Mrs. Dr.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

219

Burton), and Marshall (deceased). In i860,
Rev. Mr. Brown left Logan county and brought
his family to Allen county and located in West
minister. The reverend gentleman was a true
patriot and entered the Union army as a pri
vate in company A, One Hundred and Eighty-
first Ohio volunteer infantry, but was speedily
promoted from the ranks to the chaplaincy of
his regiment. This service, however, ruined
his health, producing an incipient consump
tion that culminated in his death some six or
seven years later. For eight years after locat
ing in Westminister, the Rev. Mr. Brown filled
a number of circuits in his ministerial capacity,
and was called — the pious, good and faithful
steward that he was — to meet the Master,
August 25, 1873. His venerated widow is still
a resident of Westminister and is beloved by
all who know her or who remember her la
mented husband — and none who knew him can
ever forget him.

X^EORGE BURKHART.— The Burk-
¦ ^\ hart family had its origin in Germany,
\^W as its name implies. It belongs there
fore to that strong race of people,
usually industrious, usually honest, usually
able. The influx of German blood into this
country is exceedingly valuable to Americans,
whose habits of life tend too much toward the
production of a weakly and nervous race. The
eldest one of the family to whom it is deemed
necessary in this biography to refer, was
George Burkhart, a native of Wurtemberg,
Germany, who died in his native land, aged
sixty years. He was married twice, and by
his first marriage had one son, Michael, who
emigrated to the United States and settled in
Jackson county, Ohio. By his second mar
riage he had two sons, George and Jacob, who
came to this country and joined Michael in
Jackson county in 1843. Upon the arrival of

the latter two brothers they found Michael en
gaged in the manufacture of matches, and not
long after their arrival in this country all three
brothers moved to Columbus, Ohio, where
they all continued in the same industry for
some six years. Then, owing to the introduc
tion of machinery into the manufacture of
these useful little articles, they found them
selves unable to compete with the more mod
ern methods, and in 1847 they abandoned the
field, permitted machinery to have its way,
and purchased three eighty-acre tracts of land,
all adjoining, each having the same quantity
of land, and settled down as it seemed for life
to the occupation of farming. This land was
in Noble township, Auglaize county, Ohio.
The trees they cut down mostly for the sake
of clearing the land, but not feeling willing to
sacrifice so much excellent timber, as many
others did and still do, they engaged here again
on their farms in making matches, thus con
verting at least a portion of their trees into value
instead of into ashes. Michael and his family
still live in Auglaize county. Jacob Burkhart
with his family removed from Auglaize county
and are scattered around the country, while
George remained upon his farm, where he still
resides. He was married the first time in
Germany, and his wife died in 1843. For a
second wife he married Catherine Miller, of
Lancaster county, Ohio. By his first wife he
had two children: Henry, who died on the
way to America; and George, who resides in
Shawnee township, Allen county. By his sec
ond marriage he had the following children:
Frederick, Henry, William, Jacob, Caroline,
wife of William Stevely; Christiana, deceased
wife of Lewis Bowsher, and Maggie, wife of
John Fisher.
George Burkhart, the subject of this sketch,
is the second son of George and Elizabeth
(Treerginger) Burkhart, and was born in
Wurtemberg, Germany, March 20, 1843.

220

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

With his father he came to the United States,
and was reared upon the farm, with but little
or no educational facilities, except such as he
found at home around the family fireside,
his father serving as his teacher as well as
circumstances would permit; but with all that
could be done he was compelled to rely mainly
on his own efforts for such learning as he ac
quired, as he has since done for the wealth that
he has acquired. He is therefore a self-edu
cated and a self-made man in every respect.
At an early age he began working away from
home, in order that he might make a little
money for himself. Brought up in the woods
as he was, it was but natural that he should
be a skillful wood-chopper, for there is, or at
least used to be, such a thing as skill in chop
ping wood, especially in cutting down a tree
so as to have it fall precisely where it was de
sired to lie, and then also in chopping off a
log, all of which is Greek to the modern
farmer's boy. When he was twenty-two years
of age he purchased forty acres of land in
section No. 22, which is a portion of his pres
ent farm, and upon this forty acres he settled
down. Here he erected a sorghum mill and
engaged in making sorghum syrup, in which
industry he has been engaged ever since. His
farm contains 121 acres of well-improved land,
and the improvements thereon are among the
best. He has a fine residence and other good
buildings, upon the former putting the first
slate roof in the township. Mr. Burkhart's
specialty is potatoes, of which tuber he raises
on an average 3,000 bushels per year. He is
also engaged in breeding and raising stock,
feeding all the produce of his fields, which
he finds much more profitable than to sell
grain, hay, etc., from his farm, for by this
process he retains the fertilizers. Besides
these branches of industry Mr. Burkhart is also
engaged in the production of oil.
Mr. Burkhart, politically, is a democrat,

and is always interested in his party's success,
whether prospects are bright or gloomy. He
has served twice as township trustee. At the
first election there was but one scratched
ticket against him, and at the second election,
in 1892, there was none. He is interested in
educational matters, equally with politics, and
has served as school director in his district.
At the present time he is a trustee of Lima
college, and he was on the executive commit
tee on organization. He was also one of the
building committee, and one of the first board
of trustees Religiously Mr. Burkhart is a member of
the Lutheran church, and has served as elder
thereof and also as treasurer. Mr. Burkhart
has been married twice, his first wife having
been Miss Mary Bowsher, daughter of Benja
min Bowsher, who died in 1876, leaving the
following children: Charles, Ida, Frank, Will
iam and Mary. His second wife was Miss
Emma Bowsher, daughter of Samuel Bowsher,
by whom he has one child, viz: Francis, who
was born in 1869, was educated first in the
common schools, and afterward at the West
ern Normal university at Ada, and is a gradu
ate therefrom. He has taught school in
country districts and in Lima college, and is at
the present time secretary of the Lima College
association. Politically he is a democrat, and
in 1895 was elected justice of the peace of
Shawnee township. Mr. Burkhart is a strong
believer in the education of the young, and has-
given his children the best education possible
to him. In every other way he is an enter
prising, intelligent and progressive citizen.

*w ¦* UDSON J. CALL, the leading insur-
l'\ ance agent of Bluffton, Allen county,
A .r Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the late
Civil war, was born July 28, 1845, in
Erie county, Ohio, is descended from an old;

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

221

colonial family of Vermont, and is a son of
Dana and Eliza (Grenald) Call.
Dana Call, the father of our subject and
son of Cyrus Call, a soldier of the war of 1812,
came with his father to Ohio in an early day,
located in Erie county, and is now living
on a farm in Allen county, near Lima, at an
advanced age. To him and wife were born
the following children: Henry S., Hudson J.,
Serena, Adna, Amina and Eva. In politics
he is a prohibitionist, and of his sons two —
Henry S. and Hudson J. — served in the late
war. Henry S. Call responded to the first call
for volunteers in April, 1861, and enlisted for
three months, at Cleveland, Ohio, served out
his time, and then enlisted in a company of
sharpshooters, which was stationed at Wash
ington, D. C, to assist in repelling the sttack
of the rebel general, Jubal Early.
Hudson J. Call, our subject, was educated
at Oberlin college, and at the early age of six
teen years enlisted, at Camp Dennison, Ohio,
June 3, 1 86 1, for three years, or during the
war, but was honorably discharged August 28,
1863, at Frederick City, Md., being incapaci
tated from sickness. On recuperating, how
ever, he re-enlisted for three years, unless
sooner discharged on account of the closing of
the war, entering, at Lima, Ohio, company
C, Seventy-eighth regiment, Ohio volunteer
infantry, and serving throughout the struggle,
being honorably discharged at Newark, N. J.,
July 27, 1865. He fought at Cross Lane, W.
Va., Winchester, Monocacy, South Mountain
and Antietam; was also on Sherman's famous
march to the sea and in skirmishes innumera
ble; was through the Carolina campaigns and
from Goldsboro, N. C, was sent on detailed
duty to New Berne, N. C. , and thence went to
Newark, N. J., where he received his discharge
on the day named above.
On his return to Ohio, Mr. Call went into
business at Ottawa, Putnam county, and mar

ried in Gilboa, in the same county, December
13, 1865, to Miss Nancy Hoaglin, who was
born in Holmes county, Ohio, July 5, 1848, a
daughter of James and Nancy Hoagland. Mr.
Call continued his residence in Ottawa about
a year and a half after marriage, and in the
fall of 1867 came to Bluffton, where he still
resides. In the spring of 1880 he entered into
the general insurance business, and now repre
sents some of the most substantial companies
doing business in this country, among which
may be enumerated the North American, the
Hartford, the National of Hartford, the Queen,
the Royal of Liverpool (England), and the
Phoenix of Brooklyn, N. Y. He stands at the
head of this line of business in this section of
of the country, and is far-famed for his alac
rity in adjusting losses, a feature which never
fails to please his patron.
Mr. Call is a member of Bluffton lodge,
No. 437, F. & A. M., of Bluffton; and Heroic
lodge, No. 466, K. of P., in which he has held
the office of chancellor, commander and pre
late; of Robert Hamilton post, No. 262, G. A. R.,
of which he has been commander' and is also
a member of the Royal Arcanum, in which he
has held the office of regent and collector. In
politics Mr. Call is a democrat and has served
as a member of the town council. Mrs. Call is
a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and to herself and husband have been
born three children — Louvella, Jennie E. and
Addie. Mr. Call is a gentleman well informed
on all current subjects and possesses excellent
business qualifications, and stand highs in the
respect of all for his strict integrity. As a sol
dier his record stands without a blemish, and
from his long service came out without a
wound, excepting a slight one on his right hand,
and all thongh his enlistment performed his
duty manfully, faithfully and cheerfully; as a
civilian he has performed all the duties that
have devolved upon him with credit to himself

222

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and to the satisfaction of all concerned, and
stands to-day one of the most honored citizens
of Bluffton.

X^Y*LIAB CARMAN, the oldest of the
m 1 living pioneers of Sugar Creek town-
V_>^. ship, Allen county, Ohio, and also
the oldest man in the township, being
now in his eighty-seventh year, was born in
Shelby county, Ky., July 14, 1809, and is of
French-German descent, his ancestors on his
mother's side, having fled from France to Ger
many, to avoid religious persecution, and there
intermarried with German families, the Car-
mans being of that race.
Joseph Carman, the great-grandfather of
our subject, came from Germany to America
in the early days of the settlement of New
Jersey, bringing his family, and located on the
Delaware river, in the colony of New Jersey,
about thirty miles from Philadelphia, Pa. , and
for many years carried on farming together
with boot and shoe making. Joseph Carman,
Jr. , son of above and grandfather of our sub
ject, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution
under Washington, and was married in New
Jersey to Miss Elizabeth LaRue, the result of
the union being the birth of seven children —
four sons, Caleb, Isaac, Joshua and James,
and three daughters, Mary, Elizabeth and one
whose name has lapsed from memory of their
sorrows. Joseph Carman, Jr., removed to
Kentucky in 1789, where he became a com
panion of the famous frontiersman, Daniel
Boone, frequently meeting him and coming
side by side with him in the same forts. Mr.
Carman held a patent for about 1,700 acres of
land, which he had located, in part, in what is
now Shelby county, and part in Franklin
county, near where Frankfort now stands.
This gentleman met with an untimely death
at the hands of Indians, while hunting.

James Carman, son of Joseph, Jr., and the
father of our subject, was born in Virginia,
March 2, 1782, in which state his father had
resided for a few years. He learned to read
and write, and at the age of seven and one-
half years went to Kentucky with his father,
there grew to manhood, and married Miss
Comfort Clifton, a native of Virginia and a
daughter of Samuel Clifton. The Etherton
brothers, Peter and Aaron, reached Kentucky
simultaneously with Joseph Carman, and there
came with them a number of Virginians, one
of whom, William Linn, was lost in a river,
and this stream is still known as the No-Linn.
With these Virginians also came Isaac
Hodgens, for whom the town of Hodgens-
ville, in LaRue county, is named, and who was
the great -uncle of our subject, Eliab Carman;
LaRue county, also, was named for a great-
uncle of our subject.
James Carman and wife, for a few years
after their marriage, continued to reside in
Kentucky, and in that state their first three
children were born. Just before the war of
18 1 2 Mr. Carman moved to Clark county,
Ind., where he resided until 1818, when he
sought a home in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he
followed teaming until 1866 or 1867, when he
came to live with our subject, with whom he
passed the two remaining years of his life,
dying in Allen county in 1 869, at the advanced
age of eighty-seven years, eight months and
sixteen days. He had been twice married, and
to his first union, as recorded above, were born
four children, Caleb, Elizabeth, Eliab and
Matilda — the last named born in Indiana. The
mother of these died in Ohio county, Ky. , and
the second marriage of Mr. Carman took place
in Butler county, Ohio, with Mrs. Mary Smith,
a widow, who had borne the maiden name of
Mary Edwards, and to this union were born
two children — Silas and Louisa.
Eliab Carman, the proper subject of this

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

223

memoir, was but a mere child when taken by
his parents to Indiana, but still remembers the
illumination and celebration in honor of Jack
son's victory at New Orleans. He was reared
chiefly in Ohio, however, partly learned the
cooper's trade and also assisted in teaming
with his father in Cincinnati, and was there
married, February i, 1830, to Miss Mary Rich
ards, who was born January 12, 181 1, in
Montgomeryshire, Wales, a daughter of Rich
ard and Sarah (Davis) Richards, the former of
whom came to America about 1820, and was
one of the original settlers with the Welsh
colony at Paddy's Run, Butler county, Ohio.
In. 1834, he came to Sugar Creek township,
Allen county, and settled in section No. 19,
his being one of the first Welsh families to
come to the township, and here he bought a
quarter section of land, much of which he
cleared up and converted into a fertile farm.
To himself and wife were born eight children,
viz: Mary, Sarah, Jane, Elizabeth, Martha,
Susan, Thomas, Evan and William. The
parents lived to reach the age of about sixty-
seven years, and both died in the faith of the
Presbyterian church.
After marriage __ Mr. and Mrs. Carman
resided in Cincinnati until September 2, 1836,
when they came to Sugar Creek township,
Allen county, making their way by wagon, but
at times cutting their way through the forest.
Mr. Carman at once settled on eighty acres of
his present farm, the deed to which bearsthe
signature of Andrew Jackson. The land was
all in the woods, but our subject set manfully
to work, built a log cabin, cleared up a farm,
and by degrees added to it, through untiring
industry and a wise thrift, until he owned 200
acres and became one of the most influential
and prosperous farmers of the township.
Eight children were born to- the union of Mr.
and Mrs. Carman, and of these, six lived to
mature years, viz: Sarah C, Elizabeth, Abi-
4

gail, James, Louisa and Phebe A. The be
loved mother of this family died September 5,
1852, a devoted member of the Baptist
church and a lady of great amiability of
temper. The second marriage of Mr. Carman
took place in August, 1884, to Mrs. Henrietta
Poe, widow of James M. Poe, of the colonial
family of that name, and a direct descendant
of the famous Adam Poe, who killed the In
dian, Bigfoot. In religion Mr. Carman has
been for many years a Baptist; in politics he is
a democrat, has held the office of supervisor,,
and fourteen years was a member of the school
board — the first and second school-house in
his district having been erected during his in
cumbency. This venerable gentleman has
neccessarily witnessed marvelous changes in
the physical and moral aspects of Sugar
Creek township since he first made it his home.
sixty years ago, but still lives to enjoy, as he
has done in the past, the honor and respect of
every citizen of the Sugar Creek township
and those adjoining.

?">/• AMUEL CHAMBERS, one of the most
*y^^kT progressive farmers of Bath town-
h^_J ship, Allen county, Ohio, was born in
Franklin eounty, Pa., April 7, 18 19,
the youngest son of Robert and Catherine
(Hise) Chambers. His grandfather Chambers
was a native of England, who early came to
America, took an active part in the patriot
army during the Revolutionary war, and died
at his residence near Martinsburg, Va. He
was a farmer by occupation and of his de
scendants there is knowledge of only three
sons, Robert, Joseph and Jacob, of whom the
later died in Dayton, Ohio.
Robert Chambers was born about 1772, at
Martinsburg, Va. , where he grew up to man
hood and served in the war of 1812-15, as a
volunteer for his native state. About 18 19 he

224

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

moved to Franklin county, Pa., and in 1837
removed to Miami county, Ohio, where he
passed the remaining years of his life, dying in
1852. He had married, in Virginia, Cath
erine Hise, and to this union were born eleven
children in the following order: Sarah, who
•married Samuel Taylor, of Franklin county,
Pa., where she died; Susan, who was three
times married; first to George Foth, secondly
to James Frazier, and thirdly to James Ward
— and died in Allen county, Ohio; Jacob
died in Auglaize connty, Ohio; Polly, mar
ried to Jesse Ray, died in Kansas; Nancy,
who was first married to Daniel Shafer and
secondly to John Shafer; Eli, who died in In
diana; Elizabeth, who was married to James
Thackery and died in Miami county, Ohio;
Otho, who died in Franklin county, Pa. ;
Maria, married to Joseph Bennett and residing*'
In Cass county, Ind. ; Samuel, our subject,
and Catherine, who was married to Dorance
Vroman, and died in Illinois. The mother of
this large family passed the declining years of
her life at the home of our subject, dying Jan
uary 18, i860.
Samuel Chambers, whose name is placed
at the opening of this biographical memoir, re
ceived his early education in the primitive log
school-house in vogue in his youthful days,
and, his parents being by no means wealthy,
he was placed out to work for neighboring
farmers at the early age of nine years— work
ing, in one instance, for five yearstor one em
ployer, Daniel Zuck, Franklin county, Pa, He
was industrious and frugal, and in 1837 was
able to bring his parents to Ohio, locating in
Miami county, where he was employed in clear
ing up lands until 1852, when he came to Bath
township, Allen county, and purchased eighty
acres of his present farm, to which he added
forty acres, won through his- own diligence and
frugality. He has carried on general farming,
and in addition has largely devoted his atten

tion to the manufacture of cider and sorghum,
from which he has derived a considerable
revenue. The marriage of Mr. Chambers was solemn
ized, in 1844, with Miss Harriet Miller, who
was born in Washington county, Md. , a daugh
ter of John K. and Susan (Krebs) Miller, who
early came to Ohio and settled in Miami
county, where the marriage of their daughter
took place. The children that blessed this
union were born in the following order: Absa
lom, who died September 28, 1890; Sarah J.,
who was married to N. D. Hadsel and died
December 6, 1883; Maria C, wife of George
C. Smith; Eli, of Van Wert county, Ohio;
Susan E.. who was married to Henry D.
Miller and died April 19, 1877; Emma, who
was first married to Joseph Brower, and sec
ondly to Michael Alstetter, of Bath township,
Allen county; John, who died August 30,
1858; George, who married Eliza Dodson,
who has borne one child — Clara E. ; and Har
riet L., wife of Allen J. Driver, of German
township, Allen county. The mother of this
family was called from earth June 21, 1890,
an inconceivably distressing bereavement to
the husband and surviving children and a dis
tressful sorrow to numerous sincere friends.
In his politics Mr. Chambers was at first a
whig, but later joined the ranks of the repub
lican party, in which he takes a warm interest,
but has never sought recognition of his services
through the emoluments of public office. For
forty years he has been a devoted and active
member of '.the German Baptist church and
has always been liberal of* his means toward
its support, as he has also been in promoting
all enterprises intended for the well-being of
Bath township and the county of Allen. He
is recognized as one of the most intelligent and
enterprising farmers of the township and is re
spected, wherever known, as a substantial and
useful citizen, and as an upright man.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

225

£"V*AMUEL D. CHAMBERS, one of the
?y^^T representative citizens of Delphos,
K^_j Ohio, and a well-known man in both
Allen and Van Wert counties, is a
native of Ohio, having been born at Bolivar,
Tuscarawas county, November 2, 1835. His
father was Thomas Chambers, who was a na
tive of Washington county, Pa., born in the
year 1808, and was a son of James Chambers,
a native of Ireland, who first located in Wash
ington county, Pa., but subsequently removed
by wagon to Licking county, Ohio, where he
died. Thomas Chambers was a molder by
trade, and followed that vocation in the fur
nace towns of Ohio for many years. From
the fall of 1844 until the spring of 1849 he re
sided in Cincinnati, and at that time removed
to Lima, where a brother and brother-in-law
were then living. In September, 1850, he re
moved his family to Delphos, the foundry hav
ing been removed from Lima to this point on
account of the canal, and here his death oc
curred in November, 1879. At Painesville,
Ohio, in 1833, he married Miss Mary Cannon,
who was born in Ohio in 1818. She is still
living, and makes her home with our subject.
Samuel D. Chambers was the eldest of a
family of six children, only two of whom are
now living — himself and brother Winfield.
Our subject attended school in Cincinnati,
Lima and Delphos, securing a common-school
education. When fifteen years of age he be
gan a three-year apprenticeship at the mold-
er's trade, which he finished with the excep
tion of a few months. In 1853 he entered the
store of F. J. Lye', merchant of Delphos, as a
clerk, where he remained three years, going
thence to Lytle & Roebuck, general merchants
of Delphos, and with that firm continued
until 1859. In that year he entered into a
co-partnership with Peter Phelan and en
gaged in the general mercantile trade, under
the firm name of Phelan & Chambers. This

firm continued until the death of Mr. Phelan
in December, 1876, when the firm went out of
business; Mr. Chambers then took part of the
stock, and in 1877 formed a co-partnership with
Henry Davies, under the firm name of Davies
x& Chambers, they continuing together until
1887, when Mr. Chambers retired from mer
cantile life. In 1878 Mr. Chambers was elected
to the office of auditor of Allen county, as the
nominee of the republican party, notwithstand
ing the fact that the county was then and is
at present democratic. After serving- one
term of three years, Mr. Chambers retired
from politics.
Since retiring from mercantile business,
Mr. Chambers has been identified with various
enterprises in Delphos. He was one of the
organizers and a director and secretary for a
time of the Delphos Savings & Loan associa
tion; next he was cashier of the Delphos Com
mercial bank for about one year; for the last
five years he has been treasurer of the Delphos
Electric Light & Power company, and for a
number of years has been a member of the
board of directors of the Delphos National
bank; for a number of years he has also been
a director of the Ohio Wheel company; he is
also interested in the Hinge Belt Coupler com
pany of Delphos — a company formed for the
manufacture and sale of a patent device for
the coupling of belts, which is, in the opinion
of the promoters and many others, destined to
fill a long-felt want and work a revolution in
the mode of coupling together belts of every
description. Mr. Chambers is a member of Hope lodge,
No. 214, F. & A. M., of Delphos, and of
Shawnee commandry, No. 14, K. T. of Lima.
He is also a thirty-second degree Mason, be
ing a member of Cleveland consistory. Mr.
Chambers was married, in 1862, to Sarah J.
Kepner, of Columbia City, Ind. To their
union two children have been born. Mr. and

226

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mrs. Chambers and family are members of the
Presbyterian church of Delphos. During the
late war Mr. Chambers served in the ioo-day
service as quartermaster of the One Hundred
and Fifty-first regiment Ohio national guards.

a APT. WARREN CLARK, one of the
leading carpenters and contractors of
the town of Bluffton, Allen county,
Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the Civil war,
was born in Delaware county, Ohio, July 31,
1839, and comes from an old Pennsylvania
colonial family of English descent.
Andrew Clark, the grandfather of our sub
ject, was a soldier in the war of 18 12, and was
a son of a Revolutionary soldier, of English
birth but American patroitism. Andrew Clark
was also a Baptist minister and a pioneer of
of Portage county, Ohio, when that county
was a part of the Western reserve. His son,
Jonathan Clark, father of our subject, was born
in Butler county, Pa., was reared a farmer,
and married Hannah Randolph, who was born
in Juniata county, Pa., August 11, 181 1, a
daughter of John and Mary (Daw.es) Randolph
— the Randolphs coming from the old Virginia
family of that name and the Dawes family
being of Welsh descent. To the marriage of
Jonathan and Hannah Clark were born eleven
children, as follows: John, Thomas, Warren,
William, Alva, Francis, Germon, Albert, Jane,
Amanda and Florence. Jonathan Clark be
came a resident of Orange township, Hancock
county, Ohio, in 1852, coming from Mahoning
county and settling on a farm, where he passed
the remainder of his life, dying in August, 1863.
In politics he was first a whig and later a re
publican, and always a strong Union man,
giving to its cause four of his sons during the
Civil war, viz: Warren, William, Alva and
Francis. Of these William and Alva enlisted
in Hancock county in 1861, and Francis in

1862, in company A, Forty-ninth Ohio volun
teer infantry, for the term of three years.
William met his fate in death in the battle of
Stone River, Tenn., which was a fight of three
days, continuance, December 31, 1862, to Janu
ary 3, 1863; Francis was killed in the skirmish
at Pickett's Mills in 1864, and Alva served out
his full term, sustaining a wound in this hand.
Amanda, the sister of the brave brothers, was
married to a soldier, Charles Bender, and it
will be seen patriotism was a prevalent char
acteristic of the Clark family. Jonathan Clark,
the father, was a local minister in the Disci
ples' church and a gentleman highly thought of
by his neighbors.
Warren Clark, the subject proper of this
memoir, was about eleven years of age when
his father settled in Hancock county, and there
Warren received a good common-school edu
cation and was taught the carpenter's trade.
October 4, i860, he married, in Hancock
county, Miss Susan D. Ford, a native of the
county, born January 12, 1843, and a daughter
of John W Ford, a native of Virginia. John
W. Ford was of English-Irish and Dutch
stock, was born January 11, 18 13, hnd was a
son of Joseph and Susan (Vermillion) Ford.
He was a pioneer of Champaign county, Ohio,
whence he moved, in 1836, to Hancock county,
and cleared up a farm from the woods. His-
only children are Levi J. and Susan D. (Mrs.
Clark), of whom Levi J. was a soldier in com
pany A, Forty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry,
for three years, and was badly wounded at
Pickett's Mills. The father, John W. Ford,
is still living, a member of the Methodist Epis
copal church, and in politics a republican.
In 1 86 1, tearing himself away from his
bride, Warren Clark enlisted, in Hancock
county, in company E, Thirty-first Ohio vol
unteer infantry, under Capt. Daniel Rose, for
three years, and served as private until pro
moted, for meritorious work, to be second

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

227

lieutenant in 1863, and in August, 1864, to be
first lieutenant, and to a captaincy in April,
1865, with which rank he was honorably dis
charged at Louisville, Ky., in August, 1865, on
account of the close of the war. Lieut. Clark
was attached, in August, 1864, to the staff of
Gen. Walker, First brigade, Third division,
Fourteenth army corps, and in October, 1864,
was detailed to the staff of Gen. Absalom
Baird. As leading up to these high positions,
Capt. Clark had taken part in the battles of
Mill Springs, Perryville, Stone River, Chicka
mauga (his being the last regiment to leave
this bloody field), Missionary Ridge, Resaca,
Dallas, Pumpkinvine Creek, Burnt Hickory,
Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta (July 28, 1864),
Jonesboro, and in Sherman's march to the sea.
As aid-de-camp to Gen. Baird he acted as
provost-marshal and commanded the escort
and the foraging detachment — and as, a forager
he was a success. The foraging detail com
prised about sixty men, who, led by Capt.
Clark, would sometimes ride as far as twenty
miles from camp and bring back all they could
pack of turkeys, chickens, hogs, sheep, sweet
potatoes, and many other delicacies. Skir
mishes often occurred, and on one occasion
Capt. Clark narrowly escaped capture by
Wheeler's cavalry, being close enough to the
rebels to see Wade Hampton, who was in
command. On this occasion Capt. Clark
found two men hanging in the woods, whose
bodies he cut down and buried. After the
battles of Bentonville and Savannah, the regi
ment marched to Goldsboro, N. C, and Capt.
Clark was the first man of Sherman's army to
enter that town; thence he went to Raleigh,
N. C, followed Johnston out of that city, and
marched thence to Washington, D. C, and
took part in the grand review of May, 1865.
After the war, Capt. Clark returned to Han
cock county, Ohio, and resumed his trade of
carpenter, which he there successfully followed

until 1870, when he went to Grand Rapids,
Iowa, engaged in contracting until 1879, and
then returned to Ohio and settled in Bluffton,
where he has become the leading contractor
and carpenter of the town.
To Capt. and Mrs. Clark have been born
three children — John A., Elizabeth H. and
Ted W., who still live to bless and make
glad the hearts of their parents. Mrs. Clark
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and in that faith have reared her children.
Capt. Clark has been commander of Robert
Hamilton post, No. 262, G. A. R., and has
also filled all the minor offices of the order.
In politics the captain is a republican and cast
his first vote for Abraham Lincoln for president
of the United States, but, although active in
the interest of his party, has never accepted,
much less sought, public office. He, however,
performed the gratuitous duty of acting as a
member of the first election board of Allen
county, and was a member when the Australian
ballot system was introduced. The captain as
a soldier served his country with honor to him
self,, taking part in all the marches and en
gagements of his regiment, and doing his duty
faithfully and with alacrity, and to-day enjoys
the respect of his fellow-citizens for the mani
festation of the same good qualities in civil life.

at

ILLIAM R. COCHRAN is the old
est person now living who was born
in Marion township, Allen county,
Ohio. His great-grandfather was a
native of Scotland, came to America before
the Revolutionary war, and settled in what is
now the state of Tennessee, and of his children
the names of three are remembered, viz: Will
iam, Benjamin and Isaac. The grandfather
of our subject, William Cochran, left his
native state of Tennessee and came to Ohio in
in the early pioneer days, locating in Ross

228

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

county, and there married Betsey Mannery, of
Revolutionary ancestry and Irish descent. To
this union were born ten children, viz: John,
James, Jane, Catherine, Nancy, William,
Georgge, and three whose names have lapsed
from the memory of the survivors, as they died
young — all born in Ross county. The father was
a farmer, came from Ross county to that part
of Putnam county now known as Allen county
in 1 82 1, cleared up a small farm on the Au
glaize river about a mile south of where sub
ject now lives, but in a short time afteward
sold this to Benjamin Cochran, his brother,
moved two miles north of our subject and
entered sixty acres, and later bought 103
acres at Middlepoint. He had been a soldier
in the war of 1812, for which service he re
ceived a land warrant for 200 acres, which he
located in Paulding county, so that he owned
altogether 363 acres. In his old age he
moved to his place in Middlepoint where he
expired at the advance age of eighty-eight
years, during the late Civil war. His children
all settled in Allen county at a time when
there were but few white men in the county,
and before the Indians had been removed.
James Cochran, son of William and father
of our subject, was born November 25, 1804,
and died January 12, 1893. He married Julia
Ann Russell September 10, 1826, and there were
born to this union three children, two daughters,
and one son, William R., our subject, who alone
survives. Mrs. Cochran died in 1834, and in
1836 Mr. Cochran married Isabella Sunderland,
who bore twelve children, viz: One son who
died in infancy, Elizabeth, Julia Ann, Mary,
George, James, Ellen, John, Hattie, Nancy
and Allen — all born in Allen county. George,
the eldest son, enlisted, in 1861, in McLaugh
lin's squadron of Ohio cavalry, was taken
prisoner in Stoneman's raid and incarcerated
at Andersonville and Mellon, and died at the
latter place of starvation in October, 1864. The

surviving children born to James Cochran are
eight in number, viz: William R. , Mrs. Isaac
Steman, Mrs. Henry Temple, Mrs. Robert
Martin, Mrs. William Daniels, Orlando, Mrs.
Clarence Hurlbott and James Cochran, Jr.
William R. Cochran was born on the home
stead in Allen county, January 6, 1829, and
was reared a pioneer farmer. January 29,
1852, he married Miss Eliza Baxter, who was
born in Allen county, July 3, 1830, a daughter
ef Samuel and Keziah (Cremean) Baxter, of
whom further mention may be read in the
sketch of Curtis Baxter. After marriage Mr.
and Mrs. Cochran located on the banks of the
Auglaize river, where they remained a year and
a half, and then moved to their present farm,
which at that time consisted of forty acres only
and was situated in the forest. But they pros
pered, and the land has been increased to 110
acres, the forest has disappeared, and with it
the log cabin, and these have been replaced
by well-tilled fields and a modern dwelling and
substantial barns and all farm buildings neces
sary for use and comfort. The children born
to Mr. and Mrs. Cochran were nine in number,
and were named as follows: Clara Angeline,
who was married to Moses Long and died at
the age of thirty-six years, leaving two chil
dren; Keziah J., married to Willihm Long,
and the mother of two children; Julia, wife of
Isaac Burkholder, and also the mother of two
children; James N., who married Tirza E.
Myers, who has borne four children; William
R., who married Belle Odom, who also has
borne four children; Frances M., married to
Milton Sherrick; Emma F., wife of Samuel
Trusdale; Ulysses M., who married Emma M.
Brand, and has two children; Isaac M.
Mr. Cochran in politics is a republican.
He is one of the representative men of the
township and has served his fellow-citizens in
several of the minor offices, more from a sense
of duty than from any gratification of political

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

229

ambition; he is recognized as one of the ablest
farmers of his neighborhood and his premises
fully indicate that he thoroughly understands
his vocation; he is public spirited, and is a
strong supporter of the educational interests of
his township, an advocate of good roads, and
always take an active part in the advancement
of measures designed for the promotion of the
general good. His integrity has never been
called into question, and his social standing is
with the best people of the county, whose good
will and esteem he has fairly won through his
moral rectitude.

SrJ AMBERT Y. COCHRAN, the leading
I j dry-goods merchant of Spencerville,
I Ji was born in Allen county, Ohio, Au
gust 3, 1849. He has been engaged
in business in Spencerville for the past seven
teen years, and is the oldest merchant in the
place. Lambert Y. Cochran is a son of Simon
and Lucinda (Miller) Cochran, the former of
whom died February 11, 1895, at the age of
seventy-three years. The latter is a resident
of Spencerville, and is seventy-five years old.
The father of Simon Cochran, Wesley Coch
ran, was the first of the name to settle in Allen
county, locating here about 1832, and settling
four miles north of the present city of Lima.
There he entered land, began to make im
provements thereon, and lived upon it until
his death, at the advanced age of eighty-five
years, his wife dying at the still greater age of
eighty-eight. Mr. Cochran was a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and an en
thusiastic defender and supporter of religion
and the church.
Wesley Cochran and his wife were the par
ents of seven children that grew to mature
years — three sons and four daughters: John,
who located in Franklin county, and spent the

rest of his life there as a farmer; Simon, who
was the second son, and of him more will be
said in this sketch; William, who was a farmer
of Putnam county, during the latter years of
his life; Rebecca, deceased; Susan, residing
on the old homestead, wife of A. G. Pogue,
now deceased; Jane, a resident of Texas, wife
of a Mr. West, and Sarah, a resident of Ada,
Hardin county, widow of a Mr. McGuire.
Simon Cochran was a resident of Allen county
from the time he was ten years of age until his
death, his home being on a small farm, in
Amanda township from the time Lambert Y.
was about six years of age. Both he and his
wife were consistent and earnest members of
the Methodist Episcopal church. They had a
family of five children, viz: James G., a
butcher of Spencerville ; Lambert Y. ; William
and Elizabeth, both dead, dying at the age
seventeen and twenty-two years respectively,
and Jasper L., a farmer and stock dealer of
Amanda township.
Lambert Y. Cochran was reared on his
father's farm until he attained his sixteenth
year, having received by that time a good
common-school education. Afterward he took
a thorough course at the National Normal col
lege at Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio. Be
ing unusually intelligent for his age, and
having made the best possible use of his
time, he began teaching school when he
was seventeen years of age, and followed this
profession for five years; he then formed a part
nership with Joseph August in the hardware
and grocery business. This was in the spring
of 1875, and the partnership continued for
eighteen months. Mr. Cochran then withdrew
from the firm and again engaged in teaching
school, following this employment for two
winters; in the spring of 1878 he purchased a
stock of groceries, and opened a grocery store
in a small frame building which stood on the
ground upon which his present business block

230

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

stands. The next year he purchased the lot
and the building, improved the building con
siderably, making of it a fine room and adding
to his stock of groceries a fine line of boots and
shoes. He was prospering finely when, in
1884, the entire establishment was destroyed
by fire. He then erected his present brick
building, which was the second brick building
erected in Spencerville. It is two stories high
and 26x80 feet on the ground. This he has
filled with a fine stock of dry goods, groceries,
etc. ; but since then he has gradually abandoned
the grocery trade and turned his attention
more to dry goods, carpets, notions, boots and
shoes, etc., and is now carrying the most com
plete stock in these several lines that has ever
been seen in Spencerville.
Mr. Cochran is one of the live, energetic
and progressive men of the town, is public
spirited, and always ready to aid any cause
promising to promote the public good. In
politics he is a democrat and has held many
of the minor offices within the gift of his party,
having been corporation clerk two terms, town
ship treasurer two terms, and for thirteeen
years a member of the school board, for eight
years of which time he was the treasurer of
the board; has been township clerk one term
and a member of the town council six years.
He has also been selected by his democratic
friends to represent them in county and state
conventions, and withal is one of the most
popular men in the place. Fraternally he is
a member of Spencerville lodge, No. 251, K.
of P., and was one of its charter members,
and he is also a member of the uniform rank.
He and his family are members of the Baptist
church. Mr. Cochran was married March 31,
1872, to Miss Margaret E. Berryman, daugh
ter of Russell and Elizabeth Berryman. Mrs.
Cochran was born in Auglaize county, Ohio,
July 5, 1852. By this marriage they have had
five children, viz: Bert C, Carrie M., Jennie,

Raymond F. , who died at the age of six years,
and Frank W. Bert C, the eldest child, as
sists his father in the store and is a very useful
and promising young man.
Thus it will be seen that Mr. Cochran is
one of the self-made men in Allen county.
Beginning at the bottom of the ladder, he has
gradually climbed it step by step until now he
is thoroughly established in a successful busi
ness, and all through his own efforts and' per
severance. His example is worthy of study
and emulation by the young. It shows that
it is not impossible to become independent, and
that in acquiring that independence one may
be at the same time useful to one's fellow-men.
Mr. Cochran lives in a residence on Pearl
street, which he has remodeled and made one
of the pleasantest homes in Spencerville.

at

ESLEY COON, of Shawnee town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, descends
from a family whose members were
in America prior to the Revolution
ary war. George Coon, father of Wesley,
was born in Pennsylvania in 1783, and after
arriving at his majority he removed to Ken
tucky and married there. Some time later he
removed to Ohio, settling in Belmont county,
where most of his children were born. Subse
quently he located in Logan county, Ohio, and
still later, in 1832, he purchased eighty acres of
land in section 4, Shawnee township, Allen
county, to which he afterward added forty
acres. On the original eighty acres he erected
his log cabin in the woods, and cleared up his
farm, and followed farming there the remainder
of his days, dying in 1873. He was married
twice; first, to Miss Christiana Moore, in Ken
tucky, in the year 1804, and by her had fifteen
children: Phoebe, who married Thomas Hall;
Alexander, Wesley, Mahala, Asa, Noah, all of
whom are dead;. Margaret, deceased, who mar

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

231

ried William Miller, deceased; George J., de
ceased; Abigail, who married William Catties
and died in Paulding county, Ohio; Tobias,
who resides in Michigan; Amy, who married
Franklin Reese and died in Amanda township ;
Mary, who married Thomas Young, and after
his death married Thomas Gaylord, and died
in Paulding county, Ohio; Elizabeth, who
married Phillip Coon, and died in Shawnee
township; Isaac, who resides in Amanda town
ship; and John, who died in infancy. The.
second wife of Mr. Coon was Susannah Wright,
whom he married in 1843 or 1844. By her he
had five children, viz: Maria, Martha, Joan
nes M., of Paulding county; Franklin, of Sugar
Creek township, and Susannah. George Coon,
the father of these twenty children, was a
prominent member of the Church of God, and
lies buried in the Shawnee township cemetery.
He always took great interest in public affairs,
but was at the same time domestic in habits
and devoted his life to his family affairs. He
was a good citizen and was highly respected
by all who knew him.
Wesley Coon, the third child of George
Coon, was born in 1807, in Belmont county,
Ohio. In this connty he was reared and edu
cated in the old log school-house. Upon ar
riving at mature age he located in Logan
county, Ohio, with his brother Alexander, fol
lowing various employments until 1832, when
he removed to Allen county. Here he entered
¦eighty acres of land in section No. 4, which he
converted into a good farm, upon which he
. lived the remainder of his days, his death oc
curring in 1866. Politically, in his early life
he was a whig, but later became a republican.
Religiously he was reared a Quaker, and. through
his entire life adhered to this faith. He mar
ried Mary Flynn, daughter of Thomas and
Polly Flynn, who were of Irish descent, and
residents of Shawnee township, of which town
ship they were among the early settlers. Mrs.

Coon died in 1856, leaving five children, viz:
Joshua B. ; Philena, of Van Wert county;
Caleb, of Shawnee township; Sarah A., wife
of Thomas Gorham, of Ontario, Canada, and
Mary A. , wife of Henry Nungester. For his
second wife Mr. Coon married Caroline Craft,
by whom he had three children, viz: Lydia,
wife of William Benedum; Rachel, wife of
Scott Rembaugh, and Nettie, wife of William
Neley. Joshua B. Coon, the eldest son of Wesley
Coon, was born January 23, 1842, on the old
homestead. He was brought up on the farm
and inured to all kinds of farm labor, and he
received his education in the common schools.
When the war of the Rebellion broke out in
1 86 1, he enlisted in company E, Forty-sixth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and served his
country as a soldier three years and nine
months. He participated in the battles of
Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg, Miss. ; in the
battles of Missionary Ridge, of Resaca, Ga. ;
of New Hope Church, of Kenesaw Mountain,
of Peach Tree Creek and of Atlanta, and he
went on the march through Georgia to the sea.
From Savannah he went on up through the
Carolinas, and was a portion of the grand re
view at Washington, D. C. He served under
Gen. John A. Logan, in the Fifteenth army
corps, which corps veteranized in 1864. At
the close of the war he returned to Allen
county, and purchased his present farm in
section No. 5, Shawnee township. His pur
chase comprised eighty acres of land, which he
himself cleared and to which he subsequently
added forty acres more, so that now he has
120 acres of excellent farming land. In 1889
he began dairying and in 1891 began making
a specialty of butter making, which he has
continued ever since, making on an average
3,000 pounds per year.
Mr. Coon has three times held the office of
township trustee, and he has also held other

232

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

minor offices. He is an active and influential
member of the republican party, always inter
ested in his party's success. He is also a mem
ber of Mart. Armstrong post, No. 202, G. A.
R., and of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and takes an active interest in its work and
success. He was married to Mary B. Buckley,
daughter of William and Eliza Buckley, the
ceremony taking place in 1866. By this mar
riage he has the following children: Naocia,
Maud, both deceased, Charles, Mary A., and
Virgil N, Mr. Coon is, as will have been seen
by those who have read this brief sketch, a
most prominent, enterprising, and patriotic
citizen, earnest in all good work for every
honorable department of human interest.

@EORGE W. CORLETT, junior mem
ber of the hardware firm of Wolford
& Corlett, is a native of Cleveland,
Ohio, having been born there Novem
ber 24, 1869. The hardware firm of which
he is a member is located at Spencerville, and
was formed August 10, 1895, succeeding to the
business of J. B. Sunderland. This firm car
ries a full line of general hardware, agricul
tural implements, buggies, etc., in fact the
most complete stock of their various lines in
the city of Spencerville. They occupy two
rooms, having a frontage of forty-four feet,
and a depth of 100 feet. They are in every
way well equipped to transact a successful and
prosperous business. The members of the
firm are both young men, are ambitious, ener
getic, have business ability and are determined
to succeed. George W. Corlett is a son of Robert and
Christiana (Caine) Corlett, the former of whom
was born on the Isle of Man, and the ancestry
of Mrs. Corlett, the Caines, were also from
the same island. Mrs. Corlett, however, was'

born in Cleveland, Ohio, and both she and her
husband are still living, near Painesville, Ohio,
on a farm. George W. Corlett was reared on
a farm near Painesville, and was educated in
the public schools in the vicinity. When
twenty years of age he entered the employ of
the Lockwood, Taylor Hardware company, of
Cleveland, Ohio, and by this company was
employed for about five years, . both in the
house and on the road, his territory consisting
of northwestern Ohio and northeastern In
diana. At the end of the five years mentioned
he formed his present partnership with W. J.
Wolford, and located at Spencerville, where
he forms a part of one of the prominent busi
ness firms of the town. Both are well known
as active, pushing and reliable young men, a
reputation which will doubtless prove to be the
next best thing to their cash capital.
Mr. Corlett was married in May, 1895, to
Miss Eva Disbrow, of Wauseon, Ohio. He is
a member of the Cleveland Travelers' associa
tion, and is well known generally throughout
the state. The success with which he has so-
far met, is altogether due to his own efforts,
and although yet young he has made and is
making commendable progress in his line of
business. 'Being one of the broad-minded
business men of the county, and acting on
correct business principles, there is no reason
why he should not become one of the most
solid and substantial men in the country.

^y* EVI COUNTS.— The late Alexander
¦ | Counts was a Virginian by birth and
^l^A his boyhood days were passed in the
Old Dominion. When about fifteen
years of age he came to Ohio and worked on
a farm until twenty-one years of age, when he
married Miss Annie Peterson, and in 1835,
moved to Allen county and settled on the Six
Miles, north of Spencerville, but later moved

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

233

near Elida, in German township, and still
later to Hartford, and assisted in building the
lock on the canal. In 1844 he again moved,
this time to section No. 1, later called Arcadia,
and now Spencerville. For two years he was
employed as lock-tender on the. canal, but in
1850 began clearing a farm in the woods.
After getting his farm partially cleared he
turned it over to his boys and returned to the
canal, where he was employed in making re
pairs, at which he spent the greater part of his
life, which ended in i860. Six sons and four
daughters had been born to his union, as fol
lows: Susan, John H. Levi, William, Squire,
Isaac, Alexander C, Mary, Augustine and Jane.
Levi Counts, the subject of this biography,
was born September 1, 1835. At twelve years
of age he began clerking, receiving at first $5
per month, and continued in this until twenty
years of age, when he began dealing in timber,
hauling ties, hoop-poles, butts, shorts, etc.,
and has probably handled more material of
this class than any other one man in Allen
county. For forty years — a half of a long life
time — fie had devoted himself to this business,
and in the one product of ties handles 50,000
every year, furnishing them for a number of
railroads. He still owns the homestead and
has made many valuable and handsome im
provements upon it. He also owns a pretty
farm of thirty acres just outside the town cor
poration, where he lives, and another one of
twenty-seven acres north of the village. He
was twice married, his first wife being Miss
Minerva Berryman, a daughter of William
Berryman. Four children were born to this
union, viz: Florence, Sallie, John and Jinkey.
After the death of this lady Mr. Counts mar
ried Helena E. Welch, daughter of L. D.
Welsh, a native of Madison county, Ohio. Mr.
Counts is a stanch prohibitionist and practices
what he preaches. He is a man full of nerve,
energy and push, believing in the gospel of

work and get-ahead. He and wife are both
prominent in the social circles of Spencerville,
in which they are held in high esteem.

at

ILLIAM G. CRANE, the popular
and accommodating liveryman of
Harrod, Auglaize townsnip, Allen
county, Ohio, is a native of the
Buckeye state, and was born in Union county
February 14, 1862. His grandfather, James
Crane, was a native of Ireland, and on coming
to America settled among the pioneers of
Union county, Ohio, entered land and cleared
up a good farm, on which he passed the re
mainder of his days. His son, Thomas Crane,
father of our subject, William G., was born
on this home in Union county, there grew to
manhood, and married Almina Akinson, daugh
ter of Ralph and Hannah Akinson, to which
union were born three children, named Julius
M., William G. (our subject) and Hannah
Adelia, deceased. After the birth of the
youngest child the father entered the army,
but never returned, in all probability having
been killed while in the service.
William G. Crane, being left with his
mother at a very tender age, found it neces
sary to begin seeking his livelihood quite early
in life with an uncle, David Whitehill, of Logan
county, Ohio, with whom he lived fifteen
years, and by whom he was reared to farming,
which calling he followed for about three
years — both in Logan and Allen counties,
coming to the latter county in 1891. Here, in
June, 1893, he married Emma O. Winegard
ner, who was born September 28, 1870,
daughter of Anthony Winegardner and wife,
Elizabeth (Auspach) Winegardner, of whom
a full biography is given below. Mr. and Mrs.
Crane, since marriage, have resided in Harrod,
and to their union have been born two chil
dren — Lena E. (who was born 22nd of April,

234

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

1894, died October 16, 1894), and Ernest D.,
who was born April 24, 1895. Mr. Crane was
already popular and successful in the livery
business at Harrod when married, and his
patronage continues to increase from day to
day. His barn is commodious and substantial,
well equipped in modern style, both as to
vehicles and animals, and is fully worthy of
the custom it always commands.
Mrs. Crane is a member of the Lutheran
church, and Mr. Crane is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, at Silver Creek,
Hardin county, Ohio. In politics Mr. Crane
is a stanch republican. This brief record of his
life shows to some extent the worthiness of an
orphan who, through his own enterprise and
intelligence, has lifted, himself to a position
that compares favorably with that occupied by
any young man in the township.
Anthony Winegardner, a retired farmer of
Auglaize township, is of German origin, but
descends directly from an old American colo
nial family of the Shenandoah valley, Va., of
which his grandfather, Herbert Winegardner,
was a native, and where Herbert was born in
1758, and where his wife, Elizabeth (Barb)
Winegardner, was born in 1764. At a very
early day the pair came to Ohio and were
among the pioneers of Fairfield county, where
the husband entered a large tract of land,
which he lived to clear up to a great extent,
and on which he operated a large stillhouse,
becoming one of the wealthiest men in the
county. Here he lost his wife August 10,
1826, and here he died December 17, 1830 —
both highly respected members of the German
Reform church.
Absalom Winegardner, son of Herbert and
Elizabeth (Barb) Winegardner, and the father
of Anthony, was born in Virginia in 1799, and
was a mere youth when brought by his parents
to Ohio; here he was reared a farmer, an
occupation he followed all his life, with the'

exception of a few years, during which he was
engaged in milling. He married Mary Stum-
baugh, a daughter of John and Eve (Reed)
Stumbaugh, natives of Pennsylvania and pio
neers of Perry county, Ohio. Soon after mar
riage, Absalom Winegardner removed to Perry
county and settled on a farm which his father
had given him, and which was slightly im
proved, but which he subsequently devoloped
to a large extent and had mostly under culti
vation, when he was seized with cholera and
died, in 1833, a member of the German Re
form church and in politics a democrat. His
widow kept the family together and continued
to improve the farm, on which she died in Au
gust, 1893, at the advanced age of eighty-eight
years, having been identified with Perry county
since the age of four years, and consequently
widely known and respected.
Anthony Winegardner was born in Perry
county, Ohio, January 13, 1831, was reared
on the home farm, and in his youthful days
split the logs which later formed the seats for
the log-school house in which he was educated.
December 2, 1852, he married Elizabeth Aus
pach, who was born in Perry county, June 29,
1833, a daughter of George and Sarah (Swine-
heart) -Auspach — which union was blessed with
the following-named children: Mary A., who
was first married, to John Witham, and is now
the wife of James Vermillion; George F. ;
Sarah E., who died young; William A. ; Lewis
J.; Emma O. , wife of William G. Crane. For
three years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs.
Winegardner continued to reside in Perry
county, and then, in 1855, came to Auglaize
township, Allen county, where Mr. Wine
gardner bought a farm almost entirely in the
woods, but which he succeeded in clearing up
and converting into one of the finest home
steads 1 in the county. He is, or has been,
probably the largest land-owner residing in
Auglaize township, owning at one time 399

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

235

acres in Allen county, 272 acres in Fairfield
county, and fifty-four acres elsewhere, the
major portion ¦ earned through his own hard
labor, but of which he has generously donated
portions to his children. In politics he is a
democrat, but has never been an office seeker,
preferring to devote his time to his family and
his agricultural interests. He is a pillar of the
Lutheran church, which he aids very liberally
and in which he has filled all the offices. On
the occasion of the death of his wife — a recent
occurrence, it will be observed — the Times-
Democrat, of Lima, Ohio, contained an obitu
ary, from which the following extract was
made : "In infancy she was consecrated to God
in baptism; early in life she confessed Christ
in confirmation, whom she has since served
with faithfulness and in whose redemption and
salvation she especially found comfort and
peace in sickness and to the hour of her death.
She was a christian wife and mother and her
loss was a sad blow to the home she adorned
so well. She deceased May 17, 1894, aged
fifty-nine years, ten months and eighteen days.
Her father and mother married and settled in
Perry county, Ohio, but soon moved to Thorn
township, with which they were ever after
identified. Early settlers, also, of Perry county,
Ohio, they came, in early life, from Pennsyl
vania, and were leading people in the Lutheran
church." During his long and useful life Mr. Wine
gardner has performed a vast amount of labor
that has redounded to the benefit not only to
himself and family, but to the community at
large, and is now living in retirement at Har
rod, Allen county, in the enjoyment of the ripe
harvest resultant from the good seed he planted
in the novitiate of his youth, in the year of
his early manhood, and in his mellow middle
age, honored in his declining years by every
member of the community which he has done
so much to serve.

HE CRITES FAMILY.— The name
Crites is of German origin, signifies
cross, and was originally spelled
Crieutz. The ancestry of the Crites
family in Ohio, and more particularly in Allen
county, may be traced as follows:
John Crieutz was born in Germany in
1 7 10. He was by occupation a farmer and a
weaver, and was the father of three sons, viz:
George, Adam and Simon. In 1750 he immi
grated, with his family, to America and settled
in Northampton county, Pa.
Adam Crieutz, son of John Crieutz, was
born in Germany in 1 740, and immigrated with
his parents to America when but a lad of ten
years. His occupation was the same as that
of his father, farming and weaving. In 1762
he was married to Miss Anna Catharine
Schmidt, who was born in Holland in 1743.
The marriage was consummated in Northamp
ton county, Pa. , where they continued to live
until 1779, when they removed to Lehigh
county. To this union were born eight sons
and one daughter, viz: John, born in 1764;
Adam, in 1767; Henry, in 1769; George, in
1772; Christian, in 1775; John Daniel, in 1778;,
Jacob, in 1780; Samuel, in 1782; and Cath
arine, in 1785.
It will be observed, that the oldest son was
named John, and the sixth John Daniel, thus
making two Johns in the same family of chil
dren. This practice is characteristic of the
Holland Dutch. The greater number of this
family lived and died in the immediate locality
in which they were born, and their descend
ants, now as numerous as the frogs were in
Egypt, are found in the counties of Northamp
ton, Berks and Lehigh, Pa. Some of them
still retain the old Dutch way of writing the
name, while others have modified it into Critz;
Crits or Crites. A few of the family, following
the tide of emigration, settled in different sec
tions west of the Alleghanies. Henry settled

236

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in Washington county, just north of Pitts
burg. The descendants from this family have
spread into the Muskingum valley of Ohio;
quite a number live in and about Canal Dover,
Tuscarawas county. The well-known poli
tician and statesman, Hon. George W. Crites,
is a member of this branch of the family.
John Daniel Crites, son of Adam Crieutz,
and grandson of John Crieutz, was born in Linn
township, Northamp ton county, Pa., May 21,
1778. After arriving at full age he took up
his residence in Berks county, Pa. On the
6th day of November, 1799, he was married to
Miss Catharine Petrie. They continued to live
in Berks county until the year 18 12, when they
emigrated to Pickaway county, Ohio, and set
tled on a farm in Salt Creek township, near
the present site of Stringtown, where he con
tinued to live until his death, which occurred
on the 10th day of September, 1854. His
faithful wife, Catharine, had preceded him to
the better land, she having died on the 20th
day of February, 1842, from blood poison,
which was the result of an accident. They
were both firm believers in the doclrines of
Christianity and lived the lives of faithful and
consistent members of the German Reform
church. They were the parents of thirteen
children, eleven boys and two girls, as follows:
Samuel, who was born in Berks county, Pa.,
on the 2 ist day of September, 1800, and died
in Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 14th day of
July, 1879; Reuben, who was born in Berks
county, Pa., on the 24th day of March, 1802,
and died in Pickaway county, Ohio, on the
27th day of March, 18 13, the result of having
been thrown against a tree by a vicious horse;
John, who was born in Berks county, Pa., on
the 20th day of July, 1803, and died in Pick
away county, Ohio, July 28, 1858; Julia Ann,
who was born in Berks county, Pa., on the ist
day of November, 1805, and died in Adams
county, Ind., on the ist day of March, 1859;

Charles, who was born in Berks county, Pa.,
July 25/1809, and died inAllen county, Ohio;
Cyrus, who was born in Berks county, Pa., on
the 6th day of October, 181 1, and died in
Allen county, Ohio, on the 18th day of April,
1855; Amos, who was born in Pickaway county,
Ohio, on the 13th day of October, 18 13, and
at this writing (March 2, 1896,) is still living
on his homestead in Fairfield county, Ohio;
Levi, who was born in Pickaway county, Ohio,
on the 1 2th day of March, 18 16, and died at
Stoutsville, Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 24th
day of February, 1894; Catharine, who was
born in Pickaway county, Ohio, in 181 8, and
died in 1843; Adam and Daniel, who were
born in Pickaway county, Ohio, on the 4th
day of November, 1820, and died, the former
on the 24th day of September, 1821, and the
latter on the ist day of October, 1821 ; Jacob,
who was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, on
the 19th day of October, 1822, and lives in
Allen county, Ohio,- (see biographical sketch,
this volume), and Elias, who was born in
Pickaway county, Ohio, on the 23rd day of
June, 1825 and resides near the village of Elida,
Allen county, Ohio.

EON. CHARLES CRITES, deceased.
Among the more prominent men of
German township, Allen county,
Ohio, was known the subject of our
sketch, the late Hon. Charles Crites, whp died
June 24, 1 891, aged eighty-two years, lacking
one month. He was born in the year 1809,
on the 25th day of July, in Berks county, Pa.,
being one of the older sons born to John Dan
iel and Catherine (Petrie) Crites, both of
whom were natives of Pennsylvania, were mar
ried in Berks county, and became the parents
of thirteen children, the father dying Septem
ber 10, 1854 and the mother February 20,
1842 — the former at seventy-six years of age

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

237

and the latter at sixty-two years and five
months. The father, John D. Crites, was
born and reared in Linn township, Northamp
ton county, Pa., and in early manhood re
moved to Berks county, Pa., where he was
married to Miss Catherine Petrie in Novem
ber, 1799, and there resided until the year
1812, when he, with his family came west and
located in Salt Creek township, Pickaway
county, Ohio, where he and wife lived the
life of pioneers. In Pickaway county, Mr.
Crites entered 100 acres of land, made a com
fortable home for himself and family, and,
having learned the weaver's trade during early
manhood, he gave all of his spare time in that
direction, earning an honest dollar whenever
he could, and by industry and economy be
came known as among the substantial and
well-to-do people of Pickaway county.
Charles Crites, the subject of this mention,
spent the first four years of his life in his
native county and then, in the latter part of
the year 18 12, was brought to Ohio by his
parents, who settled in Pickaway county, at
Stringtown, where he was reared to manhood.
His educational advantages were limited in
the extreme, though, being of a studious dis
position and blessed with a retentive memory,
he laid by a fund of knowledge which in after
years was increased by observation and in the
school of experience, which made him one of
the leaders of men in after years. He re
mained under the parental roof until eighteen
years of age, when he was apprenticed to the
blacksmith's trade for three years with his
brother, Samuel, who then lived in Fairfield
county, Ohio. He was a natural mechanic,
took to the trade kindly, and was soon able to
execute the most difficult work that was
brought to the shop. He remained his full
time and afterward carried on his chosen work
at the villages of Leistville, Kinnikinnick, and
Stringtown.

In 1832 he was married at Leistville to
Miss Sophia Ludwig, the ceremony being per
formed by the Rev. Jacob Leist, grandfather
of 'Squire Leist, of Elida, of whom mention is
made elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Sophia
(Ludwig) Crites was born at Bloomsburg, Pa. ,
July 14, 181 3, and was the daughter of Jacob
and Elizabeth (Fink) Ludwig, both natives of
Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in 18 18 and
settled in Tarlton, where Mrs. Crites was
reared. Twelve children were born to Mr.
and Mrs. Charles Crites, named as follows:
Daniel L. , died March 31, 1885; Jacob S., a
resident of Wichita county, Tex. ; Catherine,
wife of Henry Boose, of Allen county, Ohio;
Elizabeth, wife of Peter Kessler, of Van Wert
county, Ohio; Rebecca, deceased wife of Amos
Young, of Lima, Ohio; Cyrus and Elias L.,
twins — the former residing in Jefferson county,
111., the latter at Elida, Ohio; Emanuel S., of
Elida, who will be further mentioned; Mary A.,
wife of Emery Bradley, of Macon county, 111. ;
Charles, who died in infancy; George W. and
Freda S., twins — the former living in German
township, Allen county, and Freda being the
wife of Jacob King, of Fremont, Ohio.
Charles Crites and family came to Allen
county in the year of 1839 and settled on a
farm one mile south of Elida, where he im
mediately erected a blacksmith shop and plied
his trade in connection with elearing up his
totally unimproved farm. Practical ability
and easy and ready adaptation to legal affairs
soon called him from his occupation into public
life, and within thirteen years he administered
upon sixteen different estates. He was com
missioned captain of the militia in 1840, and
continued to hold this office until the repeal of
the state militiary laws of that period. In
1854-55 he was sent to the state legislature
from Allen county, where he served with dis
tinguished ability two years. For years he
was justice of the peace, and the law rarely

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

had a wiser or better interpreter. When he
first located in Allen county, it was full of wild
game and Indians, which prevented life from
becoming prosy and monotonous. Long jour
neys were made for supplies, such as tea,
coffee, salt, etc., to Sandusky and Toledo, and
all the hardships of pioneer life were con
fronted with a brave and cheerful spirit. The
year following his coming to this county a log
house was erected, which the family lived in
until 1867, when he built a handsome brick
residence, in which he died. He was a mem
ber of the German Reform church, a christian
gentleman, a brave and good man, and one
who left the imprint of his character on the age
in which he lived.

e MANUEL S. CRITES, son of the
late Hon. Charles Crites, of Elida,
was reared on a farm, was educated
in the common schools, and enjoyed
the hale and hearty life of out-of-door expe
rience of a farmer's boy. After arriving at his
majority he applied himself diligently to edu
cating himself to teaching, which profession
he followed in the winter . and farmed in the
summer. He taught fourteen terms in Allen
county, Ohio, and one in Christian county, 111.
He continued to reside on the old home farm
until 1893, when he moved to Elida. Aban
doning teaching, since 1883 he has devoted
himself to farming and plastering. He .has
been twice married: October 24, 1872, he was
united in wedlock to Miss Emily Miller,
daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Shobe)
Miller. Miss Miller was born in Allen county,
and died October 2, 1877, at the age of
twenty-five years. The fruit of this marriage
wasthreechildren, viz: an infant son, deceased;
Urbannus B., died March 26, 1877, at the age
of two years, and Samuel P. C.,born Septem
ber 20, 1877, at home. December 31, 1881,

Mr. Crites was married to Miss Sarah E. Wat
son, daughter of Levi and Mary (Bodell) Wat
son, both deceased. Five children have
blessed this union, named as follows: Durfee
D., born September 28, 1883; Daniel V., born
September 23, 1885; Waverly W. , born May
13, 1892; Zeldan E. and Zelpha M., twins,
born December 10, 1894.
Mr. Crites is a member of the Odd Fellows,
having joined in 1878, in Macon county, 111.,
lodge No. 281; from thence; he dimitted to
Lima lodge, No. 581, in 1880, and thence he
took a withdrawal card in order to institute a
lodge at Elida in 1895. He is an enthuastic
Odd Fellow and a splendid and efficient worker
in this order. He has passed through the en
campment and awaits further promotion. He
is honored and respected by all and is one of
the essential men of the county — active, ener
getic, intelligent, and ready and earnest in all
good and worthy undertakings. To know and
read of such men is a moral tonic.

'^"¦t'ACQB CRITES. — Among the pioneers
A and representative citizens of German
A 1 township, Allen county, Ohio, there is
none more, highly respected nor more
worthy than Jacob Crites, who has been fore
most in assisting and encouraging all public
improvements, who has been benevolent to a
fault, and has proven a safe, conservative busi
ness man. He is the twelfth child and tenth
son born to John D. and Catherine (Petrie),
who were the parents of thirteen children, ten
of whom grew to man and womanhood.
John D. Crites, the father of our subject,
was born in Lynn township, Northampton
county, Pa., May 21, 1778, and died Septem
ber 10, 1854, in Salt Creek township, Picka
way county, Ohio, to which county he had
emigrated in the year of 18 12. He grew to
manhood in his native county, where he

JACOB CP-ITES,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

241

learned the weaver's trade, and where, later in
life, he was identified with agriculture. In
1799 he wedded Miss Catherine Petre, one of
the worthy daughters of his native county,
where she was born September 15, 1779; she,
also, died in Salt Creek township, Pickaway
county, Ohio, February 20, 1842.
John D. Crites came to Ohio in 1812, in a
covered wagon, making a selection of land in
Salt Creek township, Pickaway county, but
before he had his goods unloaded from the
wagon, he shouldered his musket and went to
the rescue of his country, serving during the
latter part of the war of 181 2. Later, Mr.
Crites and his companion lived a true pioneer
life in Pickaway county, forged from the forest
a good home, reared and educated their family,
and passed the remainder of their lives upon
the farm they had entered from the govern
ment. Mr. Crites was a thorough farmer, but,
to increase his revenues, worked at the weav
er's trade all of his spare time, thus becoming
quite well to do. In politics Mr. Crites was a
democrat, and he and wife were members of
the German Reform church and highly re
spected wherever known.
Jacob Crites, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, Salt
Creek township, October 19, 1822, and spent
his boyhood days on the farm with his father.
He was educated in the primitive log school-
house, having slab benches to sit upon and
greased paper for windows, and warmed by
the old-fashioned fireplace, in which was placed
the large back-log, which called for the assist
ance of all the large boys in the school to put
in place. He remained under the parental
roof until sixteen years of age, when he began
an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade,
which vocation he followed for seventeen years.
In 1842 he came to Allen county, and just
west of Allentown bought ten acres of land.
October 3, 1845, he was married to Mary J.
5

Carman and soon after went to housekeeping.
She was born in Concord township, Ross
county, Ohio, November 1, 1824, and died
September 12, 1859, leaving a family of seven
children, beside one who deceased in infancy,
viz: Mary Adeline, Stephen, Emeline, Hen
rietta (deceased), Obed B., Cyrus D., and
Daniel Hicks. Mr. Crites was- married,.
the second time, February 5, i860, to Mrs.
Emily Sellers, widow of Jacob Sellers and
daughter of James McDonel. One child has-
been born to them, December 5, 1863, — Sarah.
Alice, wife of S. A. Post, of German township.
Mrs. Emily Crites had one child by her first
husband, James, born May 23, 1853.
Jacob Crites is a man ef great energy and
industry, and plies a triple occupation — farm
ing, stock-raising (in which he makes a spe
cialty of Jersey red hogs) and blacksmithing.
His farm consists of 173 acres, on which, in
1877, he erected the house in which he now
lives. He has served two terms as county
commissioner, one term of which was while
the new court-house was being built, and by
his wisdom and good judgment the county was
saved many thousand dollars. He has also
filled all the township offices, and in every
sense of the word is. a public-spirited man.
For forty-seven years he has been a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has.
filled the office of trustee in it for forty-five
years and superintendent of the Sunday-school
for eleven years, during which time he missed
only three Sabbaths. For a number of years
he was a member of the grange and master
of the lodge, and was three times a delegate
to the state grange. He is also an Odd Fel
low, being a member of lodge No. 223, a
member of encampment No. 62, and one of
the incorporators of patriarch militant Orion
temple, No. 22. Mr. Crites has also adminis
tered on more estates than any other man in
the country.

242

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

James McDonel (deceased), father of Mrs.
Jacob Crites, was born in Warren county,
Ohio, where he grew to manhcfod upon the
farm, and was educated in the pioneer schools
of his days. He was the son of William and
Sarah McDonel, of Scotch-Irish origin, who
settled in Warren county, Ohio, soon after
Ohio was admitted into the Union. Mr.
McDonel married in early life Miss Elizabeth
Haines, who was born in Pennsylvania about
1792, and died November 11, 1855, in Allen
county, Ohio, having borne her husband eight
children, viz: Emily, who was born February
10, 1822, and is the wife of Jacob Crites, our
subject; Lydia and Mary (twins), born May
20, 1824, the former being the widow of
William Cochran, and Mary the deceased wife
of Robert Miller; Sarah, the widow of William
Pangle, now a resident of Lima; William, de
ceased; James I., resident of Perry township;
Nancy Ann, wife of David McClaine; and
Elizabeth Ann, wife of Joseph Roney McDonel,
who became one of the early settlers of Allen
county, locating on land that is now a part of
the city of Lima, when there were but twenty-
one houses in the town; this was in the spring
of 1833, having come an overland route from
Warren county, Ohio. He purchased eighty
acres of land near where the west side school-
house now stands, which he redeemed from
the forest and made his home for a series of
years. In 1853 he platted his farm, reserving
twelve lots for each of his eight children. He
continued to reside in Lima until 1855, when,
soon after the death of his first wife, he went
to live with his son, James I., with whom he
lived until 1862, .when he married, for his
second wife, Mrs. Martin, and soon after pur
chased the farm in Perry township, consisting
of eighty acres, upon which, he resided a few
years, when he sold and located in Wisconsin,
and a short time thereafter removed to the
state of Iowa, where he died at the age of

eighty-seven years. Mr. McDonel had fol
lowed the agriculturist's pursuit through life,
and was one of the successful men of his day,
strictly upright and honorable in all his deal
ings, and a friend to every good cause. In
early life he was a member of the Methodist
church, but later withdrew from that organiza
tion and became one of the leading members
of the Lutheran church. He was a quiet,
unassuming man, and quite domestic, and one
that was respected wherever known.

eLIAS CRITES, one of the well known
and leading citizens of German town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, was born
in Pickaway county, June 21, 1825.
He is one of the younger boys of a family of
thirteen children who were born to John D.
and Catherine (Petrie) Crites, of whom further
mention is made in the sketch of Hon. Charles
Crites. Elias Crites spent his boyhood days upon
the farm and was early taught the lessons of
industry, as; when but a small boy, he was
asked to take a prominent part in the clearing
up and the cultivation of the home farm. He
received a limited education in the common
schools of Pickaway county, which advantages
were meager in that time, yet being quite
studious at school, which he had the privilege
of attending during the winter season, and by
personal efforts at home during the long even
ings, he made fine progress, and upon arriving
at early manhood stood not far from the head
of his class. While yet a young man in his
teens he learned the carpenter's trade, and
upon arriving at his majority followed that
trade for a livlihood for eight years, acquiring
an enviable reputation as a carpenter and
builder. He then abandoned his trade and
took charge of the home farm, living with his
father until the latter's death, which occurred

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

243

September 10, 1854. Mr. Crites then pur
chased the homestead farm, where he resided
until 1 87 1, at which date he sold the farm and
removed to Allen county, Ohio, where he pur
chased a farm of 208 acres of land in sections
Nos. 7 and 8 in German township, on which
he settled and has had a continued residence
ever since. He has made many valuable im
provements on said farm and to-day it ranks
second to none in the township of German or
Allen county.
Mr. Crites is one of the enterprising and
thoroughgoing men in his most worthy calling,
and is an up-to-date farmer. He gives his
attention exclusively to the tilling of his farm
and stock-raising, and of the latter he makes
a speciality of short-horn cattle. He has been
a faithful adherent and stanch supporter of the
democratic party all his life, and by this party
has been honored by election to the office of
township trustee ten years in succession. Mr.
Crites is esteemed for his moral worth, busi
ness sagacity and his enterprising and benevo
lent disposition in aiding all worthy enterprises
and for the interest he takes in the education
of the young.
Mr. Crites has been twice married. For
his first wife he lead to the altar Miss Catharine
Mowery, June 8, 185 1, who was a native of
Salt Creek township, Pickaway county, Ohio,
born February 28, 1831, and died May 3,
1 862, having borne her husband three children,
named Mary C, John D. and William W.
The second wife of Mr. Crites was Mrs. Lean-
nah (Mowery) Reichelderfer, the widow of
Venis Reichelderfer, and the sister of his first
wife and the daughter of John and Rachael
(Dunkle) Mowery. Mr. Crites was born March
9, 1828, and by her first marriage became the
mother of two children, George S. , and Sarah
J., deceased. The father of Mrs. Crites was
born in Berks county, Pa., March 12, 1805,
and died in 1874, while the mother was a na

tive of Ross county, Ohio, born December 20,
1809, and died in 1878. Mr. Mowery was a
farmer and stock-grower by occupation, and a
well-known • and prominent citizen of Salt
Creek township, Pickaway county. He was a
prominent member of the Lutheran church and
his wife of the Reform church. Thirteen children
blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Mowery,
ten of whom grew to manhood and womanhood,
viz: Leannah, Catherine, Polly, Rachael,
Susan, William, Frank, George D., Louisa
and Allen S.

OBED B. CRITES, one of the most
prominent and substantial of the citi
zens of German township, Allen
county, Ohio, was born May 16,
1853. He is a son of Jacob and Mary J.
Crites, was reared on the farm and received
the rudiments of his education in the public
schools. His education was then completed
by attendance at the Western Normal school
at Lima. Being thus made competent, he be
gan teaching in district schools at the early
age of seventeen, and continued to teach for
twenty-one successive winters, in only six dif
ferent districts, seventeen of these winter
terms being taught in three different districts
only. He taught in both Allen and Auglaize
counties — four years in Auglaize.
He erected the first house in Hume, Allen
county, and in that hamlet operated a general
store for three years. His first purchase of
land was in 1879 — fifty-five acres in section
No. 31, German township. To this he added
seventy-five acres on July 25, 1884, in Amanda
township, and in November, 1889, he pur
chased eighty acres in the same township. In
1892 he purchased twenty acres more in sec
tion No. 5, Amanda township. His landed
estate, therefore, at the present time, con
sists of 230 acres, and it certainly is among the

244

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

best in the county. In 1879 his house was
destroyed by fire and was a total loss, as it
carried no insurance. He erected in its place
a pretty, neat cottage, which is his present
residence. Besides this dwelling he has
erected good barns and other out-buildings for
stock and grain. He carries on general farm
ing, but makes the raising of corn a specialty,
in 1894 cribbing 2, 800 bushels. He has a fine
herd of Shropshire sheep, a kind of horned
sheep peculiar to Shropshire, England, pre
vious to their introduction into this country.
He also raises a fine grade of the Jersey red
hog. In company with his brother, S. D.
Crites, he some years since handled Yoggy's
anatomical charts, placing them in every
school-house in Allen county. He also spent
two summers with this chart in southern Iowa,
selling several hundred of them in that state.
Politically Mr. Crites is a democrat, and has
been a member of the school board for several
years; fraternally he is a member of Lima
lodge, No. 581, F & A. M.
Mr. Crites was married November 1 1 , 1875,
to Miss Eliza R. Anderson, daughter of Dr. R.
G. and Adelia Anderson; she was born No
vember 30, 1856, and died September 23,
1893. To this marriage there were born two
children, viz: OraB., born January 8, 1877,
and Bessie V., born October 12, 1887. Mr.
Crites married for his second wife, August 9,
1894, Miss Lillie N. Hennon, daughter of
Daniel and Ella Hennon; this lady was born
in North Washington, Harding county, Ohio,
April 27, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Crites are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and of high standing in church and other
circles. He is one of the most progressive
young men of the county, and the success with
which he has met in life is wholly due to his
own efforts and industry. While he has, like
others, met with reverses, sufficient perhaps
in many cases to discourage most men, yet he

has always risen superior to misfortune, and
has in reality made such reverses stepping-
stones to higher planes of success. His career
has been such as to give encouragement to
others, and is and must continue to be a credit
to himself and to his entire family.

>*J»AMES ALLEN CULP.— The history of
¦ this distinguished family extends back
A J of the Revolutionary war, the grand-
"~ father of the gentleman whose name
heads this sketch having been born about 1765,
in Berks county, Pa. He married a" Miss-
Hinely of the same county, and about 1803
removed to Pickaway county, Ohio. In this
county he located upon a farm upon which he
lived the rest of his life, dying at the great age
of eighty-seven years. Following are the
names of his children: Henry, who died in
Fairfield county, Ohio; Sebastian, who died
in Pickaway county, Ohio; Peter; Conrad, who-
died in Pennsylvania; Mary, who married a
Mr. Stumpt; Hannah, who married a Mr. Def-
fenbaugh; Sally, who married a Mr. Dum.
Peter Culp, the third son of the above, and
the father of our subject, was born in Berks
county, Pa., in 1791. With his parents he-
removed to Pickaway county, Ohio, where he
was reared to manhood, accustomed to all
pioneer work and ways, and when the second.
war with England came on entered the army
of the United States, and fought through the
war. After his marriage he purchased, in Salt
Creek township, land to the amount of 500
acres, and became largely engaged in stock-
raising. He was one of the extensive drovers-
of those days, purchasing for and driving to
the eastern markets. He was also a very ex
tensive farmer, among the most prominent of
his county, and spent the greater portion of his
life upon his farm. Religiously he was a
Lutheran, and was much interested in the

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

245

work of his church. He was married, in 1817,
to Miss Susan Braucher, daughter of Conrad
and Rachel (Richeldapher) Braucher. Mrs.
Culp died November 13, 1871, leaving a family
of children as follows: Juria, Mrs. Samuel
Saylor; James A.; Helen, Mrs. Adam Faust;
Conrad D., deceased; Henrietta, deceased;
Susannah, deceased; Hester, who was married
twice, first to William Crow, and secondly to
a Mr. Monuett; Rachel, deceased; Henry B., of
Pickaway county; Charles, of Lancaster, Ohio,
Thomas, deceased; Noah, of Pickaway county;
Mary S., and Lewis H., who died in Texas.
Peter Culp died May 14, 1864.
James Allen Culp, the second child of the
above marriage, was born August 31, 18 19, on
the homestead in Pickaway county, Ohio. He
was reared a farmer boy, and received such
education as the times afforded. Arriving at
manhood's estate, he removed to Auglaize
county, in 1848, and there purchased 160
acres of land in Logan township, upon which
he lived thirty years. Beside carrying on gen
eral farming operations he was extensively
engaged in breeding and raising stock. At
the expiration of the time above mentioned
Mr. Culp removed to Duchequet township,
same county, where he lived thirteen years.
Mr. Chip is one of the most extensive owners
of land living in Allen county, owning some
500 acres in Auglaize county, and also 500
acres in Macon county, 111. In 1882 he set
tled on his present farm in Shawnee township,
Allen county, upon which he has made all the
improvements, and is now living retired from
the active cares and duties of life.
Politically Mr. Culp is a republican, hav
ing been in early life a whig, and casting his
first vote for Gen. William Henry Harrison
for president in 1 840, and voting for every
whig and republican candidate for president
ever since. In religious matters he is a Luth
eran, and takes a prominent position as a sup

porter of that church. He was married, in
1 84 1, to Miss Ann Crouse, daughter John
Crouse of Ross county, who came to Ohio
from Blair county, Pa. To this marriage
there were born children as follows: Jerome,
of Illinois; Theodore, of Van Wert county,
Ohio; George and John, both of Illinois; Ann
M., deceased; Henry, of Illinois; Mary C,
deceased; Jacob, of Auglaize county, Ohio;
Susan, wife of William M. Bowsher, and
Emily J., wife of H. N. Beeler. Mrs. Culp's
death occurred March 31, 1894.
In matters of business Mr. Culp has been
more than ordinarily successful. He has been
an honest man, straightforward and fair in all
his dealings, and has lived consistently with
his religious faith, and as a natural result stands
high in the estimation of all who know him.
At the age of seventy-seven years, he is still
in good health and in the possession of all his
faculties, and it may be said, with his career
in mind, that " gray hairs are a crown of glory
if found in the way of righteousness."

HOMAS J. CURTIS, one of the most
trustworthy citizens of German town
ship, Allen county, and a successful
farmer, was born in Fairfield county,
Ohio, August 7, 1845. He is a son of Lewis
and Mary (East) Curtis, who were among the
earliest settlers in Fairfield county, where they
reared their family and where Mr. Curtis died.
He was a teamster and worked for a distillery
company. He and his wife were the parents
of eight children, viz: John, a resident of
Kansas City, Kans., where he follows the busi
ness of house and building moving; Enoch,
now deceased, who during the war was a
soldier in the Confederate army; Sarah, wife
of David East, of Allen county; Harriet;
Louisa, deceased; Thomas J., the subject of
this sketch, and two that died in infancy.

246

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Thomas J. Curtis was but ten years of age
when he came to Allen county, with John
East, with whom he lived until March 24,
1862, when he enlisted in company K, Sixty-
sixth Illinois infantry. He served in this regi
ment until April 25, 1865, when he was mus
tered out of service. During the term for
which he enlisted he participated in the battle
of Shiloh, siege of Corinth and the fight at
Iuka, and was with Sherman on the march to
the sea. Though never severely wounded, yet
he received several slight wounds from the
rebel bullets.
After returning from the war he located in
German township, Allen county, Ohio, and
there began work on his farm; but soon en
tered the employ of the Easts in their grist
mill. Not long after this, however, he entered
the employ of the D. & M. railroad company,
as brakeman, at which work he continued for
three years. He was then made conductor of
a train carrying local freight, which position
he held for seven years, when he was made
conductor of the mail train running from Day
ton to Toledo. Afterward he accepted a posi
tion with the P., Ft. W. & C. Railroad com
pany, remaining with them some three years,
when he took a position with the L. E. & W.
Railroad company as night yard man, remain
ing thus employed six months. He then re
turned to the Fort Wayne Railroad company,
and was placed in charge of a switch engine
in the yards at Lima, and later returned to the
D. & M. Railroad company, for which he
worked one year.
Giving up railroading in February, 1890,
he in the following month moved to his farm
in German township, for which he had traded,
and upon which he has made numerous im
provements. This farm is located in section
No. 34, and is a very valuable piece of prop
erty, of forty acres. Here Mr. Curtis follows
general farming and stock raising, preferring

these lines to any mere specialty. Mr. Curtis
was married in April, 1867, to Miss Martha
Comer, who was born in Lancaster, Ohio, in
1846, and who died in 1890, on the 20th day
of June. By her he had a family of six chil
dren, viz: Annie, Alma, Lewis, Emmet,
Freddie and James. Annie, the eldest of the
family, is a graduate of the city schools of
Lima, and is a most estimable young lady.
Mr. Curtis is a member of the Disciples' church,
and also is a member of Lima post, No. 202,
G. A. R., and is in every way a good citizen
and a most worthy man.

at

H. CUSTER, the subject of this
brief biography, is one of the al
together alive business men of Allen
county, Ohio. He is a native of the
county and was born July 5, 1849. His parents
are Jonathan and Sarah J. (Leatherman) Cus
ter, the latter still living at the age of sixty-five
years, residing near LaFayette, Allen county.
The father died in 1 863 at the age of forty-five
years. In occupation, he was a blacksmith
and farmer and came to Allen county at an
early day, when quite a young man, from Lick
ing county, Ohio, which was his birthplace.
He was of German descent and possessed of
many good qualities. He owned a good farm
of some ninety acres, on which his family were
born and reared. His marriage occurred in
this county, and five children were born to-
them, as follows: William H., our subject,
Elizabeth, wife of Griffith Thomas, of Amanda
township ; Michael L. , a farmer of Rooks county,
Kans; Jane and Jonathan A., deceased.
William H. Custer was reared on a farm
and received his education in the schools of
the county, but at an early age — sixteen years
— he began life for himself. He hired out as
a farm hand by the month and followed this
until twenty-one years of age, when he rented

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

247

the home place and afterward purchased sixty
acres in Amanda township, on which he spent
some twelve years engaged in general farming.
In 1889 he sold his farm and purchased a mer
cantile house at Conant, which he sold in Oc
tober, 1895, and purchased another store in
Spencerville, since which time he has success
fully conducted this business. He carries a
general stock and successfully caters to a large
and increasing trade. He was appointed post
master at Conant and made an efficient and
trustworthy officer. Politically Mr. Custer is
a prohibitionist and practices the creed of his
profession. He has been a member of the
lodge of Knights of Pythias of Spencerville,
No. 251, for the past five years, and has
proved a valuable acquisition to the order.
August 3, 1874, he was married to Miss Ne
braska Burbage, who was born in Paulding
county, Ohio, in October, 1854. She is a mem
ber of the Methodist church and an active
worker in that society. Mr. Custer is a rep
resentative man of this enterprising and pros
perous county and is one among many who
make it a banner section of the state.

Kj/^\ ERNARD W. DALK, one of the well-
lt/*^ known citizens of Delphos, Ohio, and
J*\^J proprietor of one of the largest black
smith establishments in the city, was
born in Cleveland, Ohio, May 24, 1857. His
parents are Joseph and Anna (Simons) Dalk.
The father was born in Westphalia, Germany,
in 1828, and the mother was born in the city
of Cleveland, Ohio, she being the daughter of
Nicholas Simons, one of the early citizens of
that city. The parents were married in Cleve
land, where the mother died in 1858, when our
subject was but eleven months old. The
father learned the carpenter and cabinet
maker's trade, but he has followed railroading
most of his life, and for twenty years was in

the employ of the Lake Shore railroad at
Cleveland as a carbuilder. He left Cleveland
in 1880 and located at Fostoria, Ohio, and
two years later came to Delphos, and went to
work in the Clover Leaf shops at this place.
He is a member of St. John's Roman Catholic
church. B. W. Dalk was the only child born of his
parents' marriage. He was reared in Cleve
land, his grandmother Simons taking him as
an infant at his mother's death and rearing
him until his fourth year, when his father,
having married again, took charge of his son.
The latter received his schooling in the Ger
man Catholic school in Cleveland, receiving a
good German and English education. After
leaving school he entered the Lake Shore
railroad shops with the intention of learning
the machinist's trade, at which he worked for
a year and a half, and then began work in the
blacksmith shop of James Cullen, in Cleve
land, where he worked for about six months,
starting there to learn the trade, but finishing
up at Delphos. In 1873, being on his way to
Fort Wayne, Ind., he stopped off at Delphos
to visit a friend, and concluded to locate here,
and in 1874 he began an apprenticeship of
three years with August C. Grothaus, a
blacksmith. After finishing his apprentice
ship he continued to work for Mr. Grot
haus until September 19, 1891, when he left
his shop, and the next week began getting
timber on the ground, preparing to build a
shop, and beginning blacksmithing for him
self. On the 10th day of October, ''the same
year, he had his shop up and was ready for
business^ He was not long in building up a
trade, as he was always well liked and had a
reputation as a first-class workman, and from
year to year his trade has grown until he now
has one of the leading shops of the city. He
contemplates erecting a large brick shop in
the near future on his lot, on the corner of

248

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

First and West Canal streets, where he will
run a complete carriage and wagon manufac
tory. His present place of business is on the
corner of West First street and the canal,
where he employs two men besides himself.
He does a general blacksmithing and repair
business, but makes a specialty of fine horse
shoeing, his shop being the only one in the
city that turns out a hand-made iron or steel
shoe. Mr. Dalk also owns a handsome cot
tage residence, a story and. a half, on the cor
ner of Cleveland avenue and Pierce street, and
also owns well improved residence property on
the corner of Pierce and Jackson streets.
Mr Dalk was married August 28, 1883, to
Miss Anna Schwartzengraber, who was born in
Delphos on May 29, 1861, and is the daughter
of Joseph and Elizabeth Schwartzengraber,
old citizens of Delphos, her father having been
the first brewer in the city. Mr. and Mrs.
Dalk are members of Saint John's Roman
Catholic church of Delphos, and he is a mem
ber of the Royal Arcanum. He is a democrat
in politics when it comes to voting for a presi
dent or a governor, but when it comes to
minor office he votes for the best man. Mr.
Dalk has met with deserved success in his
business. He is full of energy and enterprise,
ambitious to improve his business and himself,
and is considered one of the leading and active
citizens of Delphos. He has many warm
friends and is universally respected by all who
know him.

BRANCIS Y. DAVIS, one of the best-
known and most experienced' agricul
turists of Perry township, Allen
county, Ohio, was born in Orange
county, Vt., October 29, 1827, and is of
Scotch and Welsh extraction.
Francis Davis, grandfather of our subject,
was born May 26, 1758, but it is not positively

known whether he was a native of Scotland
or Vermont. He was a soldier in the war for
American independence, married Philena
Thurber in Vermont, and had born to this
marriage five sons and two daughters. He
died in Vermont October 30, 1840, and his
faithful helpmate died in the same state De
cember 20, 1 841.
Francis Davis, son of the Francis mentioned
above and the progenitor of the Davis family
in Allen county, Ohio, was born in Vermont
March 7, 1788, and was reared on his father's
farm and also learned the trade of stone-cut
ting, becoming an expert and artistic monu
ment-maker. He served in the war of 1812
and took part in the battle of Plattsburg, N. Y.
For this service he received, in part compensa
tion, a warrant for one-quarter section of land,
which was located or entered in the state of
Missouri. In 1834 he removed from Orange
county, Vt., to Coshocton county, Ohio, where
he purchased a tract of 100 acres in Bethlehem
township, which he cleared up and resided
upon until 1845, when he came to Perry town
ship, Allen county, where he had already pur
chased a tract of forty acres in section No. 2,
but settled upon an eighty-acre tract in section
No. 3, now owned by Joseph Tapscott. After
coming to Allen county, Mr. Davis sold his
Missouri land to T. K. Jacobs, of Lima, and
after a residence of some twenty-odd years, he
disposed of his eighty-tract in Perry township,
and retired to Defiance, Ohio, where he passed
the remainder of his days in peace, dying
March 31, 1875, honored by all who knew
him. Francis Davis had been twice married —
first, to Lydia, daughter of Greshom York, of
Brookfield, Vt. Of the children born to this
union seven died young and four lived to adult
age, viz: Roxanna, deceased wife of Ira Fox;
Francis Y., the subject of this sketch; George
E., and Fannie, deceased wife of John Bond.
The mother of this family died March 1, 1863,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

249

at the age of seventy-one years, a highly re
spected lady and universally beloved for her
many christian virtues. The second marriage
of Mr. Davis was with Mrs. Elizabeth Hatcher,
while he was a resident of Perry township; it
may be added, Mr. Davis, who was first a
whig in politics and later a republican, filled
some of the township offices and was in every
way a public-spirited and useful citizen.
Francis Y. Davis, whose name heads this
biography, is the elder living son of Francis
Davis, whose life has been sketched in the
foregoing paragraphs. He was reared in Co
shocton county, Ohio, whither he had been
brought when an infant, from Vermont, by his
parents. He was educated in the common
schools and brought up a frontier farmer, be
ing early inured to the hard toil of forest life.
In 1852 he purchased forty acres of land in
section No. 3, Perry township, Allen county,
now owned by William Roberts. This tract
he cleared up from the forest and had con
verted into a fruitful farm before disposing of
it. In 1863 he settled upon an eighty-acre
tract in section No. 16, but about this time,
also, enlisted in defense of the integrity of his
country's flag — a brief military record being
given below. On this eighty-acre tract Mr.
Davis also made all the improvements, and in
1882 purchased 160 acres in section No. 19,
and this highly improved farm is now occupied
by his son, Charles L. This farm is also the
result of the skill and industry of Mr. Davis,
who made all the improvements thereon, re
claiming it from the forest, and made it his
home until 1894, when he purchased his pres
ent farm of forty acres in section No. 8, on
which he has erected a handsome modern
residence and made many other improve
ments as well as placed it under a thorough
state of cultivation. On this farm are two pro
ducing oil wells, while on his other farms
there have been found fourteen oil producers.

The enlistment of Mr. Davis took place in
September, 1861, in company D, Fifty-fourth
Ohio volunteer infantry, with which he served
until August, 1 862, when he was honorably dis
charged for disability occasioned by explosion
of a shell at the battle of Pittsburg Landing.
In September, 1864, he enlisted in company A,
One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio volunteer
infantry, and served until the close of the war,
his last battle being at Kingston, N. C. He
received his second and final honorable dis
charge in August, 1865. In politics Mr. Davis
is a republican and is a member of Mart. Arm
strong post, G. A. R., of Lima.
The marriage of Mr. Davis took place May
5, 1852, with Sarah, daughter of Rufus and
Nancy (Dawson) Coats, but this lady died
April 1, 1893, the mother of the following
children: Lydia R. M., born July 26, 1854,
and wife of Jefferson Shade, of Perry town
ship; Ira E., born January 31, 1856; Albert
E., born November 30, 1857; William F.,
born January 19, 1867, and now residing in
Franklin county, Kans. ; Clara B., born July
25, 1868, and wife of John Howbert, of Allen
county, Ohio; Charles L., born November 25,
1869; Herman C, born October 15, 1875,
and Daniel E., born May 28, 1873.
Perry township has seen few better farm
ers that Francis Y. Davis, and fewer still have
done as much as he toward the development
of the township from a wilderness into a broad
expanse of fertile and wealth-producing fields,
and none deserves better the high respect in
which he is held as an ex-soldier and useful
citizen.

aHARLES L. DAVIS was born on the
homestead on which he still lives in
Perry township, Allen county, Ohio,
November 25, 1869, is one of the
most enterprising farmers of the county, and

250

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

a rising young man in all respects. His
genealogy will be found in the biography of
Francis Y. Davis, his father, which appears in
close connection with this sketch. Charles L. ,
besides becoming a practical farmer, received
a first-class education in the common schools
of his district and in the Normal college at
Ada, Ohio. He resided with and aided his
father until April 20, 1894, when he settled
upon his present farm of 160 acres, where he
is engaged most successfully in general farming.
The marriage of Mr. Davis took place De
cember 25 (Christmas day, 1892), with Miss
Libbie L., daughter of David Sellers, of Perry
township, of whom a biography appears on
another page. To this union was born one
child — David F. — who, it is sad to add, is now
deceased. In his politics Mr. Davis, like his
father, is a republican, has served as constable
of Perry township, and is fast rising in popu
larity and in the esteem of his fellow-citizens.

BRANK L. DAVIS, the efficient and
accommodating operator of the Pitts
burg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad
at the quiet but prosperous village of
Elida, in Allen county, Ohio, was born in
Preble county, Ohio, November 28, 1869, and
is the fourth born in a family of eight chil
dren, of whom seven are yet living. His
parents were Henry P. and Sarah J. (Renner)
Davis, both of whom were natives of Butler
county, Ohio, where they grew to man and
womanhood and there married. Mr. Davis,
the father of our subject, was identified with
agricultural interests for a time, but a few
years later located in the adjoining county of
Preble, where he continued the honored call
ing as a tiller of the soil, rearing his family to
man and womanhood, and teaching them
many valuable lessons of industry and econ
omy, beside giving them the best school ad

vantages to be obtained. Their family con
sisted of eight children, seven of whom are
yet living, and are named as follows: Charles-
M., a farmer near Lapel, Ind.; Delilah J.,
wife of Elijah Wehrly, of El Dorado, Ohio;.
William H., a lumber merchant of Charleston,
Tenn.; Frank L., the subject of this mention;
Ida J., Fannie O. and Arthur P. at home with
their parents, who are now residents of El
Dorado, Ohio, and are highly esteemed citi
zens of the community in which they have
lived for a number of years, and are known to
be enterprising benevolent and most worthy
citizens. Frank L. Davis, the third son of- his par
ents, was reared upon the home farm and edu
cated in the district schools, remaining under
the parental roof until eighteen years of age,
when he entered the telegraph office at the
crossing of the Big Four (Cleveland, Cincin
nati, Chicago & St. Louis R. R.) and Pan
handle (Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St.
Louis R. R.), near New Madison, Darke
county, Ohio, where he acquired the art,
becoming a skillful and careful operator. He-
worked as an extra on the Chicago & Atlantic
R. R., and then took a regular position on the
Panhandle at Anderson, Ind., where he was
stationed for a period of eight months, when
he was transferred to the town of El wood,
Ind., a division of the Panhandle R. R. ,
next being located at Galveston, Ind., and
from there was transferred to Kokomo, Ind.,
thence to New Castle Junction, and later to
New Castle, Ind; Mr. Davis, while an oper
ator at New Castle Junction, was united in
marriage at Anderson, Ind., with Miss Alma
E. Canan, the accomplished daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Wesley Canan, prominent residents-
of the town of Anderson. From New Castle,
Mr. Davis was again transferred to Danville,
111., operated there for the Big Four, and from
there was sent to Troy, Ohio, where he re-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

251

mained one year, than located at Lima, Ohio,
in the employ of the Cincinnati, Hamilton &
Dayton R. R. , with which company he re
mained until November 21, 1892, when he
accepted his present position, at Elida, Ohio,
where he has since resided and became
identified as one of the reliable and enterpris
ing citizens of that town, being now in the
employ of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne &
Chicago, R. R., and one of their most trusted
employees. He is a master' of his profession
and toys with electricity as with a genial play
fellow. As an operator, Mr. Davis is popular
with the different roads for which he has
worked and stands in the front rank of his
profession and during his career he has been
employed by the Panhandle, the C. & A.,
Big Four, L. E. & W., C, H. & D. and
P., F. W. & C. R. R.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis are the parents of
one child, named Von E., who was born De
cember 12, 1894. Mrs. Davis is a worthy
member of the Christian church and a consist
ent communicant of that society, and socially
one of the leaders in the society of her town.
" Frank, "as he is familiarly called, is a demo
crat in politics and an all around hustler and
a rare good fellow that every one likes; he is
genial and pleasant to customers and the com
pany has no better of efficient employee than he.

HMAZIAH DAVISSON (deceased) was
one of the oldest and most substan
tial farmers of Auglaize township,
Allen county, Ohio, was of Scotch-
Irish descent, and was born in Harrison
county, Va. , September 21, 1822, and there
passed his entire life in farming pursuits. His
grandfather, Joseph Davisson, a farmer of
much repute, lived and died in Harrison county,
and John Davisson, son of Joseph and father
of Amaziah, also a native of Harrison county

and born in 1778, there married Charity
Critchfield, a lady of many accomplishments,
who became the mother of the following chil
dren: Pattie, Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, John,
Arthur, Amaziah, all deceased, and David.
John Davisson, father of this family, left
Harrison county, Va. (now West Virginia), in
1832, and came to Ohio and settled among
the early pioneers of Champaign county. He
had been an old line whig and had been
elected sheriff of Harrison county; later he
represented his county in the state legislature,
after coming to Ohio, as a republican, al
though his county was strongly democratic —
this fact showing that he was not only a very
popular man but a very good politician, who
well understood the issues of his day. He died
in Champaign county, Ohio, in May, 1839,
and soon afterward his widow, with her family,
came to Allen county, where she died a year
after her arrival.
Amzaiah Davisson was educated in a select
school and was well prepared for the business
of life. April 8, 1852, he married, in Allen
county, Miss Eliza J. Nye, daughter of George
and Sarah (Pascal) Nye both natives of Penn
sylvania. Eliza J. Nye was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, May 25, 1829. Her parents,
however, were married in Berkeley county,
Va. , and the father, who was a blacksmith by
trade, later settled in Pickaway county, Ohio,
fought in the war of 18 12, and ended his days-
in Pickaway county, a member of the Lutheran
church, April 20, 1835. His widow survived
until June, 1881, and died in the Presbyterian
faith. The children of these parents were
born in the following order: Kate, Maggie,
William, Elizabeth, Hetty, James. Mary,
Phebe, Eliza J., Sallie and Bell, of whom the
only daughters still surviving are Eliza J. and
Phebe. The children born to Amaziah Davis
son and wife are named in order of birth as
follows: Monroe, a physician, of whom men-

252

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

tion is made in full further on; John, Albert,
Bell, wife of J. A. McCartney, postal clerk on
the C, H. & D. railroad line and resident of
Lima, Ohio. Amaziah Davisson was a self-
made man and was the owner of 200 acres of
fine farming land. He was free in his financial
aid to religious denominations and a friend to
•educational progression; was a master Mason
of lodge No. 105, at Lima, and was one of the
old pioneers, well known and highly respected
throughout the township. He died, much la
mented, November 24, 1895.
Monroe Davisson, M. D., son of Amaziah
Davisson, was born in Auglaize township,
Allen county, Ohio, December 12, 1855, and
was reared on the home farm. He atttended
the normal school at Ada, Ohio, several years
and later taught twelve terms. He then read
medicine with Dr. H. Thomas, at West New
ton, Ohio, and when fully prepared entered
the medical department of the university at
Ann Arbor, Mich., studied one year, then en
tered the Eclectic Medical college at Cincin
nati, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1882;
he also attended a regular course in 1891 —
being thus a graduate from diverse schools of
¦medicine. The doctor has a fine library of
medical works and also subscribes for the lead
ing medical periodicals of America and keeps
well abreast of the progress made in the
.science of medicine. For the first two years
after graduating, Dr. Davisson practiced in
Uniopolis, Auglaize county, Ohio, where he at
¦once established a solid reputation for pro
fessional skill; since leaving Uniopolis he has
been in the active practice of his profession in
his native village of West Newton — the crucial
test for all young practitioners being in their
native town — and here his reputation, like his
practice, has increased from day to day. "A
prophet is not without honor, save in his own
country", but here the doctor has, won both
honor and recompense.

The marriage of Dr. Davisson took place,
in 1884, to Miss Evanna Blank, who was born
in Union township, Auglaize county, Ohio,
January 1, 1865, a daughter of George A.
Blank, a retired farmer, now residing in
Uniopolis — a democrat in politics, and, with
his wife, a member of the Lutheran church.
The doctor is a member of the Northwest Ohio
Eclectic Medical association, standing very
high with his professional brethren; is a mem
ber of Sager lodge, No. 513, F & A. M., of
LaFayette, Ohio, and is a non-affiliating Odd
Fellow. His social standing is with the best
people of the township and county, and as a
physician he stands, as has been intimated, at
the head of his profession.

EENRY ALLEN DeLONG, an enter
prising and successful farmer of Shaw
nee township, Allen county, Ohio, is
a son of John and Esther (Mowery)
DeLong. The great-grandfather of the sub
ject of this sketch was a native of France; im
migrating to the United States in his young
days, he settled in Pennsylvania, but some
years after, while engaged in rafting lumber
on the Schuylkill river, in steering the raft in
one of its swift currents, it struck a rock, and
he was thrown in front of the former and was
drowned. He left a widow and five children
— Jacob, Andrew, George, Lyda and Henry —
to battle in this world, with the assistance of
the elder boys and friends. In a few years
after, they moved and settled near Chillicothe,
Ohio. Henry, the youngest son, was married
to Mary Mowery in the year 18 16, and became
the father of eight children, and in this mar
riage career they purchased and improved 160
acres of land. They were pious parents and
members of the German Reform church; their
children, as born and named, are John, Henry,
Jacob, and Levi, Isaac, Elizabeth (Mrs. Hin-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

253.

ton), Catherine (Mrs. Jacob Beeler) and Polly
(Mrs. Georgia Beeler). John DeLong, the
father of the subject, was born in Ross county
in 1822, and in 1849 was married to Esther
Mowery; he moved to the wilds of Allen
county and purchased and settled on eighty
acres of land in section No. 26, Shawnee town
ship, to which he added, by purchase, in sec
tions Nos. 23, 26, and 28, until he owned 579
acres; he owns, beside, seventy-eight acres in
Auglaize county. In section No. 26, Shaw
nee township, Allen county, he cleared 160
acres for a home farm, upon which he lived
until 1 89 1, when he retired to, and is now liv
ing in, Cridersville, Ohio, upon the income from
his accumulations in the years of his active
life. Politically Mr. DeLong is a democrat
and held several township offices; religiously
he is a Lutheran. His children are as fol
lows: Mary, wife of Benjamin Bowsher;
Sarah, wife of Ephraim Crider; Henry A., the
subject; Jacob C, of Auglaize county; John
F., of Shawnee township, Allen county;
Amanda, wife of John Maher; Elmer, living
on the homestead farm; Lyda A., wife of Ira
Bittler, and two who died in infancy (George
and Edward).
Henry A. DeLong was born September 14,
1856, on the home farm and was reared to a
farmer's life; his education was obtained in a
district school, and though not so complete as
he could wish, yet his natural ability and the
experience acquired by contact with the world,
together with his scholastic education, enable
him to perform all the private and public
duties that he has so far been called upon to
perform. In 1878, when twenty-two years of
age, he settled on his present farm; containing
152 acres, which he now operates; beside, he
owns desirable properties in Lima and Criders
ville, and his income is sufficient for all prac
tical purposes. Politically Mr. DeLong is a
democrat; in 1886, he was by his party friends

elected justice of the peace, and he has per
formed the duty of his office with such unusual
ability and satisfaction that he has been re
elected three times; he has also been an active-
member of the school board for a number of
years. Mr. DeLong was married April 11,
1878, to Miss Sarah E. Beeler, daughter of
Henry Beeler, and to his marriage have been
born the following children: Ollie A., Grover
E. and Floyd A. He is a member of the-
Lutheran church at Cridersville, of which he
has been trustee for many years, besides being'
an industrious and enterprising, citizen. Mr.
DeLong is of such character and disposition
that he is popular with most of the people, is-
a leading man in his calling, that of agricul
ture, and is in every way a worthy American
citizen.

*-j ¦* IRAM T. DeLONG is a member of a
j^W representative family of Allen county,
Jt r Ohio, and was born in Hocking county
Ohio, May 1, 1861. In connection
with this brief biography of Mr. DeLong it is
proper to note the fact that 'it is one of the
lamentable incidents of our present day civili
zation that so many young men desert the
farm for other avenues of industry. If the
ablest and best young men, more of them now
than now do, should remain upon the farm,
argriculture would receive a tremendous im
petus upward and would achieve a prestige
that it does not at the present time possess,
and which would be more in accord with its
ancient glory and wholly restore it to its right
ful place among the callings and professions of
men. It is therefore peculiarly pleasant to
write of a young man who apparently has de
cided to devote himself to this noblest of
industries. Hiram T. DeLong was born May 1, 1861,
and is therefore but little more than thirty

254

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

years of age. His parents were Abraham and
Sarah C. (Mowery) DeLong, the former of
whom died when the subject of this sketch
was but two years old. Abraham DeLong
was a farmer by occupation, and left a family
of eight children, three by his first marriage
and five by his second. Mrs. DeLong, the
mother of our subject, is still living, in Hock
ing county, Ohio. Mr. DeLong received his
education in the public schools, and was inured
to all kinds of farm labor in his youth. When
eighteen years of age he removed to Allen
county, and worked by the month for seven
years for his half-brother, Isaac. After leav
ing his half-brother he continued to perform
farm labor for a few years, and in 1892 began
farming on his own account. He was married
February 16, 1889, to Miss Emma T. Allen,
daughter of J. D. Allen. She was born in
German township, Allen county, and by her
he has two children: Wilber R. and Zelma F
In March, 1895, Mr. DeLong moved to his
present residence, in section No. 14, German
township, where he is farming 109 acres of
land. Politically Mr. DeLong is a prohi
bitionist, and both he and his wife are mem
bers of the United Brethren church, the radi
cal branch thereof, and they are among the
most highly respected people of the county in
which they live.

r y^V H. CRITES, of Amanda township,
I I Allen county, Ohio, was born in Ger-
/A^_J man township, on the old Crites home
stead, April 30, 1857, and is a son
of Jacob Crites, one of the pioneers and lead
ing farmers of German township. His boy
hood years were spent on the farm, where a
substantial foundation for a future career was
laid. As usual with country lads, he attended
the public schools, and in the falls of 1876 and
1877 he took courses in the Ada Normal col

lege, and in 1875 began teaching, which occu
pation he followed for four years, since which
time he has devoted himself chiefly to farm
ing. The years 1880 and 1881, however, were
spent in Winters, Yolo county, Cal., as clerk
in the Parker House, the leading hotel of the
city. In 1883 he began life in earnest for him
self in German township, but in the spring of
1887 moved to Amanda township, where, in
December, 1891, he purchased forty acres of
land, which he owned and operated for about
a year, when he exchanged it for another
tract. In November, 1893, he bought 193
acres in German township, but remained on
his former farm, having rented it, but, in Au
gust of 1894, he made an exchange of his
property in German township for a farm of
240 acres in section No. 11, Amanda town
ship, which he is now making one of the finest
and most productive stock farms in this part
of the state. Mr. Crites is a man who in his
business operations is fully abreast of the
times and occupies a back seat for no one.
Progressive, enterprising, wide awake — that he
is successful remains no mystery. Hereafter
much of his time and attention will be given
to the raising of choice breeds of cattle and
hog's, and with his intelligent and up-to-date
ideas the success of his operations is assured.
It is such men that make the world, and, as a
rule, with rightly directed impulse. Politically
he is a democrat of the old school and retains
his early faith that the old party can not be
well improved npon. He has been connected
with the board of education, being especially
qualified for such duties.
On November 15, 1882, Mr. Crites was
united in marriage to Miss Kate P. Hover,
daughter of C. H. and Martha J. (Post)
Hover. She was born in Delphos, Ohio,
April 13, 1859, and spent her early life on the
old Hover homestead, where she now lives, as
her husband owns the homestead of her

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

255

father, C. H. Hover, upon which she was
reared to womanhood and where she has spent
her entire life. Two children have come to
bless this union, viz: Harold H., who was
born August'7, 1883, and Carl C, born Janu
ary 27, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Crites are prom
inent members of the Methodist Episcopal
church and rank in wealth and socially among
the first in the county. Mr. Crites is benevo
lent to a fault, being at all times ready and
willing to encourage public enterprises, and is
liberal in behalf of all charitable bequests.

at

'ILLIAM THOMAS DOLBEY, one
of the well-known citizens and busi
ness men of Delphos, Ohio, is a
native of the Buckeye state, having
been born at Radner, Delaware county, on
the 10th day of December, 1846. He is a
son of Robert and Elizabeth (Thomas) Dolbey,
both of whom were natives of Wales. Robert
Dolbey came to the United States in 1843,
when he was twenty-four years of age, and
first located at Utica, N. Y., where he re
mained a few years, and then located at Dela
ware, Ohio. It was at Delaware, in 1845,
that he married Elizabeth Thomas, who was
born in 1829, and came with her parents to
America when she was three years of age, the
family first locating in Utica, N. Y. , and later
removing to Delaware county, Ohio. Robert
Dolbey was a weaver by trade, which trade he
followed in the old as well as in this country.
From Delaware county he removed to Alpha,
Greene county, Ohio, in 1853, and in August,
1856, he removed to Van Wert county. Upon
arriving in Van Wert county he spent the win
ter at his brother-in-law's, on Jennings Prairie,
and in the following spring purchased a farm
southwest of where the town of Venedocia
now stands, which farm was unimproved. He
at once began clearing and improving his place,

and remained on the farm, which was a small
one, until 1868, and then, selling it, purchased
a farm of 120 acres, about one and a half
miles south of Middlepoint, and on that farm
he spent the remainder of his life. His death
occurred in October, 1891, his wife having
died in 1890. Both were members of the
Welsh Presbyterian church. To the parents
eight children were born, six of whom are now
living, as follows: William T., Robert, Mar
garet J., Ann E., John and Mary, all of whom
reside in Van Wert county, except Margaret,
who is a resident of Allen county. These chil
dren, as may well be inferred, Were all reared
as strict observers of the moral teachings of
the Welsh Presbyterian church.
William T. Dolbey was reared on the
farm until he reached his seventeenth year.
While on the farm he attended^the country
schools, receiving from two to three months
schooling each winter. In the fall of 1869 he
entered the National Normal school at Leba
non, Ohio, where he spent a year, adding very
materially to his education. In August, 1863,
he left the farm, and moved to Delphos, and
entered the drug store of J. W. Hunt, with
whom he remained until that gentleman sold
out, in 1865, to Alexander Shenk and John
Walsh, and with that firm our subject remained
for about one year, or until they dissolved, at
which time Mr. Hunt purchased Mr. Shenk's
interest, the firm becoming that of Hunt &
Walsh, with which firm our subject remained
until August, 1869, when he entered school at
Lebanon, as above mentioned. Returning
from school in September, 1870, Mr. Dolbey
again took a position with Hunt & Walsh,
and continued with then until they dissolved
partnership in 1876. During a portion of the
time, from 1872 until 1876, Mr. Dolbey had
charge of the books of the Delphos foundry
and machine shops, and from 1875 to 1878 he
filled the position of secretary and treasurer of

256

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

that enterprise, he having become also a large
stockholder in the same. In 1878 he returned
to the employ of Mr. Hunt, who was then
engaged in building a railroad from Delphos to
Shanes '¦ Crossing, and with that gentleman,
in the capacity of acting express agent and
having charge of the book and news business,
he remained until September 1, 1879, at which
time the death of Mr. Hunt occurred. He
was then appointed agent of the Adams Ex
press company at Delphos, and he also pur
chased Mr. Hunt's interest in the book and
news business, and to the above he gave his
undivided time and attention until August,
1885, at which time occurred the death of his
father-in-law, P. W. Morton, of the firm of
Miller & Morton, proprietors of the Delphos
Roller mills, and our subject, being appointed
executor of his estate, took charge of the mill
business, at the same time continuing the
express agency and book and news store. In
November, 1887, Mr. Dolby purchased the
interest of William T. Morton, one of P. W.
Morton's heirs, and at that time became a
member of the milling firm, which is still con
ducted under the old firm name of Miller &
Morton, Mr. Dolbey being the general man:
ager of the business, a position he has held
since the death of Mr. Morton. Mr. Dolbey
is also a director in the Commercial bank of
Delphos, >and is a member of the Citizens
Savings & Loan association. Mr. Dolbey was
married in September, 1873, to Miss Isadore
M., daughter of the late P. W. Morton. Mrs.
Dolbey was born in Delphos, January 27,
1850. To Mr. and Mrs. Dolbey three chil
dren have been born, two of whom died in
infancy. The surviving one is John M., who
was born August 3, 1877. He is a graduate
of the Delphos public schools and is at present
clerking for his father. Mr. and Mrs. Dolbey
and son are members of the Presbyterian
church.

^/\AVID W, DITTO, a substantial
I I farmer of Marion township, Allen
/A^_J county, son of William W. and Ma-
hala (Brown) Ditto, was born in Brown
county, Ohio, November 16, 1846. Zebulon
Ditto, his great-grandfather, was of Scotch-
Irish descent, and was a farmer of North Car
olina; Richard, son of Zebulon, was born in
North Carolina September 7, 1799, came to
Brown county, Ohio, when a boy, there mar
ried Rebecca Dunham, and reared a family of
ten children; William W., son of Richard and
father of our subject, was born in Brown county,
Ohio, October 24, 1823, was reared to farming,
and married, May 14, 1843, Miss Mahala
Brown, "who was born August 12, 1822, a
daughter of William Brown, a hero of 1812.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ditto were
born four children, now living, viz: Melvina,
July 16, 1845; David W., as above; Emily,
September 18, 1856, and Samuel F., Febru
ary 16, 1658. In the spring of 1849, William
W. Ditto came with his wife and two children
to Allen county, a distance . of 140 miles, by
means of horses and wagcns, and here Mr.
Ditto entered eigthy acres M land on the west
bank of the Auglaize river, in Marion township,
and here the younger two of these children
were born. He subsequently increased the
number of his acres to 480, and was able to
give all his children a start in life. He died
on his farm May 13, 1884, a member of the
Methodist church, and his widow died De
cember 6, 1893.
David W. Ditto was reared among the pio
neers of Allen county, but favored with good
educational advantages. After passing through
the common schools of his district and the
high schools of Lima, he attended the Leba
non Normal college, and after he had there
completed his studies he taught five terms of
school in Allen county, when he returned to
the farm. September 18, 1873, he was united.

DAVID W DITTO.

MRS. FLORENCE B. DITTO.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

259

in wedlock with Miss Florence B. Harris, who
was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, January
7, 1 849, a daughter of Calvin and Edith (Dunn)
Harris. Calvin Harris was a native of Olean,
N. Y. , was born October 1, 18 10, and was of
English descent; the Dunns, of Lockland,
Ohio, were of the same extraction. Calvin
Harris was a son of Samuel and Sally (Reed)
Harris, was a carriage-maker by trade, and
married Edith Dunn, May 28, 1835. In the
fall of 1850 he came to Allen county, Ohio,
and settled on 120 acres of land in Amanda
township. To Mr. and Mrs. Harris were born
five children: Mary A., Calvin W., Florence
B., Roscoe B. and Clarence B.
After marriage Mr. Ditto settled on his
present farm, which then consisted of forty
acres, thirty of which were in the woods; but
this farm has been increased to 165 acres and
is now under a fine state of cultivation. To
Mr. and Mrs. Ditto have been born four chil
dren: Theodore Walter, Raymond Clyde,
Edith Ethel, and one that died in infancy. In
politics Mr. Ditto is a prohibitionist, and for
the past fifteen years has been a member of
the school board; for six years, also, he has
been a member of the Allen County Agricul
tural society; with his wife he is a member of
the Baptist church, and both are charter
members of Marion grange, No. 302, Patrons
of Husbandry, in which Mr. Ditto has held all
the offices, including that of the county grange.
He is also an unaffiliating member of Hope
lodge, No. 214, F. & A. M., of Delphos.
Mrs. Ditto has likewise been very active in
grange matters, has held all the offices in the
home grange, and is now lecturer; she has
been secretary of the county grange for three
years; she is deputy master for Allen county
of the state grange — the highest office in the
county. She is a lady of intelligence and re
finement and is much interested in all educa
tional movements, and her children have all
6

been instructed in the best possible manner.
For the past twenty years she has been a
church member and her interest in church
matters is not only unabated but intensified.
Mr. Ditto is an expert deer hunter, and for
the past seven years has been a member of a
party formed for deer hunting in northern
Michigan and Wisconsin, and has made a fine
record, having killed eight deer and crippled
two in eight days.

WOHN DOLT, roadmaster of the North-
A ern Ohio- R. R. , and a well-known citi-
A J zen of Van Wert county, is a native of
Ohio, having been born at Canton,
May 13, 1842. He is a son of Joseph and
Mary (Lang) Dolt, both of whom were natives
of the French provinces on the Rhine. They
were married in the old country and came to
America in 1840, and located at Canton, Ohio,
where they remained seven years, and in 1848
came to Delphos, where they remained eight
years, and then purchased 100 acres of land in
section No. 26, Washington township, Van
Wert county, and moving onto the same, re
mained there the balance of their lives. The
father died in July, 1893, aged eighty-five
years; the mother died in 1867, in her sixty-
seventh year. They were both members of
Saint John's Roman Catholic church of Del
phos. To the parents ten children were born,
four of whom are now living. Of these chil
dren our subject was the third. He was
reared principally in Delphos and the neigh
borhood, and attended the public schools, se
curing a fair English and German education.
He remained with his father until he reached
the age of twenty-two years, and then was en
gaged in handling grain in Delphos for twelve
years. He then began railroading with the
P., Ft. W. & C. R. R., purchasing ties and
timber for that road between Lima, Ohio, and

260

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Fort Wayne, Ind., for about two years, and
then went with the Toledo, St. Louis &
Kansas City R. R. as roadmaster between
Holgate and Celina and between Delphos and
Marion. He was with this road about five
years, and then became roadmaster of the
Pittsburg, Akron & Western R. R., the road
then running from Delphos to Carey. With
this road he has remained as roadmaster since
the fall of 1 88 1, and is at present roadmaster
in charge of the entire road from Delphos to
Akron. In 1890 he also began farming, pur
chasing his father-in-law's homestead of eighty
acres in section No. 26, Washington township,
Van Wert county, where he now makes his
home. Mr. Dolt was married, in 1863, to Martha
Will, daughter of Peter Will, deceased, one
of the pioneers of Van Wert county. To this
union eleven children have been born, viz:
Peter J., Robert A., John, deceased; Annie,
George, Alice, Katherine, Emmadus, Hugh,
Martha, and an unnamed infant, deceased.
Mr. Dolt and family are members of Saint
John's Roman Catholic church.

>-TJULIAN DORIOT, widely and well
A known as the proprietor of the Bluffton
A 1 Roller mills, and one of the most highly
respected citizens of Bluffton, sprang
from French parents, his father, Frederick
Doriot, having been born in Canton Doub,
August 15, 1820. Frederick Doriot was a
blacksmith by trade, as had been his fathers
before him for generations in the same canton
in which he was born. He married Clemence
Chappie, who was born December 25, 18 19,
in the same canton, and was a daughter of
Peter Chappie. Frederick Doriot emigrated
to the United States about ten years after his
marriage, or in 1854, embarking at Havre,
France, in March of that year, in a sailing

vessel, and landed in New York after, a voyage
of thirty days, which was not a very lengthy
voyage for a sailing vessel at that time. At
first he went to Buffalo, N. Y. , and engaged
in blacksmithing. Six months later he went
to Pendleton, Ohio, where he lived three
years, and moved then to a farm one mile from
Pandora, in Putnam county, where bought
160 acres of land, which was partially cleared.
The rest of this farm he cleared and lived
upon until 1884, when he moved into Pan
dora, and there died September 23, 1893, In
politics he was a republican and in religion a
Lutheran. His children are as follows: Rose
S., Emile and Julian — the later the subject of
this sketch. Mr. Doriot was a hard-working,
industrious and successful man, accumulating
a handsome property, and acquiring a reputa
tion for honorable and fair dealing throughout
the community in which he lived. Mrs. Dor
iot is still living, an aged lady, and highly re
spected for her many womanly qualities.
Julian Doriot was born on his father's farm
in Putnam county, Ohio, September 2, i860,
was well educated in his youth in the common
schools, and was married September 16, 1885,
to Lydia J. Wamsley, who was born Septem
ber 28, 1 86 1, in Putnam county, her parents
being William and Eunice (Rice) Wamsley, a
pioneer family of that county. Mr. Wams
ley was a soldier in the late Civil war and
died in the service, leaving his wife and his
daughter, Lydia, then but six months old.
Mrs. Wamsley died in 1863.
To Mr. and Mrs. Doriot there have been
born seven children, as follows: Glenn W.,
Hazel V., Carl E., Lester L., Lois L. , Will
iam F., and Corwin J. Four of the above
children died in infancy — Glenn, Hazel, Les
ter and Lois. Mr. Doriot, in 1884, bought
a mill at Pandora, removing to Bluffton,
and in 1886 removed the mill to Bluffton,
and erected here a full roller mill of the

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

261

latest pattern and ioo-barrel capacity. He
also owns an elevator in connection with his
mill, which has a capacity of 20,000 bushels.
The mill produces the finest grades of flour,
which finds a ready sale in the surrounding
country. Mr. Doriot has invested in his plant
about $20,000, and buys grain from the sur
rounding country. In politics he is a republi
can, and is a member of Bluffton lodge, No.
371, I. O. O. F., having held at the chairs,
including that of noble grand. He is a man of
excellent business ability, and of known in
tegrity of character, and sustains a high stand
ing in the business world.

^VOHN R. DRAY, one of the progressive
A farmers of Richland township, Allen
A 1 county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the
Civil war, was born in Trumbull county,
Ohio, December 30, 1835, on his father's farm,
and is of sturdy Irish stock, his paternal great
grandfather having come from the Emerald
isle to the United States many years since.
The grandfather of subject was born in the
America and was one of the earliest pioneers
of Trumbull county, Ohio.
Robert Dray, father of subject, was born
in Trumbull county, and there married Re
becca Battles, who was born June 8, 1800,
near Meadville, Crawford county, Pa. , and to
this union were born five children, viz: Sam
uel, Nancy, Beriah, John R. and Thomas.
The father, Robert Dray, brought his family
from Trumbull county to Allen county in 1848,
and here settled on a tract of eighty acres of
land, in Richland township, which is now the
home of our subject. This tract Mr. Dray re
deemed from the forest and converted into a
comfortable home and fertile farm, on which
he passed the remainder of his days, dying at
the age of seventy-two years — a democrat in

politics and a highly respected citizen. His
widow reached the extreme age of nine-four
years, two months and seventeen days, and
died a devout member of the Campbellite or
Christian church.
John R. Dray, at the early age of thirteen
years, left the parental farm to seek a fortune,
and first found employment with William Por
ter, an extensive dealer in live stock and a
farmer, with whom he remained some years,
and then sought and found other occupations
which engaged his attention until about Jan
uary, 1 861, when he came to Bluffton, and in
August of that year enlisted in company B,
Twenty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, for three
years, or during the war, the company being
in command of Capt. George B. Walker —
after its organization Mr. Dray being elected
sergeant. Mr. Dray served out his term of
enlistment faithfully, and was honorably dis
charged, twenty miles south of Atlanta, Ga.,
in September, 1864. He took an active part
in the following battles, 'in the order named:
Ivy Monntain, Ky., November 9, 1862; Bridge
port, Ala., April 15, 1862; LaVergne, Tenn.,
October 7, 1862; Nashville, Tenn., November
5, 1862, and for four weeks was detailed to
guard a private house at Murfreesboro ; Stone
River, Tenn., December 31, 1862, and Tulla-
homa, Tenn., later on the same day; Dug Gap,
Ga. , September 11, 1863; Chickamauga, Ga.,
September 19-20, 1863; Mission Ridge, Tenn.,
November 25, 1863; Buzzard's Roost, Ga.,
May 8, 1864; Resaca, Ga., May 13-16, 1864;
New Hope Church, Ga., May 28, 1864; Kene-
saw Mountain, Ga. , June 9-30, 1864; includ
ing the general assault, June 27, 1864; Vinings
Station, July 2-5, 1864; Chattahoochee River,
Ga., July 6-10, 1864; Peach Tree Creek, Ga.,
July 20, 1864; Atlanta, Ga., July 23, 1864;
Jonesboro, Ga., September 1, 1864, and in all
the other battles and skirmishes of the Atlanta
campaign. At Chickamauga part of Mr. Dray's

262

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

regiment was captured, having run out of amu-
nition, and Mr. Dray was himself struck in the
head by a spent ball, was knocked senseless,
and in consequence was confined in the hos
pital for a short time at Chattanooga, Tenn.,
after which he rejoined his regiment, and
served until honorably discharged, as men
tioned above, when he returned to Bluffton,
where he has since resided.
March 10, 1867, Mr. Dray was united in
marriage, at Bluffton, with Miss Rebecca C.
Cramer, who was born February 22, 1843, in
Hancock county, Ohio, a daughter of Henry
and Mary Cramer. Mrs. Dray was but two
weeks old when she lost her mother; when
her father died she had reached the age of
fourteen years only. Her only living relatives
then left were her brothers — Jesse, William,
Andrew and Michael — and of these her brother
Jesse was a gallant soldier of company B,
Twenty-first Ohio volunteers, and served in
all the engagements in which Mr. Dray par
ticipated. After marriage Mr. Dray was for
eight years the genial and accommodating host
of the American House at Bluffton; he then
erected a fine two-story brick residence, fol
lowed the live stock trade four years, for which
his early experience with Mr. Porter had well
qualified him, and then purchased from his
mother the old homestead, on which he has
since resided, and which he has greatly im
proved, both as to the dwelling and the culti
vation of the farm, having now an elegant
home. In politics Mr. Dray is a democrat
and for six years was township trustee. He
is a member of Robert Hamilton post, No.
262, G. A. R., in which he has filled several
of the offices; he is also a member of the
Royal Arcanum, and few men stand higher as
a citizen. He was a good, faithful, brave and
true soldier, and he has been as faithful and
true to all the duties and positions he has been
called upon to fulfill and to hold as a civilian,

and there is no man, either in the town of
Bluffton or the township of Richland more.
honored or respected than John R. Dray.

HBRAM EARLY, a prominent farmer
of Monroe township, Allen county,
Ohio, is a native of the county, and
was born December 25, 1840, the
third of the nine children born to Jacob and
Mary (Simmons) Early, natives of Shenandoah
valley, Va., where they were married in 1838,
and whence they came to Ohio and located,
first, in Bath township, Allen county, then re
moved to a point near Lima, and many years
later retired to West Cairo, where the father
now lives, having lost his wife in 1882.
Abram Early was reared on his father's-
farm, but was afforded good school advantages,
and when a young man entered a store at
Lima, Ohio, as a clerk, and held the position
until his enlistment, in 1862, in the Ninety-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was as
signed to the army of the Cumberland. He
took part in all the hard-fought battles and
weary marches of his regiment until, when
marching with Sherman to the sea, he was
captured by the enemy November 6, 1864, and
taken consecutively to Macon, to Athens, to
Augusta, to Savannah, to Thomasville, and
lastly to Andersonville, in which last-named
prisen-pen he was held until the close of the
war, when he and his fellow-prisoners were
taken to Jacksonville, Fla., and there turned
loose. Mr. Early succeeded in making his
way to Washington, D. C, where he received
an honorable discharge. He then returned to
Lima and resumed clerking, which he followed
until 1866, when he married Sarah Miller,
daughter of John B. Miller, of Virginia, who
settled in Allen county, Ohio, in 1838, and
was a large land owner, and also a prominent
member of the German Baptist church. To

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

263

the union of Abram and Sarah Early were
born seven children, viz: Mary, wife of Cario
Swick; Emily, a missionary, but now in Chi
cago; Ella, at home; Calvin, a medical student;
Mildred, a teacher; Eunice and Carl S., at
home. After his marriage Mr. Early at once set
tled on his present farm near Rockport, where
he buys, raises and feeds stock, and largely
handles and ships hogs; lately he has been
interested in an organization having in view the
'¦' development of the oil interests of the county;
the company has already sunk one well, but,
not having struck oil, is on the lookout for a
more prolific field. January 3, 1889, Mrs.
Early was called away, dying a sincere believer
in the faith of the German Baptist church. In
1 89 1 Mr. Early married Miss Susan Miller,
a daughter of Samuel R. Miller, a native
¦of Pennsylvania, but now a resident of Elk
hart county, Ind., where he settled when
a young man, and where, as a democrat, he
has served twenty years as township trustee
and six years as county sheriff. To his second
marriage there have been born no children to
Mr. Early. Mr. and Mrs. Early are members
of the German Baptist church, to the support
of which he is a liberal contributor; in politics
Mr. Early is a stanch republican, and while no
office seeker, takes an interest as a good citi
zen in the affairs of the party and the country.

?^•AMUEL EAST, of German township,
«^h|* Allen county, is a native of Pickaway
K^_J county, Ohio, and was born Decem
ber 2, 1830. He was reared on the
farm in that county, and was early initiated
into the art of clearing land and in the per
formance of all the work incident to the
preparation of a farm for successful tillage.
The old log school-house was his academy,
and in this academy he received all the in

struction necessary for a successful agricul
turist and useful citizen, He remained at
home with his father as long as that father
lived, and continued to operate the farm until
his mother died, which was in 1871, when he
purchased a portion of his present farm, the
amount then purchased consisting of 228 acres,
located in sections Nos. 22 and 15. German
township. Upon this farm he has since re
sided and has long been known and recognized
as one of the most solid and substantial men
of the county. He has always contributed his
full share toward its progress and development
and has been and is ready to aid any move
ment promising to promote its best interests.
Some time after the purchase of the original
portion of his present farm, he purchased
seventy-six acres just north of the home, in
section No. 15, immediately adjoining the 228
acres, and later 160 acres in section No. 21, of
which he sold eighty acres to his son, Monroe.
He also has sold forty acres of that lying in
section No. 1 5 to his son-in-law, Daniel Crider.
Of the 160 acres, which he owned in Jackson
township, Van Wert county, he sold eighty
acres to his son, Alfred. Besides these several
parcels of land he owns eighty acres in sec
tions Nos. 15 and 16, German township, Allen
county, and summing up the several portions,
his present possessions consist of 504 acres of
as fine farming lands as any man need wish to
own. Mr. East began life at the bottom of
the ladder, and like many other citizens of
this free land, so full of opportunities for the
industries, has, by industry, persistent determi
nation to overcome difficulties, and by honest
dealing with all those with whom he has sus
tained business relations, achieved success, and
is to-day one of the well-to-do citizens of Allen
county. In politics Mr. East is a democrat, and
while never seeking politcal preferment, he
has held the office of township trustee five

264

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

years. In religious belief he is a Baptist, and
has always lived consistently with that faith.
Mr. East was married December 29, 1854, to
Miss Elizabeth Mumaw, a native of Knox
county, Ohio, and a daughter of Frederick and
Eleanora (Logan) Mumaw. To this marriage
there have been born nine children: Marian,
deceased; Monroe M., Alfred and Albert,
twins, of whom Alfred is deceased; Melissa E.,
deceased wife of Newton Ransbottom; Mari
etta, wife of Daniel Crider of German town
ship; Duly I., wife of Titus Crites of German
township; Sarah P., wife of Harry Desinberg
of German township, and Irene B. (dead).
Monroe M. East is one of the most pros
perous young farmers of German township,
Allen county. He was born in this township
March, 13, 1858, and was reared on the old
homestead, to which he has always been much
attached. His education was received in the
public schools. Remaining at home until his
twentieth year, he then rented 160 acres of
land of his father, in section No. 16, of Ger
man township, upon which, in 1886, he erected
a frame residence, 14x28 feet in size, with an
" L" 14x14 feet, all two stories in height.
Many other improvements were made, among
them the erection of a wind-pump, for the
purpose of raising water for his stock. In
1 89 1 he purchased eighty acres of the land he
had rented of his father, continuing to rent the
remaining portion of the 160 acres. In 1886
he purchased fourteen and one-half acres in
section No. 21, which he still retains. Mr.
East follows general farming and stock raising,
as does his father also, and beside has made a
specialty of raising sheep, though of recent
years he has not found this branch of farming
as profitable as he could have wished. For
some years he gave considerable attention to
market gardening, but this branch of industry
he has of late abandoned. At present he is
engaged in baling hay, operating one baler by

gasoline power, and now also owns a steam
thresher. Politically, like his father, he is a stanch
democrat, and, as is also his wife, he is a
member of the radical branch of the United
Brethren church. Mr. East was married
November 1, 1877, to Miss Priscilla A. Crider,
daughter of Isaac and Susan (Seerfast) Crider,
and a native of Auglaize county, Ohio, born
in the town of Cridersville, March 17, 1855.
Mr. and Mrs.. East are the parents of six chil
dren: Susan E., deceased; Olive E. ; Irene
B. ; Bessie M. ; Samuel C. and Catherine G.
Mr. East is a young man of energy and in
dustry, and is unusually progressive, fully
abreast of the times; is ambitious and intelli
gent, and without doubt the future has in store
for him great prosperity and happiness.

(/A AVID EAST, of German township,
¦ I Allen county, Ohio, is a son of Isaac
/A\^J and Barbara (Burkholder) East, both
deceased. The father was born
August 7, 1 8 19, in Pickaway county, Ohio,
and when about thirteen years of age came toi
Allen county. November 28, 1839, he was
married to Miss Barbara Burkholder, who was
born in Pennsylvania, January 12, 18 19. She
was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Burk
holder, and of German origin. After the
marriage of Isaac East he settled in German
township, Allen county, Ohio, on a tract of
fifteen acres, the gift of his father. Here he
worked with his father, and aided in operating
a tread-mill, where flour and meal were ground
and lumber sawed. In 1848, being the entire
owner of the plant, and believing it behind the
times, he purchased a steam outfit and applied
it to his milling interests. He operated this
until 1855, when he erected a modern one,
with four pairs of burrs. He also added
machinery for carding wool and attached it to

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

265

the new plant. He continued in this business
until August 23, 1863, when the mill was de
stroyed by fire, whereupon he went to Lima,
purchased ground and erected a grist and
carding-mill combined, which was carried on
successfully until 1869, when this plant was
destroyed in the same manner as the first.
Isaac East then turned his attention to farming
and operating a saw-mill. His death occurred
December 9, 1894, at the residence of his son
David. A volume of no mean size might be
written with profit of this man, and the his
torian should redeem it from obscurity, which
it nowise merits.
David East, the eldest of the nine children
born to Isaac and Barbara East, was born
September 26, 1840, was reared on the farm
and assisted in the mills, getting his education
in the public schools of the county. After the
milling plant in Lima burned, in partnership
with J. W. Ross, he erected a grist-mill on the
site of the old one, and, after having operated
this mill under various names, Mr. East, in 1876,
was elected county treasurer, and had assumed
his duties as such when the mill was again
burned to the ground. In 1882 it was again
burned, making four fires which Mr. East had
to contend with, sustaining heavy losses each
time. He filled the office of county treasurer
four years. His ruling passion was milling in
its various departments, but in 1887 he made
a departure and directed his entire attention to
the dairying business, which Mrs. East had
established in 1877 with one cow, and in 1887
the herd had increased to twenty-four. They
continued in the dairy business until 1895,
when the enterprise was then disposed of.
In 1888 they moved to their present home,
a farm of 103 acres in section No. 22,
German township, where they are now en
gaged in farming. Mr. East was married, in
1863, to Miss Sarah J. Curtice, daughter of
Lewis Curtice, and was born in Fairfield

county, Ohio, January 9, 1841. Five children
were born to them: Ida F., Elmer A., Mary
E. (deceased), Lillie M. and Clara B. The
family are members of the Disciples' church,
Mr. East being a deacon in the same.
The great-grandfather of our subject was
Christopher East, who was born in Germany —
a Hessian — and came to America under the
banner of King George, of England, with a
company of 1,200 soldiers, to participate in
the war of the Revolution. He, with about
ninety others, deserted King George and joined
Washington's forces, fighting for freedom
until the close of the war, after which he set
tled in Pennsylvania, near Carlisle. He had a
family of seven children. John East, the
grandfather of our subject, was born Decem
ber 12, 1794, in Pennsylvania, where he
learned the carpenter's trade when a young
man, and came to Lancaster, Ohio, and
worked at his vocation, and when his father
came to Pickaway county, John joined him.
He married Miss Elizabeth Huffer, of Fairfield
county, who was a native of Virginia and born
in 1797. In 1832, John and his family came
to Allen county, Ohio, to a tract of land which
he had before entered, and in time erected a
tread-mill for grinding flour and meal, and a
saw-mill in which he did the sawing for the
neighborhood. His children were, Mary, Isa-
dore (deceased), Abraham, (deceased), Eliza
beth and Samuel. He was in religion a strong
old-school Baptist and a man of broad and
progressive views.

(D

V. EATON.— The history of the
Eaton family is a long and most in
teresting one, as many of them have
been distinguished in many ways.
The sketch which follows will be devoted to
the ancestry of Judge James Harvey Eaton,
and then to the life of the judge himself, who

266

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

was until quite recently a prominent figure in
the business life of Bluffton. He was a man
highly respected for his sound judgment,
keen foresight, and integrity of character. He
He was well known for his public spirit and as
a pioneer of northwestern Ohio.
Judge Eaton traced his ancestry through
many English generations to a brave soldier
who fought under King William III. _This
was John Eaton, great-great-grandfather of
Judge James H. Eaton, the principal subject
of this sketch. The battle in which John
Eaton first distinguished himself was fought on
the banks of the Boyne river, Ireland, in 1690,
July 1, near the town of Oldridge, in which
King William defeated James II. After the
subjugation of Ireland John Eaton remained
in that country, receiving, in common with
others, a large grant of land from England.
He then became a citizen of Ireland, and
there reared a large and highly respected
family of children, both sons and daughters.
One of his sons, John, the great-grand
father of the subject, lived on the old farm in
Ireland, and of him as of his father it was
said that he was a good churchman and an
honest man. John Eaton became the father
of James, Hugh, and Mary, by his first wife.
Of John is known that he was a man of iron
constitution, six feet high and of unusual
strength, as had been his father before him.
He was an extensive farmer, raised many
horses and cattle, and also owned a fulling-
mill. After the death of his first wife he mar
ried again, and his second wife died in Ireland.'
Then, in company with his brothers-in-law, a
Mr. Kerney and a Mr. Douglas, he emigrated
to America. Mr. Douglass afterward became
a member of the legislature of Pennsylvania
when it convened at Philadelphia.
Mr. Eaton settled in Pennsylvania, on a
stream called Picqua, in Chester county,
where he erected a fulling-mill and prospered.

James Eaton, his son, was born on the home
stead in Ireland. Like his father, he was a
man of large frame, but not so tall, being only
five feet ten inches in height. He was of a
,very robust constitution and lived to be eighty-
three years old, without having known sick
ness until the last. In his youth he was a
great traveler, and was seven years on board
a man a man of war, sailing up the Mediter
ranean sea in the old ship Moxus. He was in
many battles with the French on sea and
land, and on the coast of Africa was at the
capture of the Isle of Gory.
James married a Miss Croft, who was of a
good family, and bore him a son, whom they
named Edward. Soon afferward, James and
Hugh, a brother wishing the assistance of
their father, who was wealthy, went to Ireland,
finding that their step-mother was dead, and
that their father had emigrated to America.
They both then sailed for Philadelphia, and
upon reaching that port, having no money to
pay for their passage across the sea, one of
them remained on board the vessel in port at
Philadelphia, while the other found their
father and secured the necessary money from
him. James sent back to London for his wife,
to oome to this country, but, as was frequently
the case in those early times, she received no
word nor money from him. He settled at
Redstone, Fayette county, Pa., and made im
provements on a farm, returning himself to
London in a year, found his wife dead, and as
her family wished to keep his child, he gave it
to them, and returned to this country alone.
In Harford county, Md., he married Elizabeth
Downing and, moved west of the Alleghany
mountains, settled on land where now stands
the town of Cannonsburg, Pa. James Eaton
and his wife later moved to Maryland, located
at Green Spring Furnace, his wife's father
having settled there previously, and they lived
there for many years. In the fall of 1788 he

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

267

moved to the headwaters of Pike Run, Wash
ington county, Pa., where he opened up alarge
farm and became a substantial citizen.
James Eaton and his wife were the parents
¦of the following children: John, Plugh, Nancy,
William, James, on one that died in infancy,
Elizabeth, Sarah and Rebecca. The last three
were born in Washington county, Pa., the
others in Maryland. In 1813 Mr. Eaton sent
his wife with her two son-in-law to Columbiana
county, Ohio, remaining for a time on the farm
in Pennsylvania, intending to join them the fol
lowing spring, but he was attacked by typhoid
fever and died on the day set for starting out
on the journey.
John Eaton, father of Judge James H.
Eaton, was born in Washington county, Md.,
in 1788, and at the age of ten years was taken
to Washington county, Pa., by his father. He
was reared a farmer, and at twenty years of
age married Katharine Marker of Beaver county,
Pa., but whose father came to Ohio about
1808, served in the war of 18 12, lived near
New Lisbon until 1828, and then moved to
Bucyrus, where he died about 1849. His chil
dren were James H., Thomas, Reason, Nancy,
Sallie and Horace F., M. D.
Judge James Harvey Eaton was born near
New Lisbon, Columbiana county, Ohio, De
cember 9, 1813, and is a son of John and
Catherine (Marker) Eaton. With his parents
he removed to Crawford county in 1829, hav
ing by that time received as good an education
as the times afforded. Residing with his par
ents until 1839, he then married Parmelia A.
Fields, and settled in the woods of Van Wert
county, but there the deadly malaria so injured
the health of his wife that he felt it his duty to
return to Crawford county, where she died,
leaving one child, Rebecca, who became Mrs.
Thomas Rogers. Young Eaton was much in
terested in the study of law, and at Findlay,
Ohio, completed his studies and was admitted

to the bar. There he married Sarah McWill-
iams, who was of Scotch ancestry, and in
June, 1846, returned to Crawford county, and
under the present constitution of the state,
which was adopted in 1851, was elected the
first probate judge of Crawford county. With
his clear and full knowledge of law he became
an exceedingly valuable official, soon winning
renown as Judge Eaton.
When the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chi
cago railroad was being constructed he took a
leading part in securing the right of way, and
gained an insight into railroad building which
was of great value to him afterward, in Bluff
ton, in securing the location of the Lake Erie
& Western and the P., A. & W. railroad
through that place. Five sons and two
daughters blessed the marriage of Judge and
Mrs. Eaton, those living being as follows:
William W., Frank A., Thomas J. and Harvey
K. The mother of these children, his second
wife, died on the home farm in October, 1865,
and for his third wife he married Martha A.
Morris, nee Mungen, in Findlay, Ohio. Six
months after this marriage he sold his farm in
Crawford county and moved to Bluffton, pur
chasing the farm of 343 acres, on which a
large part of the town is now located, of Dr.
Godfrey, at a cost of $16,000. Here were
added to his family two sons and one daughter,
those living being Melvin V. and Mattie.
Judge Eaton was a man of great energy and
industry, thoroughly renovated things on his
new farm, and made many improvements.
When the project of extending the L. E. &
W. railroad from Findlay to Lima was agi
tated he at once saw the advantages to Bluff
ton and he took hold of it with resistless en
ergy and put into it more money, probably,
than any other man, and lived to see his fond
est dreams realized. It was largely through
his efforts that the township was bonded to
aid in building the road, and was a great pleas-

268

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ure to him to see the last bond paid. In se
curing the P., A. & W., he was a no less
factor, and he made it his business to hope
and work when others gave up in despair.
During the third of a century which he passed
as a resident of Bluffton he was always a con
spicuous figure in the community. His death
occurred on Saturday, July 28, 1894, and no
man was ever more missed in any community
than he in Bluffton.

HLEXANDER BROTHERS. —Frank
U. Alexander, of Allen county, Ohio,
was born in Delphos, November 27,
1858, a son of James and Rachael
(Tong) Alexander, also natives of the Buckeye
state. Frank U. was educated in the schools
of Delphos, and entered upon his business
career, in conjunction with his father and a
brother, in the buying and shipping of butter,
eggs, etc., which business employed his time
and attention until 1880, when he was given
the position of inspector of the division of the
Erie & Miami canal between Delphos and
Spencerville. In 1883 he relinquished this
situation and united with his brother, William
J. Alexander, in establishing their present
popular livery enterprise in Delphos, in which
an abundant success has been met.
The marriage of Frank U. Alexander took
place, at Delphos, to Miss Eva Lindsey,
daughter of Rev. Mr. Lindsey, and this union
has been blessed by the birth of five children,
named in order of birth, as follows: Laurance,
Claude, Jennie, Mattie and Charlie. In re
ligion the family affiliate with the Methodist
Episcopal church, and fraternally Mr. Alex
ander is an Odd Fellow and a member of the
Royal Arcanum. In politics he is a stanch
republican, the owner of valuable city prop
erty and a splendid livery establishment, and

being of a most pleasant disposition, he stands
very high in his social relations.
William J. Alexander, partner in the livery
business at Delphos, Ohio, with his elder
brother, Frank U., was born October 10,
1862, in the city where he still retains his resi
dence and in the schools of which he received
his education. At the early age of twelve
years he began his business life, having been
given one-third interest in the poultry and
produce business with his father and brother,
and in this he continued until twenty years of
age, when he accepted a position on the Miami &
Erie canal, as inspector from Delphos to the
junction with the Wabash canal, a distance of
twenty-four miles, which position he satis
factorily filled until 1884. In 1885, however,
in company with his brother, Frank U., he
engaged in the present popular and profitable
livery business.
February 26, 1885, Mr. Alexander married
Miss Mattie Hipp, who was born at Saint
Mary's, Ohio, December 5, 1864, a daughter
of George Hipp, a merchant of the place, but
now deceased. The family are Methodists in
their church, membership, and his politics Mr.
Alexander is a republican. Fraternally he is
a Knight of Pythias, and as a business man he
leads in his calling, having a fine stud of
twenty horses and a stock of buggies, cabs,
carriages and all equipages necessary for the
satisfactory accommodation of the public.

eLIJAH EDMAN, retired farmer of
Allen county, Ohio, is a son of Paul
and Hannah (Harris) Edman. Paul
Edman was a son of Samuel Edman,
who was born near Paterson, N. J., about the
year 1760. Samuel was one of the Revolu
tionary fathers, having been a soldier under
Washington. After the close of that war Mr.
Edman engaged for some time in rafting tim-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

269

ber down the Delaware river, and some time
later he purchased a farm in Powhatan county,
Va., ujion which he lived for several years, or
until 1 8 14, in which year he purchased 206
acres in Burlington township, Licking county,
Ohio. Upon this farm he died at the great
age of eighty-seven years. When he went to
Virginia he was without a dollar in the world,
and he chopped 300 cords of wood to obtain
the means with which to pay for his farm in
that state. His first wife was Miss Dolly Paul,
who died some time in the thirties. By her
he had the following children, viz: Thomas,
and Peter, both of whom died in Virginia;
Samuel, who died in Licking county, Ohio;
William, who served with Gen. Hull in the
war of 1812, and was with him at the time of
his surrender at Detroit, and died in Licking
county, Ohi6; John, who also died in Licking
county; Paul, who died in Allen county; Cath
erine, who married John McKinley, and died
in Licking county, and Mary, who married
James Hardin, and died in Jackson county.
Mr. Edman married, for his second wife, Miss
Sarah Chilcoat, by whom he had no children.
Paul Edman, the father of Elijah, was
born June 26, 1794, in Staunton, Va., in which
state he learned the trade of shoemaker. At
the age of twenty-one he removed to Licking
county, Ohio, where he worked at his trade for
a year or two, and then purchased 106 acres
of land in Burlington township, that county.
This land he improved and lived upon it until
1 85 1, when he removed to Shawnee township,
Allen county, where he purchased 1 y6 acres in
section No. 19. This was for the most part
timbered land, which he cleared off, burning
much of it in order to get it out of the way, as
was customary and indeed necessary in the
the olden time. The remainder of his life was
spent on this farm, and he died March 20,
1873. In religious faith he was a Methodist,
and was one of the original members of the

Shawnee Methodist Episcopal church. Polit
ically in early life he was a democrat, but later
he became a supporter of the republican party,
and he was one of the early trustees of Shaw
nee township. His wife, Hannah Harris, was
a daughter of William Harris, of Virginia.
She died February 20, 1875, and both she and
her husband lie at rest in the Shawnee
Methodist Episcopal burying ground. They
were the parents of six children, as follows:
Thomas, of Calhoun county, Iowa; William
H., of Hutchison, Kans. ; Rebecca, wife of
Samuel Dixson; Elijah, of Lima; Juliana, de
ceased; and Oliver P., of Michigan.
Elijah Edman was born November 7, 1826,
in Licking county, Ohio, and was reared on
the old homestead farm. After being educated
in the district school, and attaining to man
hood's estate, he located on a farm, upon
which he remained until 1852, when he re
moved to Allen county, where he united with
his father and assisted him in clearing up and
improving his Shawnee township farm. In
fact all the improvements on that farm were
made by Elijah Edman. After his father's
death, he purchased the farm, and has added
thereto, until now it contains 276 acres. In
1889 Mr. Edman retired from active life, and
located in Lima, permitting his sons, Wilson
and Charles, to live on and operate the farm.
In May, 1863, Mr. Edman enlisted in com
pany C, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio
volunteer infantry, and served therein 100 days.
In 1864 he joined company C, One Hundred
and Ninty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, and
served with this regiment until the close of the
war. He is now a member of Mart. Arm
strong post, No. 202, G. A. R. In politics
Mr. Edman is a republican, and, though never
a seeker after office, has held the offices of
township trustee and school director, beside
several minor offices of trust.
Mr. Edman was married November 28,

270

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

1852, to Martha J., daughter of John Wag
ner, who settled in Licking county, Ohio, re
moving there from Lancaster county, Pa,, and
laying out the town of Chatham. Mr. Edman
and Martha J., his wife, became the parents
of nine children, as follows. Wilson, who
married Miranda Blackburn, and now lives
upon the old homestead; Marion, who married
Miss Mary J. Bowser, and lives in Auglaize
county; Charles, who married Miss Josie
McCoy; Amos, who married Miss Ordella
Arther, and resides in Lima; Alzeda, deceased;
Eva J., wife of Lewis Neff, of Lima; Martin
F., of Lima, Grant and Ida. All of these
children, inheriting the good health and phys
ical strength of their parents, are now living
but one, as will be seen by the above record.

>-j*OHN ENSLEN, one of the oldest set-
A tiers of Sugar Creek township, Allen
A 1 county, Ohio, and a prominent farmer,
descends from an old American colo
nial family of sturdy German origin, and more
proximately from the state of Pennsylvania.
Abraham Enslen, grandfather of our sub
ject, came from Germany to America on a
sailing vessel, which was sixteen weeks on the
ocean. He finally settled in Luzerne county,
in the Keystone state, and cleared up a farm
from the wilderness, became a substantial hus
bandman, lived to a good old age, and left
four children — Jacob, Conrad, John and Henry.
John Enslen, son of Abraham and father of
ous subject, was born in Luzerne county, Pa.,
February 3, 1780, was there reared to farming
and married Catherine Transil, the union re
sulting in the birth of eleven children, of whom
two died in infancy. Mr. Enslen served in the
war of 1812, and about 18 13 came to Ohio
and was one of the very early pioneers of
Franklin county, where he cleared up a. farm
of forty acres, on which he resided until 1831,

when he came to what is now Sugar Creek
township, Allen county, and here cleared up
from the woods the farm on which his son
John, our subject, now resides — there being at
the time of his coming but two other settlers
in the township, a Mr. Jacobs and William
Clevenger, and the township being then a part
of Putnam county. He at first entered eighty
acres, but, being a man of great nerve, in
dustry and thrift, he increased his possessions
until he became owner of 240 acres in Putnam
county — Allen not being then organized — and
was the first man to pay taxes in Kalida. Mr.
Enslen was one of the organizers of Allen
county, took part in the erection of Sugar
Creek township, and was otherwise active and
prominent in the early public affairs of his
chosen place of residence, holding the position
of an early township trustee and therefore be
ing a factor in its elementary position as a con
stituent portion of the county. In religion he
was an old-school Presbyterian, and also one
of the founders of the old-school Baptist church
of his township, but prior to the organization
of these societies and the erection of their
church edifices, religious exercises of both con
gregations were held at his own residence. He
was an ardent friend of education and among
the first to found subscription schools and to
aid in the bringing about the present system
of common schools. The first school-house
was where John E. Jones's brick blacksmith
shop now stands, one mile east of Gomer, and
was a round log structure, with split logs for
seats, greased paper for window-panes, a fire
place as wide as a barn door, and otherwise
primitively furnished. The tuition term
lasted for three months in the winter, with
Elijah Lippencott as the first tutor, in 1839,
and this school even Mr. Enslen attended,
going and coming a mile and a half through
the woods and swamps. The children of John
and Catherine Enslen were born in the follow-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

271

ing order: Abraham, Frederick, Mary, Betsey,
Hiram, Sarah A., Catherine, Louis, Margaret,
John and Lydia. The father of this family
lived until he reached the age of seventy-six
years and died in 1856, one of the most re
spected pioneers of Allen county.
Of the above enumerated children John
Enslen, the subject proper of this biography,
was born in Franklin county, Ohio, February
3, 1 83 1, and was an infant when brought to
Allen county by his parents, the journey being
made in a wagon through the woods and
through which the father had to cut the
greater part of the way. Here Mr. Enslen
grew to manhood on the frontier farm of his
father, which he assisted in a great measure to
clear from the forest, and here was educated
in one of the old fashioned log houses of that
early day. At the age of twenty-three years
he married, in Delphos, March 30, 1854, Miss
Mary M. Shutt, who was born in Medina
county, Ohio, in 1832, a daughter of Henry
Shutt, who was a weaver by trade and came
from Pennsylvania to Delphos, Ohio, about
1852. Mr. Shutt was a member of the Ger
man Reform church and died near Delphos,
an aged man and the father of five children —
John Jacob, Daniel, Sarah, Mary M. and
Elizabeth. After his marriage, Mr. Enslen settled on
the old homestead, where he has since made
his home and on which he has made extensive
improvements and placed under a high state
of cultivation. On the death of his father he
was appointed executor of the estate and sub
sequently bought the rights of the other heirs,
and now owns a splendid farm of 160 acres,
on which, in 1852, he built a modern resi
dence and all necessary farm structures. To
his marriage with Mary M. Shutt the following
children have been born: Edgar W., John H.,
Columbus E., Francis M., William M., Rosa
B., George S. and Carrie D.

In politics Mr. Enslen has been a life-long
democrat, and has filled the office of county
infirmary director; for four consecutive years
he served as township trustee, and also as
trustee a single term, and has been a member
of the school board a number of years, being
especially interested in educational progress.
He has also been much interested in the roads
of the township and has always been an
ardent friend of good and solid pikes, and was
one of the first to advocate their construction
throughout the township. In religion Mr.
Enslen has for many years been a faithful ad
herent of the Methodist Episcopal church, in
which he has for a long time officiated 'as class
leader and steward, and in the support of
which he has always assisted liberally from his
means in the erection of church edifices and
otherwise. The death of Mrs. Mary M.
(Shutt) Enslen took place February 12, 1895.
She was a woman of many christian virtues
and died in the full profession of the faith of
the Methodist church, of which she had, since
almost childhood, been a devoted member,
and in the faith of which she had reared her
children to worthy manhood and womanhood.
Mr. Enslen still resides on the old homestead,
an honored citizen and respected for his public
spirit and the great service he has rendered
his fellow-citizens in redeeming the county
from its original wild and almost uninhabitable
condition and in making it the center of a
prosperous and civilized community, such as
it is found to-day.

>-j*OHN H. ENSLEN, the leading mer-
A chant of Elida, Allen county, Ohio,
A 1 who forms the subject of this biography,
has been engaged in business for the
past twelve years. His first entrance into the
mercantile field was in company with G. R.
Leist, who was one of the old and reliable mer-

272

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

chants of this place; he however had a number
of years of experience as a clerk and was not a
novice in the trade. When he entered part
nership with Mr. Leist, his capital consisted of
a few hundred dollars, but a fortune of pluck
and courage. That he succeeded even beyond
his most sanguine ambition is evidenced by a
look at his handsome store, with its well-filled
shelves, of which he is now sole proprietor.
At present he carries about $8, ooo in stock,
and a sewing needle or a harvest-binder can be
obtained here without advance notice. The
genial proprietor is enterprising and successful,
and is one of the most popular men of the town,
and altogether the one necessary man. In
1892 he erected his handsome brick block —
20x80 of brick — the upper story being a hall.
Mr. Enslen is a native of Allen county, Sugar
Creek township, and was born March 20, 1859.
He was reared on a farm and educated in the
district schools, and at twenty years of age be
gan clerking in a dry-goods store. On Decem
ber 6, 1883, he was married to Miss Ella
Laumiller, daughter of Andrew and Catherine
Laumiller, of Marion township, both pioneers
of the county. Two children have born to
Mr. Enslen and wife — Orlo C. and Critoria.
Mrs. Enslen is a member of the Uuited Breth
ren church, in which she is an active and ener
getic worker. Our subject is an Odd Fellow
in his fraternal affiliations and an enthusiastic
member of the order.
Mr. Enslen was the second son and third-
born child in a family of nine children which
blessed the union of John and Mary M. (Shutt)
Enslen, who were both natives of the Buck
eye state, each of them coming to Allen
county in childhood with their parents 'and
here reared among the pioneer scenes of the
northwest. It is evident that the parents of
Mr. Enslen were early taught the valuable
lessons of industry and economy, which they
have practiced through life and which have

caused them to be numbered among the rep
resentative citizens of Allen county. The
father, John Enslen, has been identified
throughout his life with agricultural interests,
he being one of the progressive and practical
men of his day as well as liberal in all public
enterprises and encouraging every movement
that had the welfare of the community in
sight. He was married on the 30th of March,
1854, to Miss Shutt, who was born in Medina
county, Ohio, June 9, 1833, and in early
childhood came to Allen county, where she
was educated, and from 1849 up to the time
of her marriage, in 1854, she was one of the
prominent school-teachers of her county. As
previously stated, there were born nine chil
dren unto this marriage, named as follows: an
infant deceased, unnamed; Edgar W., a
farmer; John H., the subject of this sketch;
Columbus E, and Francis M., (twins), both
now employed as firemen on the P. , F. W. &
C. R. R. ; William M., practicing physician of
Fort Wayne, Ind. ; Rosa B., at home; George
S., who was of late in the employ of his older
brother, John H., the merchant, and was lo
cated at Allentown, and Carrie D., at home.
John Enslen, the husband and father, is one
of the representative men of Sugar Creek
township, where he has resided since 1831,
having been born in Franklin county, Ohio,
on January 3, of the same year; he was the
son of John Enslen, Sr. , who was a native of
Pennsylvania and one of the early pioneers of
Franklin county. Mrs. Enslen, after rearing
her children to manhood and womanhood,
was called to her long home on the 12th of
February, 1895, she having been a true and
faithful companion, a fond wife, and loving
mother, and a lady of many good traits of
character which endeared her to all those she
came in contact with, and at her death she
left a husband and eight children to mourn
her loss.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

273

at

'ILLIAM H. EULLER, an honored
citizen of Bluffton, Ohio, and an
ex-soldier of the Civil • war, sprang
from the best of German ancestry,
his parents having been Adam and Phoebe
(Weeks) Euller. Adam Euller, the father of
the subject, was born January 31, 1808, in
Germany, at " Bingen on the Rhine ," a town
in the grand-duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger
many, where he was a miller by trade. For
generations before the family had followed the
same occupation. Mr. Euller came to the
United States when he was twenty-eight years
of age, in 1837, settling in Bordentown, N. J.,
where he married. He united with the Had-
donfield (N. J.) Baptist church in 1838, having
an interpreter to assist him in giving in his ex
perience. He and his wife became the par
ents of the following children: Margaret,
Elizabeth, Mary, William H., George and
John. Mr. Euller finally settled in Ashland,
Ohio, where he ran a mill for some years, and
died there at the age of seventy-three years,
in 1882. In politics he was a republican, and
he had two sons in the late Civil war, William
H. and George W., the latter of whom en
listed when but fourteen years of age. He
served in an Ohio infantry regiment, first en
listing for nine months, and then for three
years, in which he served two years, the war
closing at this time. He was in many battles
and skirmishes, among them the series of bat
tles in the Wilderness in Virginia.
Adam Euller and Phoebe A. Meeks were
married October 10, 1839, in Colestown, N.
J., by the Rev. John Sisty. Phoebe A. Euller,
mother of the subject of this sketch, was born
October 12, 1 821, in Colestown, N. J. Her
mother, Margaret D. Meeks, came from Ger
many. When she and her husband came to
this country they took passage on a sailing
vessel, there being only sailing crafts in those
days; it took three months to make the pas

sage. On boarding the vessel they paid the
captain their passage money and it took about
all they had.-, On arrival at New York, the
captain, being dishonest, sold them into three
years' service to pay fare the second time.
William H. Euller, the subject of this
sketch, was born October 6, 1840, at
Manayunk, Pa. His education was received
in the common schools, and in his youth
learned the milling business. He enlisted at
Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, in March,
1865, in company B, Sixtieth Ohio volunteer
infantry, under Capt. Robert Eddy, for three
years or during the war, and was honorably
discharged at Washington, D. C, in July,
1865, the war having then closed. The duties
he was called upon to perform were not very
laborious or dangerous, being those of a guard
in Washington, D. C.
Returning from the war he was married at
Perrysville, Ashland county, Ohio, August 10,
1873, to Sarah A. O'Harrow, who was born
at Perrysville, March 8, 1852, and is a daugh
ter of Henry and Rachel (Johnson) O'Harrow.
Mr. O'Harrow was a pioneer of Ashland
county, Ohio, a member of the old pioneer
society of that county, and a highly respected
citizen, and Mrs. O'Harrow died at the early
age of twenty-eight years, when her daughter,
Sarah A. (Mrs. Euller), was a mere babe.
To Mr. and Mrs. Euller there have been
born four children, as follows: Montford R. ;
Louie, Josie and Holland O. After his mar
ried Mr. Euller located at Middlepoint, Ohio,
where he was stationary engineer for three
years. Afterward he moved to Ashland
county, where he had charge of a flouring-mill
at Rochester, remaining there five years.
Afterward he went to Pandora, Putnam
county, where he ran a flouring-mill two years,
and finally removed to Bluffton, in the fall of
1886, and took charge of the Bluffton roller
mills. He is a member of Robert Hamilton

274

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

post, No. 262. G. A. R. ; in politics is a repub
lican, as such served two terms as a member
of the town council, and a member of the
Presbyterian church, of which he is a trustee.
He is a member of the Bluffton lodge, No. 466,
K. of P., and has filled all the chairs, including
that of past chancellor. He is also a member
of Bluffton lodge, No. 371, I. O. O. F., and
in all is a highly respected citizen and as a
man. During all his life he has been engaged
in the milling business, and is an expert in all
that pertains thereto. He makes a special
brand of fine flour, called " Euller 's Best, "
which is of excellent and uniform quality and
gives the best satisfaction to the patrons of
the mill. Generally speaking, Mr. Euller is
highly regarded by all his fellow-citizens for
his high character and sterling worth.

©EORGE S. ENSLEN, a prominent
and successful young man, was born
in Sugar Creek township, Allen county,
Ohio, July 30, 1868. He is a son of
John and Mary M. Enslen, and was reared by
his parents on the farm, to all kinds of farm
work. His education was received in the
common schools of his county, and so well did
he improve the opportunities afforded him that
he is well prepared and qualified to meet all
the practical duties of life. So well satisfied
was he with his home and with farm life that
it was not until 1893 that he determined upon
an independent course of life for himself, and
in September of that year he went to Allen-
town, where, in partnership with his brother,
J. H. Enslen, he established himself in busi
ness, they together opening a general store,
the only one in Allentown, in which they kept
a complete stock of everything in the line of
merchandise, dry goods, groceries, hardware,
etc., that one would naturally expect to find
in such a store. They were in business more

than two years, but in June, 1895, the busi
ness was disposed of to C. Nelson, and Mr.
Enslen became connected with the Union
Clothing house, of Lima.
Politically George S. Enslen is a strong
democrat, and is one of the leading men in his
party, as well as one of the most popular, and
in 1 894 he was appointed postmaster of Allen
town. Mr. Enslen was married October 25,
1893, to Miss Lydia Sereff, daughter of Will
iam and Sarah Sereff. She was born in Ger
man township. To this marriage of the sub
ject there has been born one child — Erwin.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Enslen are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and are highly
esteemed members of general society. Mr.
Enslen is a class leader in his church, and
takes great interest in the work of the Sun
day-school. Thus it will be seen that for a man yet on
the sunny side of the prime of life, Mr. Enslen
has made a most creditable record, and cer
tainly has in store for him greater successes
than any he has yet achieved. The young
men of the county have thus before them an
example worthy of all. emulation, and it is
doubtless true that many are already profiting
thereby, either in their outward lives or in their
private plans; for an example is often a more
powerful teacher than any precept or collec
tion of precepts that can be publicly or pri
vately taught or presented.

a A. EVANS, M. D., deceased, was for
over a quarter of a century a resident
of Delphos, and during all that time
was closely identified with the city as
a citizen, a physician and public man, doing
as much in his way as any other one man to
materially improve and build up the town and
to foster and build up the enterprises and in
stitutions of the community. Dr. Evans came

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

275

from a family which has furnished a number
of eminent and successful physicians to the
west, among whom he was not the least in
professional ability and success. On the pa
ternal side the family date their coming to
America in about 1775, and their coming to
Ohio from Kentucky in 1802. On the mater
nal side, the Duckwells came from the Rhine
provinces early in the eighteenth century, and
were interested with the Methodist mission
work here. Dr. Evans was a native of Ohio,
having been born at Hillsboro, this state, July
29, 1828, and at the age of nineteen years he
began the study of medicine. At twenty-two
years he was graduated from the Ohio Medical
college, at Cincinnati, in the class of 1849-50,
and in June of the latter year came to Delphos,
then a small town, and entered into the prac
tice of medicine. He soon took high rank in
the profession, and was successfully identified
with the practice until his death. On the
fourth day of April, 1855, in Columbia City,
Ind., he was married to Miss A. C. Enslen, a
most estimable lady, who survives him.
Dr. Evans was a most prominent and use
ful citizen, was full of energy and enterprise,
possessed a broad and liberal mind, and was
unusually public spirited. Few enterprises
were inaugurated in Delphos during his life
but had him in some way as a supporter, and
' few, if any, were the public movements that
he was not identified with. His public -spirited-
ness caused him to lose sight of personal
pecuniary gains when the good of the commu
nity and the development and growth of the
city were concerned. A few of the important
enterprises with which he was connected may
be mentioned briefly. Upon the organization
of the T., C. & St. L. railway, Dr. Evans took
up work. with that corporation, and was iden
tified with the same until it ceased to be a
Delphos enterprise. He organized the Delphos
& Kokomo railway, of which he served as

president until 1878. In 1879 he organized a
railway to Kokomo, Ind. (D.,B. &. F. R. R.),
and was its president. In 1880 he organized
the Cleveland, Delphos & St. Louis R. R., and
was president of the same until 1881. He was
also interested in an official way with other
enterprises of a local character, and a stock
holder in many; during the last few years of
his life, however, he devoted most of his time
to the practice of medicine.
From 1862 to 1865 Dr. Evans served as
mayor of Delphos, and he also served as a
member of the city council several terms. Dr.
Evans was a liberal supporter of the Presby
terian church, of which his widow has long
been a devout member. He was a member of
Hope lodge, No. 214, F. & A. M., which fra
ternity, at his death, which occurred on Feb
ruary 16, 1889, passed commemorative reso
lutions in his memory. Dr. Evans was a most
genial and kind-hearted man. He was a warm
and steadfast friend through prosperity and
adversity alike. He was charitable and benev
olent, and was never appealed to in vain by
the needy or those in distress.

HOMAS F. EVANS, as the' name in
dicates, is of Welsh descent, is one of
the substantial farmers of Sugar Creek
township, Allen county, Ohio, and is
a son of John Evans, one of the old pioneers.
Timothy Evans, the grandfather of the
subject, was a farmer by occupation. He
married Ann Owens, by whom he became the
father of the following children: John, Benja
min, David, Evan, Daniel, Elizabeth and
Mary. Mr. Evans was well educated, and had
a life-lease of a large farm, long leases being
much more common in the "old country"
than in the United States. He was a member
of the Welsh Congregational church, and a
deacon in same for many years, and a man of

276

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

honorable character, and died in Wales when
about seventy years of age, his wife dying when
she was eighty.
John Evans, eldest son of Timothy, and
the father of the subject, was born in southern
Wales, June 10, 1810, was well educated
there, and became a farmer. He married,
about 1833, Miss Mary Bynnon, who was born
in 1812, also in southern Wales, a daughter
of Evan and Margaret Bynnon. Evan Bynnon
was a shoemaker by trade, and was also a
miller, lived all his life in Wales, was a devout
member of the Welsh Congregational church,
and he and his wife were the parents of five
children, viz: Mary, Hattie, Elizabeth, Sarah
and Margaret. He died in Wales at the age
of seventy years.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Evans
settled on a farm in Wales, upon which they
lived about eleven years, and while living in
their native country four children were born to
them, viz: Ann, Rachel, Evan and Elizabeth.
In 1843 they came to the United States, sail
ing from Liverpool on the sailing vessel, Stephen
Whitney, and being seven weeks on the ocean.
Landing at New York, they came part of the
way by canal, and part of the way by wagon,
passing through Defiance and Kalida, arriving
in Sugar Creek township, Allen county, Ohio,
in August, 1843, just at the time when corn
was in condition for roasting ears, something
that was then entirely new to them. They
settled on eighty acres of land, in the woods,
on which land a log house had already been
erected, and this house the family still occupy.
The land Mr. Evans bought of Mr. Samuel
Breese, and there was about one acre cleared
at the time of purchase. The price paid for
the eighty acres was $305, that being every
dollar Mr. Evans had. Having purchased a
farm, he then worked among the pioneers, and
in this way made a living for a while, the
the pioneers themselves turning in and assist

ing him with a portion of his work. The
pioneer in every land is noted for his hospi
tality and helpfulness, and those of Allen
county were no exception to the rule. Giant
trees were standing thick upon the land, and
there were many fallen trees all around. Roads
were not yet laid out, and Mr. Evans had to
go through the woods to mill at Saint Mary's
and Sidney, many miles away. By industry
and continuous hard work he in time cleared
his farm of surplus timber, and made a good
home for himself.
Mr. Evans and his wife were the parents
of the following children: Mary, Sarah and
Thomas L., that were born in America and
lived to mature years. Mr. Evans assisted in
building the Welsh Congregational church at
Gomer, and for many years taught a Bible
class in the Sunday-school. Having a good
voice, he also was one of the principal singers,
and thus in many ways was of great use to his
congregation. He was a great reader and
student of the Bible, and could quote passage
after passage in illustration of his views. He
was also a great reader of secular books, and
was well informed on most important sub
jects. In .politics he was in his younger days
an old-line whig, but later he became a re
publican, and acted with that party the rest of
his life. His death occurred March 19, 1895,
when he was eighty-five years of age. Through
out his entire life he was a hard-working, in
dustrious man, and was highly respected by all
who knew him as a man of sterling character
and of true work. His wife died in 1890, at
the age of seventy-seven.
Thomas F. Evans, the subject of this
sketch, was born June 27, 1854, on the old
homestead farm, where he now lives. But
little education fell to his lot, but he found
plenty of hard work on the farm and in the
woods, the nature of which need not here be
stated. He has always remained on the home

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

277

farm. He is a thoroughly practical farmer,
industrious and honest, and is buying out the
heirs of the estate. He is a member of the
Welsh Congregational church at Gomer, and
in politics is a republican, standing well with
his party. Ann, his sister, was born in Wales,
in September, 1834 and was about ten years
old when she came to the United States. She
can well remember the entire journey, and the
forest home as it was when they arrived, and
to her this sketch is largely indebted for the
facts that it contains. She married Nathaniel
Glass, and to them were born eight children.
Mr. Glass died February 12, 1891, and Mrs.
Glass lives on the old homestead with her
brother. When John Evans first came to this country,
he lived six weeks with his uncle, David Evans,
in Sugar Creek township in a temporary log
hut. Corn bread 'baked on a board before a
fire built of logs was their principal article of
food. No money was in circulation at that
time, nor were there any markets near. Prices
ranged about as follows: Butter was 4 cents
per pound; wheat, 40 cents per bushel; corn,
12 cents per bushel; cows, $8 per head; horses;
$40 per head, and wages, for a laboring man,
25 cents per day, except that, in harvest time,
they were 50 cents per day. Many changes
have taken place since then, the tendency of
the effect of civilization on wages being to ele
vate them in proportion to other commodities.

at

'ILLIAM T. EXLINE, one of the
prominent citizens of Delphos, and
ex-auditor of Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a native of Tuscarawas
county, born September 22, 1837. His father
was Valentine Exline, who was a native of
Bedford county, Pa., born April 4, 1809, the
son of Bernard Exline, a Virginian by birth.
The Exline family was originally from Switzer

land, and came to America before the Revolu
tionary war, settling in the Shenandoah valley,
in Virginia. Adam Exline, the great-grand
father of our subject, had four sons. He
went into Bedford county, Pa., and bought
each of his sons a farm and they all settled in
the Keystone state. A brother of his, John
Exline, remained in Virginia, and his descend
ants, as they became American, Anglicised
their name to that of Axline. In 1825 Bern
ard Exline sold his farm in Pennsylvania and
moved to Ohio, settling in Muskingum county,
on Muskingum river, the land he purchased
including the present site of Conesville, and
here death occurred a short time afterward.
A short time following the death of Bernard
Exline his son Valentine was apprenticed by
his brother and guardian to learn the cabinet
maker's and wheelwright trade at Carlisle,
Ohio. While there he was ' married to Eva-
line Thompson, who was a native of Coshoc
ton county, born August 31, 18 14. Valentine
Exline returned to the old home from Carlisle
and bought the interest of the other heirs in
the home place, and for about three years
made his home there. He then sold out the
place, and removed to Tuscarawas county.
In 1846 he came to Allen county, settling
about three and a half miles south of Lima.
Previous to his settling in this county he trav
eled through this part of Ohio as a minister of
the Evangelical Lutheran church. His death
occurred January 8, 1887, and his wife died
July 8, 1894. There were eleven children
born to these parents, three sons and three
daughters of whom are living.
William T. Exline was in his ninth year
when he came to Allen county. He received
his education in the common schools; in his
eighteenth year he began teaching, and for five
winters preceding the war he followed the vo
cation in Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio.
In 1852 the family removed to Van Wert

278

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

county, in the south part of which Valentine
Exline had entered 316 acres of land in 1837,
of which he still owns 160 acres.- In July,
1862, our subject was commissioned by Gov.
Tod as second lieutenant of company A, Ninety-
ninth Ohio voluntary infantry. The regiment
left Camp Lima September 1, 1862, and in
the following November he was promoted to
first lieutenant. At Murfreesboro, Tenn., in
1863, where his captain was killed, he was
commissioned captain of company A. After
the battle of Nashville, Tenn, in December,
1864, the Ninety-ninth and Fiftieth Ohio regi
ments were consolidated at Columbia, Tenn.,
and were afterward known as the Fiftieth Ohio
regiment, and of this Capt. Exline was captain
of company A, until they were mustered out
of service at Salisbury, N. . C, June 26, 1865,
but the regiment was not disbanded until the
17th of the following month. At the storming
of Lookout Mountain, November 23, 1863,
Capt. Exline was wounded in the right hip by
a sharpshooter, and for a time was in the hos
pital at Bridgeport and Nashville. He re
turned to Van Wert county, Ohio, Thursday,
July 22, 1865, and the following Saturday was
nominated by the republicans for auditor of
Van Wert county, and was elected for the
term of two years; leaving the office he re
moved, to the farm. In 1878 Capt. Exline
was re-elected auditor of Van Wert county,
for a three years' term, and was re-elected at
the expiration of that term. He returned to
the farm, in 1885, where he remained until the
spring of 1 894 when he removed to Delphos
to take the position of general manager of the
Ohio Wheel company.
Capt. Exline was married, December 21,
1865, to Esther Scott, of Putnam county, who
was born in Warren county, Ohio, daughter of
Richard and Margaret Scott. To this union
seven children have been born, two sons and
five daughters, all living. Capt. Exline is a

member of the Royal Arcanum, and of the
G. A. R. , and is one of the most prominent
men in the county, both socially and politically.
Following are the names of Capt. Exline's
children, in order of birth: Eva May, wife of
J. A. Foore, of Saint Mary's; Scott L., of the
First National bank, Cleveland, Ohio; William
Grant, book-keeper of the Enterprise Printing
& Lithograph company, of Cleveland, Ohio;
Margaret G., assistant book-keeper of the Ohio
Wheel company; Estella, Ethel and Georgia
E., at home.

WOHN FENTON, retired farmer and ex-
A soldier of the Civil war, residing now
A 1 in Bluffton, Allen county, Ohio, is a son
of Robert and Jane (McCrey) Fenton,
is a native of the Buckeye state, and was born
in Trumbull county, July 11, 1825.
Samuel Fenton, grandfather of our subject,
was of sterling Irish descent, was a farmer of
Cumberland county, Pa., where he passed all
his life, and was the father of the following
children: David, John, James (who was a
colonel in the Civil war), and Robert, the
father of John, our subject. Robert Fenton
was born in Cumberland county, Pa., August
19, 1775 (or 1776), was reared a farmer, and
when a young man came to Ohio, and married,
in Trumbull county, Miss Jane McCrey, who
was born in Ireland, a daughter of William
McCrey. Mr. Fenton then cleared up a farm
in Trumbull county, on which he resided until
1836, when he became a pioneer of Richland
township, Allen county, and here bought and
cleared up a fine farm of 160 acres, becoming
one of the substantial and respected citizens of
the township. In politics he was a democrat,
and in the interests of that party filled nearly
all of the township offices; in religion he, with
his wife, was a member of the Seceder church,
and lived faithfully up to its doctrines. To-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

279

himself and wife were born eight children, in
the order here given: Samuel, Mary A., Will
iam, Margaret, Joseph, Thomas and the twins,
Elizabeth and John.
John Fenton, our subject, received a very
good common-school education, and was reared
to farming on the homestead. He came with
his parents to Allen county in 1836, and as
sisted on the home farm until his marriage, in
Hancock county, Ohio, October 2.5, 1849,
with Miss Isabella Outhwaite, a daughter of
George and Isabella (Swan) Outhwaite, and
born in February, 1830. The father of this
lady, George Outhwaite, was born in England,
was there married in June, 18 14, and there
were born all his children, viz: William,
Joseph, Mary, Ann, George and Isabella. Mr.
Outhwaite brought his family to America in
1830, landed at Baltimore, Md., and finally
purchased a home in Findlay, Ohio, where he
resided unlil 1836, when he moved to Hancock
county and purchased a farm, on which his
death took place September 4, 1854, at the
age of sixty-one years, four months and nine
days, a member of the church of England.
After his marriage John Fenton, with his
wife, made his home on the Fenton farm of
eighty acres for many years. Inspired with a
patriotism redounding to his credit, he left his
cherished wife and enlisted, at Bluffton, June
23, 1863, in company I, Capt. Joshua Preble,
First regiment Ohio heavy artillery, for
three years or during the war, but at the close
of about twenty-five months, on account of
the termination of the strife, was honorably
discharged at Washington, D. C, July 22,
1865. He was in active service in Kentucky
and east Tennessee, including Knoxville, but,
with fifteen others, was transferred to Wash
ington, D. C, was there detailed as a teamster,
and had served in that capacity for eight
months when discharged from the service, as
mentioned above. Mr. Fenton, on returning

home, cultivated his farm until about 1879,
when, being a sufferer from rheumatism re
sulting from exposure in the army, and thus
being incapacitated for the arduous labors of
farm life, he retired to Bluffton, where he is
passing his days in quietude and peace. Having
no children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Fen
ton have adopted Frederick George Ballard,
son of. Mrs. Fenton's sister Mary, who died
when her son was but three days old, and, dy
ing, placed the babe in the care of Mr. and
Mrs. Fenton, who have legally adopted him
and reared him to consummate manhood. He
is now married to Mary E. Hamilton, has three
children living, and resides on the Fenton
homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are consistent mem
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which
Mr. Fenton is a trustee. In politics he is a
stanch republican and was one of the founders
of the party in Allen county. He is a member
of the Robert Hamilton post, No. 262, G.A.R.,
and recognized as one who, as a soldier, was
always active and alert and who did his duty
promptly and cheerfully. As a citizen Mr.
Fenton is public spirited and liberal, and is
ever ready to aid any measure likely to accrue
to the public welfare, and he and wife are truly
respected wherever known.

5/\ ANIEL E. FETTER, of Bath town-
I I ship, Allen county, Ohio, was here
/A^_J born, on the homestead of his father,
George Fetter, September 17, i860.
He was reared and lived upon his place until
his marriage, June 5, 1881, with Miss Ida
Mella, daughter of Reuben and Ann E. (Edge-
comb) White, of Perry township, which union
has been blessed with the birth of the follow
ing children: Eva, Clarence, Louis (deceased),
Fannie, Clara and Josie. After his marriage
he settled on his present place of seventy-eight

280

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

acres, which he received from a kind father
and which he has improved in every detail and
converted into a handsome and fertile farm.
He is also interested with his brothers George
and Jacob in the lime and stone quarry busi
ness, and, like them, has proved himself to be
a capable business man, winning the respect
of all his neighbors through his industrious
habits and upright walk through life. In poli
tics he affiliates with the democratic party, and
in religion he and his wife are consistent mem
bers of the Lutheran church. The attention
of the reader is called to the biographies of
Mr. Fetter's younger brothers, which follow.

@EORGE R. FETTER, a thriving
young farmer and rising citizen of
Bath township, Allen county, Ohio,
his birthplace, is a son of George
and Sarah (Dent) Fetter, and was born on the
homestead November 15, 1863, and here his
life has been spent up to the present time.
George Fetter, Sr. , paternal grandfater of
the subject of this biography, came from
Baden, Germany, in 1835, bringing his family,
consisting of himself, wife (who had borne the
name of Cupp), and four children, named
George, Catherine, Jacob and Daniel, of whom
George and Jacob are now deceased. The
family, on landing in the United States, at
once came to Ohio, where the father entered
eighty acres of wild land in Bath township,
Allen county, which, he cleared up and trans
formed into a productive farm, and on which
he passed the remainder of his days, a re
spected citizen, a democrat in politics, and in
religion a Lutheran.
George Fetter, Jr., eldest son of George,
Sr. , and father of our subject, was born in
Germany in 1826, came to America with his
father, and was reared to manhood on the
Bath township homestead, receiving his edu

cation in the frontier log school-house. After
assisting in clearing and cultivating the home
place until twenty-six years of age, he married
and settled down in section No. 22, same town
ship, where he improved a farm. He then
settled in section No. 27, where J. K., his son,
now resides, and later added to his landed
possessions until he became one of the largest
land-owners in Bath township, his broad acres
being now divided up into farms and occupied
by his children. His wife bore the maiden
name of Sarah Ward and was a daughter of
William Ward, of German township, Allen
county. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Fetter
were born nine children, in the following
order: John W. ; Elizabeth, wife of Edward
Gray; Eliza E., wife of James C. Hull; Daniel
P. ; George R. ; Jacob E. ; Sarah I., wife of
Owen Griffith; Julius K., and Alberta, wife of
Joshua Bibel. The mother of this family died
in 1885 and the father in January, 1895, both
members of the Lutheran church, and the re
mains of both lie interred in Zion churchyard,
Bath township. Mr. Fetter was in politics a
democrat, and was a man who took consider
able interest in the affairs of his township and
county. He served for many years as a school
director, was for a long time township trustee,
and was universally looked up to by his fellow-
townsmen as a man of great sagacity and as
one to be relied on in all emergencies.
George R. Fetter, the subject proper of
this sketch, remained on the home farm, as
sisting his father, until the latter's death, when
he came into possession of his present farm,
in section No. 27, on the Lafayette road, four
miles east of Lima. His marriage took place,
in 1885, with Miss Nancy A. Hefner, daughter
of Amos Hefner, of Bath township, the union
resulting in the birth of five, children — George
A., Hattie B., Orrie A., Retta B. and Aaron
W. Mr. Fetter had acquired a good knowl
edge of business as well as of farming, and is

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

281

now quite extensively engaged in developing
the stone quarries on his land, operating lime
kilns, etc. In politics he is a democrat, and
for four or five years has been honored with
the position of township trustee, an office he
has filled with credit to himself and to the sat
isfaction of the public. As a business man
the name of Mr. Fetter stands without a
blemish, and his social standing is a very de
sirable one.

'^t'ACOB E. FETTER, engineer, quarry -
A man and general business man, was
A 1 born on the old homestead in Bath
township, Allen county, Ohio, on the
old Findlay road, November 8, 1866, a son of
George and Sarah (Ward) Fetter. He re
ceived a good common-school education, and
at the age of nine years started to run an
engine in his father's stone quarry and lime
works, one-quarter of a mile south of the resi
dence, where he was employed for six years,
and then moved east, up the creek, to the
present place, where he was employed in run
ning a steam drill. Jacob E. Fetter remained
with his parents until his marriage, April 14,
1879, to Miss Martha Swain, daughter of Jacob
Swain, of Branch county, Mich., and settled
on a farm then owned by his father, consisting
of sixty-nine acres, in section No. 23, Bath
township, Allen county, Ohio, five miles east
of Lima, on the Lafayette road, which farm
has since, in July, 1894, been deeded to him
by his respected parent. His marriage has
been blessed with four children, of whom the
youngest died in infancy, those living to adult
age being named Jacob L, Catherine and
Henrietta. Jacob Swain, father of Mrs.
Martha Fetter, was born in Pennsylvania and
married Miss Henrietta Frey, of Michigan, to
which union were born three children, as
follows: David L., Albert and Martha (Mrs.

Fetter), who all lived to maturity, to make
glad the hearts of their parents.
Mr. Fetter, our subject, has made all the
improvements on his sixty-nine-acre farm and
has associated with himself his two brothers,
George and Daniel, in the stone-quarrying and
lime-kiln business, of which business, our
subject once had full possession but later
formed a partnership with the two broth
ers named, and together they carried on
the business until March, 1892, when another
brother, Julius, was admitted to the firm, who
remained one year only and then sold back
to the three brothers, who originally consti
tuted the firm, who had paid $5, 1 50 to George
Fetter for the thirty-four and one-third acres
which constituted his share of the quarry.
Daniel, George and Jacob Fetter also own
eighty acres in section No. 25, Bath township,
derived from their father, George. In 1890
our subject was also employed, in the spring
of the year, in blowing stumps for the Van
Wert county reservoir at a salary of $20 per
day, and also ran a steam drill for Jacob
Stehlie, m the year 1882, and Jacob Custer,
for $10 per day, in same year. In 1893 he be
gan to traffic in stone, selling large quantities
to Edward Davis, of Lima, Ohio, and also en
gaged in shipping large quantities of lime to
Niles, Mich., and to J. H. Whiteman, of
Wapakoneta, Ohio.
In politics Mr. Fetter is a democrat, and in
religion Mrs. Fetter is a devout Lutheran. It
will be seen that Mr. Fetter is one of the most
substantial, shrewdest and most enterprising
business men of Allen county, and the high
standing he has attained among his fellow-citi
zens is due, in a great measure, to this inherent
energy, which indeed makes him a man among
men, which he is universally recognized to be.
A perusal of the biographies of other members
of this family, to be found in other pages of
this volume, will be found of much interest.

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY *

>tt» ULIUS K. FETTER is a native of Bath
A township, Allen counly, Ohio, was born
A J on the home farm in 1870, and is a son
of George and Sarah Fetter, old-timers
of the township and county. Until the age of
twenty-four years he resided with his parents
and then married Miss Susan Coon, a native of
Amanda township, Allen county v and a daugh
ter of William Coon, a well-known farmer.
Mr. Fetter, after his marriage, settled on the
farm owned by his father in Bath township and
four years later removed to his present farm of
109 acres in the same township, which farm
was the gift of his generous father; one child,
Oris, blessed his marriage with Miss Coon. In
politics, Mr. Fetter belongs to the young de
mocracy of the county and takes an active part
in advancing the interests of his organization,
but has never sought office from his party as a
reward for his services, preferring to devote his
attention to the interests of his private affairs.
William Coon, father of Mrs. Susan Fetter,
Avas horn in Amanda township, Allen county,
Ohio, in 1843, and there married his first wife,
who bore the maiden name of Jane Place. To
this union were born ten children, including
Mrs. Fetter. Mr. Jane Coon died in 1885,
and the second marriage of Mr. Coon was to
Lucinda Sheline, of Indiana. Mr. Coon is a
prosperous farmer, owning a farm of 182 acres
in Amanda township, and is a highly respected
gentleman. He is a prominent member of the
democratic party, is a consistent member of
the Christian church, and an influential and
useful member of the farmers' alliance (Patrons
of Husbandry) of Amanda township. Julius
K. Fetter, although yet a young man, has
made his mark in this community as a practi
cal and accomplished agriculturist, and the
active interest he takes in the public affairs of
his township gives indication of the usefulness
he will attain as a citizen in the days yet to
come.

arj*AMES FLANAGAN, member of the
A Delphos city council from the Second
A 1 ward, and a well-known citizen, is a
native of Ohio, having been born in
Sandusky city on May 1, 1850. He is a son
of Patrick and Josephine (Haley) Flanagan,
both of whom were natives of the county Ros
common, Ireland. They were married in Ire
land, and in 1849, with' one child, came to
the United States. After landing in this coun
try they came direct to Sandusky city, Ohio.
In the same party the parents and brothers
and sisters of our subject's father and one
brother of his mother came, and later her par
ents came over. Patrick Flanagan followed
railroading after he came to the United States,
and his death occurred in Columbus, Ohio, in
1870, he having removed to that city a short
time before. His wife's death occurred in
Licking county in 1858. They were both
members of the Roman Catholic church. To
them five children were born, three of whom
are still living.
James Flanagan was reared in Sandusky
city, where he received his education in the
parochial schools. After leaving school in
1862, he went into the office of the Erie County
News, in Sandusky city, to learn the printer's
trade. He continued in the printing office
until the fall of 1864, when the office was re
moved from the city, and he decided to try
something else. In 1865 he went to work in
the Sandusky Wheel works, and continued in
that employment until 1868. He then went
to Toledo, where he entered the employ of
the Ohio Wheel company, and continued there
until 1872, when the works were removed to
Delphos, he coming here with the company,
and has ever since been with them. He is in
charge of the finishing department of the work,
a position he has held ever since he entered
their employ in 1868.
Mr. Flanagan was married September 12,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

283

1878, to Miss Elizabeth Fettig, who was born
in Spencerville, Ohio, on March 4, 1862, and
is the daughter of William and Jacobina Fet
tig, of Allen county, the father now being de
ceased. To this union five sons and one
daughter have been born, as follows: William,
born June 12, 1880; Bertha, May 7, 1884;
Ferdinand, February 6, 1887; John, July 26,
1889; George, June 5, 1892, and James E.,
November 30, 1895. Mr. Flanagan and fam
ily are members of Saint John's Roman Cath
olic church. Mr. Flanagan is a democrat in
politics, and in the spring of 1893 was elected
to represent the Second ward in the city coun
cil for a term of two years, and in 1895 was
re-elected for another term of two years. Dur
ing the first year of his membership of the
council he was chairman of the sanatory com
mittee, and was a member of the finance and
fire department committees. The second year
he was chairman of the claims committee, and
a member of sanatory and ordinance commit
tees. In the present council he is chairman of
the ordinance committee and a member of the
claims and sanitory committees.

*w * ENRY FLEEGER, deceased, was a
1^\ native of Germany, was born in 1807,
A _P and was reared a farmer. He was
married, in Germany, in 1832, to
Catherine, a daughter of John Weber, and to
this union were born three children, named
Henry, Mary C. and Henry J. In 1836, Mr.
Fleeger came to America and purchased a farm
¦of fifty acres in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on
which he resided several years, and then came
to Allen county and purchased eighty acres in
Bath township, which he industriously' set
himself to work to elear up from the wilderness
and which he converted into a model farm in
all respects. Here he passed the remained of

his life, dying June 7, 1892, a strict member
of the German Reform church and a democrat
in politics. His widow, Mrs. Catherine
(Weber) Fleeger, died on the homestead,
March 22, 1895, in her eighty-fourth year,
venerated by all who knew her for her benevo
lence, general kindness, motherly disposition
and many other womanly qualities.
Henry Brown, half-brother of Mrs. Flee
ger, was born in Germany December 16,
1 8 18, immigrated to America in 1833, and
settled in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. In 1840
he married Barbara, daughter of Adam Kline,
of Tuscarawas county, the union resulting in
the birth of eight children, viz: Adam, Henry,
and John deceased; Mary, the widow of
George Hartz, and now the adopted daughter
of Mrs. Fleeger; Henry, Jr., of Lima; Jacob,
of Oregon; Catherine, wife of Scott Hays, of
Mercer county, Ohio, and John. The death
of Henry Brown occurred September 5, 1854,
and in 1855 his widow was married to Chris
tian Roeder, a native of Germany, but an old
resident of Ohio, who, in 1862, enlisted in
defense of the integrity of the Union and saw
three years' active service. In 1863 Mr. and
Mrs. Roeder engaged in farming until his
death, which took place in 1884. The chil
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Roeder were named
as follows: Christian, William, Emanuel and
Frank. The late Henry Fleeger was an excellent
farmer and a prudent man of business. He
was known far and wide for his industrious
habits and strict morality and his open-handed
generosity and genial disposition. He was a lov
ing husband and an affectionate and indulgent
father, as well as a warm and steadfast friend;
he was public-spirited and patriotic, and was
ever ready to aid from his means any and
every enterprise that tended to advance
the immediate interests of Bath township or
the general prosperity; he was deplored by all

284

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the members of the community in which he
had lived so long and which he had done so
much to serve, morally and financially.

^ if G. FOREMAN is one of the young and
A enterprising business men of the village
A 1 of Elida, Allen county, Ohio, and is the
proprietor of the leading drug-store of
the place, being a thoroughly competent and
an up-to-date gentleman. His residence here
has been of short duration, having located in
his present place of business on November 2 1 ,
1894, as successor to S. A. Stemen, and from
the start his trade began to increase, and con
tinued to do so as he became more thoroughly
known. His handsome drug-store is replete
with a full line of drugs, patent medicines,
toilet articles, etc. Mr. Foreman has had an
experience in the drug business of over two
years, having learned the business at Vanlue,
Ohio. He read medicine for a year and a half
and attended the school of pharmacy at Ada,
Ohio, graduating in July, 1884.
Mr. Foreman is a native of Hancock county,
Ohio, was born September 22, 1864, and is a
son of Joseph and Christina (Alspach) Fore
man, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio. He
is one of a family of eight children, was reared
on the farm, and received his education in the
public schools, with the addition of a literary
course at Findlay, Ohio, where he also took a
business course in the college at that place.
He was a school-teacher of two years' standing
and was very successful; he was also a book
keeper about six months before coming here
for a Findlay firm. He was married in No
vember, 1893, to Miss Etta Hartman, daugh
ter of Eli Hartman, of Hancock county, Ohio.
Politically he affiliates with the democrats and
he and his companion are members of the
Methodist church. Mr. Foreman is truly a live,
enterprising young business man of the town.

<*S~\ R. .TOBIAS H. FOLTZ, a prominent
I I physican of Lima, Ohio, was born
/m^^J March 23, 1842. He is a son of
Phillip and Sarah (Hiester) Foltz.
Mrs. Sarah Foltz's father was Bishop Samuel
Hiester of the United Brethren church, and
the father of Phillip Foltz was John B. Foltz,
or, as he spelled it, Voltz. He was born in
Shenandoah county, Va., and, as the name
implies, was of German ancestry, his fore
fathers being among the earlier settlers of that
county. John B. Foltz left Virginia for Ohio
about 1830, settling in Fairfield county, where
he lived the rest of his days. Phillip Foltz,
father of the subject, was reared in the last-
mentioned county, but after he grew to man
hood he removed to Hancock county, Ofiio,
where he followed the occupation of a farmer.
He was prominent in politics, adhering to the
principles of the democratic party, and he was
a member of the United Brethren church. His
death occurred December 19, 1891. He and
his wife were the parents of ten children, the
subject of this sketch being their second child.
Dr. Tobias H. Foltz was reared a farmer's
boy in Hancock county, and received more
than an ordinarily good education. First he
attended the district schools and afterward the
Findlay high school, and being very studious
in his disposition, made the best possible use
of his time while in the common and in the
higher schools. He was one of the patriotic
young men that offered their services to the
government when the war of the Rebellion
came on, enlisting in company H, Twenty-first
Ohio volunteer infantry, and served one year.
He was in the battle of Stone River, and in
the battle of Chattanooga, and saw consider
able hard service. In 1865 he began reading
med'icine with Dr. E. B. Hiester, and grad
uated from the Western Reserve university at
Cleveland, Ohio, in 1870. He began the
practice of his profession at Kirby, Wyandot

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

285

county, Ohio, remaining there until 1875, when
he removed to Lima and established himself
there in the practice of medicine. Since then
he has been in continuous and successful prac
tice. He is a member of the Northwestern
Medical society, and of Trinity Methodist
Episcopal church of Lima, and is a trustee of
that church and also of Epworth Methodist
Episcopal church of the same place. Dr. Foltz
was married, in 1868, to Miss Mary S. Ott,
daughter of John G. Ott, and by her he has
had four children, viz: William H. and Harry
L., and two that died in infancy. Dr. Foltz
is much devoted to his profession, and answers
calls without regard to the standing of wealth
of those in need of a physician, for his desire
is to heal the sick — compensation therefor
being with him a secondary consideration.

eETER FEEMAN, is one of the sub
stantial men of German township,
Allen county, Ohio, and the brief bio
graphy which follows will be of interest
to many. His birthplace was Northampton
county, Pa., and he was born February 24,
1820, a son of Peter and Mary (Kreiling) Fee-
man, both natives of this county. The family
is of German origin, first coming to America
about the year 1 760 and settling in the Quaker
state. The parents of our subject came to
Wayne county, Ohio, in 1832; the father
bought a farm there and lived upon it until he
died, in 1884, at the extreme age of ninety-
six years. He was a man of great vigor, and
until he was ninety years old had never spent
a day in bed from sickness. He was a quiet,
domestic person, and a devout member of
the Lutheran church. Politically he was a
democrat, and abounded in faith in the party
of his choice. He was moderately success
ful from a financial standpoint and lived
in comfort and plenty all his days. His wife

died in 1876 at the age of eighty-eight years.
This union was blessed by the birth of eight
children: Henry, Susanna, Catherine, John
and Sarah, deceased; Peter, the subject of
this sketch, Charles and Matilda. Peter was
a lad of thirteen years when the family emi
grated to Ohio, where he remained until twen
ty-three years of age. He had learned the
then useful trade of saddle-tree making at
Wooster, Ohio, and worked at that business
in that place for four years, when he went to
Tiffin and later to Mansfield, plying his occu
pation until 1863, when he came to Allen
county, and located in Lima, where he stayed
a number of years.
He began the manufacture of wooden
stirrups and operated this business in Lima
until 1882, when he engaged- in the manufac
ture of tile and cultivating a farm in section
No. 25, German township. On this farm of
eighty acres he erected his tile plant, where he
turns out tile valued at $1,500 annually. His
wares are from two inches to ten inches and
are calculated to meet nearly every demand.
His place is handsomely improved with a com
modious residence, and with excellent barns
for stock and grain. It is withal a thrifty
homestead, well filled and well tilled. He-
was married March 16, 1843, to Miss Matilda
Ann Burgan, daughter of Jacob Burgan. She
was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1822.
They are the parents of seven children, their
names being as follows: Lavina, deceased;
Robert, at home; Josephine, deceased; Fran
cis, deceased; Elma A. and Alberta at
home, and Samuel J. deceased. Mr. Fee-
man started at the lowest round of fortune's
ladder and by industry and good management
has worked himself well to the top. Pluck
and energy were his first capital, which he
used for their utmost worth. He is independ
ent in politics and fastens himself to no one
political creed! The best man for office is his

286

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

man, regardless of his political affiliations. He
is public spirited, generous and true hearted,
and has surrounded himself with 'a multitude
of .warm friends. It is said of Mr. Feeman,
that he makes you feel that " life is well worth
living." Would that the world's population
numbered more such characters.

HBRAHAM ALONZO FREY, justice
of the peace of Amanda township,
Allen county, Ohio, is one of the lead
ing and representative men of the
place — is a man of genuine worth and unques
tioned integrity. He was born in Shawnee
township, January 14, 1850, and is the son
of Jacob and Amy J. (Chipman) Frey. Mr.
Frey, the father, was born in Pennsylvania and
is of German descent. When the grandfather
of our subject married and after his family
were born he came to Licking county, Ohio,
and entered a tract of land, on which a cabin
was built and a pioneer life begun. Seven
children were born to them, Abraham, George,
Mary (deceased), Christina (deceased),. Susan,
John, and Jacob, the father of Mr. Frey with
whom this sketch deals. Jacob grew to ma
turity in Licking county, Ohio, on the farm
which his father had entered from the govern
ment. In 1848 he was united in marriage to
Miss Amy J. Chipman, who was a native of
Licking county. In 1849, Jacob Frey, the
father of A. Alonzo Frey, came to Allen county,
where he rented land, but soon moved upon
his own land, which he had entered in 1850,
consisting of 120 acres in section No. 3, Amanda
township. On this he erected his pioneer
home — a log cabin — his present large and com
modious residence, now occupying the site there
of. After years of laborious application the
land was redeemed from a wilderness and
placed under good cultivation and is now one
of the best farms in Allen county. He was a

soldier in the Rebellion, enlisting in company
D, One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio volunteer
infantry, and was mustered out July 12, 1865,
at Charlotte, N. C. He was a participant in
the battle at Kingston, N. C, and proved him
self a brave and valiant soldier. He is a demo
crat in politics and lives consistently with his
political faith. He is a member of the G. A. R.,
affiliating with the order at Spencerville ; has
served ten years in the school board and has
been trustee of the township. Seven children
have been born to himself and his estimable
wife, namely: Abraham Alonzo, the subject of
this sketch; Mary Elizabeth, deceased; Isabella,
Rosetta, Ida A. and Martha E., deceased,
and William S. The mother died in 1871 at
the age of thirty-eight years, sincerely mourned
by her family and all who knew her. She was
a member of the Baptist church and passed
away in this faith.
Abraham Alonzo Frey, of whom we shall
now speak, was raised on the farm on which
he now lives, in section No. 3, Amanda town
ship, and received his education, in common
with other country lads, in the schools of the
county. He has always followed farming and
has never been away from the home farm, ex
cept for seven years. He operated the home
place for his father until 1882, when he pur
chased a tract of eighty acres in Paulding
county, Ohio, which was unimproved. Here
he built a house and cleared a portion of it and
lived here from 1885 until 1890, when he sold
out and returned to Amanda township and pur
chased the old homestead, on which he at
present lives. He combines, with farming,
stock- raising, and is an up-to-date business
man. In politics he is a democrat — stanch
and consistent. He has served as justice of
the peace and has filled the office of township
clerk three times. December 29, 1870, he
was united in marriage to Miss Josephine
Fryer, daughter of Isaac and Mary Ann (Hahn)

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

287

Fryer. Her birthplace was Spencer township
and she was born July 24, 1854. This union
was blessed with six children, whose names are
as follows: Ida B., deceased; Alpheus, Nettie,
Effie M., Clarence, deceased, and Laurence,
at home. Amanda township cannot boast of
a more pleasant home than this, which is sur
rounded and identified with all that constitutes
a happy fireside. Mr. and Mrs. Frey are mem
bers of the Baptist church and find in this time-
honored society the best interpretation of their
religious belief.

<V^\ OMINICK N. GENGLER, justice of
1 I the peace and prominent farmer of
/A^_J Marion township, Allen county, Ohio,
was born in Luxembourg, Germany,
and is a son of Peter and Mary (Bonifos)
Gengler, who were the parents of six children,
viz: Dominick N., Louis, Peter (who died at
the age of forty-two years), Felix, Thomas and
Margaret (who died at the age of twenty-two).
Peter Gengler, the father of this family, came
to America in 1 844, bringing his wife and first
born child, Dominick N., then an infant. He
first located on an eighty-acre tract of land in
the woods of Seneca county, Ohio, and this
land was his home for more than seventeen
years, he having in the meantime cleared it up
by his own labor' and that of his children and
made of it a fertile farm. In 1863 he came to
Allen county and purchased 160 acres of wood
land just south of Landeck, and of this prop
erty he also made a profitable farm and a good
home, where he died January 31, 1894, aged
about seventy-eight years. He was one of the
founders of Saint John the Baptist church at
Landeck, was councilman in the same for
many years, and also assisted it with his means
in a most liberal degree.
Dominick N. Gengler, whose birth took
place December 24, 1842, received a good

common-school education in Seneca county,
Ohio, where he grew to manhood on his fa
ther's farm. He had nearly reached his majority
when he came to Allen county with his father,
whom he assisted until his marriage, Novem
ber 29, 1870, with Miss Mary Ardner, daugh
ter of Nicholas and Susan (Adanz) Ardner, the
former of whom was a native of Germany,
born May 5, 1822, and who came to America,
a single man, in 1846, located at Tiffin, Ohio,
and was there married. In 1863 he came to
Allen county and settled on a 120-acre farm
three miles southeast of Landeck, and there
made his home until 1884, when he moved to
a ten-acre farm at Landeck, so as to be nearer
his church, of which he was one of the found
ers. Mr. and Mrs. Ardner have five children
still living, viz: Mary, Nicholas, John, Susan
and Lizzie.
Directly after his marriage, Mr. Gengler
settled on his present farm of eighty acres,
which was then all timberland and the home
of all kinds of game. By hard work he
drained the land, built a hewn-log house, and
by degrees cleared away the timber. In 1880
he engaged in the manufacture of tiling, and
established a prosperous trade, which he still
carries on, doing as large a business as any
tilemaker in the county. That he has thriven
is shown by the fast tnat his farm now com
prises 200 acres and is highly improved in all
respects. In 1890 Mr. Gengler erected one of
the most tasteful and substantial brick dwell
ings in Allen county, and his homestead is the
admiration of all beholders. To Mr. and Mrs.
Gengler have been born five children, named
as follows: Nicholas, John, Margaret, Susan
and Thomas. In politics Mr. Gengler is a
democrat, is exceedingly popular, and for six
teen years has been a justice of the peace, al
ways striving to prevent litigation, being truly
a peacemaker; for sixteen years, also, he has
been a member of the board of education and

288

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

has been an ardent friend of the public school
system. He is a devout church member, is
strictly conscientious and bears an untarnished
business reputation that any man might be
proud of.

*w ¦* ENRY GOOD, a practical farmer of
1^\ Marion township, Allen county, Ohio,
1 r and a trustee of the Mennonite
church, was born August 7, 185 1, on
a farm in Rockingham county, Va., in the
Shenandoah valley, and is a son of Abraham
P. and Rebecca (Rhodes) Good, of German
extraction, and were the parents of ten chil
dren, of whom two died young, the names of
the eight who reached maturity being as fol
lows: Elizabeth, now Mrs. Huber; Frances,
the wife of Mr. Shenk; Henry; Simon; Tenia,
now Mrs. Culp; John, who died in 1894;
Lydia, and Jacob.
Henry Good, the immediate subject of this
memoir, received the ordinary common-school
education usually given to farm lads, and was
but fourteen years of age when the late Civil
war was brought to a close. He has a vivid
recollection of the marching soldiers and can
nonading and smoke that prevailed in the
Shenandoah valley during the devastating raids
of both armies, but of course was too young to
be an active participant in any of the san
guinary frays. In 1864 he came to Ohio with
his parents, who first lived in Putnam county
and later came to Allen county, our subject
coming with them. At the age of twenty-two
years, Henry Good married Miss Elizabeth
Culp, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
August 22, 185 1, a daughter of Christian and
Elizabeth (Good) Culp. Christian Culp was
of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, was a black
smith and a farmer of Virginia, and while still
a young man was married in Fairfield county,
Ohio, the union resulting in the birth of ten I

children, viz: David, Noah, Magdalena, Fan
nie, Nancy, Annie, Susannah I., Sophia,
Elizabeth and Christian. Christian Culp
came to Allen county in 185 1 and settled in
Sugar Creek township on an eighty-acre tract,
which had been partially cleared, but not to
any great extent. He performed this laborious
work himself and in a short time retrieved
from the wilderness a fertile farm, on which he
passed the remainder of his days, dying in
1883 at the age of sixty-seven years and in
the Mennonite faith, of which he had been a
preacher. After marriage Henry Good settled on his
present farm, which then consisted of ninety
acres, but which he has since increased to 190
acres, improved with a tasteful modern dwell
ing, substantial and commodious barn and
other out buildings, and has thoroughly
drained. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs.
Good have been born thirteen children, of
whom four died young, the nine survivors
being named as follows: Christian, Fannie,
Abraham, Elizabeth, Lonja, Aaron, John,
Ezra and Laura. Mr. and Mrs. Good are
strict members of the Mennonite church, in
which members of the family have been minis
ters for generations. Mr. Good is a practical
and successful farmer and a gentleman of
modest behavior and truly christian principles;
he is self-made and has accumlated his pos
sessions through his own manual labor and
good management, winning the respect of all
know him. He and his aimable wife have
given their children good educations and
reared them to moral and industrious habits.

?""V'lMON P. GOOD, a leading "farmer of
"V^^kT Marion township, Allen county, Ohio,
f^_J is a son of Abraham P. and Rebecca
(Rhodes) Good, and was born in Rock
ingham county, Va., March 27, 1 §57, and

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

289

well remembers the raids of the soldiers
through his native Shenandoah valley while he
was yet a child, and the departure of the
family from the valley just before the final raid
by order of Gen. Phil. Sheridan. When our
subject was but seven years of age the family
came to Ohio, in 1864, and here made their
final settlement in Allen county.
Simon P. Good was reared a farmer, re
ceived a good common-school education, and
at the age of about nineteen years became a
member of the Mennonite church, Rev. John
M. Brenneman being the pastor, and since
then has been a devoted adherent of the faith.
September 4, 1883, he married Miss Barbara
Greider, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio,
born July 30, i860, a daughter of Rev. John
M. and Anna (Erb) Greider. Mr. Greider was
born in Lancaster county, Pa., February 28,
1823, was a farmer and at twenty-four years
age was married. He then came to Ohio and
located in Clarke county, and there became a
bishop in the Mennonite church; from Clarke
county he removed to Montgomery county,
bought 165 acres of land and cleared up a good
farm. To himself and wife were born thir
teen children, of whom ten have lived to ma
turity and are named Samuel, Tobias, Susan
nah, Christian, John, Barbara, Mary, Benja
min, Jacob and Elizabeth. Mr. Greider died
October 14, 1891, honored alike by the mem
bers of his church and the entire community.
The parents of Rev. John M. Greider were
Christian and Susannah (Miller) Greider, also
natives of Pennsylvania, and had born to them
the following children: John, Christian, Ben
jamin, Anna, Elizabeth, Mary, Barbara, Amos
and Jacob. The father of this family lived to
reach the patriarchal age of ninety-five years,
a venerated christian farmer.
After his marriage, in Montgomery county,
Simon P. Good came directly to his farm of
eighty acres in Allen county, which he had

purchased a few years previously, and which,
with the aid of his faithful wife, he has con
verted into a most comfortable home, and in
creased in dimensions to 120 acres, and made
equal to any farm of its size in Marion town
ship. Here have been born their four chil
dren, viz: Anna, Rebecca, Mary and Eliza
beth. Mr. and Mrs. Good are devout members
of the Mennonite church, of which Rev. John
M. Shenk is pastor. Of this denomination
Mrs. Good has been a member since seventeen
years of age, having united, in Montgomery
county, with the congregation of which her
father, Rev. John M' Greider, was the minister,
and having been baptized by Rev. Joseph Bix-
ler. Mr. Good and wife are among the most
prominent residents of Marion township, being
well known for their charity and strict morality,
and their children, beside being well instructed
in the ordinary branches of a secular course of
education, are being trained thoroughly in the
morality taught by the Mennonite church.

*-|-» EWIS GRIFFITH, one of the set-
I i tiers of Sugar Creek township, Allen
jf^A county, Ohio, and a substantial
farmer and highly respected citizen,
is descended from excellent Welsh stock. His
grandfather, whose name was also Lewis, was
a native of Montgomeryshire, Wales, and of
his children only three are now remembered,
viz: Lewis, William and Mary. Lewis, the
eldest son of Lewis Griffith, and the father of
of the subject, was born in Montgomeryshire,
Wales, about 1780. He was married in Wales
to Miss Jane Mills, daughter of John and Mary
Mills. In 1832 he came to the United States,
sailing on the ship George Washington, and
after a voyage of seven weeks landed in New
York. He brought with hirn his wife and two
children, viz: Lewis and Margaret. He set
tled at Paddy's Run, Butler county, Ohio,

290

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

where he lived the remainder of his life, and
where he followed his trade, that of blacksmith.
He died in middle life, aged fifty«-four years,
on July 31, 1834. He was a man of fine
character and disposition, honest with the
world, and kind to his family. His widow, in
1835, married Joseph Griffith, in Butler county,
but to them no children were born. They re
moved to Sugar Creek township, then Putnam,
now Allen county, January 31, 1841, settling
on 1 50 acres of land. Here he prospered ex
ceedingly, owning, at the time, 230 acres. He
died at the age of seventy-three, and she died
at the age of eighty -four years and ten months.
Lewis Griffith, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Radnorshire, an inland county of
southern Wales, January 14, 1828, and was
thus four years old when he was brought to
the United States by his parents. Here he has
lived ever since, an honored citizen.

>-j»OSEPH FORD, an old settler of Allen
A county and now largely engaged in
A J farming in Marion township, was born
September 17, 1816, a mile and a half
southwest of Urbana, Champaign county,
Ohio, and is a son of Joseph and Catherine
(Snell) Ford.
Joseph Ford, the father of our subject, was
born near Hagerstown, Md., March 4, 1781,
was a substantial farmer, and married, April
12, 1803, Catherine, a daughter of Samuel
and Christian Snell, and born May 4, 1781.
A fter m arriage Mr. Ford removed to Kentucky,
and after living a few years in the wilderness
of that state, came to Ohio and first located in
Champaign county, in the woods, four miles
south of Urbana, and in due course of time
cleared up a good farm. He was also an old-
time wagoner or teamster, and hauled freight
between Cincinnati and Dayton, and likewise

teamed for Gen. Wayne's army. To himself
and wife were born ten children, viz: Sarah,
James, Christina, Nancy, John, Harrison,
Joseph, William, Maly and one that died in
infancy. Mr. Ford served as a justice of the
peace for eighteen years, was captain of a
rifle company, was a successful farmer, own
ing 1 34 acres of land near Urbana, and died
at the age of seventy-two years, a member of
the Methodist Protestant church, of which
Mrs: Ford was also a member and of which he
had been a deacon for many years.
Joseph Ford, the subject proper of this
biography, received a fair education for his
early day, and began his business life as a
teamster, using one of his father's teams, con
sisting of four to six horses and an immense
freight wagon. On one of his early journeys
he passed through Allen eounty, when the
town of Lima was erecting its first log cabin
in the woods. He followed teaming until
twenty-seven years old, and then engaged in
farming and married, January 5, 1844, Miss
Isabella Moore, who was born February 2,
1826, a daughter of Thomas and Martha
(Dodson) Moore, of Irish extraction. Thomas
Moore was a farmer, drover and teamster, was
an early settler in Kentucky, and later in
Champaign county, near Urbana, Ohio. He
was twice married — first to a Miss McCorkle,
who bore five children — Betsey, Sally, Ann,
David and Cyrus; to his second marriage were
also born five children — Jesse, Samuel, Will
iam, Isabella and Martha J. The father of
these families, Thomas Moore, was a major in
the war of 181 2, and was surrendered with
the garrison at Detroit by Gen. William Hull,
who had marched and cut his way through
from Urbana, Ohio, a distance of 200 miles.
Mr. Moore was the owner of a farm of 160
acres, and was the first man to plant an orchard
in his county. He was a member of the
Methodist church, and before reaching his

JOSEPH FORD. MRS. JOSEPH FORD.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

293

fiftieth year of age died in his wagon while on
one of business trips.
Our subject and wife lived in Champaign
county until 1854, then came to Allen county
and located on a tract of 160 acres of wood
land, which Mr. Ford had purchased in 1849.
This tract he cleared up, and, with the aid of
his faithful wife, increased it to 200 acres, and
now has as fine a place as there is in the
county. To Mr. and Mrs. Ford have been
born the following children: Dora, John,
Mary, James, Anna, Thomas, Edward, Frank,
Alice, Maly and Ollie. In politics Mr. Ford
is a democrat and has served as township
trustee. He has given his children fine edu
cations, and he and family are among the
highly respected residents of Marion township.

>Y,°HN GROTHAUS, an ex-soldier of
A Marion township, Allen county, Ohio,
A 1 and a prosperous farmer, was born in
the village of Gressnold, kingdom of
Hanover, German empire, February 2, 1841.
Conrad Grothaus, father of our subject, was a
farmer in Hanover, married Gertrude Raugh,
and had born to his union four children — Ma
tilda (who died at the age of about thirty
years), Gertrude, Joseph (now in the German
army), and John (our subject). The father of
this family died at the age of of seventy-four
years, a devout member of the Catholic church,
and an ex-soldier of the Germano-Russian war.
John Grothaus, our subject, received a
good common-school education in his native
village, and at the age of eighteen years (1859)
left the fatherland to escape a seven-year serv
itude in the German army, and came alone to
America, preferring to fight for the rights of
man and republicanism than for monarchical
rule, which gives man no rights. He landed
in New Orleans from a sailing vessel, after a
voyage of nine weeks' duration, and at once

came to Delphos, Allen county, Ohio, and
engaged in farm labor until his enlistment at
Delphos, in May, 1862, in company F., Capt.
Riley, One Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio vol
unteer infantry, for three years or until the
close of the war, if sooner terminated. But
his services over-lapped the three years, as he
did not receive his discharge until July, 1865,
and that was an honorable one and issued to
him at Columbus, Ohio. During his military
service Mr. Grothaus took an active part in
twenty-two battles and in many skirmishes
that deserve the name of battles in more than
one instance. Among the heaviest and most
serious of his regular engagements were the
following: Louden, Knoxville, Lookout Moun
tain, the Atlanta campaign, Resaca, the fall of
Atlanta, and all the conflicts from Atlanta
to Goldsboro, N. C, thus witnessing the cli
max of the struggle, as it were, March 19, 1865.
When "the cruel war was over" Mr.
Grothaus returned to Delphos, Ohio, and there
married, in March, 1867, Miss Mary Suthoff,
to which happy union there came ten children,
of whom seven lived to maturity, viz: Mary,
Frank, Lizzie, William, Henry, Louis and
John. Immediately after marrying, M. Grot-
hause located on a forty-acre farm in Putnam
county, Ohio, which farm belonged to his wife
and had been partly cleared. The uncleared
part Mr. Grothaus soon denuded of its .forest
growth and added twenty acres to the forty-
acre trrct; in 1880 he sold the sixty acres and
came to his present farm of 120 acres in Mar
ion township, Allen county. This tract, also,
was a wildwood, but Mr. Grothaus, by the ex
ercise of strenuous and constant industry, has
made of it as good a farm as as may be found
in the township.
In 1888 Mr. Grothaus suffered the afflic
tion which comes to all through death, the
"insatiate archer," in this instance, taking
from him his beloved helpmate, who was a

294

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

woman beloved by all who knew her, a de
voted mother and a true Catholic. Mr. Grot
haus never again married, but since the death
of his wife has devoted his attention to the
care of his farm and the welfare of his chil
dren. He has done much toward the up
building of his township, was very liberal in
his aid toward the erection of the Catholic
church at Delphos, and as a soldier and cit
izen enjoys the unlimited respect- of all his fel
low-townsmen.

^tj OHN T. GROVES, of Marion township,
A a highly respected farmer and pioneer
A I of Allen county, Ohio, was born in
Champaign county, May 21, 18 19, and
is paternally of pure Dutch descent. Of four
brothers who came from Holland in the early
settlement of this country one found a home in
the state of New York, one went to Virginia,
one settled in Pennsylvania, and of the fourth
all trace was lost. Of these four, the great
grandfather was he who went to Virginia, and
from him is descended the branch of the
family now so favorably known in Ohio and
other western states.
Henry Groves, a son of the original Vir
ginia immigrant and the grandfather of John
T. , our subject, was a native of the Old
Dominion, where he married and reared the
following 'children: Henry, Thomas, Peter,
John, Mary, Anna, and one whose name has
been forgotten by the present generation. Mr.
Groves was a farmer at Harper's Ferry, where
his son Henry, father of our subject, was
born, was reared a farmer and married Susan
Spear, of Irish descent, the union resulting in
the birth of Jacob, John T. , Peter, Cyron,
Mary, Thomas, Elizabeth and Andrew. Henry
Groves, father of our subject, directly after his
marriage came to Ohio, accompanied by two
brothers, Thomas and John, and in 181 1 set

tled in Champaign county, being among the
original pioneers. Thomas Groves became a
soldier in the war of 1812, and under " Mad"
Anthony Wayne ascended the Auglaize river
and was at Fort Wayne when that famous
general and hero died. In 1835 Henry Groves
brought his family to Allen county and settled
in Marion township, where' his death occurred
August 20, 1840, at the age of about fifty-two
years, in the faith of the Lutheran church, and
a man of decided mark and influence.
John T. Groves, the subject proper of this
memoir, was a youth of seventeen years when
he came to Allen county with his father in
1835, and had early been inured to farm labor,
a vocation he has continued to follow until the
present time. March 12, 1846, he was first
united in marriage with Catherine Palmer,
daughter of Christian and Annie Palmer. Mr.
Palmer was a Virginian by birth and of Ger
man descent; he was a pioneer of Allen county,
having settled on eighty acres of land near
Delphos, in 1836, which land he cleared up,
made into a good home, and died thereon at
the age of about seventy-five years, a member
of the Lutheran church and the father of the
following children: John, Catherine, Mary,
Christian and Samuel.
After marriage Mr. Groves bought a fifty-
two-acre tract of land in the woods, and this
he cleared from the forest, but sold it and
bought ninety-five acres of his present farm,
which he also cleared up, thus doing his share
of the hard work that has made Marion town
ship the garden it now is. To John T. and
Catherine Groves were born six children —
Henry, died October 31, 1894, aged forty -six
years, one month and one day; Mary, William,
Elizabeth, Christian C. and Sarah E. June
12, 1866, he had the great misfortune of losing
his wife, who was a lady of many womanly
virtues and greatly respected by her many
friends and immediate neighbors. Of her

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

295

children, William married Barbara Oberinger,
is the father of four children, and rejfides on
the home farm; Elizabeth is the wife of Will
iam Bryan, a farmer of Iowa, and is the
mother of three children; Christian C. is a
farmer of Indiana, is the husband of Sadie
Philips and is the father of one child; Sarah
E. is married to Christian C. Donaldson, of
Paxton, 111., and is the mother of two chil
dren. The second marriage of John T. Groves,
our subject, was with Elizabeth Cotner,
daughter of Thomas Cotner, and to this union
have been born four children — Catherine A.,
John T., Susie and Arminta. In politics Mr.
Groves is a republican, but has never been an
office seeker. He is a typical American pio
neer and has always subsisted on the product
of his own labor — every foot of his present
possessions being the result of his honest toil,
and now, venerable in years, he is enjoying in
peace the fruits of early industry, respected by
all who know him.
William Groves, the third child born to
John T. and Catherine (Palmer) Groves, was
born on the Groves homestead in Marion
township, Allen county, Ohio, August ' 1 6,
1854, received a good common-school edu
cation and was reared a farmer. At the age
of twenty-five years he married Miss Barbara
Oberinger, a native of Ohio, born January 3,
1859, a daughter of John and Elizabeth
(Neece) Oberinger. The father, John Ober
inger, was born in France, reared to farming,
served in the French army, and on coming to
America made his home in Putnam county,
Ohio, where his death took place at the age
of about sixty-nine years, the father of the
following children: Michael, Barbara, Mary,
Martin, Catherine, John and Lena. Mr. and
Mrs. Groves have always made the home farm
their residence since their marriage and are
the parents of the following children: Lillie,
Henry L., Walter F. and Clara. In politics

Mr. Groves is a republican. He is a thor
oughly practical farmer and has done much to
assist his father in redeeming the township
from the wilderness. He is a gentleman of
the strictest integrity, and is deservedly re
spected by the citizens of the community in
which he was born and reared.

HOMAS GRUBB, one of the enter
prising farmers of Amanda township,
Allen county, was born in La Fayette,
Ohio, September 27, 1853. His par
ents were John B. and Elizabeth (Robinson)
Grubb, who are at this writing both residents
of Auglaize township. Six children were born
to them, two sons and four daughters, our
subject, Thomas, being the fourth child.
Thomas Grubb, the subject proper, spent
his early years upon the farm, and his edu
cation was obtained in the common schools.
He lived with his parents until 1878, and two
years later came to Amanda township and pur
chased 120 acres of land in section No. 35, on
which he located. The land was wholly un
improved, and was a veritable frog pond, as
its owner facetiously remarked. With indus
try, combined with good judgment, however,
he has made his once forlorn farm one of the
finest in this section of the country, and at
present has 100 acres of it under cultivation,
having placed in the soil 2,500 rods of drain-
tile, and enclosed with substantial fences. In
1 890 he erected a commodious frame residence,
and in 1894 put up a handsome frame barn,
40x50 feet, with eighteen-feet posts. Numer
ous other buildings and conveniences have
been added, and the farm approaches an ideal
one. He keeps a high grade of stock, believ
ing that the expense is no more to grow a
choice animal than to harbor an indifferent
one. Starting in life empty-handed, he has,
by his own energies, prospered and thrived,

296

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and may be justly esteemed as a self-made
man and one of the well-to-do citizens of the
county. Mr. Grubb has served his township as jus
tice of the peace six years, and is a member
of the order of Patrons of Husbandry, and
has been secretary of the county organization,
having held nearly all of the offices of the
fraternity, and has been a member ever since
its introduction into this section. His polit
ical faith is that of a populist, and in this, as
in all his hands and heart find to do, he abides
no lukewarm or half-way measure.
In August, 1878, he was married to Miss
Catherine Bowers, daughter of John B. and
Amanda E. (Shannon) Bowers. She was a
native of Clarke county, Ohio, and was born
near Springfield, April 20, 1857. Three chil
dren came. to bless this un.'on, viz: Rolla G.,
Laura B. and Zida M. Mr. and Mrs. Grubb
are worthy members of the Methodist Episco
pal church, and Mr. Grubb is a Stewart of the
same. He is also president of the township
Sunday-school association, and is an active
and efficient worker -in the various church
societies. It is an agreeable task to write of
such men, and it makes one reflect how much
more than riches are such persons to be valued
in a community.

>*-r»ACOB B. HALLER is one of the old
A and greatly respected citizens of Ger-
A J man township, Allen county, Ohio,
who has seen it transformed from a
dense forest into one large fertile field, and has
done his part in the way of bringing about this
great change. Mr. Haller was born January
15, 1 8 10, in Lancaster county, Pa., is the
third son and third-born child, and the only
one now living of a family of five children,
three sons and two daughters, born to Samuel
and Elizabeth (Beck) Haller, who were both

natives of Lancaster county, Pa., where they
both grew to man and womanhood, were
there married and resided for a number of
years, when they sold their possessions and
removed westward, locating for a time at Lan
caster, Ohio, and later came still farther west
and located in German township, Allen county,
and settled in the almost unbroken forest,
where they lived the life of pioneers, experi
encing all its hardships and privations. They
became the parents of the following named
children: John, Samuel, Jacob B., Catherine
and Betsey, now Mrs. Plummer. Mr. Haller
was a mason by trade in early life and the
after part of his life was prominently identified
as a farmer and stock dealer; he was a dem
ocrat in politics and prominent wherever
known. He and his wife both died on their
homestead farm in German township and were
greatly missed among those with whom they
had associated during the stirring scenes of
the settlement of this wild country.
Jacob B. Haller, the subject of this men
tion, was but a mere lad when his father
moved to Lancaster, Ohio, and still quite
young when they came to Allen county, where
he finished his education in the common schools.
He took an active part in assisting to redeem
the home farm from the wilderness and re
mained under the parental roof until arriving
at his majority, when he began business life
nearly or quite empty-handed. Mr. Haller
had been taught industry in his youth and knew
well its effectiveness in the affairs of life; thus
did he willingly put his shoulder to the wheel
and began in earnest to make himself a home.
His first purchase of land was eighty acres,
now a part of the homestead, farm which he-
redeemed from the forest and put under a good
state of cultivation He, like others, who
located in Allen county at an early day,
erected the round-log cabin which formed a
shelter for himself and his family for several

JACOB B. HALLER.

THEO. A. HANDEL.

MRS. THEO. A. HANDEL.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

299

years, and from the beginning, he prospered,
and soon added to his first purchase of land, so
that the home place now consists of 1 17 acres.
In 1855 he erected a fine brick residence,
which took the place of the first, or his pio
neer home, and this is the home that has been
known for its generous and hospitable enter
tainment dispensed for several decades. Mr.
Haller affiliates with the democratic party,
and is a stanch adherent to its principles, and
by said party was elected to fill the office of
county commissioner for two terms in succes
sion, and it can be said that he filled the office
with credit to himself and all his constituents.
He has also filled many of the local offices of
his township, in each proving himself a safe
and conservative official and one well worthy
of the trust imposed in him.
Jacob B. Haller chose for his life-compan
ion, quite early in life, Miss Leah Myers, who
was a native of Cumberland county, Pa., born,
July 13, 181 5. The union of Mr. and Mrs.
Haller has been blessed by the birth of eleven
children, viz: Jacob M., deceased'; Christian
L. , a merchant of New York city; John F.,
deceased; Mary E., wife of Milton Carter, of
Lima, Ohio, who is a machinist by trade;
Catherine, wife of Lawrence Holzfoster, who
now lives upon the home farm; Sophia, de
ceased; the other five children all died in in
fancy. Mrs. Haller died May 13, 1888, having
been a consistent member of the Lutheran
church the greater part of her life, and a- fond
and loving companion as well as mother. Mr.
Haller is one of the prominent members in the
Lutheran church and is active in promoting all
church interests as well as the education of
the young and rising generation, and is one of
the prominent and highly esteemed citizens in
the community where he as resided for over
half a century.
Mr. Holzfoster, the son-in-law and husband
of Catherine Haller, is a hard-working and in

dustrious citizen now residing on the home
stead farm and for the past five years has been
in the employ of a refining company at Lima,
Ohio. He was born in Union county, Ohio,
June 28, 1862, and is a democrat in politics,
while in religion he is a worthy member of the
Lutheran church.

HEODORE A. HANDEL, an old set
tler and a prominent farmer of Marion
township, Allen county, Ohio, and a
veteran of the late Civil war, is a
native of the Buckeye state and was born in
Granvilie, Licking county, May 1, 1834, and
descends from Revolutionary ancestors of Ger
man extraction.
John Handel, grandfather of our subject,
was the founder of the family in America, and
was descended from progenitors who had been
grist-millers for generations. In the old coun
try, in his early manhood, he was employed
by his father to traverse the country and buy
grain from the farmers. While on one of these
excursions, with four companions as aids or
assistants, the five were seized by the military
authorities, impressed, and their services trans
ferred to George III, of England, who was
then waging his war for the subjection of the
revolutionary colonies of America. These
mercenaries have always been stigmatized as
Hessians. On arrivng in Boston harbor, John
Handel and his four companions evaded the
vigilance of their captprs and made .their es
cape by swimming to an American vessel, im
mediately enlisting in defense of liberty and
right. John Handel fought through the en
tire Revolution, seeing much service in the
navy, and after the close of the heroic struggle
went to Baltimore, where he found employ
ment as a miller. He married in Maryland,
settled in Virginia on the Shenandoah river,
about twenty miles above Harper's Ferry,

300

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

where his first child, Nicholas, was born, his
only other child being Elizabeth, as far as can
be remembered. John Handel probably died
at his mill-residence at the age of about eighty
years. It is also related that John Handel
was of the same family from which descended
the world-famed musician, Handl.
Nicholas Handel, son of John, also became
a miller, and in the early days hauled his prod
uct down the Potomac river banks as far as
Alexandria, Va., but prior to this, at the age
of eighteen years, had enlisted for the war of
1812, in which he did gallant service until the
end. It is related of young Handel that, when
a raw recruit, he infringed on the dignity of
Gen. WTlliam H. Harrison while in camp.
The general was taking a walk for exercise
when young Handel, off duty, joined him.
The general, to try the younger 's nerve, gave
him a blow. The blood of the young soldier
was aroused, and in the tussel which followed
Harrison was knocked flat. On going to his
quarters the general caused the arrest of his
private, and on the ensuing examination of the
young soldier inquired what he had enlisted
for. The response was, "To fight." "Your
superior officers?" inquired the general. "Any
body who attacks me," replied young Handel.
"Go back to your quarters," ordered the
general, "and be a good soldier," but ere they
parted drank a glass of gin together. Nicholas
did prove to be a good soldier, and in after
years frequently met his old commander, who
was always delighted to recall the reminis
cences of the war for free trade and sailors'
rights. Nicholas Handel, after the war, returned
to Virginia, but soon after relinquished his
milling business in that state and came to Ohio,
and for forty years was chief miller in the Fas-
sett mills on Raccoon creek, near Granville,
Licking county — buying all the grain and ship
ping all the flour. There he married Myla

Hayes, daughter of Alanson and Rhoda
(Slater) Hayes, of New York state, but of New
England descent. Alanson Hayes was a well-
to-do farmer, and he and wife were the par
ents of the following children: Alanson, Nel
son, Rhoda, George, Myla, Amanda, and
Cynthia. Alanson Hayes came to Allen
county, Ohio, about the year of 1848, and set
tled on the farm now occupied by Col. Bliss,
of whom mention is made on another page.
Mr. Hayes and his eldest son, Alanson, cleared
up from the woods about 300 acres, and here
the father died at the age of over eighty years.
Nicholas Handel, who passed the declining
years of his life to a great extent with his son,
Theodore A., returned to Granville, Ohio, just
before his demise, and died at the greatly ad
vanced age of eighty-six years, in the faith of
the Baptist church.
Theodore A. Handel, the principal subject
of this biographical reminiscence, received a
common-school education in his native village
of Granville, Ohio, and at the age of ten
years came to Allen county, which has since
been his home. From the age of fourteen
years until twenty-one, he worked on the farm
of Orrin Kephort, and April 5, 1857, he here
married Angelina Harris, who was born Oc
tober 13, 1836, at Lockland, Hamilton county,
Ohio, a daughter of Calvin and Edith (Dunn)
Harris. Mr. Harris was born in Olean, N. Y.,
was a son 'of Samuel Harris, of English de
scent and a boat -builder. Calvin learned the
trade of wagon-maker in Cincinnati, having
been brought by his parents to Hamilton
county, Ohio, when six years of age. At
the age of twenty-four he married Miss
Dunn, then twenty-two years old and a
daughter of Beracha and Mary (German)
Dunn. In 1847 Mr. Harris sold out his shop
in Lockland, bought and ran a boat on the
Miami canal, then traded the boat for 120
acres of partly cleared land in Amanda town-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

301

ship, Allen connty, on which there was a
log cabin; here he made a good home. He
became a township trustee and township clerk.
He was a deacon in the Baptist church for
many years and a trustee, and a member of
the grange. He and wife were parents of nine
children, viz: Mary A., Edith R. (died in in
fancy), Clifford S. (died an infant), Calvin
W. (died at twenty-six years of age), Charles
F. (died at two years of age), RoscoB., Flor
ence B., and Burton E. (died in infancy). Mr.
Harris died on his farm January 28, 1892,
aged eighty-one years, eight months and
twenty-eight days, and his wife died December
9, 1 88 1, aged sixty-eight years, nine months
and sixteen days.
After his marriage Theodore A. Handel
settled on their present farm under a lease for
five years — selling a tract of forty acres in
Amanda township — but he has since owned as
many as 200 acres at one time. August 8,
1 86 1, Mr. Handel enlisted, at Wapakoneta,
Ohio, in company I, Thirty-fourth Ohio vol
unteer infantry, for three years, and was hon
orably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, in Sep
tember, 1864. He took part in thirty-five
genera] engagements, beside many skirmishes,
and among these may be mentioned Chapman-
ville Gap, Louisburg, Fayettville, Trenton,
Fayetteville again, Charleston, Red House,
Mud Ridge, Cloyd Mountain and Greenbrier,
all in West Virginia; James River, Lynchburg,
Staunton, Paw Paw Station, Stone Spring
House, Shenandoah Valley and Winchester,
all in Virginia; Martinsville, W Va., then in
a battle on the banks of the Potomac river;
Fredericksburg (two battles), Monocacy Junc
tion, Va. ; Charleston, W. Va. ; Kernton, Cedar
Creek, Va. ; between Hallton and Charlestown,
W. Va. ; then in another battle near Winches
ter, Va., which closed the active military
career of Mr. Handel, whose term had expired.
He was wounded in his first battle, Chapman-

ville Gap. His companion, in line of battle,
fell by his side, and in the act of laying him
down, Mr. Handel was shot in the ankle, be
ing the second man of the company to be
wounded, but he did not leave the battle-field.
Mr. Handle was always an active soldier, was
in all the battles, skirmishes and marches of
his regiment, was never confined in hospital,
and for meritorious conduct was promoted to
be corporal, but acted as deputy sergeant for
more than two years; he was one of the best
soldiers recruited from Allen county, and served
his country with bravery and fidelity.
Returning to his wife, after his discharge
from the army, Mr. Handel resumed the occu
pation of farming, and succeeded, by industry
and intelligent direction of his labors, in in
creasing his acres to 200, and in this task he
has been aided effectually by his willing and
faithful wife. In the kindness of their hearts
Mr. and Mrs. Handel have reared four adopted
children, and have given them all full school
advantages, and to his adopted son, Earnest,
has deeded forty-five acres of good farming
land. In politics Mr. Handle is a republican,
but has never sought notoriety or emolu
ment as an office holder; in religion he and
wife are Baptists, and Mr. Handel has been
a deacon in his church for more than
twenty years, and a church trustee almost as
long. They are also members of the Patrons
of Husbandry and Mrs. Handel has served as
overseer of his grange and as lecturer. He is
also a member of Renel post, G. A. R., at
Delphos, and is highly esteemed by his com
rades. His fine farm now comprises 200 acres,
is excellently well improved and highly culti
vated, and is the result of his own labor and
good management, he being a self-made man,
in the full acceptation of that term. He has
met with many difficulties in life, but his in
domitable will and strenuousness have over
come them all and success has crowned, at

302

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

last, all his undertakings. Mr. and Mrs. Handel
stand at the head of a long line of social ac
quaintances and are deservedly respected by all
in the line as well as by the community at large.

>-r*OSHUA HARDESTY, one of the thriv-
A ing and well-to-do farmers of Perry
A 1 township, Allen county, Ohio, was born
in Brown county, June 2, 1833, received
a good practical education in the common
schools, and was reared to the hard work of
farming, on his father's homestead.
Stephen Hardesty, father of Joshua, our
subject, was also a native of Brown county,
Ohio, and was born in 1817. He there mar
ried Nancy Ellis, daughter of Isaac Ellis, of
Brown county, and in 1835 came to Perry
township; Allen county, and purchased fifty-
eight acres of new land, of which he afterward
made a good home. The children born to
Stephen and Nancy Hardesty, were born and
named in the following order: Isaac, now of
Paulding county, Ohio; Joshua, the subject
of this mention; George, of Auglaize township,
Allen county; Elizabeth, widow of J. C. Mona-
han; Henry, of Beaver Dam, Ohio; and Ste
phen L., of Lima. Stephen Hardesty, in
addition to the first tract of land he had pur
chased in Perry township, bought an adjoining
farm, and on this he passed the final years of
his life, dying in 1 867 ; his wife departed Feb
ruary 12, 1884, and the remains of both hus
band and wife lie interred, side by side, in the
cemetery of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Auglaize township.
Joshua Hardesty, after passing his youth
and early manhood on his father's farm, mar
ried Miss Sarah J. Comstock, daughter of
Charles Comstock, of Perry township, six chil
dren being the result of the marriage, viz: Clora,
wife of William H. McCoy, of Van Wert county;
Leola, still at home; William A., who married

Miss Jessie Tapscott; Lena; Minnie, deceased;
Edwin, and Walter C. Mr. Hardesty, having
no fear of rebel bullets, in 1864 joined the
One Hundred and Fifty-first regiment of Ohio
volunteer infantry for the 100-day service and
faithfully served out his term of enlistment;
after passing through the various engagements
in which his regiment took part he returned to
Perry township and purchased the old home
stead, which now comprises 106 acres. Mr.
Hardestry is recognized at this day as one of
the most scientific agriculturists of Perry town
ship, and his farm shows in every respect the
evidences of his skill and good management.
As a member of society he .is considered to be
useful and altogether desirable; as a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church he is con
sistent and sincere, and as a republican, he is
loyal in his adhesion to his party.

at

ILLIAM H.- HARPER, M. D., a re
tired physician, of Lima, Ohio, is a
son of Thomas and Mary (Sirlott)
Harper. The Harper family is an
ancient and distinguished one in American his
tory, some distinguished for one thing and
some for another, but for all for something
creditable. The grandfather of William H. Harper
was named John, and his ancestry settled early
in Maryland. He is said to have been a de
scendant of the Harper after whom Harper's
Ferry in Virginia was named. By occupation
he was a farmer and followed that honorable
calling through life. About 18 14 he removed
to Greene county, Ohio, and settled on the
bank of Masses Creek. Upon the farm selected
here, in Greene county, Mr. Harper spent the
remainder of his life, dying in 1823. His
wife was a Miss Thomas, of Welsh extraction,
and survived her husband, dying when she
was nearly 100 years old. The children of

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

303

this pioneer and his worthy wife were as fol
lows: John, Elijah, Thomas, Joseph; Sarah,
who married Francis Brush; Nancy, who mar
ried David Larkins; and Eliza, who married
Daniel Barkdell, and all of whom died in
Greene county.
Thomas Harper, the third of the above-
mentioned children, and the father of Dr.
William H. Harper, was born in Maryland,
near Harper's Ferry, about the year 1800.
With his parents he came to Ohio, remaining
with them on their farm until he grew to ma
ture years. Then he purchased a tract of
land adjoining his father's farm, and upon his
purchase passed the remainder of his life, en
gaged in agricultural pursuits and hunting
game, as was customary to a greater or less
extent with all the pioneers. He married Miss
Mary Sirlott, and by her had the following
children: Mary, wife of Charles Metheany;
George; Minerva A., who married Nathan
McFarland and is now deceased; Henry, and
William H., the latter the subject of this
sketch. William H. Harpef was born March 29,
1 8 19, in Greene county, Ohio, upon the old
homestead farm. His boyhood days were
passed in a manner similar to those of the
children of all pioneers, working on the farm
in summer time, and attending school as far
as was possible for him in the winter season.
The school-house was built of logs and chinked
to keep out the cold. Desks were arranged
around the sides of the room and seats in front,
the scholars sitting with their backs to the in
side of the room. The fireplace was at one
end of the house, and the chimney was
made of sticks and clay. Logs and large
chunks of wood were the fuel, and the learning
obtained was as crude as the facilities provided.
At the age of twenty-one he began the study
of medicine with Drs. John Dawson & Wi-
nans, and afterward took a course of study at

the Medical college at Louisville, Ky. Later
he attended Starling Medical college at Colum
bus, Ohio, graduating there in 1852. In 1843
he began the practice of medicine at Fairfield,
Greene county, later removing to Bellbrook,
Greene county, where he remained two years,
and in 1845 finally located in Lima, where he
continued to practice until 1893, when he re
tired. Dr. Harper has been one of the suc
cessful physicians of his day, and stands high
as a professional man in the esteem of the en
tire community. He is a member of the
Allen County Medical society and was for some
time its presiding officer. He organized the
Northwestern Medical society and was its first
president. He was one of the original stock
holders of the Lima National bank, was one of
its directors and served until the bank failed.
Under President Andrew Johnson he was
postmaster of Lima, and has been a repub
lican since the organization of the party in
1854. His membership is in the Christian
church and his life has been consistent with
its precepts. Dr. Harper married Miss Clarissa Wi-
nans, of Green county, Ohio, by whom he has
had the following children: Mary A., wife of
R. K. Cyphers; Thomas W., an attorney at
law of Terre Haute, Ind.; James H., who en
listed in the Ohio volunteer infantry at the age
of fifteen years, was taken prisoner, and died
in Andersonville within a short time after his
enlistment; Fannie, deceased; Vennie, wife of
William Annot, of Wooster, Ohio, and Will
iam H., Jr., cashier in a bank of Ottawa,
Putnam county, Ohio.

S. HARRISON, the well-known loan
agent and broker of Lima, Ohio, was
born in Richmond, Va. , October 28,
1 838, and is a son of James L. and Anna
S. (Short) Harrison. James L. Harrison was

304

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

thoroughly educated with the view of follow
ing the ministry, but, in order to accumulate
a little of the wealth of this world,' became - a
cotton broker, which business he followed until
1 86 1, when he removed to Columbus, Ohio,
and somewhat later to Delaware county, Ohio,
where he died in 1871. His wife died in 1885.
James L. Harrison and his wife were the par
ents of eight children, viz: James P. B., of
Delaware, Ohio; Lawrence A., deceased;
Charlotte, wife of James N. Stark, of Mansfield,
Ohio; Sarah E., deceased; Maria, a widow,
now residing in Columbus, Ohio; Francis, de
ceased, and Thomas S., the subject of this
sketch. The father of this family was, up to
the breaking out of the Civil war, a wealthy
man and slave-owner, but when the war came
on he of course lost his slaves, and he also lost
much of his other property. In politics he
was a whig, and was not one of those who
favored the secession of the southern states.
Thomas S. Harrison was reared to man
hood in Virginia, was educated in that state
and remained with his parents until he was
sixteen years of age. At this time he went to
Philadelphia and engaged to a retail jeweler as
clerk, remaining until 1858, when he went to
New York city, locating at No. 206 Broadway,
as a broker, in which branch of business he
was engaged until 1864 at that place, and
then removed his office to No. 172 Clark
street, where he remained until 1871. He
then went to Louisville, Ky., and after a short
time spent there went to St. Louis, Mo., re
maining six months, and then removed to Cin
cinnati, where he remained three years. He
removed thence to Buffalo, remaining one year,
and thence went to Toledo, where he re
mained three years, and finally located in
Lima in 1885, where he has since been pros
perously engaged in the loan and brokerage
business. Mr. Harrison was married in Chicago, in

1 860, to Miss Minnie Thomas, of Philadelphia,
who died in 1870. He was subsequently mar
ried, in New York, to Miss Mary E. Brown of
Boston, Mass., who died in 1871. He was
married, the third time, in 1872, to Miss Ida
Ogden, by whom he had two children, both
of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Harrison, the
mother of these children, died in 1887. In
politics Mr. Harrison is a democrat and fra
ternally is' a Mason, belonging to a lodge in
New York city.

HBRAM HARROD, a prominent citizen
of Allen county, was born in Mercer
county, Ohio, April 27, 1750, and is
son of David and Jane (Reckmire)
Harrod. David Harrod was born in Knox
county, Ohio, in 1792, and his wife in the
same county in 1794. After their marriage
they located, in 1837, in Mercer county, Ohio,
near Fort Recovery, on a farm, where they
lived until 1852, when Mr. Harrod, in com
pany with a party of neighbors, went west to
look for a location suitable in their minds for
a settlement. While on board a steamboat
on the Missouri river he was taken ill with
cholera and died in 1853. His widow remained
on the old homestead in Mercer county until
he death in 1873.
Mr. Harrod was in politics a democrat,
and held many of the minor offices of his
township, among them that of justice of the
peace, which he filled for twenty-two years.
The confidence of his neighbors he enjoyed to
a remarkable degree, and was highly respected
and esteemed by all. He and his wife were
members of the United Brethren church, and
both stood high in church circles. They were
the parents of nine children, as follows:
Mahala, wife of George Shroyer, a farmer of
Mercer county; Mary, wife of Christian Bientz,
a farmer and carpenter of Mercer county,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

305

Ohio; Cynthia, deceased; Nancy, wife of
Thompson Stettler, of Mercer county, Ohio, a
farmer; James, who enlisted in company K,
Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, and died
from a gunshot wound received at the battle
of Shiloh; Elizabeth, wife of Adam Cully, of
Geneva, Ind. ; Abram, the subject of this
sketch; Catherine, deceased, and an infant,
deceased. Abram Harrod was educated in the com
mon schools, and remained at home with his
mother, managing the home farm, until her
death. Then he spent one year in traveling
through the western states, including Califor
nia, and returning to his home, in Mercer
county, he married, May 15, 1875, Miss Har
riet Smith, who was born in Van Wert county,
March 11, 1856, and who is a daughter of
David and Jane (Hartzog) Smith. He then
removed to Geneva and engaged in the furni
ture and undertaking business, which he there
followed for nine years, when he removed to
Portland, Ind., and engaged in the sale of ag
ricultural implements, which he continued for
four years. On January 3, 1886, he engaged
as salesman for H. Parham, who was an agri
cultural implement agent, and remained with
him six years and eight months, at which time
he was nominated for county recorder, and at
the ensuing election was elected by a majority
of 615 votes. He took possession of his office
in January, 1894, and has most acceptably
filled it ever since. He and his wife Harriet
are the parents of three children, as follows:
Bert G., deputy recorder of Allen county;
Robert, clerk in the Columbian shoe store,
and Viola May, deceased. In politics Mr.
Harrod is a democrat, and he and his wife are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He is also a member of the Knights of
Maccabees. Bert G. Harrod, deputy recorder of Allen
county, was born in Geneva, Ind., August 29,

1876, and received his education in the schools
of Portland, Ind., and Lima, Ohio. In the
latter city, on March 21, 1 894, he was married
to Miss Luella Moore, who was born in Day
ton, Ohio, July 19, 1877, and is a daughter of
J. H. and Laura (Chambers) Moore. Mr.
Harrod is a democrat, represents Bradstreet's
commercial agency, and is a prominent young
politician, popular and recognized in society as
a splendid young man. He and his wife are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

*y «* CLAY HART, M. D., physician and
Ir\ surgeon of Spencer township, Allen
1^ F county, has been a resident of Allen
county since 185 1. His birthplace
was Troy, Ohio, where he first saw the light
of day July 19, 1841. He is a son of Levi
and Sarah Sewell (Tullis) Hart, natives of New
Jersey and Virginia. The Harts date back
directly to the singers of the declaration of
independence. The father of Dr. Hart was
one of a family of seven children and followed
the calling of a mechanic until he came west,
when he located on a farm and remained upon
it until his death in 1865. He was a true
Christian in life and a member of the society
of Christians, to which he gave his time and
money freely. The mother died February 26,
1886. Their family consisted of four children
— Frances C, Dorisa Ann, Clay (our subject)
and John B., who died in infancy.
Dr. Hart's early life was spent on the farm
and he was educated in the schools of Delphos.
After his school-days were over, he became a
book-keeper, but at the breaking out of the
war he enlisted — August, 1862, in company F,
One Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer
infantry, and was mustered out at Evansville,
Ind., July 6, 1865. He held the office of post-
adjutant for nearly a year and a half. Owing
to poor health he was held on detached serv-

306

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ice and was once given his discharge by
President Lincoln, but refused to accept it,
and, as an outcome of his refusal, received a
letter from the executive, praising and com
mending him for his patriotism. After the
war he tried farming, but after a year or so of
•experiment found the work was not congenial,
and began reading medicine and took a course
of lectures in the Philadelphia university, grad
uating in the spring of 1869. In April of the
same year he came to Spencerville, Ohio, and
engaged in the practice of his profession.
After remaining here twenty years he went to
Monticello, Van Wert county, Ohio, where he
spent two years, but his health failing he re
turned to his farm in Spencer township, which
he had purchased in 1884, and which consisted
of 160 acres. When Dr. Hart bought this
land there were but three acres cleared, but at
the present time no acres are under good cul
tivation. Upon this he erected a pretty house
and good and ample barns for stock and grain,
devoting the place to general farming.
In April, 1889, the doctor was married to
Elizabeth V. Rathgeber, daughter of Jacob
Rathgeber, of Spencer township. In politics
the doctor is a stanch and active republican
and desires nothing better in the way of a
political creed than this party offers. While
living in Spencerville he was a member of the
council, a member of the board of education
and chairman of the building committee when
the present school-building was built. Noth
ing more need be added than that Dr. Hart is
an all-around useful man, and as such he is re
garded in the community in which he lives.

aHARLES FREDERICK HARTER,
a member of the Delphos (Ohio) city
council and one of the leading citizens
of that place, is a native of Weingot-
ten, Baden, Germany; and was born on Feb

ruary 1, 1849. His parents were Charles
Frederick and Elizabeth (Hecker) Harter,both
of whom were natives of Baden. In May,
1854, they came to America, locating at San
dusky city, Ohio. The father was a cabinet
maker by trade, which trade he followed in
Sandusky city until his death, which occurred
in 1864, in his forty-fifth year. The mother
died in 1883. To the parents eight children
were born, five of whom are still living.
Charles F. Harter was five years old when
brought to America. He was reared in San
dusky city, and received a German education.
At the age of fourteen years he began the trade
of chair-making and the painting trade, but
after learning them he became tired of them,
and took a position in a wholesale furniture
store in Sandusky city. In 1865 he went to
Evansville, Ind., where he spent several months.
Returning to his old home he went to work in
a spoke manufactory, where he learned that
business, remaining there at work two years;
he next went to Toledo, where he took charge
of a spoke room, and remained there about six
months. In January, 1873, he came to Del
phos and went to work for the Ohio Wheel
company, taking charge of the spoke depart
ment of that factory, where he has since con
tinued. Mr. Harter has always taken an active
interest in public affairs, and in 1891 was
placed on the ticket by the republican party as
a candidate for city councilman from the Fourth
ward, and was elected. He was re-elected in
1893, and his term will expire in 1896, the
the terms being for two years each. He has
served on different committees, and is now
chairman of the finance committee. Frater
nally, Mr. Harter is a member of the National
Union and Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Harter was married February 1, 1876,
to Miss Martha Lillian Waterburg, the daugh
ter of George Oscar and Louise (Harpel)
Waterburg. Mrs. Harter was born in Delphos

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

307

March 30, i860. George O. Waterburg was
a native of Connecticut, and came to Delphos
in 1 841, when this city was known as section
No. 10. His wife was born in Pennsylvania.
He was a member of company D, Seventy-
eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, enlisting Sep
tember 24, 1864, and died in the service on
March 22, 1865. His wife died June 1 1, 1892.
To Mr. and Mrs. Waterburg nine children were
born, six of whom are living. To Mr. and
Mrs. Harter five children have been born, as
follows: George Frederick; Arthur Burkel,
Alice Leona, Lucile and Cliphord Raymond.
Mr. and Mrs. Harter are members of the Pres
byterian church.

m

ERRITT HARVEY, one of the old
and highly respected citizens of
Spencerville, Allen county, Ohio,
was born at Bennington, Vt., Octo
ber 20, 1824. Appollis, the father of our sub
ject, was born in Massachusetts in 1796 and
his mother, Mary (Rockwood) Harvey, also a
Bay state woman, was born in 1800. After
their marriage they moved to Vermont, where
Merritt Harvey, of this biography, was born.
Appollis Harvey was of English descent, being
a direct descendant of John Harvey, of good
old Puritan stock and was one of three
brothers, John, Jonathan and Benjamin, who
emigrated to America during the colonial his
tory, about the time the Mayflower came over.
After many years of active business life in the
east, where he was engaged in extensive oper
ations of various kinds, he came to Cincinnati,
in 1843, in the employ of aland syndicate. In
Piqua, Ohio, he rented an oil-mill and oper
ated it successfully for some time. Later,
after many business ventures, he purchased a
canal-boat, which ran between Cincinnati and
Fort Wayne, Ind., and for two years did a
flourishing business, but en route from Cincin

nati to Fort Wayne, in December, 1847, his
boat was frozen solid in the canal at Spencer
ville, where he unloaded a part of his goods,
and took the rest to Delphos, Ohio. Owing to-
constant exposure and hardships he contracted
pneumonia, and from its effects died February
29, 1848. He was a man with a career, and
his life deserves a place in the best history of
the state, but limited space forbids more than
brief mention here. Six children were born
to him: William R., Parmelia, Merritt (our
subject), Sarah A., Albert H. and Mary J.
Merritt Harvey came to Ohio with his-
father in 1843 and remained with him until
his death, assisting him in his varied work.
His education was obtained in the public
schools and at Brunswick seminary. After
the decease of his father he closed up his busi
ness and engaged in the grocery trade at
Spencerville, opening the first store of the kind
in the village. In 1850 he sold out and taught
his first public school in Spencerville, being at
that time one of the best educated men in the
country. He taught thirty terms and was the
one authority on all questions requiring special
thought and judgment. In vacations he em
ployed himself variously, sometimes purchas
ing a boat-load of produce and running it to
Cincinnati, where he would sell it and return
for a new venture, being always open to a good
deal. He had a genius for operations requir
ing risk, and his life has been characterized by
transactions of this kind. When the village
of Spencerville was incorporated he was elected
city clerk, and he drew up all the ordinances
for its government, and a few years later was-
elected mayor of the little city three times in
succession. He has been notary public for a
number of years, a member of the city council,
and in truth a father to the town. Prior to-
the organizing of the banks, he was engaged
in buying and selling notes and securities, loan
ing money, etc., and for four years operated

308

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the mail and express delivery; he has always
worked for the best interests of the city and
vicinity, and has never lost sight- of its pros
perity or future weal.
In .September, 1864, he manifested his pa
triotic spirit by enlisting in defense of his coun
try in company E, One Hundred and Eightieth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and participated in a
number of engagements, doing active duty
until his term of enlistment expired, and being
mustered out in June, 1865, at David Island.
He is one of the worthy members of the G. A.
R. post, No. 322. Mr. Harvey, having been
a resident of Spencerville since its organiza
tion, has been one of its leading representative
men from every standpoint, starting first as a
teacher in the public schools, then becoming
the first grocery merchant of the town, and,
being favored in his early life with the advan
tages sufficient to secure a good education, was
fitted to be one of its most useful citizens.
Mr. Harvey has been twice married; the
first marriage occurred in 1852, when he chose
for his companion Miss Rebecca A. Wicks,
who died in March, 1864, in early woman
hood. In August, 1865, he married Mrs. Eliza
A. Wicks, the widow of Harvey A. Wicks,
and this union was blessed by the birth of five
children, four of whom died in early childhood;
James M., the only one surviving, is now a
resident of Spencerville. Frank M., son of
Mrs. Harvey by her first husband, has adopted
the name of of Harvey and is also a resident
of Spencerville.

^/AERRYF. HEIDLEBAUGH, a trustee
I I of Marion township, Allen county,
Jl Ohio, and a thriving farmer, was born
in Hocking county, Ohio, March 22,
1856, and is of sturdy Pennsylvania-German
descent, from ancestry that came to America
in the days of the colonies.

John Heidlebaugh, grandfather of our sub
ject, was a native of Virginia, and when a
young man came to Ohio, settled in Fairfield
county, married there, then moved to Hocking
county and cleared up a farm. His wife bore
the maiden name of Sheets, and became
mother of one son, Noah. John Heidlebaugh
owned a farm of 250 acres, on which he died
at the advanced age of eighty-one years, a life
long member of the United Brethren church
and a highly-respected citizen. Noah Heidle
baugh, father of our subject, was born in
Hocking county, Ohio, December 25, 1832,
became a school-teacher and married, Septem
ber 13, 1855, Miss Ramah Mericle, daughter
of Solomon Mericle, to which union were born
eleven children, of whom one only died young,
and ten lived to adult age, viz: Perry F.,
Harriet, Maria, Martin, Albert, Minerva,
Amos, Newton, William and John. For two
years after marriage Noah Heidlebaugh main
tained his home in Hocking county, Ohio,
then moved to Stark county, 111., and there
lived until 1865, having served in the army
seventy days of the time. He then returned
to Hocking county, Ohio, farmed until the
fall of 1872, and passed the remainder of his
days in retirement — dying in January, 1893, at
the age of sixty. In politics he was a demo
crat and had served as township clerk and was
universally respected.
Perry F Heidlebaugh, our subject, was an
infant when taken by his parents to Illinois,
and nine years of age when they returned to
the county of his birth. He was well educated
and reared a farmer, remained in Hocking
county until 1872, and then came to Allen
county; here, August 13, 1874, he married
Miss Elizabeth Brenneman, who was born in
Allen county December 3, 1854, a daughter of
David and Leah (Stemen) Brenneman. David
Brenneman was born in Fairfield county,
Ohio, September 13, 1826, and was married

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

309

April 5, 1849. Mrs. Leah (Stemen) Brenne
man, was born June 9, 1831, and to their
union were born several children, of whom
Lydia, Catherine, Elizabeth and Samuel S.
grew to maturity. David Brenneman came to
Allen county after marriage and settled in
Marion township, on 160 acres in the woods,
cleared up a fine farm, on part of which Mr.
Heidlebaugh now lives. Later Mr. Brenne
man increased his possessions until he owned
a fertile farm of 240 acres in Marion town
ship, Allen county, and another productive
farm of 120 acres in Putnam county — all of
which property was the result of his own in
dustry. He lived to be sixty-eight years of
age and died February n, 1895, a member of
the Mennonite church and a very prominent
citizen. (The attention of the reader is here
invited to the biography of John L. Brenne
man, on another page.)
Perry F. Heidlebaugh, at his marriage,
settled on eighty acres of the Brenneman
homestead and went to housekeeping in a log
cabin of primitive construction. By hard
work and a skillful direction of his affairs he
has increased his holding to 160 acres, but his
faithful wife has lent much material assistance
in reaching this favorable result. The farm
is now all drained and cultivated, is im
proved with a first-class dwelling and sub
stantial barn and all necessary out-build
ings, and is one of the best of its size in
Marion township. The happy union of Mr.
and Mrs. Heidlebaugh has been blessed by the
birth of two children — Marion and Leah O. —
both of whom have been highly educated. In
politics Mr. Heidlebaugh is a democrat, and
for the past six years has held the office of
township trustee, a position he fills to the en
tire satisfaction of his constituency. Soci
ally the family stand very high and are noted
for their liberality and hospitality, as well as
fop their industry and morality.

HLBERT HEFNER, a prosperous
farmer of Bath township, Allen
county, Ohio, is a native of the Buck
eye state and was born in Delaware
county, October 23, 1839, a son of David and
Frances Hefner, who came to Allen county
in 1840. He received a good common-school
education and was reared to general farming,
becoming quite an expert in this particular
calling. He first married, in 1859, Miss- De
lilah Williams, daughter of Charles Williams,
of Auglaize township and an ex-sheriff of
Allen county. For his second wife he chose
Mary, daughter of Peter Goodman, of Bath
township, whom he wedded in 1864, and to
this union were born eight children, as follows:
Ida, wife of John McPherron; Miles and
Charles, of Bath township; Fannie, deceased;
Winnifred, Blanche, Mabel and Elden. The
second Mrs. Hefner died May 27, 1891, and
for his third wife Mr. Hefner married Mrs.
Emme B. Severance, daughter of John Ziler,
a thriving farmer of Perry township, Allen
county. In 1 88 1 Mr. Hefner came into possession
of his present farm of eighty acres, on which
he has since made many valuable improve
ments and developed into as fertile and pro
ductive a tract as any of its size in the town
ship. His dwelling is neat and substantial and
his out-buildings commodious, and all things
about him give evidence of the individual su
pervision of a practical and intelligent husband
man. Mr. Hefner is a consistent member of
the Christian church, and his daily walk
through life shows the sincerity of his belief in
his professed faith; in his politics he is a
stanch democrat, and under the auspices of
his party has held the office of trustee of his
township. He is highly esteemed by his
neighbors as a man of integrity and as being
actuated by a spirit of justice towards all, and
by a sentiment of charity, spiritual and mate-

310

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

rial, for all to whom that comprehensive virtue
should be extended, and which he freely ex
tends regardless of social condition.

>-t40HN HEFNER, a model farmer of
A Jackson township, Allen county, Ohio,
A 1 is a native of that township, was born
"~^ July 12, 1849, and is of sturdy German
origin, but very remotely so, inasmuch as it is
known that his grandfather, Isaac Hefner, was
born in Pennsylvania, was there reared and
married, and was a pioneer of Ross county,
Ohio, where he passed the latter years of his
useful life.
Isaac Hefner, son of the Isaac above men
tioned and the father of John Hefner, our
subject, was born in Pennsylvania, and was a
boy when his parents settled in Ross county,
Ohio, where he grew to manhood and married
Mary May, daughter of John May, to which
marriage were born the following children:
Jacob, Harrison, Amos, Clarissa, David, John
and Albert. Of these, Clarissa is now the
wife of Jacob Mowery, of Bath township, Al
len county. After marriage, Isaac Hefner
lived on rented land in Ross county until 1828,
but was successful in making money. He
then came to Jackson township, Allen county,
entered land, worked hard, and finally became
the owner of 1,640 acres — an unusually large
number for one person to be possessor of, al
though much credit must be conceded to his
faithful wife for her share in the earning of
this property; and it may be mentioned, be
side, that Mr. Hefner was a stock dealer for
many years. In politics he was a democrat.
He was of a very generous disposition and
liberally aided the religious bodies of his
neighborhood. He and wife were both mem
bers of the English Reformed church, in the
faith of which he died May 2, 1884, an hon
ored and respected gentleman. His widow,

hale and hearty at the age of eighty-eight
years, now makes her home with her youngest
son, Albert.
John Hefner, the subject of this biograph
ical notice, has lived on a farm all his life,
and was reared to manhood in Jackson town
ship. He received a good common-school ed
ucation. Although next to the youngest son,
he was of material aid to his father in clear
ing up and cultivating the home farm, and in
rendering this aid became a strong, robust
and expert agriculturist. At the proper age
he married Miss Flora R. Growdon, a daughter
of Brice and Sarah (Ashe) Growdon, who
came from Maryland, the father being now a
prosperous farmer of Auglaize township, but
the mother deceased. Mr. Growdon is a mem
ber of the Methodist Protestant church, is a
republican in politics, and is a respected and
useful citizen. To the congenial marriage of
Mr. and Mrs. Hefner have been born seven
children, in the following order: Sarah O.,
Jesse W., Tillie, Harvey, Edith, Robert and
Mary, all living.
Mr. Hefner owns and cultivates a fine farm
of 225 acres, and his residence is a spacious,
new modern two-story frame structure, with a
stone foundation; his barn is also very com
modious and conveniently arranged and sup
plied with the most approved appliances, Mr.
Hefner being a progressive middle-aged farmer,
in the broadest sense of the term. In politics
he is a strong democrat, but has never sought
an office or any other emolument at the hands-
of his party. He is a member of the English
Reformed church, in which he is greatly re
spected, having been a deacon and elder for a
number of years. He is also a member of the
order of Patrons of Husbandry, Auglaize-
grange,'No. 347. Few natives of Allen county
enjoy to as great a degree the esteem, hearty-
friendship and unstinted confidence of its citi
zens as Mr. Hefner.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

311

>rj»AMES G. HELSER, a practical and
A progessive farmer of Jackson township,
A 1 Allen county, Ohio, was born in Thorn
township, Perry county, Ohio, Septem
ber 21, 1846, and since eight years of age has
been identified with the township and county
in which he now resides, having been brought
to Allen county by his parents, Elijah and
Eliza (Eversole) Hesler.
Elijah Helser, a native, also, of Perry
county, Ohio, was born October 20, 1815, a
son of John Helser, a native of Virginia, who
married Mary Reisen, of the same state, and
both of German descent. John Helser and
wife were early settlers of Perry' county, Ohio,
and were the parents of nine children, viz:
William, John, Daniel and Catherine (de
ceased), Elijah, George, Peter, Levi and Mary.
Of this family, Elijah received a good com
mon-school education, was reared a farmer
and in early youth learned the trade of carpen
ter and cabinet maker, which he followed in
his native county for about fourteen years, sav
ing his earnings sufficient to purchase a farm
of 240 acres in the woods of Allen county, and
here removed with his family in 1854. He
placed his land under a high state of cultiva
tion, and in i860 erected a large, frame barn,
which, at the time, was the finest in the town
ship. In 1875 he erected a fine brick resi
dence, the second of the kind the township
had seen. He has been largely engaged in
stock growing and is a most substantial farmer.
His marriage took place, in 1841, to Miss
Eliza Eversole, and to this union were born
nine children, viz: John W., married to Milly
A. Sivitz; James G., the subject of this sketch;
Lemuel L., husband of Esther Isham; Daniel
O., of whom further mention will be made;
Sarah A., deceased wife of F. R. Thompson,
M. D., of Nebraska; Melvina, deceased ; George
E.; Verda Leatherman; Jennie F. and Peter
F., both deceased. The father of these chil

dren, Elijah Helser, is a Patron of Husbandry
and a member of Jackson grange; in politics
he is a democrat and cast his first presidential
vote for Martin Van Buren. Socially he stands
very high in the esteem of the residents of
Jackson township, whose material interests he-
has done so much to promote.
Daniel O. Helser, a younger brother of
our subject, James G., was born in Perry
county, Ohio, December 25, 1853 (Christmas
day), received a good common-school edu
cation, and was reared a farmer. October 21,
1880, he married Miss Nellie Grant, a daugh
ter of Squire and Eva (Hall) Grant, and born
May 1, 1 86 1. Squire Grant is a successful
farmer of Liberty township, Hardin county,
but is now a widower. The children born to
Daniel O. and Nellie Helser are two in num
ber, are named Clyde O. and Gelna M., and
are both attending school. Mr. Helser owns
a model farm of eighty acres, improved with a
modern two-story frame residence, commo
dious barn and windmill, and he and his father
own the only silo in the township; Mr. Helser
also owns and operates a first-class saw-mill
on his farm. Mr. and Mrs. Helser are both
members of Jackson grange, No. 341, of
which hg has been secretary and treasurer,
and both are highly esteemed in the social
circles of Jackson township.
James G. Helser, the subject proper of this.
biography, since he has begun his career as a.
farmer, has made a specialty of sheep raising,
giving special attention to Spanish Merinoes,
and for the past five or six years to Delaines..
He has sold many head for breeding purposes.
at high prices, and has made a grand success
in his enterprise. His homestead comprises
200 acres, and he owns, beside, an eighty-acre
tract, distinct from the homestead. The latter
is a very fine farm, improved with a modern
frame dwelling, two large barns and all other
necessary out-buildings, all of which is the re-

312

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

suit of his own industry, with the exception of
eighty acres. Mr. Helser married, in 1870,
Miss Sarah Long, a native of Holmes county,
Ohio, and a daughter of John and Esther
Long, who came from Pennsylvania and were
early pioneers of Ohio, but both now deceased.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Helser has been
blessed with three children, viz: Charles W.,
Thomas (deceased) and Louis O. Mr. and
Mrs. Helser are charter members of Jackson
grange, and have always been leading mem
bers, Mr. Helser having been its purchasing
agent since its organization — and this is con
sidered to be the finest grange in Ohio. Both
are members of the Lutheran church, which
they liberally aid, and Mr. Helser is a member
of Sager lodge, No. 315, F. & A. M., and for
five years has been its secretary. In politics
he is a democrat, and, though frequently
solicited, has always refused to accept nomi
nations for office. He is public-spirited, and
no man in the county stands higher in the
esteem of his neighbors than he.

HLPHONSO D. HESSER, a thriving
and industrious farmer of Jackson
township, Allen county, Ohio, and an
ex-soldier of the late Civil war, is a
native of the Buckeye state and was born in
Columbiana county December 31, 1844.
Johnathan Hesser, grandfather of Al-
phonso D., was born in Loudoun county, Va.,
in 1785; but early became a settler of Stark
county, Ohio, where he married Cassenia
Bierse, reared a family, and died in Smmit
county. His son, James W. Hesser, the father
of our subject, was born in what is now Stark
county, March 9, 18 19, was reared on his
father's farm, and also learned the trade of
shoemaking. In 1847 James W. Hesser came
to Allen county, engaged in farming, and is now
leading a retired life at Ada, enjoying the com

petency he earned in his earlier days and the
respect of all who know him.
Alphonso D. Hesser, the gentleman of
whom this memoir is to give a detailed record,
was reared on a farm until he had nearly
reached his eighteenth year of age, when, in
spired by the military ardor then rife with the
youth of the north, he volunteered to defend
the integrity of the American flag. He en
listed at Nevada, Wyandot county, Ohio,
August 16, 1862, for three years (unless the
Rebellion should be before the expiration of
that term terminated), in company F, One
Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio volunteer
infantry, and served until honorably discharged
June 12, 1865, for the reason that peace had
been declared. At the first battle of Win
chester, Va., he was captured, June 14, 1863,
and confined fifty days in the prisons of Libby
and Belle Isle, Va. ; subsequently he took part
in the battles of New Market, Piedmont, Lynch
burg, Snicker's Ferry, Winchester (again),
Berryville, Opequan, Fisher's Hill, Cedar
Creek, Petersburg, High Bridge and Appomat
tox — all in Virginia, thus closing a glorious
record. Returning to his home after the close of
the war, Mr. .Hesser was married, June 7,1867,
to Miss Rosanna Miller, daughter of Jacob and
Harriet (Beals) Miller, the union resulting in
the birth of the following children: Charles
W., Gustave J. (deceased), Ira J., Luther I.,
Dorsey J. and Harriet S. Mr. Hesser is a re
publican in politics, and in religion affiliates
with the United Brethren church. He has a
model farm of fifty-one acres, and also owns a
threshing machine, from which he derives a
compensating revenue, being a first-class sta
tionary engineer. In both capacities — those
of farmer and engineer — Mr. Hesser has made
a satisfactory progress, and is now placed far
beyond the reach of any prospective want. He
has won the regard of his neighbors, not only

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

313

for his gallant war record, but for the useful
life he has held as a citizen and his commend
able line of conduct in all the affairs that per
tain to a moral and order-loving community.

*yJ UCIAN E. HESSER, of the firm of
| r Hesser & Winegardner, of Harrod,
i^J Auglaize township, Allen county, Ohio,
dealers in buggies and carriages, un
dertakers and doing a general vehicle repairing
and blacksmithing business, is one of the most
enterprising young men of Allen county, and is
of German descent.
Jonathan Hesser, grandfather of our sub
ject, was born in Loudoun county, Va., in
1785, was a shoemaker by trade, and in an
early day came to Ohio and resided in Little
York. James W. Hesser, son of Jonathan and
father of our subject, was born in Columbiana
county, Ohio, March 9, 18 19, passed his early
days in his father's shop and learned the trade
of shoemaking. He was a man much better
educated than the average denizen of western
Ohio and was a successful school-teacher. He
first married Sophia Umphrey, to which union
were born five children, viz: Mary M., Al-
phonso D., Joseph, Cassenia and Sophia —
the last two deceased. The second marriage
of Mr. Hesser was with Maria Ann Hahn,
daughter of John and Isabel (Quinn) Hahn,
and this marriage was blessed with the birth
of seven children, viz: Jonathan E., Lucian
E. (our subject), Permelia B., Cora A., James
G. L., Mae and Charlie C. The mother of
this family died in 1883, a devout member of
the Disciples' church, and the third marriage
of Mr. Hesser was with Mrs. Rosa Vance,
widow of William Vance, but to this union no
children have been born. Mr. Hesser farmed
in Hancock, Allen, Wyandot and Hardin coun
ties, Ohio, for twenty-five years, but is now
leading a retired life at Ada, Hardin'county,

respected by all who know him. In politics
he is a republican, and in religion is a bright
light in the Disciples' church.
Lucian E. Hesser was born in Hancock
county, Ohio, June 23, 1856, and lived in
Wyandott county, Ohio, until fourteen years
of age, when his parents returned to Allen
county, four miles south of Bluffton, where he
lived until seventeen years of age, then went
to Lorain county, Ohio, where he learned
the trade of blacksmith, receiving, in the
meantime, a very good education. September
18, 1876, he married Margaret A. Davidson,
daughter of Henry and Sarah Davidson, and
this union has been blessed with the following
children: Pearly O., Sadie E., James H. and
William H. — the last named deceased. In
politics Mr. Hesser is a republican and is now
filling his second term as corporation treasurer;
he is also treasurer of the Christian church, of
which he is a faithful member, and fraternally
is a master Mason, being past senior warden
of Sager lodge, No. 513, F. & A. M. For six
years after marriage Mr. Hesser made his
home at Beaver Dam, Allen county, Ohio,
where he followed his trade, but since 1883
has been identified with the interests and
growth of the village of Harrod, his present
home, where he owns a pretty modern dwell
ing and stands among the most respected and
progressive residents of the village and Au
glaize township.
The firm of Hesser & Winegardner have
acquired a high reputation for their straight
forward methods of doing business, and for
the high grade of the vehicles they handle, as
well as for the excellence of their job work.
They use in their funeral directing business
hearses appropriate to the age of the deceased
— a black hearse and a white one — and their
facilities for the execution of this important
branch will soon be increased by the introduc
tion of the art of embalming, in which Mr.

314

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Hesser is now receiving instruction. A sketch
of the life of Francis H. Winegardner, junior
partner in the firm, will be found 6n another
page.

£*>f TEPHEN D. CRITES, eldest son of
*^^k Jacob and Mary Jane (Cremean)
h>^_j Crites, was born in German township,
Allen county, Ohio, November 28,
1847, and has always been a resident of his
native township. He was brought up on the
farm and experienced many of the hardships
incident to pioneer life, and was educated in the
famous old No. 2 sub-district school of German
township and in the National Normal univer
sity at Lebanon, Ohio. He began teaching
when eighteen years old — teaching during the
winter months and working on the farm during
the summer months. The year 1 867 was spent
among entire strangers in Livingston county,
111., during which time he taught three terms
of school; the years of 1869 and 1870 were
spent in the National Normal university at
Lebanon, Ohio; in September, 1870, he was
elected superintendent of the Elida public
schools, which position he successfully held for
twelve years, when he was compelled to resign
on account of ill health. As a teacher he was
a fine disciplinarian and a good instructor, and
can therefore point with pride to his record as
an educator. In 1876, he was appointed a
member of the Allen county board of school
examiners, which responsible position he filled
with ability and credit for eleven successive
years. Since giving up teaching Mr. Crites
has been engaged in the live stock trade. In
April, 1895, he succeeded M. H. Long in the
grain elevator business at Elida, Ohio, and
now deals largely in grain, seeds, hay, wool
and also coal.
In November, 1872, Mr. Crites was mar
ried to Miss Sarah Jane Reichelderfer, who

was born in Salt Creek township, Pickaway
county, Ohio, November 21, 1854. July 19,
1873, his young wife died at the age of eight
een years seven months and twenty-eight
days, and now sleeps in the Allentown ceme
tery with her twin infant babes at her side.
October 12, 1876, Mr. Crites was married to
Miss Emma Ditto, who was born in Marion
township, Allen county, Ohio, September 18,
1855. This union has been blessed with four
daughters, viz: Jessie K., born January 10,
1878; Mabel, born July 1, 1883; Zoretta,
born August 3, 1885, and Grace L., born
September 2, 1893.
Mr. Crites has been a citizen of Elida since
1876 and is well known throughout the county.
He is generous to a fault and enjoys the re
spect and confidence of all who knew him. He
and family are members of the Methodist Epis
copal church at Elida, for which society he has-
for the past thirteen years been leader and direc
tor of the choir, and during the same time has
continuously taught a Sunday-school class com
posed of twenty-five married ladies whose ages
now range from thirty to eighty-five years. The
social standing of Mr. Crites and his family is
with the best in Elida and German township,
and as a business man his record is pre-emi
nently clear.

5/\R. SALATHIEL A. HITCHCOCK,
i I is of the best known and highly val-
/A^J ued citizens of the village of Elida,
Ohio, as well as its most eminent
physician and surgeon. He has been a resi
dent of this town since 1879 and has ever been
identified with its best interests. He was
born at Junction City, Perry county, Ohio,
July 9, 1843, and is the son of John F. and.
Rosanna (Kelly) Hitchcock, who were both
natives of Maryland, and of Irish extraction.
John F. Hitchcock, father of our subject,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

315

was reared to manhood in his native state, was
a farmer and stock raiser by occupation, and
a man who made a success in life. He died in
August, 1867, at the age of sixty-one years,
while his worthy companion yet survives at
the age eighty-nine years and resides at Wes-
terville, Ohio. They became the parents of
seven children, as follows: Nicholas F., de
ceased, was lieutenant -colonel of the Ninthieth
Ohio volunteer infantry for three years in the
late Rebellion; Henry K., deceased, was captain
of company C, Sixty-second Ohio volunteer
infantry, serving for four years, and during the
battle at Fort Gregg was wounded in the left
breast; Isaiah, deceased; Salathiel A., Susan
A., wife of Dr. H. L. Furgeson, of Wester-
ville, Ohio; Jennie, wife of Rev. Amos Conn,
of Willshire, Van Wert county, who is promi
nent as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal
church; Leah, wife of Frank Rickets, of Port
Jefferson, Ind. JohnF Hitchcock, the father,
was the youngest of seven brothers, six of
whom were patriots and served in the war
of 1 8 12. '
Dr. S. A. Hitchcock was reared upon the
farm and attended the district school until the
age of eighteen years, when he entered the
high school at Lexington, Ohio, where he
added to his fund of knowledge the much-
needed education to prepare him for his life
work, after which he began to read medicine
in the office of Dr. H. L. Furgeson, of Wester-
ville, Ohio, and later, in 1870, graduated
from the Cincinnati Medical college, and at
once located in the practice of his profession
at Junction City, Ohio, where he met with
almost phenomenal success and remained here
until 1879, when he located at Elida, where he
has since been prominently identified with the
medical profession and has built up a splendid
and remunerative practice. He is a member
of the Northwestern Medical association and
also of the Allen County association. Socially

he belongs to the I. O. O. F. December 29,
1863, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen
Beck, daughter of George and Almira Beck.
Miss Beck was a native of Maxville, Ohio.
Her death occurred in May, 1877, at the age
of thirty-four years, leaving many devoted
friends and four children to mourn her loss.
The children born to Dr. and Mrs. Hitchcock
were four in number and named as follows:
Charley, a resident of West Bay City, Mich.,
is a prominent citizen and is a school commis
sioner of Bay county; Effie, who is the wife of
A. J. Pfiefer, a prominent citizen of West Bay
City and a mail-carrier; Jennie, wife of Wil
bur John, a barber of Elida; Frank, a resident
of Fort Wayne, Ind., and a clerk in the Penn
sylvania Railroad company's office.
Dr. S. A. Hitchcock was married a second
time, choosing for his companion Lydia Hum-
mell, of Carroll, Ohio, this marriage occur
ring in May, 1879. Miss Lydia Hummell is a
daughter of John and Eliza Hummell; she has
borne her husband three children, named as
follows: Clay, Roy and Don. Dr. and Mrs.
Hitchcock are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church. The writer of this biog
raphy could not fail to note the interesting
fact that Dr. Hitchcock was a soldeir in the
late war, enlisting for three years' service or
during the war, in January, 1864, in company
C, Ohio volunteer infantry. He was captured
at Appomattox, April 9, 1865 — paroled and
sent to Columbus, Ohio, and discharged June'
16, 1865. As a soldier and a citizen the
doctor is a man who knows his duty and
does it.

ISAAC HOOVER, a well-known agri
culturist of Marion township Allen
county, Ohio, was born in Fairfield
county, August 29, 1833, and is an ex-
soldier of the late Civil war. His great-grand-

316

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

father, Jacob, was a Pennsylvania-German,
was a patriot of the war of the Revolution,
and reared a large family to cultivate the soil and
develope the resources of the new-born repub
lic. His son Jacob, grandfather of our sub
ject, was born in Lancaster county, Va., was
a pioneer of Fairfield county, Ohio, married
Mary Peters, and became the father of a large
family. Joseph Hoover, son of Jacob and father of
Isaac, our subject, was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, in 1808, was a member of the
State militia when a young man, married
Mary Sockrider, and became the father of eight
children, named as follows: Michael, Cather
ine, Elizabeth and Ann (twins), Isaac, and
then the triplets, Jacob, Lydia and Susannah.
The prolific mother of this family died in Fair
field county, and Mr. Hoover next married
Mary Neff, this union resulting in the birth of
five children, viz: Abraham, William, Emeline,
John and Sallie. In 1840 Joseph Hoover
moved to Henry county, Ohio, bought eighty
acres of woodland and cleared up a good farm.
Here his second wife died, and for his third
wife he secure Mary Babcock, but to this
union no children were born. Mr. Hoover,
who was a weaver was well as farmer, accu
mulated quite a competency. He was a mem
ber of the Patrons of Husbandry, a democrat
in politics, a strong Union man, and died in
Henry county, in 1890, at the age of eighty-
one years.
Isaac Hoover, being but three years of age
when he lost his mother, was placed in the
care of his uncle, John Sockrider, a black
smith and farmer of Wyandot county, Ohio,
with whom he remained until about fourteen
years old ; he then went to work on a railroad,
and made his living at various occupations un
til, at the age of twenty-eight or twenty-nine
years, he enlisted, at Gomer, Allen county,
August 8, 1862, in company E, Ninety-ninth

Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until hon
orably discharged at Salisbury, N. C, June
24, 1865. He fought at Perryville, Ky., at
Stone River, at Tullahoma, and in the second
battle of Nashville; at the battle of Stone
River he was injured by a fragment of an ex
ploding shell and for a short time was confined
in hospital, the result of the wound, however,
being almost deafness and blindness.
In August, 1866, Mr. Hoover married Mrs.
Anna Hill, widow of William Hill, a member
of the Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteers, who
was killed at the battle of Stone River. This
lady is a daughter of Jacob and Hannah
Roush, natives of Pennsylvania, and the par
ents of six children, viz: Henry, Mary, Eliza,
Joseph, Anna, and Amelia. The first wife of
Mr. Roush died in Pennsylvania, and his sec
ond marriage took place in that state to Eliza
Holezapple, by whom he became the father of
fourteen children, of whom eight grew to ma
turity, viz: Jane, Ellen, George W. , Susan,
Janet, Charles, William and Ida. Mr. Roush
became a settler of Amanda township, Allen
county, cleared up a good farm from the woods,
and died April 8, 1894, at the advanced age
of eighty-one years, a member of the United
Christian church. Two of his sons, Henry
and Joseph, were volunteers in the late Civil
war, serving in the Ohio infantry.
After his marriage, Mr. Hoover settled on
forty acres of land in Marion township, Allen
county, and this tract he has cleared from the
woods, making a profitable farm and a com
fortable home. He has been blessed with two
children — John R. and Nettie, and has a very
happy home. In politics he is a democrat.
In religion he and wife are somewhat diverse
in their faiths, one being a member of the
United Brethren church and the other of the
Lutheran denomination, but their domestic.
felicity is not marred by this difference in faith,.
and both are sincere Christians.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

317

m

J. HOSLER, one of the prominent
representative citizens of Delphos,
Allen county, Ohio, is a native of
the Buckeye state, having been born
in the county of Ross, September 23, 1848.
His parents, Isaac and Sarah (Everett) Hosier,
removed to Pickaway county, Ohio, where the
father died about 1878, his wife having died
a year previously. He was a cooper by trade,
and followed that and farming all his life.
There were fifteen children born to the parents,
all of whom, with the exception of two, are still
living. M. J. Hosier was reared in Pickaway
county and educated in the county schools.
When he was sixteen years old he began life
for himself, leaving home with the consent of
his father, going to Upper Sandusky, Ohio,
where he served an apprenticeship of three
years at the trade of bridge-building; he then
spent one year at Findlay, Ohio. Returning
to Pickaway county he married, and remained
there several years, engaged in farming. Sell
ing out his farm interests he returned to Han
cock county, Ohio, and engaged in the mill and
lumber business. In 1880 he came to Delphos
and has since continued in the lumber business
in this city.
For thirteen years Mr. Hosier has been
connected with the Ohio Wheel company of
Delphos as purchasing agent. In connection
with the Wheel company he owns saw-mills at
Mendon and Chickasaw, Ohio, where the firm
gets out lumber for manufacturing purposes and
for shipments. He is also agent for the J. B.
Perkins Land company, in Allen, Auglaize, Put
nam and Paulding counties, having charge of
between 4,000 and 5,000 acres of land, also is
president of the Driving association, of Del
phos, and is a stockholder in the Delphos Loan
& Savings association.
Mr. Hosier has been active in public affairs
in Delphos for several years. He has taken a

deep interest in, the improvement and building
up of the city, and is recognized by all as one
of the leading citizens of the place. He has
always been a stanch republican in politics,
and in 1895 was elected councilman from the
First ward of Delphos. He is a member of
the Masonic fraternity, the Odd Fellows and
of the Royal Arcanum.
Mr. Hosier was married, December 24,
1868, to Miss Mary Dunkle, who was born in
Pickaway county, Ohio, and is a daughter of
George Dunkle, a deceased farmer of the
aforesaid county. To their union seven chil
dren have been born, three of whom are liv
ing, as follows: Olive M., Ada I. (wife of
W. A. Coble, agent of the C, D. & C. R. R.,
at Delphos), and Earl G.

^tj°SEPH HOTZ, one of the old settlers
A of Marion township, Allen county,
A J Ohio, was born in Baden, Germany,
September 16, 1826, a son of George
and Elizabeth (Harmen) Hotz, the parents of
four children: Christian, Lerda, Archie and
Joseph. Mr. Hotz came to America in 1848
and was married in Huron county, Ohio, No
vember 7, 1854, to Catherine Frehlick, a native
of Weissenburg, Alsace, and a daughter of
George and Jacobina Frehlick, the former of
whom was born in Germany and had born to
ren, viz: Catherine, Francis,

him five
Mary, and two that died young. The Freh
lick family sailed for America in 1845, but the
father died and was buried at sea. The sur
vivors landed at Manhattanville, N. Y. , whence
they came to Ohio and settled in Huron
county; Mrs. Hotz was then a girl of twelve
years of age, and was married at the age of
twenty-one years.
After marriage Mr. Hotz lived in Monroe-
ville, Ohio, one year, and then one year in
Milan, Ohio, working at his trade of cooper;

318

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

he then bought forty acres of land in Crawford
county, partly cleared, on which he lived two
years, and then moved to Putnam county, set
tled in Blanchard township on a tract of sixty
acres, of which twenty acres were cleared, the
remainder being deep woodland. This he and
his helpmate cleared up and resided upon for
eight years, when, in 1864, he purchased his
present farm of 100 acres, forty acres only of
which he had cleared, but by hard labor and
diligence he has succeeded in clearing the re
mainder and in making as good a farm as may
be found in Marion township or in Allen
county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hotz have been
born eleven children, of whom two died in in
fancy, the survivors being named Joseph, John,
Mary, Frances, William, Katie, Frank, Annie
and Benjamin. Of these, Joseph married
May Heitz, of Landeck, resides in Delphos.
and has two sons; John, married to Annie
Arenhovel, lives in Delphos and has three
children; Mary, married to David Sandmceller,
a carpenter of Delphos, has two children;
Frances, married to Martha Shook, resides in
Fremont, Ohio, is employed in the electric
light works and has one child; William mar
ried Lucy Keil of Landeck, is a farmer of
Marion township, and has two children; Katie
married Frank Burger, machinist; Frank
married Gertrude Pohlman — is a farmer and
has one child, Henry. Mr. Hotz and his
faithful wife have made their own fortune,
have a substantially improved homestead and
are devoted members of the Catholic church,
in which they have reared their children. He
has been an industrious farmer and a good
citizen, and as such stands high in the esteem
of the entire community.
John Hotz, proprietor of one of the best
saloons and restaurants of Delphos, is a native
of Ohio, having been born in Crawford county,
this state, May 8, 1957. He is the son of
Joseph Hotz, named above, one of the well

known citizens and farmers of Marion town
ship, Allen county, where he has resided for
the last thirty years.
John Hotz received a common-school edu
cation. He remained on the home farm with
his father until 1875, and then began an ap
prenticeship at the blacksmith trade, and at
this trade he worked in various places for six
years. He then took a position as clerk in a
restaurant, and in August, 1884, engaged in
business for himself by opening a saloon and
restaurant. His place of business is on the
west side of Main street, one door south from
the corner of Second, opposite the Phelan
House, and here he has one of the largest
businesses in his line in the city. Mr. Hotz is
in every respect a first-class man and citizen.
He is energetic, enterprising and progressive,
always ready to lend his aid to all worthy en
terprises having for their object the building
up and advancement of the city and commu
nity. He is a democrat in politics, and a
member of the Saint John's Roman Catholic
church, and also of the Catholic Knights of
America. Mr. Hotz was married, October 6,
1887, to Miss Anna Arenhovel of Delphos,
the daughter of John and Fronia Arenhovel.
To this union three sons have been born as
follows: John, Sylvester J. and Edward D.
Mr. Hotz is a self-made man. He began life
for himself without capital, and has made his
way by his own energy and perseverance.

SEV. FATHER A. I. HOEFFEL, pas
tor of Saint John's Catholic church,
of Delphos, Allen county, Ohio, was
born May 14, 1832, in Lutzelbourg,
diocese of Nancy, then under the dominion of
France, but now a province of Prussia, of the
empire of United Germany. His preparatory
education was acquired at Courtrai, Belgium,
where he still has a brother, who has been a

REV. A. I. HOEFFEL.

SAINT JOHN'S CATHOLIC CHURCH,
PELPHOS, OHIO.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

323

professor in the institution for over forty years;
this preparatory course of five years was sup
plemented by four years' attendance at school
in Fenetrange and at Pont-a-Mousson. He
then came to America, and at Cleveland, Ohio,
entered upon the study of philosophy, and in
1858 was ordained by the Rt. Rev. Bishop
Rappe. His first mission comprised the coun
ties of Defiance, Paulding, Williams, Fulton,
Henry, and parts of Putnam and Lucas coun
ties, with parochial residence at Defiance, all,
of course, in the state of Ohio. For about ten
years he labored with pious zeal, assiduity and
devoted faithfulness in this extensive and rug
ged field, and on January 28, 1868, came to
Delphos to assume charge of the flock, to the
care of which he had been assigned, and to
which his ministerial functions have been so
conscientiously and untiringly devoted ever
since. But it will be appropriate here to in
troduce a brief history of Saint John's congre
gation itself, which will give a clearer idea of
the great and successful services rendered by
Father Hoeffel.
August 15, 1844, Father John Otto Bre-
.deickleft Europe, landing in New York Septem
ber 15, bringing with him a number of sturdy
Westphalians, and came to this part of Ohio
October 17. Here he established the pres
ent town of Delphos, and formed the nucleus
of Saint John's congregation. He erected
at his own expense a one-and-a-half-story
log house, 18x24 feet, which served as a chapel
and as a residence for himself, the site being
now that of Roth's meat market on Main street;
in 1846 the block or log chapel was enlarged
by a frame addition, thirty-seven feet long
and twenty-seven feet wide, which, though
ample for the needs of the congregation, was
intended for temporary use only. This build
ing also served as first school-house, with Mr.
Minkhouse as teacher; later it was occupied by
the sisters of Saint Frances; in 1872 it was

destroyed by fire, and shortly afterward the
land was sold. In December, 1845, a meet
ing of the thirty-six male members of the con
gregation was held and a brief constitution of
ten articles drawn up, by which every Catho
lic inhabitant of Section Ten, as Delphos was
then called, was bound to work twenty-five
days each year in the construction of a new
church edifice that had been conceived by the
Father Bredeick, to be 107 feet long by sixty
feet wide, or, failing to work, to contribute
$8, annually, until the completion of building.
About the middle of January, 1846, the con
tract for the construction of the building was
awarded to John Matthias Heitz. After four
years of toil, devoted to the felling of oak
trees and the preparation therefrom of the ap
propriate timbers and the framing and joining,
the work of raising began, and by November
1, 1853, the pile was sufficiently well ad
vanced to permit of the first mass, and divine
services were held continuously in the incom
pleted building. In 1853, also, an altar soci
ety was formed. In 1854 and 1855 the chol
era visited Delphos, and in its fury half depop
ulated the town, but Father Bredeick labored
incessantly for the welfare of the 1 50 families
that had now congregated about him. This
calamity retarded the construction of the
sacred building to some extent, and it was not
until 1862 that it was surmounted with the
adorning steeple. In the meantime, however,
had come the saddest stroke yet endured by
the devoted congregation. In April, 1858,
the beloved pastor fell sick after preaching one
sermon from the new pulpit, and in July Rev.
Westerholt, of Defiance, was called to his
assistance. August 19, 1858, Father Bredeick
was wrested from his adoring flock, who
sadly followed his mortal remains to their last
resting place, and over them erected the sim
ple monument, inscribed to his memory
" Here rest the mortal remains of the Rev. J.

324

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

O. Bredeick, first pastor of the Catholic con
gregation of Delphos, who departed this life
on the 19th day of August, 1858,' in the sev
entieth year of his life. ' R. I. P.' "Blessed
are they who die in the Lord for their works
shall follow them." Of his estate, the la
mented father willed his property on Main
street (town lot 74), ten acres of land in sec
tion No. 30, and some railroad stock, to the
Sisters of Saint Frances; the remainder, which
is occupied by the new church cemetery, the
parochial and sisters' schools and the teacher's
residence, and some other tracts (since sold),
was donated to the Roman Catholic church of
Delphos — and Saint John's congregation is in
debted to him for the largest church property
in the diocese of Cleveland — about eighteen
acres. He also donated land to the city for a
park site; to the Presbyterians he gave the
land on which their church now stands, and
to the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad company he
also gave a large tract of land. Father Bre
deick was also the founder of the Catholic
congregation at Ottoville, in 1850, and the
town is named in honor of the reverned pas
tor — J. Otto Bredeick.
In 1858 Father Francis Westerholt suc
ceeded the deceased pastor. Father Wester
holt was born in Westphalia, May 31, 1827,
and was ordained priest at Cleveland, Ohio,
July 8, 1855. For three years he was pastor
at Defiance, Ohio, whence he came to Delphos,
where he remained nine and one-half years,
when he was appointed vicar-general of the
diocese, and is now pastor of Saint Peter's.
On assuming charge at Delphos he at once set
to work to carry out the undertaking of his
venerable predecessor. He adorned the audi
torium with two side altars, an organ at a cost
of $1,000; also some new pews. In i860,
Saint Jeseph's society was formed, and on the
10th of April, in the same year, the sodalities,
male and female, were organized; in 1861-62,

the steeple, 160 feet high, was added to the
edifice, and soon afterwards two bells, the
heaviest of which weighed 1,800 pounds, were
added to the small one which had already been
in use; in 1863 some necessary repairs were
made and the interior plastered for the first
time and painted; in 1865 a second gallery was
added; in 1866 the congregation was divided
and that of Landeck, five miles distant, erected
a church; in 1867 a new parochial residence
at Delphos was substituted for the old — a com
modious two-story brick building, costing
$6, 500. Rev. Father Westerholt continued
his connection with the congregation until the
close of the year (1867), and was succeeded by
Rev. A. I. Hoeffel, who also ministered in-
officially to the wants of the Van Wert congre
gation until 1877. On assuming his unofficial
charge, in 1 868 at Van Wert, - Father Hoeffel
purchased two town lots, with a frame house,
wherein worship was held by the congregation;
in 1870 he undertook the erection of the pres
ent substantial edifice — a brick building 35x55
feet, at a cost of $4,000 and in due course of
time the. scheme was consummated.
The congregation at Delphos were now in
good circumstances and the needy pioneers
had become wealthy and substantial farmers.
Many needs were to be supplied, however, in
the meantime, and they were attended to by
Father Hoeffel in the following order: In
1869-70 a new brick school-house, three
stories high, containing four spacious rooms
and a hall, was erected; in 1872 a two-story
brick building was erected on First street as a
sisters' residence, but both school and residence
narrowly escaped destruction by fire in the
latter year, when the pioneer church, school
and sisters' residence were destroyed; in 1875
a new organ, at a cost of $2,800, was pur
chased, and in January of the same year an
addition to the chapel had been built at a cost
of $1,000. At this time the pew rents aggre-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

325

gated $6,000 per annum, and the amount in
the treasury was $1,639, over all debts.
Father Hoeffel, the next year, brought up the
discussion of the new church project, and a
subscription list of $30,000 was soon gathered,
which, with $10,000 now in the treasury,
justified the undertaking, and in 1878 plans,
designed by S. W. Lane, of Cleveland, were
adopted by the building committee, Francis
H. Heitz, Theodore Wrocklage and Herman
Ricker, and the councilmen, Alexander Shenk,
Bernard Germann, Conrad Geise and Joseph
Gerdemann. F. H. Heitz, of Delphos, was
made superintendent of the entire work. Con
tracts were awarded to Werner & Son, of Del
phos, for stone foundation; S. J. Burkhart,
of Kenton, for brick and sawed stone; Derwort
& Zimerle, of Delphos, for tin, iron and
copper; Hall & Conger, of Cleveland, roofing
and slating, and Goeckinger, of Upper San
dusky, woodwork on spire. September 1, 1878,
F. H. Heitz laid off and measured the ground,
and March 31, 1879, when the population of
Delphos amounted to 4,000 souls and
the congregation had reached 300 families,
the last services in the old church took place
and the building demolished, and devotions
rendered in a temporary frame church, 1 iox 50
feet, until the completion of the new edifice.
June 15, 1879, the corner-stone for this was
laid by the late Rt. Rev. Bishop Gilmor. In
the fall of 1880 the building was completed,
and January 16, 1881, the dedicatory address
was most eloquently made by Bishop Gilmor,
under the most imposing ceremonies ever
known to Delphos, and the congregation of
St. John justly feel proud of one of the grand
est churches in Ohio. The edifice, which is of
brick, with stone trimmings, is built in the
Roman style, and stands on an open lot, 28o|
feet square. The length of the church is 192
feet, width of transept 100 feet, width of the
body of the church seventy-eight feet, and the

front eighty-eight feet. The height of the
floor to the top of the nave is fifty-eight feet.
The spire is 222 feet high and is surmounted
by a gilded cross ten feet high. The seating
capacity is 1,800. The building cost $60,000,
equivalent, with gratuitous labor and material,
to over $100,000; a sisters' school, costing
$11,000, was also erected in 1889.
The congregation of Delphos number over
400 families, and 5 1 5 children attending the
parochial schools. The baptismal records of
the past fifty years give 3,699 baptisms, among
which are sixty-three converts. Rev. Father
Bredeick baptized 386; Rev Fater Westerholt,
694; Rev. Father Hoeffel, 2,619. The first
person baptized by Rev. Bredeick was Maria
C. Trentman, now Mrs. H. Ricker, although
she was not the first one born in Delphos. The
first one born on the west side of the canal, in
Van Wert county, was Amelia Bredeick, now
Mrs. George Lang; the first one on the east
side in Allen county, was Bernardina Jetting-
hoff, now Mrs. A. Florin.
In the Catholic cemetery rest the remains
'of 1, 186 persons. The first one buried here
was Franciscus H. Krift, aged seventeen years.
Rev. Bredeick buried ninety-eight; Rev. West
erholt, 166; Rev. Hoeffel, 922. Marriages
are recorded to the number of 548. The first
ones who entered the bonds of matrimony were
J. Grothaus and M. G. Krift. During Rev.
Bredeick's time fifteen marriages were recorded,
which is an incomplete record. During Rev.
Westerholt's time eighty-seven, and by Rev.
Hoeffel 444 have been solemnized.
In 1894, the Saint John's congregation
celebrated the Golden Jubilee in a manner be
coming for such an event. The festivities
began on the evening of Tuesday, September
nth, with a grand jubilee concert, continued
on Wednesday with a solemn divine service in
•Saint John's church, followed by a grand
parade and concluding in an old-fashioned

326

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

picnic. In 1894, also, three bells were do
nated by Father Hoeffel, and also, for recast
ing, two others. These bells bear the names
of the three pastors — Bredeick, Westerholt
and Hoeffel.
Any words of commendation touching the
herculean task performed by Rev. A. I. Hoeffel
would be here superfluous, weak and inadequate,
and it may be in better taste to abstain from
any attempt at laudation and let his great and
pious deeds speak for themselves rather than
attempt to "paint the lilly. "

EENRY HUBER, one of the highly re
spected citizens of Bluffton, and a
pioneer of Allen county, springs from
the best of German stock. Jacob
Frederick Huber, his father, was born in Wur
temberg, Germany, and was the only child of
his father, who died when the son was quite
small. He married in Germany, Barbara
Elizabeth Meyers, a daughter of Benjamin
Meyers, of Prussia, and to this marriage there
were born six children that lived to be grown
men and women, as follows: Charles, William,
Jacob, Caroline, Frederick, and Henry. By
trade Mr. Huber was a blacksmith and came
to the United States in April, 1832, embark
ing at Amsterdam, in a sailing vessel, and
landing in New York, being over 100 days on
the voyage, and contrary winds prevailing. In
order to reach Amsterdam his family rode
down the river Rhine on a flat-boat. Mr.
Huber settled on a farm of 100 acres in Butler
county, Pa., improved this farm and lived
thereon until 1835, when he removed to Rich
land township, Allen county, Ohio, where he
settled on 120 acres in the woods. For this
land he paid $1.25 per acre. By continued
and persistent hard labor he at length succeeded
in clearing up this farm, aided by the labor of
his sons. He was always in poor health after

coming to this country, because of having con
tracted consumption in Germany by hooping
wine-casks in the deep wine-cellars of the
fatherland, so that in reality he did but little
manual labor after coming to the United States;
He died in Richland township in 1845, when
he was about forty-eight years old. He was
as long as he lived a straightforward, honorable
citizen, and possessed to a remarkable degree
the confidence and esteem of his fellow-men.
He and his wife were both members of the
Lutheran church.
Henry Huber, son of the above, was born
November 3, 1838, on his father's farm in
Richland township, and having but the poorest
kind of schools to attend, his education was
necessarily limited, and for a time such schools
as did exist were kept in some ones's dwelling-
house, and at other times in a blacksmith-shop.
He was brought up a farmer, and on Novem
ber 12, 1867, when he was twenty-nine years
of age, married Sarah Shaw, who died four
teen years after the marriage, leaving no
children.. He was married, -the second time,
to Mrs. Adelia Siler,- nee Harris, widow of
Seymour B. Siler, and daughter of Perry W.
and Mary A. (Pound) Harris. Perry W.Harris
was born in Licking county, Ohio, and was
one of the pioneers of Blanchard township,
Putnam county, Ohio. He was the father of
Isaac, George, Joseph, Reese, Adrain, Emily
and Isabel Harris. He is a member of the
Christian Union church, and in politics he is a
democrat, as such serving as township trustee
for some time. He is no^ seventy-three years
of age, and is a man of substantial property,
owning 1,200 acres of land in Putnam county.
Mrs. Huber had two brothers who were law
yers; Burr moved to Oregom where he died,
and where he was very successful in his pro
fession, and Robert, who is practicing law with
success in Findlay, Ohio. John was teaching
school before he died. All were intelligent

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

327

and good citizens, striving to do what good
they could in the world.
To this second marriage of Mr. Huber there
were born three children, as follows: Luva-
dia, who died at the age of four years and
four months; Henry P. and and Reese H.
Mrs. Huber had one child by her first husband,
named Mary Siler. Mrs. Huber died August
25, 1 89 1, at the age of forty-three years. On
September 20, 1894, Mr. Huber married his
third wife, Minerva Morris, born in Hancock
county, Ohio, and a daughter of Mahlon and
Elizabeth (Eaton) Morris, the former of whom
was of an old colonial Virginia family, and of
Welsh ancestry. He was born in Loudoun
county, Va., and was a son of Robert and
Nancy (Tribby) Morris, the former of whom
was a pioneer of Columbiana county, Ohio,
cleared up a farm in that county, and there died.
Mahlon Morris was reared a farmer in Co
lumbiana county, and removed thence to Han
cock county, Ohio, in 1833, settling on wild
land in Portage township. This he cleared
and converted into a good farm. In 1847 he
was elected treasurer of Hancock county, served
two years, and was then re-elected, but died
August 5, 1849. He had been justice of the
peace in his township for fifteen years before
his death, and was a well known and highly
respected citizen to the last. To him and his
wife there were born nine ehildren, as follows:
Nancy, Catherine, Elvira, John E., Burr,
Robert, Sarah A., Minerva and Mary J. Mrs.
Morris was a member of the Methodist Episco
pal church, and being a woman of many virtues
was highly respected by all who knew her.
She died at the age of sixty-seven years. The
family and relatives of Mr. Morris are among
the best citizens in the county.
Henry Huber, the subject of this sketch,
has always been an industrious and honored
citizen. In the best and truest sense of the
term he is a self-made man, what property he

has now in his possession having been acquired
through his own exertions. In 1874 he erected
a tasteful and comfortable two- story brick res
idence, and has a most pleasant and happy
home. He is one of the most successful farm
ers in his township, and has reared a most ex
cellent family.

QVAN HUMPHREYS, one of the pio
neers of Allen county, Ohio, a vener
able man and a substantial farmer,
was born in Wales. He is a son of
Morris and Mary (Roberts) Humphreys, the
former of whom was a weaver by trade, and
was the father of three children, viz: Evan,
Hannah and Annie. Morris Humphreys lived
in Montgomeryshire, Wales, and died there
before his son, Evan, can remember.
Evan Humphreys was born in Montgom
eryshire, Wales, from which country many
excellent citizens have come to Allen county,
Ohio. The date of his birth was October 18,
18 19. He was well educated in his native
country, and there became a farmer. He mar
ried Elizabeth Pugh, who was born December
12, 18 1 7, in the same county with himself.
To them were born two children, who lived to
mature age, viz: Elizabeth, and Evan P.,
both of whom were born in the United States.
Mr. Humphreys and his wife came to America
on the same ship with Richard Breese, namely,
the ship William Penn, sailing from Liverpool,
England, and being seven weeks on the voy
age, landing in Philadelphia.
Upon arriving in this country Mr. Evans
first went to Paddy's Run, Butler county, Ohio;
for some time he worked at farm labor, re
maining about three years. At the end of this-
time he removed to Sugar Creek township,
Allen county, where he rented a piece of land
near Gomer. In April, of 1850, Mr. Hum
phreys bought eighty acres of timbered land,

328

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

upon which he now lives, and three years later
moved upon it. By hard work, continued
through several years, he cleared up a consid
erable portion of this land — first, however,
building a log cabin, in which he lived until he
erected his present brick house, in i860, and
it is worthy of note that there were at the
same time three other houses, similar to his,
being erected.
Mr. Humphreys, by continued industry and
by careful management, was enabled to add,
from time to time, other acres to his original
eighty, until at length he owned 377 acres,
aided, however, materially by his son, Evan
P. Humphreys, who constantly worked with
him, and of whom fuller mention is made in
this sketch. Mr. Humphreys has always been
a hard-working, industrious citizen, and he has
accumulated by his own management, and by
his own careful investments, the handsome
property he now possesses. He has always
been known as a man of integrity, honesty and
truthfulness, and as one who was never willing
to wrong another of money or of reputation.
Politically he is a democrat, and both he and
his wife were united in Wales with the Welsh
Congregational church, in the faith of which
Mrs. Humphreys died February 10, 1892, re
spected and loved by all who knew her, as she
was a woman true in all the relations of life,
and to all good principles. Mr. Humphreys
has always been a liberal man, assisting with
his means such enterprises as appealed to his
sense of propriety and right. The two churches,
one at Gomer, the other at Leatherwood, he
aided largely when they were erected, and in
numerous other ways he has been a public-
spirited man.
Evan P. Humphreys, his son, was born in
Sugar Creek township, Allen county, Ohio,
May 14, 1 85 1. His education was received
in the common schools of the county, and he
was reared on the farm, aiding his father in

clearing and improving it, and in acquiring
the means with which to purchase other lands.
He married, when twenty-seven years of age,
December 19, 1 878, Margaret E. Davis, daugh
ter of Edward B. and Ann (Davis) Davis. Ed
ward B. Davis was born in Cardiganshire,
Wales, the county which is famous for having
been in ancient times the kingdom of Roderick
the Great. In Wales Mr. Davis found his
wife, by whom he had six children, viz:
David E. ; Evan, who died at the age of seven;
Margaret E. ; Mary E. ; Maria and Annie. Mr.
and Mrs. Davis, on coming to the United
States, settled on land in Jackson county,
Ohio, where he worked in an iron foundry un
til 1 86 1, when he removed to Jennings town
ship, Van Wert county, and there cleared
eighty acres of land. There he lived the re
mainder of his days, dying September 29, 1878.
He was always a hard-working and indus
trious man, and worthy of all respect.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hum
phreys settled on their present farm, and to
them have been born five children, viz: Evan
C. ; Annie E. ; Edward, Maggie and John.
They are both members of the Welsh Congre
gational church, and are recognized by all as
good and estimable citizens. Mr. Humphreys,
like his father, has always been a hard-work
ing man and has succeeded in whatever he has
undertaken. At the present time he owns
nearly 300 acres of the homestead, his father
having retained eighty acres for his own use
during the remainder of his life, though Evan
P. manages it all. The principal improvement
made on this farm by its present owner is a
very fine, substantial barn, erected in 1883.
Both Mr. Humphreys and his wife are indus
trious and careful managers, appreciating the
value of property, and are thoroughly in ear
nest in the determination to bring up their chil
dren in the way they should go, a determina
tion which can not be too highly commended,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

329

for it is upon an honest and intelligent citizen
ship that the perpetuation of the republic
depends.

£~V*AMUEL HUNSAKER, J. P., one of
•^^KT the pioneer farmers of Allen county,
K^T Ohio, and an early settler of Marion
township, his present place of resi
dence, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
May 20, 1832, and descends from a very old
Swiss family who settled in Pennsylvania in
the early colonial days.
The great-grandfather of our subject was
one of the original settlers of what is now
known as Allegheny county, Pa. , and both he
and wife were slaughtered by Indians who
made an attack on their settlement, and,
beside scalping the parents, took prisoners
three of their children, Jacob, Isaac and a
daughter whose name is not remembered by
the present generation. The scalps of the
parents were sold — or, rather, presented at the
headquarters of the British commandant for
the bounty offered; Jacob, the son, was finally
exchanged; Isaac, the second son, made his
escape, and later settled in Kentucky, but the
fate of the daughter has ever remained a
mystery. Jacob Hunsaker, grandfather of our sub
ject and the unfortunate Indian captive named
above, was born where the city of Pittsburg,
Pa., now stands, about the year 1783, and was
about eight years of age when made a captive,
he was taken to Canada and turned over to an
Indian chief named McKee, who kept a trad
ing post near the Falls of Niagara. Nine
years later, at the death of McKee, he was ex
changed as a prisoner and returned to Penn
sylvania. About the year 1804 Jacob married
Eliza Hoffman, a native of Lancaster county,
Pa., whose father had been a soldier under
" Mad " Anthony Wayne in his gallant expedi

tion against the tubulent Indians of the western
part of what is now known as the state of
Ohio, and was killed in battle, below Fort
Defiance, on the Maumee river, in August,
1794. Shortly after their marriage, in the same
year, 1804, Jacob Hunsaker settled in Rush
Creek township, Fairfield county, Ohio, where
he and wife died in 1853 and 1854 respect
ively. There had been born to Jacob and his
wife three sons and three daughters.
George Hunsaker, the eldest son of Jacob
and. Elizabeth (Hoffman) Hunsaker, was born
May 12, 1809, and married, June 16, 1831,
Mary Stemen, who was born August 26, 1806,
in Fairfield county, Ohio, her parents having
come from Greene county, Pa., in 1803, and
in October, 1841, moving to Sugar Creek
township, Allen county, where the mother
died August 23, 1844, and the father in Octo
ber, 1855. George Hunsaker and wife lived
in Fairfield county three years, and there their
son Samuel was born. In 1834 George Hun
saker and wife moved to Perry county, where
the remainder of their children, four daughters
and one son, were born — the son dying in
infancy, April 25, 1849. In the year 1852,
George, wife and children — one son (Samuel)
and four daughters — came to Allen county and
settled in the woods of Marion township, three
miles east of Delphos, on the land now occu
pied by their son Samuel, our subject, and
there George and wife passed their remaining
years, George dying January 9, 1877, and his
widow June 12, 1883, both members of the
Baptist church, in which Mr. Hunsaker had
been a deacon for many years, and a licensed
preacher. He and wife were among the
founders of the present Baptist church in
Marion township, but their remains lie interred
in the Mennonite cemetery in Sugar Creek
township. In politics Mr. Hunsaker was a
democrat, and for about twelve years served
as justice of the peace, was township super-

330

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

visor, and for many years member of the school
board, and in every way a prominent citizen.
The children born to George and Mary
Hunsaker were named as follows: Samuel,
our subject; Elizabeth, who died in 1 88 1 ,
mother of four children: Lydia, now Mrs.
Herring; Annie, now Mrs. Brenneman; Mary,
now Mrs. Chamberlin, and Henry, who died in
infancy. In his young manhood, George Hun
saker was a school-teacher, gave instruction in
both the German and English languages, and
followed the profession for two years after he
had married. He was a typical pioneer and
frontiersman. He cleared up his first farm of
144 acres in Perry county, Ohio, and on com
ing to Allen county cleared up from the woods,
near the Auglaize river, all but twenty acres
of a tract of 270 acres, assisted by his son
Samuel. He added to his property until he
owned 320 acres in one body in Marion town
ship and eighty acres in Amanda township,
Allen county, and 160 acres in Van Wert
county — a total of 560 acres — all of which he
had accumulated by his industry and good
management. He was a gentleman of ex
tended acquaintance and was well informed on
all subjects — especially the law — and had the
confidence of all neighbors, who frequently in
trusted him with the management of their
legal affairs, and no man in Marion township
was ever more sincerely respected or more
conscientiously honored than he.
Samuel Hunsaker, the gentleman whose
name opens this memoir, was educated in the
district schools for a course of home study and
the reading of good, solid, standard books,
which were always at his command; and he
was also a close student of the Bible. He
was reared to farming on the home place in
Perry county, Ohio, and when about twenty
years of age came with his father to Allen
county — October 20, 1852 — he being the only
living son and consequently the constant com

panion of his father. On reaching his major
ity, the two entered into a business compact
by which it was arranged that the son should
receive a percentage of the crops. Samuel
Hunsaker was united in matrimony, Decem
ber 13, 1866, with Miss PetronellaHuyssman,
who was born March 10, 1844, in the province
of North Brabant, in the southern part of Hol
land, and is a daughter of Henry and Petron-
ella (Kortier) Huyssman. Her father, Henry
Huyssman, came from Holland to America in
1848, and settled in Monterey township, Put
nam county, Ohio, where he cleared up from
the woods a good farm of 120 acres. He and
wife were members of the German Reform
church, and reared a. respectable family of
children, viz: Wilhelmina, Mary, Aaron,
Walter, Petronella and Andrico, all born in
Holland, and Cornelius and Hern, born in
America. After his marriage, Mr. Hunsaker
first settled on a 100-acre farm adjoining his
father's land, and on this he resided fifteen
years and then moved on the original home
stead and into the old dwelling, which had
been erected by his father in 1855. He now
owns 300 acres of fine farming land, and is in
a very prosperous condition generally. In re
ligion Mrs. Hunsaker is a Methodist, but Mr.
Hunsaker is independent in matters spiritual;
he is, nevertheless, very liberal in his aid to
the churches in a pecuniary sense. As a pio
neer he has taken great interest in the schools
of the township and in the construction of
good roads. In politics he is a democrat, has
been a member of the board of education ten
years, has been its president five years, and
has been supervisor of the township three
years; in 1893 he was elected justice of the
peace, and now holds court in the same room
where his father dispensed justice years ago;
for twenty-two years he has been a Patron of
Husbandry and has held all the offices in his
grange, except that of master.

ALEXANDER F. IRICK

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

333

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hunsaker
has been made happy by the birth of ten
children, as follows: Augusta, born November
n, 1867, the wife of John W. Miller, and the
mother of one child; Nellie W. , born January
10, 1869, wife of Edward Porter and the
mother of three children (one deceased);
George H., born September 29, 1870, and mar
ried to Annie Myers; Louisa, born March 12,
1872; Mary, born January 3, 1874, now Mrs.
Joseph Tilden and the mother of two children;
Emma H., born January 27, 1876; Samuel,
born May 2, 1878 and died September 1,
1878; Aaron, born March 11, 1880; Lydia E.,
born September 11, 1882 and William Clar
ence, born September 6, 1885.
Squire Hunsaker has always been a public-
spirited gentleman, and ever ready to advance
all undertakings, whether of a private or pub
lic character, in which the interests of the
public at large are benefited. He inherites
the enterprising and liberal nature of his
father, George Hunsaker, who was one of the
early stockholders in the First National Bank,
of Delphos, and the National bank of Delphos,
and our subject was a stockholder even in the
days of his father.

HLEXANDER F. IRICK, one of the
pioneers of Marion township, Allen
county, Ohio, is a native of Rocking
ham county, Va., and was born Oc
tober 2, 1 8 1 9, a son of Jonathan and Mary
(Boston) Irick. The mother, Mary Boston,
was born December 17, 1793, and was a
daughter of Philip and Susan (Walters) Bos
ton, the former of whom was born April 13,
1764. Jonathan Irick was a gunsmith, was
married in Rockingham county, Va. , and had
born to him eight children, in the following
order: John F., May 22, 1813; George W.,
October 1, 181 5; Alexander F., as above; Isa-
10

belle, December 10, 1817; Diana, March 19,
1821; Elizabeth, October 3, 1824; Julia, May
3, 1827, and Polly, October 3, 1829. Jon
athan Irick was a soldier in the war of 18 12,
and after carrying on his trade in Rocktown,
Va., until 1824 or 1825, came to Ohio and
located in Pleasantville, Fairfield county,
where he followed his trade until the end of
his days.
Alexander F. Irick was between five and
six years of age when brought to Ohio by his-
parents, and was reared to manhood in Pleas
antville. He is a natural mechanic, but early
began work as a farmer. When about twenty
years of age he went to Mercer county, Ohio,
and was there married, February 10, 1839, to
Elizabeth Kiggins, who was born in Miami
county, Ohio, September 18, 1821, a daughter
of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Boyer) Kiggins,
the former a native of Washington county,
Pa. , and of Irish descent. Mr. Kiggins came
to Ohio when a young man, located in Mercer
county, was there married and became the
father of ten children, viz: Lewis, Minerva,
Mary, Rosina, Jennie, Elizabeth and Margaret
(twins), Catherine, Harriet and Charlotte.
Mr. Kiggins died at the age of fifty-five years,
and his wife at about the same age — members-
of the United Brethren church. Lewis Boyer,
the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Irick, was a
native of Rockingham county, Va., and came
to Mercer county, Ohio, after having served in
the war of the Revolution, which he entered
at the age of twelve years, becoming one of
Washington's body guards. He lived to be
eighty years of age. His wife was of Holland
Dutch descent and bore the maiden name of
Rosen Kerns.
After their marriage, Mrs. Irick lived in
Mercer county for three years, then moved to
Fairfield county, where they lived five years,
and where Mr. Irick was employed as a car
penter. In 1845 they returned to Mercer

334

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

county, where they lived until November, 1845,
when they came to their present farm in Marion
township, Allen county. At that time Mr.
Irick had a wife and four children, and a cap
ital of one cent, which he still retains as a
precious memento, and which bears the date
of 1 8 14. Mr. Irick here rented a farm, which
he worked until about 1852, when he bought
eighty-four and one-half acres of his present
farm, then all in the woods. He now has 1 34 \
acres in this tract and 1 79 \ acres on the line
of Putnam county, near Delphos, and all has
been made by his own labor, assisted by his
faithful wife.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Irick
numbered twelve and were born in the follow
ing order: John F. (deceased), William L.,
Mary C, James I., Margaret T. (died at two
years of age), Arminda, Alexander F., Frances
C. (died in infancy), Lizzie, Davisa A., Jack
son and Eliza E. Of the above, John F. Irick
served in the Civil war, havinging enlisted in
1862, for three years, in the first squadron
Ohio volunteer calvary, under Maj. Richard
Rice and Capt. John Dalzell; he died of small
pox, December 31, 1863, and was buried on
New Year's day, 1864. William L. Irick
married, first, Mary Canada, who died in
childbed, and for his second wife married
Ellen Alspaugh; Mary C. was married to Se
bastian Alspaugh, and is the mother of three
children; James I. married Melvina Ditto,
and has had born to him six children; Ar
minda is the wife of Charles Peltier; Alexander
F. married Rebecca Holmes and has three
children; Lizzie is now Mrs. John Ludwig and
is the mother of six children; Davisa A. is
married to David Hoffman and is the mother
of five children; Jackson married Louisa Hoff
man, and is the father of six children; Eliza
E. is the wife of Emanuel Tucker and is the
mother of two children. The venerable par
ents of the above family have forty grandchil

dren and four great-grandchildren, and have
led a life of domestic felicity for over half a
century, honored and beloved by all who
know them.

'^-t'AMES I. IRICK, one of the most prac-
A tical farmers of Marion township, Allen
A J county, Ohio, is a son of the venerable
Allen county farmer, Alexander F.
Irick, whose biography appears above, and to
which attention of the reader is invited.
James I. Irick, our subject, was born in
Mercer county, Ohio, July 29, 1845, and in
September of the same year was brought to
Allen county by his parents. He received a
good common-school education, was reared to
farming, and to his own industry and thrift
does he owe his success in life. He early be
gan the work of clearing off land, becoming
an expert chopper; many a giant of the forest
in Allen county has fallen before the sturdy
strokes of his ax, and he has proven his ability
to cut and split five cords of wood in one day.
September 6, 1866, Mr. Irick married Miss
Melvina Ditto, who was born July 16, 1845, a
daughter of William W. Ditto, a sketch of
whose life will be found on another page.
After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Irick settled
on their present farm, which then consisted of
forty acres, all, with the exception of eight
acres, deep in the wild woods. But, Mr. Irick
was a skillful woodman and, as seen, an adept
at chopping; with the assistance of his good
wife and faithful helpmate, he cleared up his
original tract, and has added to it until he
now owns 120 acres of good farm -land, cleared
and well improved in every respect. The
union of Mr. and Mrs. Irick has been made the
more happy by the survival of six of their ten
children, viz: Emma A., born May 22, 1868;
William W., born January 6, 1870; Franklin
F., born July 9, 1874; Stephen D., born May

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

335

16, 1877; Albertus J., born November 22,
1879, and Arthur E., born July 19, 1884 — the
other children having died in infancy. Mrs.
Irick is a devout member of the Methodist
church and has reared her children to lives of
morality and industry. In politics Mr. Irick
was formerly a democrat but is now independ
ent, having shaken off all party shackles; fra
ternally he is a member of the Odd Fellows'
lodge at Delphos, and is in good standing. As
a farmer, Mr. Irick has few equals in his town
ship, and his farm is a model in all particulars.
William W. Irick, son of James I. Irick,
our subject, married Miss Nettie Waters Feb
ruary 26, 1 89 1. This lady comes from Amanda
township and is a member of a highly re
spected family. Mrs. Ditto, the venerable
mother of Mrs. James I. Irick and the maternal
grandmother of William W. Irick, still re
members her journey, at five years of age,
from Brown county, Ohio, to Allen county,
which is strengthened by a reccollection of the
fact that, between Lima and Elida, she fell
from the wagon and was nearly crushed to
death by the hind wheel passing over her body
— which caused quite a delay in the journey;
she also remembers the old log school-house
in which her parents lived until their cabin was
erected— and a hundred pioneer incidents are
still fresh in her memory. William W. Irick
is a very sturdy and hardy young man, who
has never felt the sensation of fatigue in his
life. Like his father, he has made quite an
enviable reputation as a citizen.

>^ OSEPH JETTINGHOFF, president of
¦ the Delphos Commercial bank and se-
Al nior member of the firm of Jettinghoff
Brothers, merchant tailors and clothiers,
is one of the well-known and representative
citizen of Delphos, Ohio. Mr. Jettinghoff
was born in Hanover, Germany, November 1,

1854, and came to the United States in 1871.
He received a good common-school education
in his native land, and at the age of fourteen
years began an apprenticeship at the tailor's
trade. Upon coming to the United States he
came direct to Delphos, where he had an
uncle living. Being unable to get work at his
trade he went on a farm in Van Wert county,
where he spent two months working for Henry
Pohlman. He then went to the town of
Glandorf, in Putnam county, Ohio, where he
found employment in a merchant tailor shop,
and remained for one year and a half. From
Glandorf he returned to Delphos and went to
work for Jacob Abel, a merchant tailor and
clothing and dry-goods dealer, and for six years
Mr. Jettinghoff remained in that store. At
the death of Mr. Abel, in 1878, C. H. Osthoff,
purchased the business, and Mr. Jettinghoff
continued in his employ for six years. As
soon as Mr. Osthoff took charge of the busi
ness our subject went to Cleveland, Ohio,
where he spent several months learning cut
ting, and afterward was Mr. Osthoff's cutter
for six years. In 1884 he went into merchant
tailoring for himself, and later took in W. F.
Klages as a partner, and after a year and a
half sold out to Mr. Klages. He was then
for a few months engaged in the real-estate
and insurance business, and then re-entered
the merchant tailoring business, opening a
shop on East Main street. From East Main
ftreet he removed to East Third street. In
May, 1894, he formed a partnership with his
brother David, bought out the business of Mr.
Osthoff, and the firm of Jettinghoff Brothers
was formed. They do a general business in
clothing, hats and caps, gents' furnishing
goods, and carry on merchant tailoring, having
one of the largest establishments in their line
in the city of Delphos.
Mr. Jettinghoff has been a stockholder in
the Commercial bank of Delphos for a number

336

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of years, and in January, 1893, was made a
member of the board of directors. In January,
1894, he was elected president of" the bank,
and re-elected in January, 1895. Under his
presidency the bank has met with success, the
stock appreciating in value from below to above
par, and the reputation of the bank and its
business has increased accordingly. He was
one of the organizers of the Citizens Building
& Loan association, and is at present a mem
ber of its board of directors. He is also a
stockholder in the Delphos Savings & Loan
Association company. Mr. Jettinghoff was
married February 22, 1881, to Miss Anna
Beckman, of Delphos, a daughter of Henry
Beckman, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Jettinghoff's*
marriage was the first one solemnized in the
new Saint John's Roman Catholic church, of
which Mr. and Mrs. Jettinghoff are both mem
bers. Mr. Jettinghoff is a self-made man.
When he came to Delphos twenty-four years
ago he was a strange lad in a strange country,
without money and without a trade thoroughly
learned. To-day he is president of one of the
leading banking houses of the city and senior
member of one of the largest mercantile houses
of the place. And all this has been accom
plished by him unaided, relying simply upon
his good business sense, pluck and energy, with
an ambition to make a success of his life.

>-VESSE J. JOHN.— In preparing the fol-
A lowing history of the John family it has
A J been found necessary to trace it back
through several generations to Phillip
John, a wealthy resident of Pembrokeshire,
Wales, who left two sons, Griffith and Daniel.
Griffith came to the United States in 1709,
when yet a young man, and settled in Goshen,
now in Lancaster county, Pa. According to
the record of the Friends' meeting, in what
was then Chester county, Griffith John did, on

the 28th of the seventh month, 17 14, take
unto himself a wife and companion, one Anna
Williams, and to this union there were born
four sons, viz: Griffith, Reuben, Asa and Rob
ert. Griffith, the eldest direct American an
cestor of this sketch, was born on 26th of the
eighth month, 1729, just two days before the
passage of the act of the general assembly
forming Lancaster county out of Chester
county. He was united in wedlock to Rachel
Lloyd, of Goshen, a Welsh lady, and to them
were born six children, viz: Abia, Hannah,
Grace, Rachel Mary and Leah.
Abia, the grandfather of Jesse J., was a
native of Chester county, Pa. , and after his
marriage he removed to Shamokin township,
Northumberland county, Pa., in the year
1798. He and his wife were the parents of
twelve children, as follows: Asa, Hiram, Grif
fith, Jesse J., Reuben, Samuel, Elida, Emily,
Lydia, Sarah, Eliza and Perry, the last named
being the only member of this large family still
living (March, 1896). He is a man of many
years and much experience arid goodness, a
minister in the Friends' society, and now
living in Shamokin township, Cumberland
county, Pa.
Griffith John, the third child of Abia, was
born in Northumberland county, Pa., March
6, 1795. In 1816 he removed to Ross county,
Ohio, locating in Chillicothe, where he at once
began teaching school, following this profes
sion five years. From the money saved from
teaching he purchased a tract of timber land
containing twenty acres, which he cleared and
improved. Afterward he purchased fifty acres
more near by, upon which he lived for several
years. While residing in Ross county he de
voted himself to teaching school, farming and
and surveying. Not long after arriving in
Ross county he married Miss Rachel Miller,
who was the daughter of one of the earliest-
settlers, and in Ross county this worthy couple,.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

337

lived until the fall of 1832, removing then to
Allen county, Ohio, and locating on 160 acres
of land, a part of which is now occupied by
the village of Elida. At that time this country
was almost a dense wilderness, with but few
families residing in the neighborhood — not
more than four or five. The surrounding
country was occupied by the Shawnee tribe of
Indians, and also by the Wyandots, the mem
bers of both tribes being quite numerous.
Jacob Turkeyfoot, an Indian brave, was the
guide of Mr. John and his family, in their
journey from Ross to Allen county. Upon
settling in the woods in the latter county the
John family had for neighbors the families of
John Somerset, William Nuttle, William Bryan,
and Smith Cremean.
After two or three years had elapsed and
other families had come into the neighborhood,
Mr. John found it necessary to spend a good
deal of his time in surveying land for the new
comers, being, in fact, kept busy most of the
time. Mr. John was a tireless worker, and
added to his first purchase until he became the
possessor of 1,640 acres of land in a single
body, which is sufficient evidence of his energy
and success.
In 1852 the Ohio and Indiana division of
the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad
was located so as to run through the farm of
Mr. John. He determined to profit thereby,
and on June 9 of that year entered into a con
tract with the management to grade one mile
of the road. He had subscribed stock in the
company to the amount of $1,200, but not
withstanding this, at the completion of his
work the company was indebted to him to the
amount of $1,000, for which he received a
mortgage bond on the road. It is worthy of
remark that Mr. John was the only man be
tween Delphos and Lima that granted the
right of way to the company for the road to
pass through his farm, indicating that he

was about the only man, that, in that
early day, realized the value of such a
highway to the general public. In the
fall of 1852 and spring of 1853 Mr. John
laid out and platted the village of Elida,
including in the site some thirty-one acres of
land, but which has been added to consider
ably since that time. Such facts as these fully
indicate that he was a man of more than ordi
nary public spirit. He always took an interest
in all things calculated to promote public en
terprises, donating the lots upon which were
erected the churches of the Evangelical Luth
eran and of the Methodist denominations. In
educational matters he was always in the fore
most rank. Politically he was a whig until
1840, but afterward he became a democrat,
and as such served his county as commissioner
for a term, though he always preferred to re
main a private citizen. He, however, was not
averse to serving his party in any way that
would tend to promote its interests, to which
end he performed effective work upon the stump
and acted one term as school examiner. His
activity continued until his death, which oc
curred February 20, 1856. His wife survived
him six years, she dying June 23, 1862, at the
age of fifty -nine years, nine months and ten days.
This most worthy couple reared a family of
thirteen children, all of whom but one grew
to mature years. The names of these children
were as follows: Sarah C, Melissa, Emily,
Vienna, Ethan, Jesse J.,Tamsey, Abia, Martha,
Louisa, Jehu, Paulina, and Eliza. Four of
them are still living, viz: Ethan, Jesse J.,
Abia and Martha.
Jesse J. John, the subject of this memoir,
was reared on the farm, surrounded by all the
hardships incident to pioneer life. In respect
to education, however, he was more fortunate
than most young men of pioneer days, the in
struction received by him in the public schools
having been supplemented and rounded out by

338

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

an academical training at Lima, Ohio. So
well equipped was he in this respect that he
began teaching school at the age of nineteen,
and for some eight years followed the profes
sion of pedagogue in the surrounding district
schools. About the time he brought his labors
in this direction to a close he married and set
tled down in the village of Elida, taking charge
of a portion of his father's business in connec
tion with his brother, Abia, they together oper
ating the store and elevator for a year before
their father's death. They were then appointed
administrators of the estate, after which they
ran the saw-mill and elevator only for a short
time. The estate having been settled, Mr.
John received as a portion of his interest the
elevator, which he then operated for seven or
eight years, since which time he has given his
attention principally to farming, owning at the
present time upward of 200 acres of well im
proved land.
Politically Mr. John is a republican and
was the first postmaster at Elida, holding that
position three years, occupying at the same
time and for fifteen years altogether the po
sition of freight agent in the office of the Pitts
burg, Fort Wayne & Chicrgo railroad com
pany at Elida. In January, 1847, he became
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and since that time has labored faithfully and
earnestly for the cause of religion generally,
and for the church of which he is a member
especially. His zeal for his church has been
recognized by his fellow-members by their
always keeping him on its official board. Hav
ing been born January 6, 1827, he is now
sixty-eight years of age, but notwithstanding
his long and active career is still hearty and
well preserved. On May 15, 1753, he mar
ried Miss Mary Roush, who was born in Juniata
county, Pa., December 17, 1835, and is the
daughter of Jacob M. Roush. Mr. and Mrs.
John are the parents of fourteen children,

whose names are as follows: Griffith, Martha,
Lucina and Paulina (twins); Francis P.; Jesse
C; Jehu E. ; Charles E. ; Wilbur F. ; Eliza
O. ; Letta A. ; Isaac N. ; Abia O., and Mary
M. Of these Lucina, one of the twins, is dead.
It is not easy to say too much in eulogy of
such a man as Mr. John. He is a man of
great worth, and has endeared himself to the
people of his county by his life-long devotion
to their interests, and to everything tending to
promote the public good. Though not a pro
hibitionist in the political sense of that term,
yet, knowing that morality has a most useful
handmaid in temperance, Mr. John has always
devoted himself intelligently to this cause, and
his influence in this direction has been felt
far and near.

HOMAS P. JOHNSON, a prominent
business man of Bluffton, Allen county,
Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the late
Civil war, springs from an old colo
nial family of Virginia, and was born in Bath
township, Allen county, Ohio, February 4,
1 841. Capt. Daniel Johnson, grandfather of our
subject, was of Scotch-Irish descent and a na
tive of Virginia, was a pioneer of Bourbon
county, Ky. , and was a captain in the army of
"Mad" Anthony Wayne, taking part in the
battle of Fallen Timbers and at Fort Defiance;
he was the father,, also, of William Johnson,
who likewise took part in the war of 1812.
Another son of the captain — Thomas Johnson,
father of our subject — was born in Bourbon
county, Ky. , and there married Mary McClure,
daughter of Moses and Sallie (McCorkle) Mc
Clure. About the year 1830 Thomas Johnson
came to Ohio and until 1839 lived in Cham
paign county, and then came to Allen county,
settling on a farm in Bath township, where he
followed his trade of carpenter in conjunction

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

339

with his farming interests. He lived to be
seventy years of age, and died in Van Wert
county. Of his children, two sons — Thomas
P. and Samuel M. — served in the Civil war,
the latter having enlisted, in 1861, in the Fourth
Ohio cavalry, for three years, but was captured,
in April, 1862, by the rebel raider, John Mor
gan, near Nashville, Tenn., and imprisoned at
Salisbury, N. C, where he died.
Thomas'P. Johnson, subject of this memoir,
was reared a farmer and was educated at the
high school of Lima; he began teaching at the
age of seventeen years in Allen and Van Wert
counties, and followed the vocation, with the
exception of the time he was serving in the de
fense of his country's flag, for the long period
of seventeen years, teaching in the public
schools of the counties mentioned, including
that of Elida, Allen county. Thomas P. John
son first enlisted at Lima, Ohio, April 20, 1861,
for three months, in response to the first call for
troops, in company A, Twentieth Ohio volunteer
infantry, served out his term, and was honorably
discharged at Lima in the same. His younger
brother, Samuel M., being then in the army,
and his parents needing his assistance and
attention at home, Thomas P refrained from
re-enlisting until May 2, 1864, when he en
tered, at Lima, company B, One Hundred
and Fifty-first Ohio infantry, for 100 days,
and was again honorably discharged, in 1864,
at Columbus; he had been appointed chief of
transportation of the Second brigade, Second
division, Twenty-second army cops, and held
the office until his discharge. Again, at Lima,
Ohio, September 8, 1864, he re-enlisted — en
tering company A, Capt. Holland, One Hun
dred and Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer in
fantry, and served until the close of the war,
being again honorably discharged at Colum
bus July 26, 1865, having been promoted to
corporal for meritorious service. He fought
in the battles of Philippi and Carrick's Ford,

was in the defense of Washington against
Early's attack, and was also in the battle of
Wise's Forks. He was always a willing and
faithful soldier, was never sent to hospital* nor
taken prisoner, and was in every march, skir
mish and engagement in which his regiment
participated while he was in the service, and
was one of the few who were three times en
rolled in defense of their country's flag during
the Rebellion.
After the war, Mr. Johnson returned to
Allen county, but soon afterward moved to
Van Wert county and purchased 160 acres in
the woods of Hoaglin township. He first mar
ried, in Allen county, Miss Jennie Ford, and
settled down on his land in Van Wert county
and there wrought out from the wilderness a
fine farm and made a comfortable home. But
he had the misfortune to lose his wife August
10, 1875, and for two years remained a
widower. July 15, 1877, at Bluffton, Ohio,
he married Miss Mary Russell, who was born
in Licking county, Ohio, December 12, 1844,
a daughter of Daniel Russell, whose biography
appears on another page. In the spring of
1878, Mr. Johnson settled in Bluffton and en
gaged in buying and shipping produce, doing a
prosperous trade, but he still retains and
manages the farm which he had cleared up
with his own hands from the wilderness.
Mr. Johnson is an Odd Fellow, has passed
all the chairs of his lodge, and is now a mem
ber of the encampment; he is also a member
of Robert Hamilton post, No. 262, G. A. R.,.
and in politics is a prohibitionist. For many
years he held the office of mayor and civil
engineer of Bluffton, and is a widely-known,
popular and honored citizen. He is well read,
has acquired a large fund of general informa
tion, and is a gentleman of practical expe
rience in the affairs of life and business. He
is genial and social in his intercourse with his
fellow-men, and is public-spirited as a citizen;

340

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

being always among the foremost to render aid
when the well-being of his town and county is
to be subserved. He is self-made as to his
fortune, and as a business man his integrity
has never for a moment been called into
question.

at

'ILLIAM E. JOHNSTON, one of the
most progressive farmers of Auglaize
township, Allen county, Ohio, was
born in Fairfield county, December
4, 1832, and was reared to manhood on his
father's farm. His grandfather, Esau John
ston, was an early pioneer of Fairfield county
and came from England. He married Matilda
Davis and he and wife, after rearing a respected
family, died in the county of their adoption.
Frederick Johnston, son of Esau and father
of William E., was born in Fairfield county,
Ohio, in 18 10, was a farmer and married
Barbara Rutherford, who was born in April,
1808, and became the mother of the following
named children: Mary A., deceased wife of
Samuel Black; William E, our subject; John
P., David A., Henry R. and James H. The
parents both died in their native county, but
in that portion, after its division, known as
Hocking county. The family were in more
than usually good circumstances, although the
father had made all he possessed through his
own industry. He was a republican in poli
tics and had held all the offices in his town
ship; in religion he was first a Presbyterian,
and was an elder in that church, but later
united with the United Brethren, in which de
nomination he was a class leader.
William E. Johnston, our subject, received
a very good common-school education and
always kept himself well informed on the cur
rent events of the day. In September, 1864,
he enlisted in company A, One Hundred and
Eightieth Ohio volunteer infantry, and took

part in the campaigns through Kentucky, Ten
nessee, Alabama, Georgia, South and North
Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. His hardest
fight was at Kingston, N. C, although he had
participated in many skirmishes and neces
sarily endured much hard marching, especially
in dispersing the forces of the rebel general,
Johnston. He received an honorable discharge
in July, 1865, after the close of the war. The
first marriage of Mr. Johnston took place in
Hocking county, Ohio, in January, 1852, to
Ellen Bowlin, a native of Hocking county,
born in 1835 and a daughter of William and
Elizabeth (Work) Bowlin. One child was born
to this marriage — Edison B., August 4, 1853.
He was educated at Ada Normal college, and
taught nine terms; he married Mary J. Vor-
hees, and is the father of four daughters.
Mrs. Johnston died in February, 1854, a mem
ber of the United Brethren church, and her
remains were interred in Fairfield county, Ohio.
The second marriage of Mr. Johnston took
place September 20, i860, in Auglaize town
ship, to Miss Margaret A. Sherrick, daughter
of John and Matilda J. (Neeley) Sherrick; she
was born February 11, 1842, and her family
history will be found in subsequent paragraphs.
The union of William E. and Margaret A.
Johnston has been blessed with three children:
Wesley C, who attended the Ohio Normal
school and became one of the most successful
teachers in Allen county, and is now married
to Millie C. Thompson; Emma J., married to
G. A. Rumbaugh; and James E., who attended
the Middlepoint Normal college, and is now
married to Maud E. Thompson.
In politics Mr. Johnston is a stanch re
publican and has served as township trus
tee for three terms of three years each, and
now holds the nomination of his party for
county infirmary director. He and wife are
devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, with which their children are also

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

341

connected, and to the support of which all
render ready and liberal aid financially. For
the past fifteen years Mr. Johnston has been
superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal
.Sunday-school, in which he takes a profound
interest. In fact, all his interests concentrate
in his church and his home. Of his farm,
which originally comprised 200 acres, he has
given his children eighty acres, retaining 120
acres for his own use — breeding registered
Jersey cattle and registered sheep. He is a
first-class farmer in every detail of the calling,
and has secured a comfortable competency for
the coming years, and no man in the township
or county enjoys a greater share of the public
esteem. Mrs. Mary A. Black, sister of Mr. Johnston,
died of small-pox December 20, 1872; she was
a sincere Christian and a devoted member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and by her
exemplary life won the love and confidence of
all who knew her. She retained her mental
faculties to the last, and with her expiring
breath exclaimed: " My work is done; come,
O Lord, and take me home." She left a hus
band and seven children to mourn their loss.
Jacob Sherrick, great-grandfather of Mrs.
Margaret A. Johnston, came from Germany to
America before the Revolutionary war was
thought of. He was a weaver by trade and
settled near Harrisburg, Pa., where the re
mainder of his days were passed. His son,
also named Jacob, and grandfather of Mrs.
Johnston, was born near Harrisburg in 1788,
became a weaver, and in 1828 came to Ohio,
bought a farm in Fairfield county, and devoted
the remainder of his life to agriculture, dying,
in 1862, a member of the United Brethren
church and in politics a democrat.
John Sherrick, son of Jacob last mentioned
above and the father of Mrs. Johnston, was
born in Lancaster county, Pa., October 17,
1 8 14. He was well educated, and, following

in the footsteps of his forefathers, became a
weaver, in which trade he was engaged until
he reached his majority, when he turned his
attention to farming, of which he made a pal
pable success. In 1839 he married, in Fair-
fieid county, Ohio, Miss Matilda J. Neeley, a
daughter of James Neeley, a native of Penn
sylvania but a pioneer of Fairfield county,
Ohio. To this union were born the following
children: Elizabeth, who died in infancy;
Margaret A., now Mrs. W. E. Johnston;
James N., deceased, and Jacob L. In 1858
the parents of this family came to Auglaize
township, Allen county, and here the father
purchased a tract of land in the woods, which
he converted into the handsome farm on which
his youngest child, Jacob L. , now resides, and
which then comprised 140 acres. Here John
Sherrick departed this life May 27, 1886, a de
voted member of the United Brethren church,
which he had liberally assisted with his. means.
In politics he was a democrat, but had never
been an office seeker. His venerable widow
still resides on the old homestead, respected
by all who know her.
Jacob L. Sherrick, the youngest of the
family born to John and Matilda J. (Neely)
Sherrick, and the present occupant of the old-
farm, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, May
29, 1848, and was reared a farmer. He was
educated at a select school and at the Normal
college at Ada, Ohio. From the age of eigh
teen years until twenty-two he made his home
in Saint Louis, Mo., engaged in the live stock
business, as raiser and dealer. September 9,
1885, he married Miss Hettie M. Vernon, a
daughter of Jesse and Sarah (Brollier) Vernon,
who came from Knox county, Ohio, in 1873,
and settled in Richland township, Allen county,
where the father died, February 2, 1887, and
where the mother still lives. Two children
have blessed the union of Jacob L. Sherrick
and wife, and are named Hazel and Harry L.

342

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

(HOMAS R. JONES, a pioneer farmer
of Sugar Creek township, Allen
county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the
late Civil war, is a native of Butler
county, Ohio, was born May 26, 1827, and is
of sturdy Welsh descent, and the first of his
family born in America, as will be seen by the
following record.
Roland Jones, father of our subject, was
born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, about the
year of 1788, was reared a farmer, and married
Margaret Roberts, who was born in the same
country about 1793. In 1820 the couple
came to America in a sailing vessel, the voyage
occupying nearly three months' time, and
landed in Baltimore, Md., whence they came
to Ohio and settled in Butler county at a place
called Paddy's Run, where they remained
until 1835, when they came to Allen county,
by wagon, having had to cut their way through
the woods from Wapakoneta to the 160-acre
tract, in Sugar Creek township, which Mr.
Jones bought from the national government at
$1.25 per acre, and which land is now owned
by their son, John E. Jones. Here Roland
Jones underwent all the hardships of life in the
wilderness, which were shared by his faithful
wife and young children — then five in number
and named Elizabeth, Catherine, Thomas R.,
John and Margaret — all of whom were born in
Butler county with the exception of the eldest,
Elizabeth, who was born in Wales. Later
two more children were born to Roland and
wife in Sugar Creek township, Allen county,
and named Evan and Emaline. After clear
ing up his Butler county farm, or a good part
of it, he came to Allen county, and was the
sixth Welsh family to settle here — the other
families being those of James Nichols, Thomas
Watkins, David Roberts, Evan Jones and John
Watkins. Roland Jones became a substantial
farmer of Sugar Creek township and died in
March, 1870, age about eighty-two years, hav

ing lost his wife in 1867 at about the age of
seventy-four. Thomas R. Jones, whose name opens this
biography, received a very fair education in the
common schools after coming to Allen county.
with hisjparents in the month of October, 1835,
when he was about seven years of age and
walking most of the way from Butler county
and driving the cattle, sheep and hogs. He
was here reared on the pioneer farm and did
his part in developing it. October 2, 1856, he
married, in Sugar Creek township, Miss Mary
Watkins, who was born February 13, 1832,
in Butler county, Ohio, a daughter of Thomas-
and Jane (Evans) Watkins, then of Paddy's-
Run. To this union have been born eight
children, viz: Abner, Edwin, Alice and Charles,
who still live to bless and console the declining
years of their honored parents, and four de
ceased. Thomas Watkins was born in Montgomery
shire, Wales, March 4, 1805, a son of Evan
and Mary (Roberts) Watkins, and came to
America in 1827, in a sailing vessel, embark
ing at Liverpool, England, and landing in New
York, where he bought a pair of new shoes
and had left a capital of a five-penny bit, as
sixpence was then denominated. He first
found work on a farm at Evansburg, Pa.,
whence he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he
found labor for six months, and then found
his way to Paddy's Run, where there was
a flourishing Welsh settlement. Working
at farm labor until April, 1831, he there mar
ried Jane Evans, who was born in December,
18 1 3, a daughter of William and Jane (Ro
lands) Evans, Welsh pioneers. After the
birth of two children, Mr. and Mrs. Watkins
came to Allen county September 12, 1833, ac
companied by the families of David Roberts
and James Nichols. Here Thomas Watkins
settled on the 160 acres of land in Sugar
Creek township at present owned by his son,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

343

Thomas, and after a tremendous struggle
wrested it from the wilderness and made a re
spectable-looking farm, mauger all the wild
beasts and wilder land with which he had to
contend. Here, by indefatigable industry, Mr.
Watkins acquired 600 acres of land and be
came one of the most prominent citizens of the
township. He and wife were members of the
first Welsh Congregational church of Sugar
Creek, which he aided liberally from his means
to erect, and in the faith of this religious body
he died at the age of about eighty-six years, a
truly honored man.
After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. T. R.
Jones they settled on the eighty-acre farm
which they still occupy. There had been a
few spots cleared when Mr. Jones took pos
session, and the labor of clearing off the farm
has been that of Mr. Jones himself; not only
this, but he has added to it until he now owns
a most excellent farm of 160 acres, which he
has drained thoroughly and placed under culti
vation throughout its length and breadth. He
has a tasteful residence, erected in 1872, and
good substantial out-buildings, and everything
to show the superior management of the farm
er born. May 22, 1864, at Lima, Mr. Jones enlisted
in company F, One Hundred and Fifty-first
Ohio volunteer infantry, and served 100 days
under Capt. Isaac Patrick, doing duty at
Washington, D. C, and on the Potomac river,
and receiving an honorable discharge at Co
lumbus, Ohio, in August, 1864. In politics
Mr. Jones is a republican, and he and wife are
consistent members of the Welsh Congrega
tional church, in which they have an abiding
faith. Mr. Jones has served as township trus
tee two terms and has also been a member of
the school board, ever showing a willing dis
position to serve his fellow-citizens in any ca
pacity when called upon. He and wife, being
early pioneers of Sugar Creek township, have

seen it grow from the mere settlement of a
handful of sturdy Welshmen, to become the
abode of civilization in the highest form, in
the bringing about of which they have been
prime factors and for which they now enjoy
the highest honor which can be bestowed upon
them by a grateful rising generation.

OWEN A. JONES, an ex-soldier of the
Civil war and a pioneer farmer of
Sugar Creek township, Allen county,
Ohio, came very nearly being a na
tive-born American citizen, and thus eligible
to the presidency of the United States, but it
happened that his birth took place on the At
lantic ocean, in the A No. 1 sailing vessel
Ark, May 14, 1839, his parents on that event
ful occasion being on their way from Wales to
America. John D. Jones, father of our subject, was
born in the shire of Caermarthen, in the south
part of Wales, was reared to farming, and
there married Mrs. David Jones, who bore the
maiden name of Jane Thomas, and who, by
her first husband, became the mother of one
child, Mary D., who was married to Richard
J. Morgan, whose biography is given in full
elsewhere in this volume. By her marriage
with John D. Jones she became the mother of
three children — Owen A., our subject, Marga
ret, and David, who died in Wales. In 1839
John D. Jones and wife sailed from Liverpool
for America, and on the voyage occurred the
notable event recorded in the opening para
graph of this memoir. Arriving in Baltimore,
the father and mother and ocean-born child
tarried from May until the fall of the year,
when they came to Ohio, and bought in the
woods of Sugar Creek township, Allen county,
1 20 acres of land — of which eighty acres were
purchased of Neil Clark and forty of Richard

344

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Thomas — of which a small lot had been
cleared up and on which was a rude log cabin.
Here the usual pioneer life was gone through,
but eventually a productive farm was wrought
out, and here Mr. Jones died in 1878, at the
age of about seventy-eight years, a member of
the Welsh Congregational church.
Owen A. Jones was reared and educated
in Sugar Creek township, attending school in
the winter seasons until eighteen years of age,
and also becoming an excellent farmer. At
the age of twenty-three he enlisted at Delphos,
Ohio, in company F, One Hundred and
Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and for
meritorious services was soon promoted to be
sergeant. He served until honorably dis
charged at Salisbury, N. C, June 24, 1865,
and was mustered out at Cleveland, Ohio, the
following July, the war having closed. Among
the battles in which he took part were those
of Mossy Creek, Kingston, Morristown, Sweet
water, and Philadelphia, all in Tennessee;
and Dalton, Ga., Buzzards' Roost — at the lat
ter being slightly injured by a rifle-ball graz
ing his hip; he was at Resaca and through
the Atlanta campaign; at Kenesaw Mountain
and at Joneshoro, and during his service had
several rifle-balls pass through his clothing,
but was never severely injured. He was in
numerous skirmishes, and also in the sanguin
ary engagements at Franklin, Tenn., at
Nashville, and the fall of Wilmington, N. C. ,
and finally at Kingston, N. C. On his return
to Allen county, he resumed farming on the
homestead, and March 22, 1866, married Miss
Ann Owens, who was born in Wales February
22, 1844, a daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth
(Morris) Owens. Hugh Owens came to Amer
ica in 1846, bringing his wife and five children
— Richard, Elizabeth, Evan, Mary, and Ann
— and settled in Sugar Creek township, Allen
county, in 1847, having passed one year at
Paddy's Run. He bought 160 acres of land,

of which he cleared twenty acres, and died in
1 85 1, at the age of forty-seven years, a mem
ber of the Welsh Congregational church.
After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Jones
they settled on their present farm — the old
Jones homestead — and here have been born
to them two children: Elizabeth and John C,
both of whom have received excellent educa
tions. In politics Mr. Jones is a republican and
has held the office of township clerk two years
and also that of assessor for two terms. In
religion he and his family are members of the
the Welsh Congregational church, of which he
has for many years been a deacon and trustee.
He owns a fine farm of 160 acres and its ap
pearance gives every indication that he knows
how to take care of it. He is a gentleman
whose integrity has never been questioned,
and he is a broad-minded, public -spirited citi
zen, who has never been found wanting when
any project for the good of the general public
was to be pushed forward.

eDWIN JONES, one of the prominent
business men of Bluffton, and the
only furniture dealer and undertaker
in the place, was born in Erie county,
Ohio, July 5, 1846. He is a son of Edward
and Ann (Roberts) Jones, both of whom came
from England. Edwin Jones received a good
common-school education, learned the cabinet
maker's trade in his youth, and located at
Bluffton in 1865. Here he acquired the cabi
net-maker's trade, and on March 27, 1868, he
married Cynthia Bentley, who was born in
Cannonsburg, Ohio, and was a daughter of
Jefferson Bentley. To Mr. and Mrs. Jones
there were born four children, as follows: Melta,
Annie, Lottie and Albert. Mrs. Jones died
April 13, 1884, and Mr. Jones was next mar
ried, in 1885, to Araminta Eaton, who was

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

345

born in Bluffton, Ohio, and is a daughter of
H. P. and Cynthia Eaton. To Mr. and Mrs.
Jones there have been born three children, viz:
Clara, Eva and Mabel.
Mr. Jones engaged in the furniture business
in 1867 and has been thus engaged ever since.
In 1893 he added the undertaking part, and
¦ he now carries a full line of furniture and is
well equipped as an undertaker, having a fine,
modern hearse. Mr. Jones stands high as a
man of character and as a model business man.
Both he and his wife are members of the Evan
gelical Lutheran church, of which he has been
a deacon for five years. He is a member of
Bluffton lodge, No. 433, F. & A. M., in which
he has held the offices of junior deacon and
senior warden. Politically he is a prohibition
ist, is a man of sterling worth, is entirely a
self-made man, and has reared an excellent
family of children.
The father of Mr. Tones came from Eng
land when a yonng man, settled in Erie county,
Ohio, and there cleared a farm of eighty acres,
being one of the pioneers of that county. After
ward he moved to Paulding county, where he
lived five years in the woods, and then re
moved to Putnam county, where he now owns
a good farm of 140 acres, and resides one and
one-half miles southwest of Columbus Grove,
Ohio. His children were Annie, Edwin, Philip,
Albert, Dora, Haney, Hattie and Melissa. He
is yet living on his farm at the age of seventy-
eight years, is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which he has held the
office of steward, and in politics is a prohibi
tionist. All through his life he has been a
highly honorable man, and is respected for his
sterling worth by all who know him.
The attention of the reader is called to the
biographies of other members of the Jones
family, related to the subject of this sketch,
to be found in the department of this volnme
devoted to Putnam county.

*-|-* LEWELLYN JONES, a prominent
I r citizen of Sugar Creek township, Allen
H J county, and the leading undertaker
of his part of the county, was born in
Sugar Creek township, March 17, 1856.
Josiah Jones, the grandfather of the sub
ject, was born in Wales, and married Mary
Jones. They were the parents of quite a fam
ily of children, all of whom died young ex
cept Josiah, the father of the subject of this
sketch. Josiah Jones, the father of the sub
ject, was born Montgomeryshire, Wales, July
4, 1807. He was well educated in his youth
and became an unusually intelligent man.
Early in life he was set to work in a woolen
mill, and was married, April 17, 1833, to
Mary Hughes, who was born in August, 1807.
She was a daughter of Thomas and Catherine
(Hughes) Hughes. Mr. and Mrs. Jones lived
on a farm in Montgomeryshire, and to them
were born seven children that grew to mature
years, viz: Thomas H. ; Mary M., who mar
ried, and died at the age of thirty-five years;
Annie C, who died at the age of thirty-nine;
Josiah, who died at the age of forty -two;
Martha E. ; Margaret L. , who died at the age
of thirty-nine, and Llewellyn. There were
other children that died when yet young.
Mr. Jones came to the United States in
1850, bringing his family. He sailed from
Liverpool, England, on the good ship New
World, and landed in New York after a two-
months' voyage, in September of that year..
He came directly to Sugar Creek township,
Allen county, and settled on forty acres of
land, which was for the most part covered
with timber. He cleared up his farm, im
proved the land by judicious cultivation, and
erected good buildings, among them an at
tractive residence. He was, beside a farmer,
one of the early undertakers of Allen county,
beginning in 1856, and followed the business
regularly during life. Having in Wales learned

346

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the cabinet-maker's trade, undertaking came
quite natural for him. Throughout his part
of Allen county he was frequently called upon
in the line of his business, and also went into
Van Wert county occasionally. He and his
wife were devout members of the Welsh Con
gregational church in Gomer after arriving in
this country, but had been received into the
church in Wales in 1824. Mr. Jones held the
office of deacon for forty-five years. When
he settled in Allen county, the building used by
his denomination was a little log cabin, and he
assisted liberally in erecting the first brick
church, and the present tasteful brick structure
at Gomer. Thomas H. Jones his eldest son, was a
soldier in the late great Civil war, serving three
years in company F, One Hundred and Eight
eenth Ohio volunteer infantry. He was in
many battles, and was promoted to quarter
master-sergeant, before the expiration of his
term. Mr. Jones was for many years an old-
line whig, but upon the organization of the
party, became a republican, remaining con
nected with that party the rest of his life. He
was an Odd Fellow in Wales, and very promi
nent in the order. He was a man of high
character and as well known for his sterling
integrity. He possessed natural ability and
was besides well informed. He was a great
reader of the Bible, and was guided in his daily
life by its precepts. Everywhere and by every
one, he was highly respected as a good man
and a good citizen.
Lewellyn Jones, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Sugar Creek township, March 17,
1856, and received a good common-school
education. He was reared a farmer, but early
in life learned the undertaker's trade, and fol
lowed it in the connection with his father.
Since then he has made it his own business
and is called upon professionally throughout
the entire surrounding country. He has a fine

hearse and all the improved appliances used
in this business.
Mr. Jones is a member of the Welsh Congre
gational church, having joined when he was
eleven years old. He stands high as a citizen
and as a man of the best character. He is in
telligent, well informed, and is thoroughly
qualified for his profession, and enjoys the con
fidence of the entire community. Mr. Jones
is not married, and his pleasant home is pre
sided over by his sister, Martha, a lady of in
telligence and refinement. The parents of Mr.
Jones died in 1889, both of them at the great
age of eighty years.

'j * ENRY J. KAVERMAN, member of
I^^V the city council of Delphos, and one
A F of the well-known citizens, is a native
of Hanover, Germany, where he was
born April .3, 1864, and is the son of Henry
and Catherine (Schulte) Kaverman, both of
Hanover. He attended school in the old.
country, and at the age of fifteen years began
an apprenticeship at the cabinetmaker's trade,
serving three years at the same. He worked
at his trade in the old country until he was
nineteen years of age, and then, in 1883, he
came to the United States. He landed in
Baltimore on the third day of May, and came
direct to Delphos, where an uncle of his,
Mathias Kaverman, was living on a farm two
miles west of town in Van Wert county. The
second day after arriving in Delphos, Mr.
Kaverman went to work for Frank H. Heitz, a
contractor, and for three years was at work
building churches. During that time he worked
on five churches — one at Ottoville, one at
Fort Jennings, one at Defiance, one near
Upper Sandusky, and one in Delphos. Mr.
Heitz died in the fall of 1886, and in the
spring of 1887 our subject went to work for

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

347

James H. Klime, working for one and a half
years at the bench, and then was made fore
man of the shops, and during Mr. Klime's ab
sence he was also manager of the business.
Mr. Kaverman is a member of the democratic
party, and takes an active interest in public
matters. In the spring of 1894 he was nomi
nated by the democrats of the Third ward for
councilman, and was elected by a majority of
eighty-five, he receiving one more vote than
any man on the ticket in his ward. During
the year 1894 he was chairman of the sanitary
committee, and was a member of the com
mittees on sewers and on claims. In 1895 he
was made chairman of the fire department
committee and a member of the committees on
finance and on improvements. Mr. Kaverman
is a member of the Delphos Savings & Loan
Association company. He resides on South
Clay street, Delphos, Van Wert county,
where he owns a cottage residence, one story
and a half, and sixteen acres of land.
Mr. Kaverman was married October 27,
1886, to Clara Mesker, who was born in Allen
county, Ohio, about one mile east from Del
phos, and is the daughter of Casper Mesker.
To Mr. and Mrs. Kaverman one child has been
born — Henry M. They also have an adopted
daughter. He and family are members of
Saint John's Roman Catholic church. Mr.
Kaverman has met with deserved success since
coming to America. When he reached Del
phos he had about thirty-three dollars in his
pocket, and did not understand the English
language. But, being industrious, energetic
and ambitious and quick to learn, he has suc
ceeded in acquiring the language so that he
not only speaks it fluently, but can read and
write in English as well as German. He has
lived an active and honest life, and has had no
trouble in getting along. He is recognized by
all as a good citizen, ready to aid in any public
movement calculated to benefit the city and

develop its growth. His position on the city
council alone speaks for his popularity in the
city.

S~\TAMUEL W. KEMP was born in
•v^^k* Amanda township, Allen county,
^^ J Ohio, February 16, 1853, is now one
of the representative business men of
the village of Kempton, and is the third child
and only son of a family of six children born
to John W. and Nancy J. (Andrews) Kemp,
who are now both deceased. The father, John
W. Kemp, was born in Chillicothe, Ohio,
February 1, 1828, and died October 5, 1891,
in Allen county, where he had lived the life of
a pioneer, having settled here in the year 1847.
John W. Kemp was a son of Joseph and
Lucinda Kemp, was a single man at the time
he located in Allen county, and with his father
located upon land in section No. 36, Amanda
township, which was an unbroken wilderness,
there being at that time but three families in
the township. The grandfather, Joseph Kemp,
cleared up the 120 acres of land on which he
lived until his death; he reared a family of
seven children, of whom John W. Kemp, the
father of our subject, was the eldest, and re
mained under the parental roof until he was
married in 1849, which event took place two
years after coming to the county. He imme
diately thereafter purchased forty acres of
timberland, which he owned, however, but a
short time, when he sold and bought eighty
acres in section No. 1, same township, where
the village of Kempton now stands. This
tract was also in the unbroken wilderness, but
he set about cutting away the forest, and
cleared therefrom a good farm, and while
doing so, experienced many of the privations
attendant on the life of an early settler; he
lived upon this farm until the time of his death,
after having accumulated a fair competence,

348

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the result of an industrious and active life.
He was a prominent and active member of the
Odd Fellows' order and a member of the G.
A. R., having been a soldier in the war of the
Rebellion. He enlisted twice — first for three
months and afterward for one year, and the
war closed prior to the expiration of his term
of enlistment. He was mustered out as third
sergeant. His first wife, Miss Nancy J. An
drews, was born in Fayette county, Ohio,
November 21, 1826, and died December 24,
1876. To this union six children were born:
Catherine and Lucinda, deceased, the latter
the wife of Charles Barrick ; Samuel W. , with
whom this sketch mostly deals; Margaret E.,
wife of T. B. Bowersock, of German township,
deceased; Sarah A., wife of C. B. Crites, of
Amanda township, and Emma, deceased.
Samuel W. Kemp received his education in
the public schools of the county. After marry
ing, he rented a farm for two years, after
which he engaged in the grocery business,
which he followed for five years, when he came
to his present location at Kempton, opened a
general store and for six years gave his exclu
sive attention to his trade, after which time,
however, he has divided his occupation by
buying and shipping corn, and after a year
thus employed, associated himself with A. E.
Clutter, of Lima, Ohio, in buying and ship
ping hay and together they are now doing an
extensive business, their transactions aggregat
ing $25,000 annually. In the year of 1894
Mr. Kemp began handling Jersey cattle for
breeding purposes and has brought into Allen
county some of the choicest blood of that
famous stock. In his various branches of
business, Mr. Kemp employs from fifteen to
twenty-five men, and is himself one of the
most energetic business men of Allen county.
He is wide-awake, up-and-doing and progress
ive. He is one of the leading and substantial
men of the community, and his business and

financial success is due to his own personal
efforts and push, combined with those of his
wife, who is an intelligent and energetic woman,
who aids his best efforts with her counsel. He
is one of the solid democrats of the county and
has filled the office of township treasurer and
justice of the peace, two terms each. His
marriage to Miss Eudora Bice occurred Novem
ber 18, 1875. She was the daughter of Will
iam and Tibitha Bice, of Amanda township,
and was born September 21, 1857. One child
has been born to them — William Guy Kemp.
Mr. Kemp was appointed postmaster of Kemps-
town in 1878, and with the exception of four
years has held the office up to the present
time.

,/^ROF. OLIVER KIES is a well-known
1 ¦ school-teacher and highly respected
1/ resident of Spencerville, Allen county,
Ohio, and at the present writing is
assistant postmaster of Spencerville and justice
of the peace of the township. He is one of
the native sons, having been born here Janu
ary 29, 1867. He is the son of J. M. and
Mary (Volz) Kies, old residents of Spencer
ville. Oliver attended the public schools of
the town and the Normal school at Ada, tak
ing a teacher's course in the latter. For seven
years, during the summer, he found employ
ment in the stave-factory — from nine years of
age until sixteen — when he began teaching, to
which honorable profession he has since de
voted his entire time, except in summer, when
he occupies the position of assistant postmas
ter. He has taught in Allen county excepting
the last year, when he was called to Auglaize
county. He was appointed assistant postmas
ter in April, 1895, and at the spring election
of this year was elected justice of the peace.
He has always been an active worker in the
democratic ranks and finds here the best inter-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

349

pretation of his political ideas. In February
of the same year (1895) he was married to Miss
Mary Ward, the accomplished daughter of
Jeremiah and Catherine (McCarty) Ward. She
was a Hoosier by birth, having been born at
Aboit, Allen county, Ind., September 8, 1876.
Oliver Kies is always spoken of as one of
Spencerville 's thoroughly wide-awake young
men, who will probably some day be heard of
outside of his native county, and, as an evi
dence of his all-around ability, it may be casu
ally mentioned with his profession and other
occupations, he finds time to do a thriving
real estate and fire insurance and collection
business, and it is now thought that he will be
led to relinquish teaching altogether, an event
that will be deplored by the community at large.

tV^EV. WILLIAM MEIRION DAVIS,
I ^Z an eloquent, pious and prominent
M .r clergyman of the Welsh Congre
gational church, and for the past
seven years the beloved pastor of that denom
ination at Gomer, Allen county, Ohio, is a na
tive of one of the northern shires of Wales and
was born November 17, 1834.
Owen Davis, father of our subject, was a
carpenter and joiner by trade, and in his na
tive land married Elizabeth Rowland. Both
were long members of the Welsh Congrega
tional church, of which Mr. Davis was a deacon
for thirty-five years. He and wife were the
parents of seven children who were born in the
following order, and who all lived to man
hood and womanhood — David, Catherine,
Howek, William M., Elizabeth, Jane and
Hugh. Mr. Davis was a successful contractor
in his line of business, and lived to the great
age of seventy-six years, dying in his native
village of Dolgelley, where he had passed all
the days of his life, a respected and honored
citizen. He was a son of David Owen, the
11

custom being in an early day in his part of
Wales, as it is, indeed, in many parts to-day,
to transpose the name of father and son, as,
for instance, the name of the great-grand
father of our subject being Owen David, his
son, the grand-father of our reverend subject,
was known as David Owen, and his son, in
turn, the father of our subject, became Owen
David, bearing the same name as that of his
grandfather. Custom continued to change,
and in course of time David became anglicized
into Davis, and so come about the name of
our subject — the custom of using one uniform
surname only having been also introduced.
The Rev. Mr. Davis, in his youthful days,
learned the printer's trade, and between nine
teen and twenty years of age, in 1856, went to
London, England, where he worked a year at
his trade, and the following year began preach
ing at a Welsh Congregational church in the
great metropolis. He had been received into
the congregation of his native village when but
sixteen years of age, and while still very young
had displayed an aptitude for preaching, and
after receiving a call to preach at London, be
came a student under Dr. Gwesyn Jones, of
Radnorshire, Wales, under whom he studied
a few months before he entered the famous
Brecon college, then the most renouned
Welsh Congregational Seminary in the country.
For four years he pursued his studies, and was
then ordained. He received calls from two
churches in Caermarthenshire, and for the
lengthened period of twenty-seven years held
the pastorate of these two congregations, and
through a successful eloquence built them up
into flourishing and wealthy bodies.
April 29, 1862, Mr. Davis married Miss
Margaret Thomas, who was born August 28,
1842, a daughter of Thomas Thomas. Mr.
Thomas was a prosperous general merchant,
who died at the comparatively early age of
forty years, leaving three children, beside Mrs.

350

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Davis, who still survive— Amy, John and Ann.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Davis has been
blessed with the birth of eight children, in the
following order; Margaretta, Thomas O.,
Elizabeth, David J., Edward M. (who died at
the age of twelve years), Mary J., William H.
and Edwin. In April, 1889, Rev. Mr. Davis
came to America, bringing with him his family,
with the exception of Margaretta and Thomas
O., who, being married and settled, remained
in Wales. Having received a call from the
Welsh Congregational church at Gomer, Ohio,
Mr. Davis at once settled at that point, where
he has ministered to the spiritual welfare of
his congregation ever since, winning, in a
marked degree, the esteem, confidence and
love of his people. Mr. Davis is one of those
divines who are stamped by nature as mem
bers of the ministerial profession, having
intuitively a clear compenhension of the com
plexities of theology and being blessed with the
gifts of eloquence, piety and fervor. His
standing in the community at large is on a par
with his elevated position in the esteem of his
flock, by whom he is most dearly beloved, and
which is to be congratulated on its having
secured so able a pastor.

at

'ILLIAM T. KIMES.— The Kimes
family, of which a brief history is
here presented, is of German extrac
tion, and settled in this country at
an early date. Samuel Kimes, the father of
the subject, was born in Adams county, Pa.,
but in his young manhood removed to Alle
gheny City, Pa. , and was employed there by a
lead company for many years. His wife died
when the subject of this sketch was quite young.
Her name was Elizabeth Spear, and she was a
daughter of Robert Spear, a native of Ireland,
who settled in Franklin county, Pa., so that
William T. Kimes is of both German and

Irish parentage. Robert Spear reared young
William T. Kimes from the time of his moth
er's death until he reached his twentieth year,
which was in 1861, he having been born No
vember 16, 1 841.
In August, 1862, our subject enlisted in
company K, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth
Pennsylvania infantry, in which he served nine
months, during which time he saw some of
the hardest fighting of the war. He was in
the battle of Sheppardstown, in that of Fred
ericksburg, and in the battle of Chancellors-
ville, three of the great battles of the war.
But he was neither wounded nor taken pris
oner, so that he was much more fortunate than
thousands, who, like him, went out to battle
for their country's cause. At the close of his
term of service he returned to the farm, upon
which he remained until 1 867, when he settled
on his present farm of sixty-five acres in sec
tion No. 25, Shawnee township, a good farm
upon which he has made all the improvements
himself. He is a progressive farmer, and a
successful man, independent in politics, and a
member of Mart. Armstrong post, No. 202,
G. A. R., of Lima. He is patriotic, indus
trious and honest, in every way a highly re
spected citizen, and though not desiring polit
ical preferment, yet has been elected township
trustee for one term, which is all the official
experience he desires.
Mr. Kimes was married, in 1870, to Miss
Maria Mechling, daughter of Joshua Mechling,
deceased. By this marriage Mr. Kimes has
children, as follows: Jane, Sophia, Edna,
Walter, Esther, and William R. , the latter
deceased. In matters of religion Mr. Kimes
is a member of and an elder, in the Evangeli
cal Lutheran church of Perry township, and
always is interested in its success and prosper
ity. He is a highly intelligent gentleman, and
is county reporter for the agricultural depart
ment of the United States.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

351

>^OSEPH KINDLY, one of the well-
A known business men and citizens of
A j Delphos, Ohio, and proprietor of the
leading cigar manufactory and tobacco
store in the city, is a native of Baden, Ger
many, where he was born on October 23,
1845. His parents were Joseph and Johanna
(Walter) Kindly, both natives of Baden. The
mother died in 1850 and the father died in
1857. The father was a policeman in the
village of Sulz for twenty-six years, and later
was a constable in the same place.
Joseph Kindly, our subject, received a
good common-school education in his native
land and then served an apprenticeship at the
cigar maker's trade. He came to the United
States in 1862, landing at New York on the
third day of October. From New York he
came to Dayton, Ohio, where two of his elder
brothers were living, they having come to the
United States in 1859. In Dayton he got
work at his trade in the cigar factory of Frank
Schueble, with whom he worked for about a
year, and then he went to work in Xenia for
Preston Dills, afterward of the firm of Dills &
Haynes, traveling in 1864 and selling goods
for the firm and remaining with them until
they went out of business in 1865. Mr. Kindly
then located in Jamestown, Ohio, where he
was in business until 1868, and then he came
to Delphos, where he has since resided and
carried on successfully the cigar and tobacco
business. Mr. Kindly has always taken an
active interest in ¦ public affairs, but has never
held or sought public office. He has been a
delegate to numerous political conventions,
but has always considered it best to not mix
politics and business together. He is a mem
ber of Saint John's Roman Catholic church,
and has been quite prominent in the affairs of
the congregation. He holds the office of
treasurer, being the Delphos member of the
board of trustees of the church, and in this

position has rendered good and valuable serv
ice. He is a member of the Catholic Knights
of America, and has held numerous offices in
that society. Mr. Kindly was married Octo
ber 22, 1868, to Miss Mary E. Roth, daughter
of John Roth, Sr., one of the well-known
citizens of Delphos. To this union nine chil
dren have been born, seven living, as follows:
Johanna B., Ida, Rosa, Lucy, Gussie, Leona
and Isadore. Of these, Johanna B. is the
wife of William Amman. In 1878 Mr. Kindly
made a trip to Europe for his health, which
had become impaired, and traveled through
France, Germany, Switzerland and other
points on the continent.

eLIJAH KIRKPATRICK, a retired
farmer and an old soldier of Auglaize
township, Allen county, Ohio, was
born in Fayette county, Pa., January
12, 1826, and paternally is of Scotch-Irish
extraction, and maternally of German descent.
John Kirkpatrick, father of our subject,
was a farmer of some consequence in Lancas
ter county, Pa., where he married Mary
Dealius, who bore to him the following chil
dren: William, who died when small; Ed
ward, also deceased; James, a soldier of com
pany G, Eighty -second Ohio volunteer infantry,
who, after serving one year and after having
fought in the battle of McDowell, W. Va., the
first in which his regiment took part, met with
an accidental cut from a broadax, and was
honorably discharged; David; Eliza and Evan,
twins, both deceased ; Susan, Rachel, Rhoda,
Mary A., Elijah, Elisha and Jane. For a few
years after marriage Mr. Kirkpatrick lived in
Lancaster county and then removed to Fayette
county, Pa., where the father followed his oc
cupation as stone-mason until his death, which
occurred in 1836. After the death of Mr.
Kirkpatrick his widow came to Ohio and set-

352

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

tied in Champaign county. She was a truly
christian lady, held together and educated her
large family, and to her instruction and noble
example may be traced the habits of industry
and usefulness that have characterized her
offspring. Elijah Kirkpatrick, as will have been seen,
was but ten years of age at the time of his
father's untimely death; up to this time he had
lived on the home farm, receiving in the mean
time the usual education of the infant school.
This was supplemented, as he grew older, with
a common-school education sufficient to pre
pare him for business life. He learned the
carpenter's trade, when well grown, and this
occupied his attention for two or more years.
After reaching his majority, he married Miss
M. J. Bailey, daughter of Jonathan and Mary
(Davis) Bailey, and had born to him two chil
dren — Johanna, born in Champaign county,
where the marriage of the parents took place,
and Minta A., born in Van Wert county, and
both now married and heads of their own
families. After his marriage Mr. Kirkpatrick,
tired of his residence in Champaign county,
moved to Hardin county, where he resided for
three years, and then removed to Jackson
township, Van Wert county, where he passed
twenty years of his industrious life on his own
farm of eighty acres. He then came to
Auglaize township, Allen county, where he has
ever since lived, an honored citizen. In poli
tics Mr. Kirkpatrick is a stanch republican; in
religion he is a believer in the doctrines of the
Christian church, and fraternally is a non-
affiliating member of Ellsworth post, No. 61,
G. A. R.
The military experience of Mr. Kirkpatrick
was arduous and hazardous, as well a varied.
December n, 1861, he enlisted in company
G, Eighty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, and
with his regiment went through the campaigns
of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and later

fought through the campaigns of Tennessee,
Georgia and Alabama. Without attempting
to place in chronological order the battles in
which Mr. Kirkpatrick took an active part, it
will be only necessary to state that, as an evi
dence that he was always at the front, he was
shot through his sleeve at the battle of Mc
Dowell, W Va; was at Cedar Mountain; at
the first and second battles of Bull Run; at
Chancellorsville, where he had two holes shot
through his blouse; took part for three days in
the decisive battle of Gettysburg; was at Look
out Mountain, in the "fight in the clouds,"
and in marches and skirmishes beyond count
until finally discharged, December 13, 1864,
after a faithful service of over three years.
Gilbert E. Burden, son-in-law of Mr. Kirk
patrick, was born in Union township, Auglaize
county, Ohio, November 18, 1866, and was
reared by his grandmother, Mary (Watson)
Morris, from the age of two years until he
reached his majority. July 26, 1894, he mar
ried Miss Minta A. Kirkpatrick, who was born
January 12, 1875, and whose ancestral history
is given above. To the union of Gilbert E.
and Minta (Kirkpatrick) Burden was born a
daughter, Beatrice M., December 16, 1895.
His own grandfather, Joshua Burden, was born
July 30, 18 12, was of German descent, mar
ried Mary VanTrees, who was born January
29, 1 8 1 8, and settled on 180 acres of land in
Auglaize county, Ohio. Mr. Burden eventu
ally sold the farm and retired to Wapakoneta,
where he died at the age of eighty-three years,
four months and twenty-one days, having lost.
his wife, in the same village, June 20, 1876.
Franklin Burden, father of Gilbert E., was
born in Auglaize county, Ohio, September 18,
1839, married Mary Ann Morris, daughter of
John and Mary (Watson) Morris. She was
born in 1847, and bore two children — Gilbert
E. and William N. She died in 1869, and
Mr. Burden married Mary Parlette, daughter

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

353

of John and Hannah Parlette, and to this
union have been born seven children. Frank
lin Burden served three years in the Fifty-
seventh Ohio volunteer infantry during the late
Civil war, and Gilbert E. Burden is now the
most popular tonsorial artists in Harrod.

>rj»OSEPH KREBS, one of the most thriv-
A ing farmers and substantial citizens of
A 1 Marion township, Allen county, Ohio,
, is a native of the Buckeye state, was
born in Seneca county, October 5, 1838, was
reared to his present vocation, and acquired
the usual amount of schooling customary at
that day to be granted to the sons of pioneer
farmers. Peter Krebs, the father of our subject, was
born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, but early
lost his father, Fred Krebs, and at the age of
fourteon years was brought to America by his
mother, Mary Krebs, who was then the mother
of two children — Peter and Frederick. This
adventurous widow located near Adamsburg,
Westmoreland county, Pa. , where she married
Peter Klink, but by him became the mother of
no children. There her son Peter learned the
shoemaker's trade and was also reared to farm
ing. Peter, after reaching manhood, came to
Ohio, and while working at his trade of shoe
maker at Canton, met and married Miss Mary
Debis, who bore him ten children, viz : Joseph,
John, Nicholas, Peter, Frank, Mary, Susan
nah, Jacob, Henry and Conrad. It was some
time after his marriage that Peter Krebs moved
to a farm in Seneca county, on which he lived
until 1850, when he removed to Putnam
county, and cleared up a forty-acre farm from
the woods, and which he increased to eighty-
acres, and finally to 192 acres, the greater
portion of which he has distributed among his
sons, giving Joseph, Peter and Nicholas each
forty-eight acres, thus giving each a fair chance

in life. At the age of seventy-eight years
Peter Krebs is still living on that portion of his
farm which he has reserved for his own use,
honored by his neighbors, a sincere Catholic
in his religious faith, and in politics a democrat.
Joseph Krebs, subject of this sketch, hav
ing reached his majority, was united in mar
riage, June 5, 1859, with Miss Ann Mary Kuegg,
who was born in Germany, December 17, 1840,
a daughter of Henry and Catherine (Kauer-
mann) Kuegg and their only child. Mr.
Kuegg, however, had been previously married
to Catherine Honerkamp, to which union had
been born one child, Catherine. The father,
Henry Kuegg, died in Germany in 1843, and
in 1852 his widow came to America, bringing
her child, Ann Mary. The mother located in
Allen county, Ohio, and here married William
H. Farnefeld, by whom she had one child —
Matthias — and here died October 28, 1887.
To the happy union of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Krebs have been born eleven children, who
all,, with two exceptions, lived to reach full
age, and were born in the order here given:
Peter (who died at the age of twelve years),
Ann Mary, Catherine S., Susanna J., Joseph
T. (who died at the age of twenty-two years),
Mary Madeline, Mary Margaret (died at the
age of three months) Maria Thersa, Annie
Mary Catherine,- Anna Mary Veronica and
John Burnett.
After he had married, our subject settled
in the woods near Ottoville, Putnam county,
Ohio, on a forty acre tract of land, which he
cleared up and converted into a good farm,
but sold, and, February 10, 1879, came to
Marion township, Allen county, and bought
his present place of 110 acres, which is now
one of the handsomest farms in the township.
In religion Mr. and Mrs. Krebs are true Catho
lics, having been brought up from childhood in
that faith, and are members of the congrega
tion worshiping at Landeck; in politics Mr.

354

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Krebs has been a life-long democrat, and for
eight years has represented his township in his
party conventions, has been a member of the
school board fifteen years, and has served as
supervisor thirteen years. Nevertheless, Mr.
Krebs voted for Abraham Lincoln for president
on his first nomination.
As a soldier, Mr. Krebs served eleven months
in the late Civil war, in company E, Sixty-
seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, and was in
the fight at Bermuda Hundred, and in others.
He was taken sick with chronic diarrhea, and
for five months was confined in Hampton hos
pital, Fortress Monroe, when his faithful wife
went to his rescue, arriving Wednesday,
August 4, 1 865, and remaining until the seventh,
securing in the meantime transportation for
herself and Mr. Krebs to Columbus, Ohio,
where he was detained in hospital until August
28, when his discharge papers came to hand,
having been delayed on account of his loss of
enlistment papers at the battle of Petersburg,
Va. Mrs. Krebs then brought her husband
home, and after a year's nursing saved his life,
but for eight years thereafter he was still an
invalid. Mr. and Mrs. Krebs have done much
toward sustaining church and school in Marion
township and in recovering its fields from the
unbroken forest of the early days, and thus
stand deservedly high in the esteem of the
people.

*m * ENRY KRUSE, one of the well-to-do
lr^ and highly respected and prominent
M.^ men of German township, was born
in Prussia, Germany, July 24-, 1833,
and is a son of Joseph and Anna Kruse, who
both died in the fatherland. They had four
children: John, deceased; Joseph, of Cincin
nati; Dora, of Darlington, Wis., and Henry,
of this biography. Henry came to America
with his brother Joseph, and stopped in Cin

cinnati between two and three years; thence
went to Urbana, where he worked by the
month for two years and afterward worked on
the farm two years, after which he leased a
farm of 270 acres, mostly timber. Of this he
cleared seventy acres in five years, and laid
by the snug sum of $2,100, with which he
came to Allen connty in 1865,. bringing his
wife and two children with him, and with this
money bought sixty-eight acres of land and
began making a home for himself and family.
Owing to an almost total failure of crops for
three successive years, the new pioneer became
greatly discouraged — involved himself in debt
— but fortune turning the fourth year, he took
new courage and soon found himself in a pros
perous way. He sold twenty acres of his
farm adjoining Elida in lots of one acre each,
at $100 per lot, and with this money pur
chased a tract of timber land, . which he
cleared and afterward added sufficient to it to
make a farm of 180 acres — all under good
cultivation, except forty acres of timber.
About the year 1873 he began making brick,
which business he followed for some five
years, furnishing the brick for nearly all of the
brick structures in Elida and for his own
home, which he built in 1880. He has fol
lowed general farming and stock raising and
his farm and buildings are model ones and
none more convenient in the township. He
was married May 29, 1859, to Miss Doretta
Booman, who was born in Hanover, Germany,.
September 24, 1833, and was the daughter of
Coonrod and Christiana Booman, both natives
of Germany. The father died in Urbana,
Ohio, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and
the mother died in 1871 at the age of seventy-
one. Mr. and Mrs. Kruse have five children;
Charley, a farmer of German township; Henry,
a farmer and cabinet-maker, living west of his
father; Anna, wife of Henry Smith, of Saint
Mary's, Ohio; Emma, wife of Lewis Feightner,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

355

of Lima; and Frank, a carpenter at home.
Our subject has done much toward building up
and developing Allen county, and is a man of
sterling worth and integrity and is recognized
by his large circle of friends as one to be
trusted and respected. He is a good example
of what a man can accomplish by dint of in
dustry and the exercise of good judgment and
plenty of pluck and energy. His excellent
wife has ably seconded him in all his under
takings, and to her much of their mutual
prosperity is due. Politically he is a demo
crat; in religion a member of the Lutheran
church, and is a trustee of the church and
cemetery. We cannot close this sketch with
out a complimentary mention of Mr. Kruse.
He was left an orphan when fifteen years of
age, when he was apprenticed to a shoemaker
with whom he worked four years for nothing,
and paid $30 for learning the trade, and
through his own efforts has made himself what
he is.

EON. C. N. LAMISON was born in
Columbia county, Pa., in 1826. At
the age of ten, in 1836, he came to
Ohio with his parents, who by the in
cidental death of a horse, were forced to stop
at Dalton, Wayne county, where they re
mained. He was educated in private schools
and academies, began reading law at the age
of seventeen years, and was admitted to the
bar at Wooster, Ohio, in August, 1848. He
went to California in 1850, during the gold ex
citement, returned to Ohio' in 1852, and lo
cated in Lima, Ohio, in January, 1852; was
appointed prosecuting attorney for Allen
county, Ohio, in March, 1853, and was elected
to the same office in the fall of that year. As
a candidate for re-election in 1855, he was de
feated, together with the balance of the dem
ocrats, by the know-nothings, and was re

elected prosecutor in 1857. He volunteered,
in 1 86 1, at the first call for troops, and was
elected captain of a company, which was af
terwards company F, Twentieth Ohio volun
teer infantry. At Zanesville he was elected
major of the said Twentieth Ohio volunteer
infantry, served in West Virginia, and had
charge of the B. & O. R. R., under Gens. Mc
Clelland and Rosecrans. At the expiration of
his service, in the fall of 1861, he assisted in
enlisting the Eighty-first Ohio volunteer infan
try, and became its major. The regiment
served in Mississippi until March, 1862, when
it was ordered to Pittsburg Landing, Tenn.,'
and took part in the battle of Shiloh. Illness
of a serious character forced him to resign the
service. He returned to Lima, where, after
an illness of about a year, he resumed the
practice of law. In 1870 he was elected to
congress, and re-elected in 1872. In 1881 he
became the attorney for the Ohio Central Rail
road company, in West Virginia, and organ
ized the company and built the railroad bridge
over the Ohio river at Point Pleasant, W. Va.
He spent many years in Washington, D. C,
looking after the interests of various railroads.
He was subsequently attorney for the Mobile
& Birmingham Railroad company during its
construction. He also spent two summers in
Arkansas looking after the interests of the
Memphis & Kansas- Railroad company. At
the expiration of Gov. Hoadly's term he was
prominently mentioned as the democratic can
didate for governor, but refused to allow the
use of his name, thinking that Hoadly was the
only logical candidate. Since 1892 he has
practiced law and is now connected with the
United States interior department, with head
quarters at Topeka, Kans. As a practicing
lawyer his characteristics were absolute and
unswerving fidelity to the interests of his cli
ents, and a law-suit with him was always war
from beginning to end. That a gentleman of

356

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

his superior abilities should be successful in life
is not a matter to be wondered at, and that
Mr. Lamison- has been successful to a phenom
enal degree, is a fact that goes without saying.

@EORGE F. LANG, one of the repre
sentative business men and citizens
of Delphos, Ohio, is the successor of
the well-known and popular firm of
Shenk & Lang, proprietors of the Eagle Flour
ing mills. Mr. Lang was born in Delphos
March 16, 1850, and is the son of John A. and
Mary A. (Houck) Lang. John A. Lang was
a native of Alsace-Lorraine, France, born in
1 82 1 . He emigrated to America when a young
man, and his first location in this country was
at Canton, Ohio. Later he located at Tiffin,
Ohio, where he was married in 1845. In l%47
he removed to Delphos, and here remained
for about one year, but on account of the epi
demic of chills and fever, from which he and
his wife suffered continually, he became dis
couraged and returned to Tiffin. Notwith
standing the unhealthy condition of Delphos
he did not lose his regard for it as a place for
a home, and about a year later he returned
here, built a shop and residence on Washing
ton street, on the site of the present Metho
dist parsonage, and pursued his vocation, that
of shoemaking, until his death, which occurred
in November, 1857. He was a worthy citizen,
a man of integrity and enterprise, and was a
member of Saint John's Catholic church. His
widow, who survives him, was born in Baden,
Germany, in 1830, and came to America dur
ing her youth. To these parents six children
were born, four of whom, beside our subject,
survive. Two of them reside in Delphos, one
in LaCross, Wis. , and the other at Los Ange
les, California.
George F. Lang was reared and educated in
Delphos, and has spent his life here. He re

ceived a good education, attending both the
parochial and public schools. After leaving
school he became an employee at the Com
mercial House, then the leading hotel in Del
phos, working for the modest ' wages of five
dollars per month and board. In May, 1865,
he secured a position in the drug store of Alex.
Shenk, his recent partner. Being ambitious,
apt and industrious, he soon made himself use
ful and in time most proficient as a drug clerk,
and had no trouble in holding his position.
He clerked successfully for Alex. Shenk, Shenk
& Walsh, Hunt & Walsh, M. Brickner, and in
1 869, with means furnished him by his mother,
in addition to what he had saved, he became
a partner in the drug business with Alex. Shenk.
under the firm name of Shenk & Lang. This
firm continued in the drug business without in
terruption (save an interregnum occasioned by
the destruction of their store by fire, May 3,
1872) until 1880, when they sold out their
drug business and purchased the Eagle Flour
ing mills of Delphos, which they operated
until October, 1895, when Mr. Shenk disposed
of his interest to our subject, who has since
carried on the business under the style of the
George F. Lang Milling Co.
During the building of the Clover Leaf
railroad from Delphos to Holgate, there to con
nect with a road building to Toledo, Mr. Lang
was of great service and benefit to the commu
nity. This road was built by the citizens of Del
phos, and with the assistance and aid obtained
from others living along the line. Mr. Lang was
selected as a director of the road, and was one
of the most active members of the road when
the work was being done. He attended all
the meetings, solicited aid, assisted in securing
the right-of-way, and looked after the impor
tant details of the project generally, all of which
was done without compensation. Beside giving
freely of his time and best efforts, he also made
a general cash contribution. His recompense

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

359

was found in the pride he took, in common
with every other enterprising citizen, in seeing
the road completed, and in the good that he
believed would accrue to Delphos by another
railroad outlet. Mr. Lang has always taken
a commendable interest in the building up of
Delphos, and has contributed to the establish
ment of not a few industries, from which he
has never, with but a single exception, real
ized a dollar on his investments. At present
he is a stockholder in the Ohio Wheel com
pany, of which he was at one time a director.
Mr. Lang has always taken an active in
terest in public affairs, but of late his business
has prevented him from accepting office. He
formerly served, however, as treasurer of
Washington township, Van Wert county, for
four years, and was for eight years a member
of the Delphos board of education. He is now
holding the position of park commissioner.
When the drug store of Shenk & Lang was
destroyed by fire May 3, 1872, Mr. Lang found
himself at a standstill. He not only lost every
thing he possessed in the way of means by
this fire, but came near losing his life, as he
was the last to leave the burning building and
was badly burned himself. A few weeks pre
vious to this disaster, when life seemed opening
out before the young business man with promise,
and the future looked bright, Mr. Lang~became
engaged to be married to his present wife, who,
being possessed of fair means, both in money
and in real estate, promptly came to the assist
ance of her intended in his hour of trial, loss
and disaster, with her check for a generous
sum, thus demonstrating her affection, trust
and confidence in him, and at the same time
enabling him to re-enter business as a proprie
tor instead of an employee.
Mrs. Lang was Miss Amelia J. , the youngest
of three daughters of the late Ferdinand
Bredeick, the pioneer settler of Delphos, and
brother of Father John Otto Bredeick, the

venerable founder of Saint John's Roman
Catholic church of Delphos. Ferdinand
Bredeick came to what is now Delphos in
1842, and died in September, 1846. His was
the first log-cabin built in the town. It stood
on Second street, near the site of the present
opera-house. It was used as a dwelling house,
boarding house and store. In it the first relig
ious services ever held in Delphos were held,
and in it the first child of the town (now Mrs.
George F. Lang) was born.
Mr. and Mrs. Lang were married on Octo
ber 16, 1872, and to their union six children
have been born as follows: Mary Josephine, now
Sister Albina, of the Franciscan Sisters; P. A.,
of LaCrosse, Wis. ; Lillie, Henrietta, Charles
and Otto are at home, while Bernadina, the
youngest, died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs.
Lang and family are members of Saint John's
Roman Catholic church of Delphos. Mr.
Lang is recognized as one of the most enter
prising and public -spirited citizens of Delphos,
and as a business man stands very high, being
considered a safe, reliable and conservative
man, possessing the necessary executive ability
for conducting successfully large enterprises.

*y ¦* ON. HENRY J. LAWLOR.— To be
1^^^ intrusted with public office is gener-
jfl F ally a mark of the confidence of the
people, and it is peculiarly the case
in connection with the career of the gentleman
whose name is at the head of this biographical
outline. Mr. Lawlor was born January 24;
1859, at Cardington, Morrow county, Ohio,
and is a son of Samuel and Bridget (Scully)
Lawlor. Samuel Lawlor was a son of Henry
Lawlor, a native of county Kildare, Ireland,
in which county he lived and died. Samuel
Lawlor was born in that county in 1826, was
reared a farmer, and at the age of twenty-four
emigrated from his native country for the land

,360

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of the free, and settled at Ashley, Delaware
county, Ohio, where he found employment as
a laborer on the C, C. , C. & I. railroad.
Three years later he returned to Ireland, where
he was married and where he remained two
years, when he again came to the United
States. Upon reaching this country the sec
ond time he was re-employed by the same rail
road company, and made one of their division
foremen. After filling various responsible posi
tions in the employ of this company, and re
maining with it until 1865, he removed to
Lima, Ohio, and entered the employ of the P.,
Ft. W. & C. railroad company, as blacksmith,
having learned that trade while with the C,
C, C. & I. company. Some time later he
was placed in charge of the blacksmith shops
of the P., Ft. W. & C. road at Lima, which
position he filled acceptably to his employers
until 1890, in which year he retired. He and
his wife were the parents of four children, viz:
Fannie, deceased wife of Michael Doyle, of
Lima; Mary A., wife of Thomas Gorman, of
Lima; Hon. Henry J., merchant-lailorof Lima,
and Catherine, wife of Patrick H. Phlahie, of
Lima, Ohio. The mother of these children
died in 1878. Mr. Lawlor has always been a
democrat in politics, and has always taken an
active interest and part in promoting the suc
cess of his party, and though never in pursuit
of any office, he was chosen trustee of Ottawa
township and served two terms.
Henry J. Lawlor began, at the early age of
thirteen years, to earn his own support, and
thus while very young became more than usually
self-reliant, and after leaving the public school
drove a team for a while, assisting in the grad
ing of Main street, Lima; he then entered a
carriage blacksmith-shop of that city, re
mained five -months, following which he ap
prenticed himself to the proprietors of the
Lima machine works and boiler shops, and
learned boiler-making. He was next employed

as brakeman on the C, C, C. & I. railroad
for a short time, and then became a section
hand, at Lima, on the P., Ft. W. & C. rail
road; next accepted a position as section fore
man for the Clover Leaf company, with head
quarters at Delphos; one year later he re
turned to Lima and was employed as helper
in the C.,H. & D. shops, worked eight months,
and then, perceiving the necessity for a better
education than he had obtained in boyhood
days in the common schools, he entered the
Lima Commercial school, in which he took a
thorough course in arithmetic and book-keep
ing. He then learned the tailor's trade with
Bolby & Belvill, at Lima, remaining eighteen-
months, when he accepted a position as coat-
maker for J. H. Lesher, with whom he re
mained one year, and then engaged in a like
capacity with J. H. Wise for five months; he
then worked for Osthoff & Co., at Delphos, as
coat-maker, for one year, and finally returned
to Lima, 'where, August 3, 1881, he opened a
tailoring establishment at the corner of Main
and Wayne streets, and for four years con
ducted a most thriving trade and established
a reputation for producing superior work that
has never since been infringed upon. He then
moved to the Brotherton block, on Main
street, where he sustained his popularity until
October, 1891, when he removed to his pres
ent establishment, at 308 North Main street,
and is now recognized as a true artist, and
where he carries a line of goods valued at
$6,000, from which varied assortment the
most fastidious of his patrons find no difficulty
in pleasing their taste.
Politically Mr. Lawlor is a democrat and
is strongly devoted to the interests of his
party. Nor has this devotion been without
its reward, for he has been honored by that
party with its confidence in more instanees
than one. He has been three times elected to
represent his ward in the city council, and has

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

361

served one term as its president. In 1894 he
was chosen state senator for the senatorial
district composed of Williams, Defiance,
Paulding, Van Wert, Allen, Auglaize and
Mercer counties, and he has been a member
of the county central committee for ten years.
Fraternally he is a member of Lima lodge,
No. 162, B. P. O. E.; of Lima lodge, No. 1,
A. O. H., and Lima lodge, No. 201, K. of St.
J. Religiously he is a Catholic, and a mem
ber of Saint Rose church.
Mr. Lawlor was married January 1, 1879,
to Miss Mary A., daughter of James and Kate
Griffin, of Bucyrus, Ohio, and has two chil
dren: Fanny and Harry J. It may truth
fully be said of Hon. H. J. Lawlor that he is
a friend of that large class of men who need
friends most — that is, the laboring class — and
to their credit it may be as truthfully said that
they recognize this fact, and their friendship
for him is as strong as is his for them.

^yy»ILLIAM U. LATHROP, general
¦ ¦ 1 merchant of Westminister, Auglaize
\JL^ township, Allen count}7, Ohio, is a
native of Auglaize county, and was
born in old Fort Amanda, Auglaize county,
May 29, 1865, of English descent, his paternal
progenitor having come from England to
America in the colonial days.
George Denison Lathrop, father of our sub
ject, was born in the city of New York August
2, 1 82 1, and when five years of age his parents
moved to Albany; during the next three or four
years much of his time was spent with his
grandfather on a farm near Cazenovia, N. Y.
About 1830 his father moved to Sandusky,
Ohio, where at the age of fourteen, he entered
the warehouse of Townsand & Co., where he
remained some years, later going to Tiffin
with Meryman & Co. ; later we find him in
Bucyrus for a time, then at Bellefontaine, in

company with a man by the name of Follet,
in the grain and merchandise business. There,
October 23, 1845, he married Miss Columbia
A. Hover. In the spring of 1848, through the
speculations of his partner, he was forced to
close out his business; from this place he
moved to Lima, where he remained until the
spring of 1849, where, in company with a num
ber of others, under the lead of Mr. Carland,
of Findlay, he started overland for the gold
fields of California, where he remained five
years, following the fortunes of a miner. Be
coming discouraged by continued reverses of
fortune he returned to Ohio by way of Panama.
The next two years were spent in the employ
of Haney & Debean, wholesale hardware men
of Milwaukee, Wis., as bookkeeper; in 1856
he went with a company of four statesmen,
under the command of ex-Senator E. G. Ross,
to Kansas, settling on a claim twelve miles
southwest of Topeka, in Shawnee county —
remained there until the spring of 1863, when,
with his little family, he made the return trip
to Ohio, with an ox-team, and settled on a
farm ten miles southwest of Lima, where he
lived until his death, enjoying the confidence
and esteem of all who knew him. He was a
justice of the peace almost continuously for
twenty-one years. In the spring of 1887 his
health gave way, and after an illness of several
weeks he died on the first day of June, aged
sixty-six years. His children were: Calla, born
at Sandusky, Ohio, March 28, 1849; Harry,.
born at Milwaukee, Wis., March 6, 1856;
Charles S., born at Auburn, Kans., May 19,
1858; Grace, born at Auburn, Kans., October
20, i860; Grant, born at Auburn, Kans., Jan
uary 25, 1863; William Ulysses, born at Fort
Amanda, Ohio, May 29, 1865; and Clarence,
born at Fort Amanda, Ohio, December 31,
1872. Rodney Lathrop, father of George D.
Lathrop, was born in Susquehanna county,

¦362

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Pa^, April 15, 1794, learned 1he trade of a
•carpenter and followed building in New York
city, Albany and Buffalo; in Sandusky, Ohio,
he was the architect and builder of some of the
finest houses in the city; was foreman in the
Mad River car shops, in 1849, and during the
cholera epidemic of that season, when his shop
was turned into a coffin factory, his whole
time was spent in nursing and burying his
friends, and at the close of the epidemic was
himself stricken down, August 17, 1849.
His wife, Columbia A. Hover, was born in
Trumbull county, Ohio. Her father, Ezekiel
Hover, was born in Essex county, N. J., Sep
tember 13, 1 77 1, and was a civil engineer; he
¦emigrated to Washington county, Pa., then to
Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1802, and later, in
1833, came to Allen county, settling on the farm
now occupied by the Orphans' home; nine
years later we find him keeping a tavern in
Bellefontaine. In the spring of 1846 he re
turned to Lima, where he died in 1852 at the
age of eighty-four years.
William U. Lathrop, whose name opens
this biography, was reared on the farm until
seventeen years of age, and received his earlier
education in the district schools. He had at
tended the Ada normal for a time and then
went to Wisconsin and worked for different
railroad companies for four years— two years
of this time was railroad agent at Pound, Wis.
He was called home by the death of his father,
and after that was operator for the Buckeye
(Pipe) company for six years, and then, in
1893, engaged in his present business, in which
he has met with the most encouraging suc
cess. He married, in April, 1891, Miss Ella
M. Butcher, a native of Auglaize county, Ohio,
the union being now made the more happy by
the birth of two children — Emma and Eliza
beth. Both parents are members of the Meth
odist Protestant church, in which Mr. La
throp is a chorister and superintendent of the

Sunday-school. In politics he is a republican,
and fraternally a member of lodge No. 165,
Knights of Pythias. Socially Mr. Lathrop
and family are held in the highest esteem, and
he and his young family are to be envied in
their happy society and domestic relations.

>*j,OHN L. B. LEATHERMAN, the lead-
A ing general merchant of Harrod, Alien
A 1 county, Ohio, was born in Washington
county, Pa., December 16, 1834, and
paternally is of German descent. His grand
father, John Leatherman, was a very prom
inent and influential citizen of Washington
county, especially during the middle and de
clining years of his life, and, being a democrat
in politics, was intrusted by that party with
several offices of honor and trust. He was a
devout Christian and died in the faith of the
Baptist church.
Michael Leatherman, son of John and
father of John L. B., our subject, was also a
native of Washington county, Pa., and was
born January 16, 1799. He was more than
ordinarily well educated for the early days in
which he attended school, and, being a youth
of exceptional intelligence, he supplemented
his school studies by a diligent application to
the study of the best didactic literature of his
time, and in his earlier manhood became a suc
cessful school-teacher, achieving a reputation
that extended far beyound the limits of his
county. He married Hannah Ohler, a native
of Pennsylvania, born September 19, 1801,
and shortly afterward, in 1834, came to Ohio
and entered 400 acres of land in Jackson town
ship, .Allen county, to reach which he was
compelled to cut a road through a dense forest.
Having had much experience in his native
state as a politician, and been honored with
many public offices, he immediately assumed a
leading position in the guiding of the politics

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

363

of Allen county, and his education fully quali
fying him for any office within the gift of the
people, he soon received substantial evidence
that his abilities were recognized by the voters
controlling the public offices of his new home.
He was first elected as township trustee, next
as justice of the peace, and later, for twelve
consecutive years, as joint surveyor of the
counties of Allen and Auglaize; next he was
honored by an election to the state legislature
as representative from Allen county, and
finally to the office of probate judge, filling the
latter office for six consecutive years. As a
patriot, Mr. Leatherman enlisted in the Fourth
Ohio volunteer cavalry and saw some very
hard service in Kentucky, Tennessee and Ala
bama, but, on account of his advancing age
and weakened constitution, was honorably dis
charged before the date of his term of enlist
ment had been reached. Returning to his
farm, which, notwithstanding his multifarious
public duties, he had cleared up from the
wilderness and transformed into one of the
finest in the county, he passed the remainder
of his years in peace, dying July 22, 1866, one
of the most honored men of the county and
state. The respected family born to Michael
Leatherman and wife were named as follows:
Henry, deceased; Hiram; Michael, deceased;
Sarah J., wife of William Custer; Adam; John
L. B., our subject; Elizabeth, deceased;
Thomas P., whose sketch appears elsewhere;
Catherine A., widow of Samuel A. Bodell, and
Hannah, wife of James Moss. The mother of
these children was called from earth April 1 ,
1886, deeply mourned by hea sorrowing family
and a large'-circle of devoted friends.
John L. H. Leatherman, the subject
proper of this sketch, was reared on his fa
ther's farm and educated in the pioneer log
school-house of Jackson township, but was
sufficiently well educated to himself become a
school-teacher — a vocation he followed during

the winter months of nineteen consecutive
years. In May, 1864, he enlisted in company
F, One Hundred and Eighty-first Ohio volun
teer infantry, was assigned to the eastern army,
and saw active service until October, 1864,
when he was honorably discharged on account
of the expiration of his term of enlistment.
Almost from the incipiency of the village of
Harrod, Mr. Leatherman has been identified
with its interests, doing much to promote its-
material progress. His general merchandis
ing establishment was the first to be opened in
the village, and has met with continuous pros
perity ever since — a period of nine years. He
resides in a modern village dwelling, rents out
three others, and is, besides, the owner of 116
desirable residence lots in the heart of the vil
lage, and these are always in the market at
reasonable prices and on easy terms; in addi
tion to this valuable property he owns a farm
of 120 acres in the township, improved with a
building that cost $3,000.
The marriage of Mr. Leatherman took
place in August, 1855, with Miss Adelia H.
Weatherill, who was born in Richland county,
Ohio, November 8, 1837, a daughter of John
R. and Elizabeth Weatherill. This union has
been blessed with the following children, born
in the order named: William T. ; Ida, wife of
Frank Graham; Frank; French; Rosa, wife of
Arch Malcom, and Minnie Maud, wife of Cliff
Biteman. The parents are adherents of the
Christian church, of which Mr. Leatherman
has been a deacon for twenty-two years; he
has also filled the office of clerk of the North
western Ohio Christian conference, a position
he found necessary to resign last year on ac
count of his numerous business engagements.
In politics Mr. Leatherman is a stanch repub
lican, and for nine years has held a notary
public's office, but he has never sought office
for the sake of emolument.
French E. Leatherman, son of J. L. B.

364

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Leatherman, is now associated with his father
in the mercantile business at Harrod, the firm
name being J. L. B. Leatherman & Son, and
carrying a stock of goods suitable to every
conceivable want of the community in which
they live. He, too, is a republican in politics.
He married Miss Jennie L. Harrod, daughter
of Perry and Charlotte (Curtis) Harrod, and
this marriage has been blessed with three chil
dren, viz: Don V., Neva (deceased), and
Murriel.

at

H. LEETE, attorney-at-law of
Lima, Ohio, is an illustration of
what close attention and hard study
will accomplish when united with
special adaptability to a profession. Mr.
Leete was born in Burlington, Lawrence
county, Ohio, October 12, 1850, and is a son
of Ralph and Harriet (Hand) Leete, the Leete
family coming originally from Connecticut.
The father of Mr. William H. Leete was
for many years a prominent man in the affairs
of the state of Ohio. He is a lawyer of pro
nounced success and was a legislator of more
than ordinary ability. Mr. Leete married at
Gallipolis, Ohio, and located at Burlington,
and there was engaged in the practice of the
law until the next year, when he removed to
Ironton, Lawrence county, from which county
he was elected to the lower house of the gen
eral assembly of the state, and held the office
of representative during the years 1858 and
1859. He also held many honorable and
honorary positions in the state. He and his
wife were the parents of five children, viz:
William H., our immediate subject; Edith,
wife of John Hamilton, an attorney; Frederick,
a civil engineer; Elizabeth, all of Ironton, and
Ralph H., M. D. of Pikeville, Ky. Mr. Leete
is politically a democrat, and in many ways he
is one of the most prominent and successful

men of the state of Ohio. He is withal a
public speaker and writer of great force and
ability, and his services are frequently in de
mand. He has always been alive to the inter
ests of the commonwealth and is well known
all over the state.
William H. Leete, eldest child of the above
mentioned gentleman, was reared to man's es
tate in Ironton, where he received his prelim
inary education. Then entering Sewickleyville
ecademy, located near Pittsburg, Pa., he re
mained there in study one year, when he entered
a military school in Cleveland, Ohio. After
leaving this institution, he remained at home
until 1869, when he became a student at the
university of Michigan, and there pursued the
study of law. Returning again to his home,
he read law with his father and Judge W. W.
Johnson (the latter of whom has been chief-
justice of Ohio), until his admission to the
bar, in January, 1872, and he then began the
practice of the law in Abilene, Kans. Remain
ing there one summer, he made a tour to the
southwest, along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe railroad, looking for a promising location,
but finally established himself at Portsmouth,
Ohio, and from this center worked in the in
terest of the Ohio State university and private
individuals in West Virginia, looking up and
locating lands. Being thus engaged until 1877,
he then retired from this line of activity, and
in 1878 located inWaverly, Pike county, Ohio,
where he opened an office and was there en
gaged in the practice of the law until 1882. In
the meantime, during the years 1880 and 1881,
he served the county as prosecuting attorney,
having been elected on the democratic ticket.
In 1882 he removed to Ottawa, Putnam county,
where he remained until 1888. In 1887 he
was the democratic candidate for attorney-gen
eral of Ohio, having been nominated by the
democratic convention at Cleveland, but, in
common with the rest of the ticket that year,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

365

was defeated. In 1888 he removed to Lima,
where he has since resided, engaged in the
practice of the law. For six years he was in
partnership with Judge T. D. Robb, but Feb
ruary 9, 1894, Judge Robb retired from the
firm, and since that time Mr. Leete has been
in practice by himself. Mr. Leete is an all-
round lawyer of ability, worthy of confidence,
and has been most successful.
March 20, 1878, Mr. Leete was married to
Miss Mary Renick, a native of Circleville, Ohio,
and a daughter of R. O. Renick, a farmer by
occupation, and a successful and worthy citi
zen. Three children have been born to Mr.
and Mrs. Leete, viz: Harriet L., Helen C,
and Ralph R. Together with his family, Mr.
Leete lives in a handsome residence on Baxter
street, in the city of Lima, highly respected
by all who knew him.

aHRISTIAN B. LEHMAN, one of the
active, industrious and progressive cit
izens of Allen county, Shawnee town
ship, is a son of Christian and Eliza
beth (Bookwalter) Lehman. John Lehman,
father of Christian, was a native of Germany,
and came to the United States with his father,
who settled in Franklin county, Pa., near the
far-famed city of Chambersburg. Here John
Lehman grew to manhood, married and reared
the following family of children: Peter, who
married a Miss Lehman, and afterward re
moved to Columbiana county, Ohio, where
they lived the rest of their lives, rearing a fam
ily of four children: Joseph, who died in Allen
county; Annie, who died single; Christian, the
father of the subject, who died in Allen county;
Elizabeth, who died single, and Barbara, de
ceased wife of Peter Diller, who was the mother
of four children.
Christian Lehman, the father of Christian
B. Lehman, was born in Pennsylvania, Janu

ary 28, 1806, and was a farmer all his life. In
1848 he settled in Richland county, Ohio, and
lived there six years, in 1854 removing to Allen
county, and settling within two miles of Lima.
Here he purchased a farm upon which he lived
the remainder of his days. To his marriage
there were born the following children: Jonas,
of Illinois; Susan, wife of Christian Lehman;
Christian B., of Shawnee township; John, de
ceased; Elizabeth, widow of John Forney, of
Mercer county; Annie, widow of Frederick
Newcomer, and Sarah, deceased.
Christian B. Lehman, the subject of this
sketch, was born in Franklin county, Ohio,
June 25, 1840. He was reared on the home
stead farm in German towhship, and received
the rudiments of his education in the common
schools. After completing his education he
learned the trade of carpenter and followed
this occupation for some years. In 1861 he
enlisted in company B, Eighty-first Ohio vol
unteer infantry, and served three years and
eleven months. In 1862 he was made cor
poral, and later he was promoted to a ser-
geancy, serving in that capacity the rest of the
war. He veteranized in 1863. Mr. Lehman
saw a great deal of hard fighting and march
ing. He was engaged in the battles of Shiloh
and of Corinth; was in the Atlanta campaign,
from Pulaski to Resaca; was at the fall of At
lanta, and went thence with Sherman to the
sea. From Savannah he went through North
and South Carolina, and fought until the close
of the war. He was a good soldier, prompt
in the discharge of all his duties. In October,
1862, he was wounded in the right shoulder,
but after treatment in a field hospital for a
month rejoined his regiment. After the close of
the war he returned to Allen county, and in
1867 settled near Hume, later, however, rent
ing a farm near Lima. In 1885 he purchased
his present farm, where he owns 154 acres of
land, which he has for the most part cleared

366

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and improved. Politically Mr. Lehman is a
democrat, and though not desiring office he
has held the office of township trustee seven
years and has been school director six years.
He is always willing to labor for the success of
his party in every legitimate way, and his in
fluence is widely felt. He is a member of
Mart. Armstrong post, No. 202, G. A. R., and
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church
of Shawnee township, being a class leader in
his church. In 1867 he was married to Miss
Amelia Ridenour, of Perry township, by whom
he has had the following children: LeroyH.;
Annie, Herman, Arthur P., and one that died
in infancy. Mr. Lehman, it will thus be seen,
is- justly entitled to be classed among the fore
most citizens in all good works, and is conse
quently highly esteemed by all with whom he
is acquainted.

*y ¦* ENRY L. LEILICH, one of the well-
J~\ known citizens and business men of
A\ „r Delphos, Ohio, and one of the pro
prietors of the Delphos brewery, is
a native of Hessen, Germany, was born July 6,
1865, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine
(Schwoebel) Leilich. The father was for years
a merchant in the town of Shaafheim, but is
now retired from active business life. The
subject of our sketch took the regular course
of schooling required by the government, and
and then took two courses at a normal school,
attending the latter for seventeen months. In
July, 1 88 1, he started for the United States,
arriving at New York August 24, of that year,
and came to Delphos direct, he having an
aunt living in this city. When he stepped
aboard the steamer he had just $32 in money
in his pocket, and of that amount he had $1 1
when he reached Delphos. His first work
here was on a section of the Clover Leaf rail

road, at which he continued but a few days,
not being able to stand the fatigue. He was
next picked up in a drug store, where he had
gone to get something to heal his sore hands,
caused by work on the section, by H. P.
Eysenbach, and by him put to work in a
woolen-mill, running a picker and doing all the
chores. He remained in Mr. Eysenbach's
employ for about four months, during which
time he took English lessons in the evenings
from a private tutor and was given daily in
structions, when opportunity presented itself,
by Mr. Eysenbach's father. From the woolen-
mill he next entered the shoestore of F. J.
Miller, where he clerked and also worked on
the beneh. He remained with Mr. Miller for
year, and then went to work in the Clover
Leaf railroad shops, taking a job as striker in
the blacksmith shop. He continued here
three years, learning the trade of blacksmith
ing. He then fell sick, and while laying off,
being unable to work in the railroad shops, he
returned to the store of Mr. Miller, where
he again clerked and worked on the bench
for about two and a half years. He next
accepted a position as a. salesman in a Lima
clothing house, of Delphos, where he re
mained five years. In 1893 he purchased a
half-interest in the Delphos brewery, since which
time he has given all his attention to the busi
ness, he having all the office and outside busi
ness under his charge. Notwithstanding the
fact that Mr. Leilich comes from a good
family and was given a fine education, when
he came to America he began at the very bot
tom, and alone and unaided he has climbed to
his present position in business circles. ' His
efforts have been successful to a high degree,
and aside from his interests in the brewery, he
owns valuable improved real estate in Delphos,
all of which he has accumulated in less than
fifteen years. He is a stockholder in the Del
phos Buliding & Loan association, and is also

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

369

interested in the development of oil and gas in
the neighborhood of 'Delphos.
Mr. Leilich was married October 29, 1884,
to Miss Louisa Werner, daughter of Jacob
Werner, a well-known contractor of Delphos.
To their union one boy — Clarence — was born
July 3, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Leilich are mem
bers of the Lutneran church, and are highly
respected in the polite society in which they
move. Mr. Leilich is a business man possess
ing integrity of character, and fully appreciates
the value of prompt payment of debts. Money
in circulation is what makes business active
and creates prosperity. Integrity of character
is as much of an inheritance as any other pe
culiarity, and it is altogether probable that Mr.
Leilich is indebted to a considerable extent for
this quality, and also in a larger sense to his
nationality, for the German people, as a rule,
are as noted for sterling honesty as for strength
of body, and are everywhere welcomed by
Americans, who believe in keeping up the high
tone of American citizenship.

>^OHN WM. LEHMKUHLE, member
¦ of the Delphos city council from the
A 1 Third ward and a well-known citizen, is
a native of the Buckeye state, having
been born in Springfield September 25, 1849.
His parents were Bernard H. and Catherine
W. (Bach) Lehmkuhle, both of whom were
natives of the old country, the father of Han
over and the mother of Nassau. The father
came to America when he was eighteen years
old, and the mother when she was a child.
They were married in Springfield, Ohio, and
in 1850 they removed to Jennings township,
Putnam county, where he bought a small
farm near Fort Jennings. The mother died
November 6, 1874, at the age of forty-one
years. The father died August 20, 1894, in
his seventy-second year. The father was a
12

member of the Catholic church and the mother
of the Lutheran. To these parents twelve
children were born — only one still living.
John W. Lehmkuhle was reared on the
farm at Fort Jennings at attended the district
schools; at the age of seventeen years he came
to Delphos and began to learn the carpenter's
trade with the late Frank Heitz, for whom he
worked until the death of the latter, in 1881,
and then he went to work for the Ohio Wheel
Works company, where he has since continued.
Mr. Lehmkuhle was married on November 4,
1880, to Theresa Laudick, who was born in
Allen county, Ohio, November 4, 1859, and is
the daughter of Conrad Laudick, deceased.
Mr. Lehmkuhle is a member of the democratic
party. In March, 1895, he was appointed to
fill a vacancy in the Delphos city council, and
in April, of the same year, he was the regular
nominee of the democrats of the Third ward
for councilman, and was elected. He is chair
man of the sanitary committee, and a member
of the committees on sewer and ordinance.
Mr. Lehmkuhle is a member of St. John's
Roman Catholic church, and holds the office of
church marshal of the congregation. Mrs.
Lehmkuhle died in November, 1881.
John H. Lehmkhule, deceased brother of
John W., was born at Fort Jennings, Putnam
county, Ohio, on February 22, 1854, and died in
Delphos September 10, 1884. He was a farm
er by occupation. He was married July 27,
1880, to Mary C. Kaverman, who was born in
Van Wert county, Ohio, and is the daughter
of John Mathias Kaverman. To this marriage
one son, JohnB., was born March 15, 1882.

WOHN LENNEY, deceased, once a well-
A known engineer on the C, H. & D. rail-
A I road, and later a farmer of Bath town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, was the eldest
son of John and Mary Lenney, and was born

370

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in Cumberland county, Pa. (near Carlisle),
March ii, 1820. John Lenney, the father,
also a native of Cumberland county, Pa.,
married Mary Russell, a native of his own
state, the union resulting in the birth of five
children, viz: John, Isaac, James W., Re
becca and Ella. John Lenney was a farmer,
followed his calling and died in his native state,
but his widow died in Forest, Hardin county,
Ohio, at the home of her son, Isaac, who had
several years been a resident of that town and
county. John Lenney, the gentleman whose name
introduces this biographical sketch, married
Miss Josephine Miller, daughter of Peter Miller,
a native of France, and this union was blessed
by the birth of three children: John, now liv
ing with his mother on the homestead in Bath
township; Christopher M., and William, also
living at home. After relinquishing his posi
tion as engineer, Mr. Lenney purchased a farm
of 120 acres in Bath township, which he
greatly improved and on which he made his
home until his death, February 4, 1885, a
member of the Presbyterian church, an Odd
Fellow and in politics a republican. He was
ever an industrious man and also ever upright
in his every act; he held the esteem of all his
fellow-men, was an affectionate husband and
a kind and indulgent father, and his death was
deeply deplored not only by the family he
loved so dearly but by a large circle of sincere
and true friends. His widow still lives on the
farm which his frugality secured, and is highly
honored by the friends of her deceased hus
band and by a large circle of her personal friends.
Peter Miller, the father Mrs. Lenney, was
a farmer in his native France, where he mar
ried Catherine Ernst, who became the mother
of four children: Maria, wife of Charles Hort,
of Indiana; Magdaline, wife of Charles Roth,
of Mount Eaton, Wayne county, Ohio; Jose
phine, widow of the subject of this sketch, and

Christopher, of Lima, Ohio. Mrs. Lenney,
since the death of her husband, lives the faith
ful mother that she is, and has held her family
well together, deservedly earning the high es
teem in which she is held by all who know her.
Mr. Lenney was one of the best known and
oldest engineers of northwest Ohio, and followed
this calling for thirty-two years. He was for
many years on the Mad River road, now the
the Ohio division of the Indiana, Bloomington
& Western railroad, and was in Sandusky city
at the time the cholera made such dreadful
ravages there. He helped bury Mr. and Mrs.
Townsend, who then owned the greater part
of the land the city now stands upon. He
was also an engineer at one time upon the P.,
Ft. W. & C. railroad. At the time of the war
he was employed upon the railroad running in
and out of Nashville, Tenn., which at that
time were operated by the government, in
transporting troops and supplies.

EON. JOHN F. LINDEMANN, one of
the most prominent of the younger
citizens of Delphos, Ohio, and a
member of the well-known legal firm
of Reeve & Lindemann, is a native of Ohio,
having been born in Cincinnati, April 7, 1861.
His grandfather, Frederick Lindemann, was
one of the early settlers of Delphos, he coming
here from Germany in 1845, with his family of
four sons and one daughter, all of whom were
born in Germany. Of the sons, Henry, the
third born of the children, is the father of
Judge Lindemann. He was eleven years of
age when his parents came to Delphos, and
where he resided for about seven or eight
years, and then went to Cincinnati, Ohio.
There he met his wife and they were married
in that city November 2, 1858. He continued
to reside in Cincinnati until May, 1861, and
then returned to Delphos. While in Cincin-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

371

nati he learned the trade of shoemaking, which
he followed there and in Delphos. At the
present" he is engaged in the boot and shoe
business. For years he has been one of the
best known and popular citizens of Delphos,
and has figured prominently in local politics.
For twelve years successively he held the office
of city marshal of Delphos; he was trustee of
Marion township, Allen county, for several
terms, and for a number of years represented
the Second ward of Delphos in the city council.
His wife was Clara Ossenbeck, who is the
daughter of one of the early settlers of Del
phos. She war born at Deep Cut, Auglaize
county, Ohio. Both parents are members of
Saint John's Roman Catholic church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lindemann twelve
children were born, nine of whom survive,
Judge Lindemann being the eldest of those
living. While Judge Lindemann was born in
Cincinnati, he was married in Delphos, his par
ents locating here permanently when he was but
six weeks old. He received a good public -school
education, attending both the German and
English departments of the Delphos schools.
After leaving school he held positions as clerk
in several stores in Delphos for about four
years, and then learned the shoemaker's trade
with his father, and followed that vocation for
several years in his father's place of business.
At the age of twenty-one (in 1882) he went to
Lima and entered the office of the probate
judge of Allen county, under Judge S. S.
Yoder, afterward member of congress from
Ohio, and subsequently sergeant-at-arms of the
national congress. He remained in the pro
bate judge's office as a clerk until 1886, when,
upon the resignation of Mr. Yoder, of that
office, to become a candidate for congress, our
subject became a candidate for the unexpired
term. He was nominated, and at the general
election of that year was elected to the office.
He qualified and took charge of his office on

November 17, 1886, being then but a few
months over twenty-five years of age, and he
was at that time the youngest probate judge in
Ohio. In the fall of 1887, and again in the
fall of 1890, he was re-elected as probate
judge for the full term of three years each.
He retired from office February 9, 1894, hav
ing served seven years and three months.
Notwithstanding his age his administration of
the office was entirely satisfactory to all con
cerned, as was evidenced by his re-election, a
most flattering testimonial of his worth and
ability being accorded him on his last election,
when he ran about 800 votes ahead of his
ticket. Upon retiring from office Judge Lindemann
returned to Delphos and became the junior
member of the law firm of Reeve & Lindemann.
In addition to his professional business, Judge
Lindemann is a member of the board of direct
ors of the Delphos National bank, also of the
Delphos Savings & Loan Association company,
of which institutions the firm of Reeve & Lin
demann are the attorneys.
Judge Lindem.ann was married on the 11th
day of October, 1882, to Miss Rosa H., the
daughter of the late Prof. Joseph Limbach,
then the principal of the German department
of the Delphos public schools, and later a
special United States pension examiner, at
Washington, D. C, when his death occurred
December 4, 1893 To this union four chil
dren have been born, as follows; Gertrude C,
born March 16, 1884; Clarence J., born May
2, 1886; Arthur F., born December 3, i<
and John Alexander, born January 22, 1!
Judge Lindemann and wife are members of
the Saint John's Roman Catholic church.
Judge Lindemann is a self-made man, and the
flattering success he has met with so far in life
has been achieved solely by his own efforts,
energy and enterprise. His public career has
been uniformly successful, if not brilliant. For

372

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

a number of years he was a member of the
democratic county central committee and ex
ecutive committee of Allen county, and was
chairman of both committees during the cam
paign of the fall of 1893.

"^-VOSEPH S. LONG, one of the old and
A substantial armers of Auglaize town-
A J ship, Allen county, was born in Rich
land county, Ohio, September 5, 1829.
His paternal great-grandfather came from
Germany and settled near Philadelphia in a
very early day, arid his son, John, grandfather
of our subject, who was born on this original
farm, removed when still a young man to
Hagerstown, Md., where he married Susan
Leedy, the union resulting in the birth of
twenty-one children. He later removed his
family to Knox county, Ohio, cleared up a
farm of 100 acres from the woods, and accu
mulated a competency for his support in his
old age. He and bis wife were probably
charter members of the first German Baptist
congregation in Knox county, in which faith
both died, highly respected by the old pioneers.
John Long, father of our subject, was born in
Maryland, and later in life settled in Ohio,
where he married, but died in Indiana.
Joseph S. Long was early inured to a* life
on a farm and lived with Henry Miller until the
age ot sixteen. He received a good common-
school education in the log school house of his
early day, and achieved quite a local reputa
tion as an expert at spelling. March 29, 1857,
he married Sarah Ann Guthrie, a daughter of
Thomas Guthrie. This lady's grandfather
was a native of Pennsylvania and her grand
mother was born in Licking county, Ohio,
where their marriage took place. Shortly
after this event occurred, Mr. and Mrs. Guth
rie removed from Licking to Allen county,
when the latter was but a wilderness, and here

Mr. Gutherie entered an eighty-acre tract in
Auglaize township, where he died. In 1849-
Mr. Long settled in Auglaize township; in
1858 he purchased fifty acres of his present
farm. He passed through the usual routine of
the pioneer farmer — erecting a log cabin and
cultivating but a small farm of about fifty
acres, his neighbors occupying similar cabins-
with wide intervals between, but by industry,
economy and good management he has suc
ceeded in acquiring a well cultivated farm of
173 acres, improved with a two-story modern
dwelling, and finds himself no longer in a
wilderness, but within half a mile of a busy
little village — Harrod. The children born to
Mr. and Mrs. Long were named as follows:
William I., deceased; Lucinda J., wife of
George Turner; Idelia H., married to F. M.
Blair; Ulysses S. ; Henry W. ; Carlton and'
Samuel J. — all married except Samuel J.*
In politics Mr. Long is a very prominent
and influential republican — voting as he shot,
for he was a brave and faithful soldier, as will
soon be discovered. He has served as town
ship assessor two terms, as township trustee
for several years, as township treasurer, for
eight years, as supervisor for ten or fifteen
years, and was for twenty-five years school di
rector — holding often as many as three offices
at a time. On one occasion he was nominated
in county convention by acclamation for county
auditor, but was beaten at the polls by 6oo-
votes, yet reducing the democratic majority
about 1,000. In religion Mr. and Mrs. Long
are Universalists, and fraternally Mr. Long is
a past commander of Dexter Gilbert post, G.
A. R., of LaFayette, Ohio, by the members
of which he is highly respected.
September 12, 1864, Mr. Long left behind
his wife and two children and enlisted in com
pany F, Thirty-third Ohio volunteer infantry,
and took part in the campaigns through Ken
tucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and North.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

373

Carolina. He was in the famous march to the
sea of over 400 miles in thirty-nine days, skir
mishing, or under fire, the entire distance. He
fought at Clear Springs and at Bentonville,
and was twice struck by musket balls in the
right leg, necessitating amputation. He was
treated in hospital at Goldsboro, N. C, then
at New Berne, N. C, and David's island, N.
Y. He received an honorable discharge June
.27, 1865, and returned home to his wife and
children and a host of friends. Mr. Long is
well and widely known throughout Allen county,
¦especially among the boys who wore the blue,
and is respected as a hard-working citizen who
has devoted his life of toil to securing a home
for himself and family, and his many friends
have taken a keen delight in honoring him with
every office within the gift of the residents of
his township, and in otherwise showing the
esteem in which they hold him.

(D

OSES H. LONG, one of the leading
and prominent men of Elida, was
born in Clermont county, Ohio,
March 7, 1847, and is a son of
Enoch and Elizabeth (Robinson) Long, both
natives of the southern part of the state.
Enoch Long was a farmer, and, like his father,
the Rev. Frederick Long, formerly of North
Carolina, was a local minister in the Method
ist Episcopal church, in the faith of which he
died in 1861.
Moses H. Long, for whom this sketch is
written, was one of a family of six children,
as follows: John R. , Frederick (died in in
fancy), Charity A. (deceased), Isaac N. (de
ceased), Moses H., and William C. Moses H.
was reared a farmer in southern Ohio, attended
the district school and enjoyed the advantage
of a year's schooling at the Mulberry seminary
in Clermont county. At the age of nineteen
he came with a brother to Allen county and

located on a farm in Marion township, occupy
ing his time on the farm in the summer season
and teaching school in the winter. The land
belonged to the Long estate, but he and his
brother purchased it and added to it until they
owned a tract of 175 acres in a body, which
they divided and on which Moses resided until
1884, when he removed to Elida, on account
of his official connection with the Allen County
Mutual Relief association (a local insurance
company), the duties of which consumed so
much of his time that it necessitated a change
of residence. He was chosen secretary of the
above-named company, in which responsible
capacity he served for eleven years succes
sively, but, when he engaged in the grain busi
ness, in 1887, he soon withdrew from his posi
tion in order to give his entire attention to his
new field of work. After operating three
years he erected a new plant, in 1890, at the
foot of Warehouse street, 'where he success
fully handled a large volume of grain, hay and
seeds, being centrally located in the midst of
a very fertile district and wealthy community,
and where he enjoyed the confidence of his
fellow-citizens. The capacity of his elevator
is 10,000 bushels, and is operated by steam
power. In the spring of 1895 he sold his
plant to S. D. Crites and bought of A.
E. Clutter a one-half interest in a line of
elevators located along the Chicago & Erie
railroad, in Ohio and Indiana, the firm being
Clutter & Long, with headquarters at Lima,
Ohio, where they are operating in grain, hay
and seeds.
Mr. Long was married October 17, 1872,
to Miss Clara Cochran, of Allen county, a
daughter of William R. and Eliza Cochran.
She died March 15, 1889, leaving the husband
and two children, Ellis R. and DelbertW., to
mourn her loss. Mr. Long was united to his
present wife May 12, 1 891 . She was a Miss
Elizabeth Stemen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.

374

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Peter Stemen; two children have been born to
their union — Emmet S., now living, and an
infant deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Long are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church
and faithful workers in the Sunday-school, Mr.
Long having served as superintendent during
the time he resided there except two years.
His son Delbert is a graduate of the Elida
high school, receiving his diploma when but
seventeen years old. He is now in the employ
of the firm of which his father is a member in
an elevator in Lima, Ohio. Ellis R., the
elder son, is located in Los Angeles, Cal.,
operating in the grain, feed and coal trade. It
is to such families as Mr. Long represents
that the town and the county have their stand
ing as among the first and best in the state.

(HOMAS C. LONG, one of the pro
gressive, industrious young farmers of
Allen county, Ohio, was born in Sugar
Creek township, that county, April
2 3, 1853. He is a son of Christopher and
Keturah (Miller) Long, who died within about
eight months of each other, the father dying
in 1862, the mother previously. Christopher
Long was in politics a democrat, and one of
the leading members of the Christian church.
He was also greatly interested in the work of
the Sunday-school, and was an excellent man
in every way. His death, at so early an age,
was a great loss to the community, for he was
charitably disposed, and always ready to help
any enterprise calculated to benefit his county.
Christopher and Keturah Long were the
parents of eight children, all living but two,
that died in infancy. Those living are as fol
lows: Nancy A., wife of Amos Wroten, of
Kenton, Ohio; William D., a fireman of Lima,
Ohio; Thomas C. ; Jackson M., a farmer of
German township, Allen county; James W. ,

a resident of Monroe township, and Pierce D. ,
a resident of German township.
Thomas C. Long was educated in his youth
in the public schools, and was brought up to
farm life and labor, thus acquiring much
knowledge useful to him in his subsequent
career, as well as physical health and strength.
From the time of the death of his parents he
was bound out to service until he became
eighteen years of age, when he was thrown
upon his own resources without a dollar in the
world. But he had industry and energy, and
with a will went to work by the month on a
farm, which he continued until 1876, when he
married Miss Mary Benedum, and settled down
upon his own farm, which he had purchased
a few months previously, the farm consisting
of thirty-six acres, at that time, in sections
Nos. 28 and 29, German township. To this
original farm he has added from time to time
other acres, until at the present time he owns,
in one body, 117^ acres. In 1877 he began
doing work for the county, making turnpike
roads, at which he continued until 1894, a
period of seventeen years, during which time
he made as much as, if not more, turnpike
road than any other man in the county. In
1876 he opened on his farm a fine stone quarry,
which he has since operated and which has
yielded a neat income. He has the best
crushing outfit in the county, erected at a cost
of $4, 500. He also carries on general farming,
and is generally recognized as a leading citizen.
Politically he is a democrat. He and his wife
have a family of five children, viz: Wardella,
Thomas W., John, Harvey and Amos.

eDWIN E. McCALL, M. D., a rising
young physician of Lima, Ohio, was
born at Euclid in Butler county,
Pa., September 7, 1866, and is a son
of Samuel R. and Nancy C. (Thompson) Mc-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

375

Call, both of whom were natives of Pennsyl
vania. The ancestry of Samuel R. McCall
came to this country from Scotland in early
colonial times, while the ancestry of Mrs. Mc
Call, the Thompson family, came from the
north of Ireland. On both sides of the family
the parents were Presbyterians. Samuel R.
McCall is a farmer and lumber dealer at
Euclid. Pa., and managed to keep all his sons
busily employed during their boyhood days,
although he encouraged them all in securing an
education. Edwin E. McCall, M. D., received the ru
diments of his education in the common schools
of Butler county, and afterward attended the
academy at West Sunbury, that county, four
years, teaching during the winter seasons. In
1889 he removed to Wood county, Ohio, was
there engaged in the oil business as gauger,
and was interested in the production of oil
until the fall of 1891, when, having determined
to make the practice of medicine his life-call
ing, he went to Baltimore, Md., and there
studied medicine until April 18, 1894, when.
he was graduated with honor from the Balti
more Medical college. In July following he
located at Lima, Ohio, and has been engaged
there ever since in the practice of his profes
sion with steadily increasing success. Dr.
McCall is a republican in politics and frater
nally is a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow
and a member of the Protected Home Circle.
He is of an unusually pleasant and genial dis
position, makes friends easily among all classes
of the people, is a welcome guest in any home
circle, and is the life of any social gathering
where he is present. He is a ready con-
versationlist and never at a loss for a
subject for pleasant discussion. He is free
and off-handed in manner, courteous and kind,
gay in humor, and while witty and quick at
repartee, yet his wit is never caustic or sarcas
tic, but always good-natured, and designed to

illustrate and enliven rather than to wound the
feelings or to make others seem of slight ac
count. While Mr. McCall has little to say
about himself, it is evident that he is possessed
of a good deal of independence, as his educa
tion and start in his profession were attained
by his own energy and industry, having re
ceived financial aid from no one. There can
be little if any doubt that Dr. McCall has in
store a brilliant and successful career.

ar

'ILLIAM McCOMB, Jr.— Varied ex
perience is of value to all who
would succeed in business, and this
kind of experience has fallen to the
lot of Mr. McComb, the subject of this brief
narration. Mr. McComb was born in Rock
land county, N. Y. , January 29, 1851. His
parents were William and Sarah (Sands) Mc
Comb, who removed to Ohio in 1862, locating
in Lima, where the former now resides, the
latter having died November 7, 1887.
William McCornb was not quite twelve
years of age when his parents removed to
Ohio, so that most of his education was re
ceived in this state. After leaving the public
schools of Lima he served three years' ap
prenticeship as an iron molder in the Lima
Machine works, and then took a commercial
course of study in A. D. Wilt's college at Day
ton, Ohio, and then acted as deputy postmas
ter under Cornelius Parmenter for three years.
His time in this position having expired, he
engaged in the grocery business on the north
west corner of the public square, where he re
mained two years, after which he was again
employed for a short time in the shop in 1878.
Then he became city agent for the Gazette for
four years. In 1884 he was nominated as the
republican candidate for mayor of the city,
and elected by a majority of 526. He was re
elected in 1886, again in 1888, and again,

376

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

after the lapse of one term, in 1892. In 1890
he became the agent for several insurance
companies — the British America, Phoenix of
Brooklyn, Teutonia of Dayton, Ohio, Amer
ican of New Jersey; Rhode Island Underwrit
ers' Association, New Hampshire of Manches
ter, California, Glenn Falls, etc., and the in
surance business he conducted while he was
mayor of the city, until the expiration of his
term in 1894. He is now engaged in the real
estate business as well as the insurance busi
ness, and attends to life as well as fire insur
ance, being agent for the yEtna of Hartford,
Conn.; the Standard Accident of Detroit; the
Hartford Steamboiler Insurance company; the
Delaware of Pennsylvania, the Western of
Toronto, etc.
Mr. McComb was married in Lima, Feb
ruary 7, 1879, to Miss Frances E. Bitner, who
was born in Cumberland county, Pa., and who
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Mr. McComb is a republican in pol
itics, and fraternally is an Odd Fellow and a
member of the society of Elks. That the sub
ject of this sketch is one of the popular young
men of Lima has been sufficiently indicated by
what has been written of him — his election to
the office of mayor of his city for four separate
terms, and his carrying on the insurance busi
ness for so many different companies, proving
this truth to a demonstration, for popular favor
is distinctly shown by such facts as these.

(/^V AVID McPHERRON, one of the most
1 I successful agriculturists of Perry
/A\^f township, Allen county, Ohio, is the
eleventh child of a family of fourteen
children born to William and Jane (McCamish)
McPherron, of whom further mention will be
made a little further on, thus permitting a few
remarks touching the ancestral history of the
subject of this sketch.

James McPherron, the paternal grandfather
of our subject, was a native of Ireland, prob
ably of the northern part of that island, and
undoubtedly of Scottish extraction, as his name
would imply. However, he came to America
prior to the revolt of the colonies against the
tyranny of the British government, and settled
in Greene county, Tenn., bringing with him
his wife and three children who were born in
the old country, he having there married and
having had born to him the following children
— some of Irish birth and some of American
nativity: James, John, Robert, William and a
daughter, Betsey, who was married to David
Logan. William McPherron, father of our subject,
was born in 178 1 , doubtless in Tennessee,
where he learned the blacksmith's trade, which
for many years he carried on in connection
with the making of gun-barrels, at which he
was an expert, and also engaged in farming
and distilling while still a resident of Tennes
see. In 1835 he came to Ohio and located a
mile and a half east of the village of Liberty,
then in Champaign county, but, by division of
territory, now in Montgomery county, where
he followed his trade for two years, and then,
in 1837, came to Allen county purchased
eighty acres of land in section No. 10, Perry
township, and here laid the foundation of a
fortune. He first erected his blacksmith shop,
then cleared up his farm, which he wrought
out from the wilderness and made to ' ' blossom
as the rose." He made a name and fame for
himself throughout the surrounding country as
a gunmaker and was probably the best black
smith that the township of Perry saw for
many years. As a farmer he had few equals,
and no one, in that early day, was more active
than he in advancing the interests of his
township. In politics a democrat, he served
his fellow-citizens as township trustee, and
was a most public-spirited citizen in all

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

377

respects. In religion he was an adherent
of the New School Baptists, and in that
faith he died on his farm in 1844, la
mented and honored by his family and an ex
tended circle of friends. The children who
blessed the prolific union of William and Jane
(McCamish) McPherron were named in order
¦of birth as follows: James, who died in Illinois;
Elizabeth was married to David Logan and
died in Indiana; William also died in Indiana;
Margaret, who became the wife of William
Goetz, ended her days, also, in the state of
Indiana; John died in Dayton, Ohio; Thomas
died in Indiana; Samuel died in Miami county,
Ohio; Susan, wife of Samuel Crossley, died
in Perry township, Allen county, Ohio; Andrew,
the ninth child, died in Indiana; George died
in Perry township, Allen county, Ohio; David
is still living in the township last mentioned;
where Alexander, the twelfth child, passed
away his life; Martha, now Mrs. Wilson, is a
resident of Terre Haute, Ind., where the four
teenth child, Mary A., ended her days, the
wife of Henry Lippincott.
David McPherron, the subject of this
memoir, was born October 12, 1823; in Greene
county, Tenn., and came with his father to
Ohio in 1835, and, being a mere lad at that
time, received the greater part of his education
in the pioneer schools of Tennessee — log struc
tures that they were, but filled with a spirit of
struggling ambition to acquire knowledge. He
was early inured to the toil of farm life, be
came a thorough agriculturist, and on reaching
his majority purchased the home farm and
filially cared for his beloved mother until her
death in 1854. He then purchased forty acces
in Perry township, which he cleared up and
turned into a neat and comfortable farm, but
did not long hold his residence there, as he
chose to go to Indiana, where he bought 1 30
acres in the northern part of the state, and also
purchased 360 acres across the border line in

Michigan. After a residence of four years in
Indiana, however, he returned to Ohio and
purchased a farm of eighty acres in Perry town
ship, Allen county, and here has since made
his home.
The first marriage of Mr. McPherron was
with Miss Mareitta P. Lippencott, who died
March 10, 1869, leaving three children, viz:
Morgan; Elizabeth, wife of John Scott, and
Rillia, wife of John Burgess. The second
choice of Mr. McPherron as a helpmate was
Mrs. Mary Logan, who bore the maiden name
of Graham, and whom he married in 1870.
In his politics Mr. McPherron has always been
a democrat, and by that party has been elected
to fill all, or nearly all, the offices of his town
ship; in religion the Christian church recog
nizes in him a true and faithful member. In
his farming industry he has always made a
success, although for several years he added
brick-making to his agricultural pursuits, and
from that industry also derived. a handsome
income. He is to-day one of the most promi
nent citizens of Perry township, which he has
seen developed from a wilderness into a cen
tral home of modern civilization, this happy
consummation being the result, to a great ex
tent, of his own personal efforts.

>Y*AMES B- McWILLIAMS, M. D., the
A eminent young physician and surgeon
A 1 of LaFayette, Jackson township, Allen
"~ county, Ohio, was born in Walker
county, Ga., June 15, 1861, and is of Scotch
descent. John McWilliams, grandfather of the doc
tor, was a native of South Carolina, where he
was reared to manhood. He was one of the
earliest pioneers of Chattooga county, Ga. ,
where he was engaged in mercantile business
even before the Cherokee Indians had been
removed to the west from their reservation,

378

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

but later he removed to Walker county, in the
same state, re-engaged in merchandising and
became a prominent and influential citizen.
He hauled all his merchandise from Savannah
by wagon, and was a typical pioneer merchant.
He died in the faith of the Baptist church, and
his remains were interred in Chattooga county.
William McWilliams, son of John McWill-
iams and father of Dr. J. B. McWilliams,
was born in Chattooga county, Ga., in 1839,
but has been identified with Walker county,
Ga., nearly all his life, as a farmer and
merchant near Greenbush. He first married
Miss Sallie Little, daughter of William and
Rebecca (Young) Little, the sole issue of this
family being Dr. J. B. McWilliams, the sub
ject of this sketch. This lady died in 1861, a
devoted member of the Baptist church. The
second marriage of William McWilliams was
with Nannie Neal, and to this union have been
born Willie and Mary, both deceased; Lee,
Shelby, Gina, Lula, Robert and Reece.
During the recent civil strife, William McWill
iams enlisted in the First Georgia regiment,
Confederate States army, and participated,
among other battles, in those of Chickamauga
and Fort Donelson, and for meritorious con
duct was commissioned captain. On his re
turn home he resumed his former vocations of
farmer and merchant, and accumulated a com
fortable competency. He is a prominent and
respected citizen, is a deacon in the Baptist
church, and has given much attention to the
education of his children.
James B. McWilliams, the gentleman whose
name opens this biography, remained on the
home farm until twenty years of age, receiv
ing, in the meantime, however, an excellent
academic education and teaching two terms of
school. After a thorough course of prepara
tory study he entered the medical department
of the university of Louisville, Ky. , from which
he graduated in 1884, at the age of twenty-

three years. For the first four years after
graduating he practiced his profession at Chick
amauga, Tenn., meeting with flattering suc
cess, and then selected Allen county, Ohio, as
his home. He is still a member of the Tri-
Medical association of Tennessee, Alabama
and Georgia, and has as excellent library of
works devoted to the science of medicine and
surgery, and by subscribing to the best medi
cal periodical literature of the day keeps well
up with the progress of his profession.
The marriage of Dr. McWilliams was sol
emnized in April, 1890, with Miss Emma O.
Durbin, daughter of Samuel and Rachel
(Shipley) Durbin, the former a well-to-do
farmer of Auglaize township, Allen county,
This happy marriage of the doctor has been
blessed by the birth of two children — Frank
D. and Lela R. Conjoined with his already
extensive and remunerative practice, the doctor
owns and operates a fertile farm of fifty acres,
which is a model in itself and an ornament
to the neighborhood. In politics the doctor is-
a sound democrat; in religion Mrs. McWilliams
is a devout Methodist — and no more highly
respected family can be found in the county.

WOHN M. MARSH, M. D., one of the
A leading physicians of Delphos, Ohio,
A J and a representative citizen of that
"~ place, is a native of Ohio, having
been born near Upper Sandusky, Wyandot
county, on June 3, 1863. His father, Nathan
Marsh, was also a native of Ohio, and died
when our subject was about a year and a half
old- His mother, who bore the maiden name
of Mary A. Hollanshed, was born in Ohio, and
is now living in her fifty-sixth year, making
her home with our subject. Dr. Marsh was
reared on the farm until he reached his seven
teenth year. During his boyhood he attended
the country schools, and in 1881 entered the

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

379

Ohio Western University at Delaware, Ohio,
and from that college was graduated in the
class of 1887, taking a classical course. After
leaving college he taught one of the schools at
Upper Sandusky, and in 1888 began studying
medicine in the same city, in the office of Drs.
Sampson and Maskey. The same year he
entered the Miami Medical college of Cincin
nati, and graduated from that institution in
March, 1890. In June of the same year he
located in Delphos and began the active prac
tice of his profession. About six months
after locating in Delphos, he entered into a
partnership with Dr. Charles Reul, which con
tinued until the latter's death in 1894. Since
then Dr. Marsh has been practicing alone.
He has met with good success, building up not
only a good practice, but at the same time
establishing a good name and professional repu
tation. Dr. Marsh is a member of the Allen
County Medical society and of the Northwest
ern Ohio Medical association. He is at pres
ent health officer of Delphos, and surgeon of
the Clover Leaf, C, H. & D and the P., A. &
W. railroads. He is also a member of the
Masonic order, as well as a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.

^V^jENJAMIN' F. MARSHALL, one of
l,**^ the well-known and representative
JA^J citizens of Delphos, Ohio, and master
mechanic of the P., A. & W. R. R.,
is a native of Pennsylvania, having been born
in Perry county, that state, May 31, 1845.
His parents were Joseph and Margaret (Mc-
Kilarey) Marshall, both natives of Pennsylva
nia, and both of Irish descent. The mother
of Joseph Marshall was Betty Beaty, who was
popularly supposed to have been the daughter
of Gen. Beaty, who was burned at the stake
by the Indians when Pennsylvania was the
frontier. Joseph Marshall was a farmer for

many years, at the same time running a dis
tillery and tannery. Later in life he sold out
his farming interests, and engaged in railroad
contracting on the Pennsylvania Central. He
followed the latter work for some years, and
then located at Altoona, Pa., becoming the
agent at that point of the Pennsylvania Cen
tral road. When he moved to Altoona there
was only two houses in that place. He died
in Altoona in 1858, at about fifty -six years of
age. He was quite prominent in the localities
where he resided, and for some time he was
justice of the peace in Perry county. His wife
died in 1884 in her seventy-ninth year, her
death occurring at Pittsburg, but her body
being interred by the side of her husband at
Altoona. To these parents there were born
twelve children, only two of whom are still
living — our subject and his brother, Winfield
S. Marshall, who is an engineer on the P., A..
& W. R. R. , and resides at Delphos.
Benjamin F. Marshall, our subject, was
reared in Altoona, Pa., where he attended the
public schools and also an Episcopal school,
securing a fair English education. At the age
of fourteen years he went to work in the Penn
sylvania shops at Altoona, where he remained
until the breaking out of the late war. In
1862 he ran away from home and went to-
Kentucky and enlisted in Company H, Fourth
regiment Kentucky infantry, army of the
Cumberland, Gen. Sherman commanding. He
enlisted at Lexington, Ky., and joined the
regiment at Chattanooga, Tenn., arriving
there about three weeks before the battle. He
also participated in the battles of Lookout
Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Chickamauga.
He was with Sherman on his march to the sea;
on Stoneman's raid, back of Atlanta, on July
22, 1864, he was captured, and was confined
in Andersonville prison, where he remained
until that infamous prison was broken up,
when he, with others, was taken to Savannah,.

380

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Ga. , and thence to Charleston, S. C, where
they were at the bombardment of that city.
From Charleston he was taken to prison at
Florence, S. C, where he was confined for
about three months. They were at Wilming
ton, N. C, as prisoners when Fort Fisher fell,
and a few days later, when the northern army
reached Wilmington, he was exchanged or
parolled, on March 10, 1865. He then re
turned to his home in Altoona on a thirty-day
furlough, after which he joined his regiment at
Tuscaloosa, Ala. He was discharged from the
service at the close of hostilities, in 1865, at
Macon, Ga. His term of service covered a
period of nearly three years, about eight
months of which time was spent in the worst
.prisons the Confederacy had, namely, those of
Andersonville, Savanah and Florence. While
his health was not impaired by his prison ex
perience, he lost exactly eighty pounds of flesh,
he having weighed 180 pounds when he was
¦captured. After the war Mr. Marshall . re
turned to the employ of the Pennsylvania R.
R. company, at Altoona, taking an engine on
the run between Altoona and Harrisburg, Pa. ,
He was on that division from 1865 to 1869.
From 1869 to 1871 he was an engineer on the
Pacific railways, he having charge of the engine
of the first passenger train to enter Salt Lake
City, in the latter part of 1869. In 1871 he
returned to Altoona, and took a run on the
Pennsylvania road again, where he remained
until 1873, and took an engine on the Pan
handle, between Pittsburg, Pa., and Dennison,
Ohio, where he continued until 1877. From
1877 until 1882 he was in different places, .and
in 1882 he came to Delphos, and took charge
of the shops of the Cleveland, Delphos & St.
Louis railroad, where he continued until 1884,
when he went to Van Wert and took charge,
as master mechanic, of the Cincinnati, Jack
son & Mackinaw railroad, where he continued
until 1889. In 1890 he took charge of the

Findlay, Fort Wayne &, Western shops at
Findlay, where he remained one year, and
then, in 1891, he took his present position of
master mechanic of the P., A. & W. R. R. at
Delphos. Mr. Marshall was married in August, 1868,
to Miss Anna Attig, who was born in Perry
county, Pa., and is a daughter of George At
tig, a railroad man on the Pennsylvania line.
To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall five
living children have been born, as follows:
Wilber, Cary, Loyd, Grace Leonia and Win-
field Scott. Mr. Marshall is a member of the
Masonic order, being a knight templar and
thirty-second degree Mason. Mr. Marshall
takes an active interest in public affairs, and
is quite prominent in local matters. He
made the race for councilman once, when he
was defeated by two votes, owing to the lack
of interest he himself took in the fight, and
was, in the spring of 1895, again candidate
for councilman in the First ward, representing
the republican party. As a citizen he is enter
prising, public spirited, and broad and liberal
in his views.

f^f UMNER F. MASON, now a practical
*^^^kf and well-to-do farmer of Bath town-
\_J ship, Allen county, Ohio, and an ex-
soldier of the late Civil war, was born
in Remsen township, Oneida county, N. Y.,
in the year of 1831, and was but three years
of age when brought by his parents to Allen
county, Ohio.
Jarvis Mason, father of our subject, was
born in Massachusetts, January 6, 1789, and
was a son of Elisha Mason, who lived and
died in that state, served as a soldier in the
war of 1812-15. He married, in New York
state, Miss Elizabeth Hall, who was born June
10, 1799, a daughter of Enoch Hall, and this
union resulted in the birth of fifteen children,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

381

as follows: Eliza, wife of Almond S. Harring
ton; Franklin; Lorrie, deceased wife of George
Long; Jane, who was married to Nathan Harts
horn, and who is now a resident of Defiance
county, Ohio; Janet, deceased wife of John
Shinaberry, of Mercer county, Ohio; Julia and
Eugenia, deceased; Sumner F., our subject;
Alden, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased wife of
James Boyd; Zalmon R., of Bath township;
Marcus D. ; Sarah H., deceased; Nancy A.,
wife of Philip Roush, of Bath township, and
Sarah H., wife of James Neily. After living
in New York state a number of years, Jarvis
Mason removed to Cheshire, Mass., but sub
sequently returned to the Empire state, where
he resided until 1834, when he came to Ohio
and entered eighty-nine acres of land in Bath
township, Allen county, and here cleared up
an excellent farm. In 1854 he made a visit to
Massachusetts, and on his way homeward con
tracted cholera, from which he died at his
home July 21, 1854, his remains being interred
in Blue Lick cemetery, Bath township. He
was a warm member of the Methodist church,
and in politics a democrat, serving for a num
ber of years as supervisor of Bath township.
His widow survived him until November, 1895,
dying at the home of her son, our subject.
Sumner F. Mason was reared on the home
farm in Bath township until eighteen years of
age, when he began learning the carpenter's
trade, which he followed until the breaking
out of the Civil war in 1861, when he enlisted
in company B, Eighty-first Ohio volunteer in
fantry, under Col. Thomas Morton. He
fought at Pittsburg Landing, Iuka, and Cor
inth/ Later, with some comrades, he was de
tailed to bring some supplies to camp, and
while in the performance of this duty was cap
tured by guerrillas at the mouth of Duck river,
September 1, 1862, was held there for three
months and then exchanged, when he rejoined
his regiment at Corinth, Miss. Mr. Mason

also participated in all the engagements of the
Atlanta campaign, including Dalton, Buzzards'
Roost, Snake Creek Gap, Resaca, Big Shanty,
Kenesaw Mountain, Rossville, Decatur, At
lanta (July 22 to 28), Jonesboro, Lovejoy Sta
tion, East Point, all in Georgia, and was in a
number of minor engagements and lively skir
mishes, was in the grand review at Washington,
D. C, and was finally mustered out July 21,
1865, at Camp Dennison, Ohio, receiving an
honorable discharge.
In 1873 Mr. Mason married Marilla, daugh
ter of Peter Snyder, of Allen county, and this
union has been blessed by the birth of one
child, Alfonso, who lives with his father in
Bath township, where Mr. Mason owns a fine
farm of eighty acres, which he has greatly im
proved and beautified and rendered profitable.
Mr. Mason was a brave, true and faithful sol
dier, and as a citizen has manifested the same
commendable qualities, performing his full
duty in all his relations to his fellow-men.

eLI MECHLING, one of the most
successuful farmers of Perry town
ship, Allen county, Ohio; was born
on his present homestead in October,
1836, and is of Pennsylvania-German origin,
his ancestors having been among the promi
nent settlers of Westmoreland county, Pa.,
and their descendents are still eminent in the
professional and mercantile world of western
Pennsylvania. William Mechling, grandfather of our sub
ject, in 18 1 2 came from Westmoreland county,
Pa., to Perry county, Ohio, and purchased a
quarter-section of land in Hopewell township —
this being a part of fourteen quarter-sections
his father-in-law, Mechling, had entered some
time previously. William had married, for his
wife, a Miss. Mechling, to which union were
born Joshua, William, Louisa, Jacob and

382

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Samuel. To his second marriage, which was
with Mrs. Catherine Rice or Ryson, who bore
the maiden name of Saum, were born the fol
lowing children: Elizabeth, Mrs. P. Richards;
Sheppard, deceased; John, who died in Perry
township, Allen county, Ohio; David, of Illi
nois; Tena, who became Mrs. Jonas Bibler;
Levi, who served in the late war in an Indiana
regiment, but died in Illinois; Hannah, mar
ried to Samuel Switzer; and Jonas, who was
killed in LaFayette (Ohio) stave factory.
William Mechling, who died in 1855, aged
seventy-one years, had entered, in 1832, in
sections Nos. 18 and 30, in Perry township,
Allen county, 1,168 acres, which he gave to
his children, parceled as follows: To Joshua,
206 acres; to John, 100 acres; to Elizabeth
Richards, 100 acres; to David, 100 acres; to
Samuel, 200 acres; to Hannah, 105 acres; to
Louisa, 267 acers; to Levi, 100 acres. The
father, William Mechling, was a very promi
nent as a democrat and for some years served
as a justice of the peace. He carried on
farming on a very extensive scale and was
moreover a very liberal man and sincere
Christian, and donated to the township an
acre of land in the southeast corner of section
No. 18 for church and school purposes.
Joshua Mechling, .son of William and father
of Eli Mechling, was born in Westmoreland
county, Pa., in 1809, and came to Perry
county, Ohio, with his father. He was here
reared to farming, received a common-school
education, and was married, March 27, 1834,
to Miss Sophia, daughter of Gotfried Weimer,
who came from Somerset county, Pa., to
Perry county, Ohio, having been born Octo
ber 8, 1810. April 17, 1836, Mr. Mechling
moved to Perry township, Allen county, and
settled on the farm owned and occupied by his
son Eli. This farm he cleared up from the
woods and passed on it the remainder of his
life, dying December 17, 1879, his remains

being interred in the Lutheran churchyard.
His widow survived until 1893, when she, too,
passed away from this homestead, on which
fifty-nine years of i her life had been spent, in
the enjoyment of as much happiness as usually
falls to the lot of mankind. The children
born to Joshua and Sophia Mechling were
named as follows: Harriet, widow of John
Brentlinger, who died from exposure while
serving in the army; Eli, our subject, now
living on the old homestead; Hannah, who
was married to George Ridenour, she and her
husband being now both deceased; William
L., living in Lima, Oho; Elizabeth, died in
infancy; Simon, who died in Kansas, in 1893;
Maria, wife of W T. Kimes, of Shawnee
township, Allen county, Ohio; Martha, wife of
Aaron Alberts, and Sophia, wife of E. V.
Ridenour. Eli Mechling, the eldest son of Joshua
Mechling, is the gentleman whose name opens
this biographical memoir, and was educated in
the public schools of Perry township, Allen
county, Ohio, where he was reared to farming
on his native homestead, to sixty acres of
which he fell heir; he subsequently purchased
forty acres of the old farm, thus making a
compact but spacious place of residence, on
which he has erected a handsome dwelling and
substantial farm buildings, necessary for the
successful prosecution of his calling — in which
he stands at the head. In politics he is a
stanch democrat, and is very popular as well
as influential with his party, with whom he
has actively worked and served for years, and
in the local management of which he is a prime
factor. He has filled the positions of town
ship trustee and clerk, and March 13, 1895,
was appointed county infirmary director. In
religion Mr. Mechling is a Lutheran, and was.
one of the founders of the Lutheran society of
Perry township, to the erection of whose
church edifice, in 1856, he contributed very

OF ALLEN COUNTY,

383

liberally; he has served as church trustee and
for years has been a deacon, and in every
way has taken an active part in advancing the
prosperity of the organization, and has shown
in his daily deportment the sincerity of his
faith in its teachings.
Mr. Mechling was united in wedlock with
Miss Sarah Ridenour, daughter of John Ride
nour, born May. 27, 1842, of which family
further may be read in the biography of S. O.
Ridenour, on another page of this volume.
The children that blessed the union of Mr.
and Mrs. Mechling were two in number, and
were named Louis L., deceased, and Milton
A. , who married Ollie Hoskins, and now man
ages the home farm. This farm, beside being
under the highest possible state of cultivation,
and being a model from an agricultural point
of view, has within its bounds no -less than
nine producing oil wells, which are a source of
considerable income. Mr. Mechling is a push
ing man of business and has an extended circle
of acquaintances, while as a politician he is
far-seeing, sound, shrewd and loyal to his party.

%y^\ OBERT MEHAFFEY, president of
I ^T the Metropolitan bank at Lima, Allen
JjP county, Ohio, is a native of Ireland
and was born August 23 1833, a son
of James and Martha (Clarke) Mehaffey, na
tives of Ireland.
James Mehaffey, the father of our subject,
was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, about
1799, received a good education and was reared
a farmer. He married Martha Clarke, a
daughter of John Clarke, also a farmer of county
Tyrone, and who lived to reach the remarkable
age of 100 years. To the union of James and
Martha Mehaffey was born six children, in the
order here named: James (deceased), Samuel,
Daniel, Robert, John, Martha (wife of Joseph
Karens), and William. Mr. Mehaffey was

very successful as a farmer and he and wife
were ardent members of the Episcopal church,
in the faith of which they both passed away.
In 1850 Robert Mehaffey, the subject of this
memoir, came to America, and in 1852 settled
in Jackson township, Allen county, with which
he has ever since been identified, having seen
in the interval many wonderful transformations
in its physical characteristics, in its financial
prosperity and in its moral and educational
progress. August 19, 1856, Mr. Mehaffey was
united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Richard
son, daughter of Joseph and Eda (Smyth)
Richardson, both natives of Smyth county,
Va., where they were married. Joseph Rich
ardson, son of William Richardson, was born
in 1 8 12, and was reared a farmer; his wife was
born in 18 14. Immediately after their mar
riage they came to Ohio, and after a residence
of two years in Greene county, came to Allen
county, in 1835, and settled in German town
ship, where Mr. Richardson became a promi
nent farmer and a citizen of consequence. He
taught the first district school in German town
ship, in a log house, and also taught the first
select school in Lima. Indeed, the Richardson
family have ever since been closely identified
with the educational interests of the county.
Mr. Richardson was also an active and influ
ential democrat and served two terms as county
auditor, and as county clerk two terms. The
death of Mr. Richardson took place in May,
1856, and that of his widow occurred in the
year of 1874. Beside their daughter, Mrs.
Mehaffey, they were the parents of the follow
ing children: William; Mrs. M. J. Ballard, now
a school-teacher of Lima and a member of the
county board of examiners; Eda A., deceased;
Charles S., deceased, and Virginia.
Mr. Mehaffey has been one of the most
successful financiers of Allen county and has
always been prominent in its monetary affairs.
He has been president of the First National

384

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

bank, Merchants National bank, and Merchants
bank, and is now, as has been already men
tioned, president of the Metropolitan, all of
Lima. In politics he is a stanch democrat,
and has served as justice of the peace six years,
as clerk of courts six years, state senator four
years, and has held the position of lieutenant-
colonel of militia, having been commissioned
by Gov. Tod. In religion he adheres to the
faith of his father, and is a member of the
Episcopal church at Lima; fraternally he is a
royal arch Mason, and is also a member of the
Blue lodge, at LaFayette. As a business man
he has few if any equals in Allen county, and
his social standing is with the best people in
the county.

^^EORGE R. LEIST.— At a family re-
¦ G\ union of the Leist family, of German
\^J township, Allen' county, Ohio, Au
gust 20, 1 89 1, it was shown that the
family is traced back in America from Ger
many to a Christen Lyst, who was born in
1712, and a David Lyst, born in March, 171 3.
Then we find a David Lyst, junior, who was
no doubt the son of David, referred to, and
the father of Andrew, who was born in 1755,
as the dates are far enough apart that this
could have been the case, and as we know
that some married quite young, we believe
this is true. The name was first written
Lisht, then Lyst, then List, now Leist. We
find, also, that this Andrew had two daughters
named Mary. Mary was born 1 78 1 , and
Mary the second, 1786. We infer from this
that the first Mary died in infancy, and that
the next daughter born was called Mary the
second. Taking the above as correct, the
genealogy would be: David, born 1713. His
son, David, Jr. (date of birth not known), was
the father of Andrew, born 1755, who was
married to Elizabeth. This runs the record

back to 1 7 12, or 179 years, ten years before
the birth of George Washington. From the
above to the present generation the Leist fam
ily of America have all descended.
George R. Leist, one of the representative
and leading citizens of Allen county and a
resident of Elida, in which village he has for
the past thirty-one years been variously en
gaged, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio,
February 22, 1837. He is a son of Elias S.
and Elizabeth (Rhoades) Leist, both of whom
were natives of Pickaway county, Ohio, and
died when the subject of this sketch was quite
young — the mother when he was but eight
years of age, and the father when he was-
eleven years old. Left thus early in life to
care for himself, he learned the lesson of and
the necessity for self-reliance, which has been
of inestimable value to him all the way
through life. His education was acquired in
the public schools, and when he was eighteen
years of age he entered a mercantile establish
ment at Leistville, Pickaway county, Ohio, in
which he remained three months. He then
went to Tarlton, in the same county, where
he attended school for one year. For six
months afterward he was employed as a clerk,
but then the head of the firm dying he was
thrown out of employment, and so went to
Laurelville, Hocking county, and there en
tered the employ of Reigle & Hedges. With
this firm he remained two years and then re
turned to Leistville, where he became a clerk
for a Mr. Bitler. For several years he re
mained in and around Leistville, and in 1864
he removed to Allen county, arid settled at
Elida, entering into partnership with Joseph
McMillan, the firm carrying on a general mer
chandise business for one year. Mr. Leist
then sold his interest in the business, and
about a year afterward became a partner of
George Miller, remaining with him for two
years and doing business under the firm name

GEORGE R. LEIST.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

387

of Leist & Miller. He next formed a partner
ship with Benjamin Miller in the warehouse
business, buying and shipping grain, in which
he continued for one year. He was then clerk
for his former partner for about two years,
and afterward clerk for Dr. Herts in a general
store. Soon after this he himself opened a
general store in company with Dr. R. Rice,
with whom he was associated in business for
three years, when he once more sold out, and
for several years lived retired. In 1883 he
again embarked in business in partnership with
J. H. Enslen, the firm name being Leist &
Enslen, and the business that of general mer
chandising. This arrangement continued for
five years, at the end of which time Mr. Leist
retired from the firm. Since this Ikime Mr.
Leist has been engaged in speculation of vari
ous kinds, buying and selling farms, real
estate, making loans, and purchasing securi
ties. He is everywhere known as one of the
keenest, shrewdest men of the county, and is
one of its most solid and substantial financiers,
and is always alive to its best interests. Po
litically he is a stanch democrat and has filled
the office of justice of the peace for six years.
He is a member of Lima lodge, No. 205, F. &
A. M., of Lima chapter, No. 49, of Lima
council, No. 20, and of Shawnee commandery,
No. 14, and also Elida lodge, I. O. O. F.
Mr. Leist was married February 2, 1865,
to Miss Margaret J. Davidson, who was born
in Tarlton, Ohio, and is a daughter of Nimrod
A. and Marie Davidson, both of whom are
natives of the Shenandoah valley, Va. Mr.
and Mrs. Leist are the parents of two chil
dren, viz: Eva, wife of Dr. William N. Enslen,
of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Charles H., who
married Leota Vannetta, and is a machinist,
residing at Lima, Ohio. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Leist are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Elias S. Leist, father of the subject of this
13

sketch, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio,
and was married twice; first to Elizabeth
Rhoades, and after her death to her sister,
Amelia. He was the father of six children,
as follows: George R., the subject: Thomas
J., Alfred, Amos A., Elizabeth and Susan.
Thomas and Amos A. are dead, the latter
having been killed at the battle of Kenesaw
Mountain, a battle in which many people-
believe thousands of Union soldiers were need
lessly sacrificed. Alfred was also a soldier in
the war of the Rebellion, being a member of
the Fifty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry. Amos.
A. Leist enlisted August 6, 1862, in company
F, Ninetieth Ohio volunteer infantry, when he
was only nineteen years of age. On May 18,
1863, he was promoted to first sergeant, and
on the 27th of June, 1864, he was killed, as
above related. His body was interred at
Marietta, in the national cemetery there, in
section 8, the number of his grave being 335.
He was on the eve of promotion to a second
lieutenancy when he was killed — a promotion
to which his faithful services and his intelligent
devotion to duty fully entitled him. He was
a young man of exceptional ability and bril
liancy, and had he lived would undoubtedly
have become a distinguished man. A few
weeks before his death he was conversing with
his chaplain, and during the conversation he
informed the reverend gentleman that he-
wished to have his name enrolled among the
followers of Christ, as he intended, after the
war was over, to devote his life to the ministry.
From that time until his death he was a most
devout Christian, being, no doubt, led to think
seriously upon religious matters by the early
teaching and training of his pious parents,
both of whom were devoted members of the
church. Jacob Leist, father of Elias S. Leist, was
a man of vast and profound knowledge. He
was a minister of the gospel, and removed

'388

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

from Pennsylvania, his native state,, in 1812,
settling in Circleville, Ohio, where he preached
for several years. He was a Lutheran preacher,
and a deep and profound thinker. He mar
ried Elizabeth Shoemaker, daughter of Judge
Shoemaker, of Circleville, Ohio. By this mar
riage he became the father of seven children,
many of whom became distinguished in their
several ways. He followed the ministry many
years, accomplished much good during his life
time, and died at a very advanced age.
George R. Leist is at the present time a
member of the village council of Elida, a posi
tion which he has held for several years. He
was one of the incorporators of the village,
and was for nine years a member of the board
of education. While he has often been asked
to accept political office, he has uniformly de
clined, with the exception of the offices men
tioned in this connection. He is one of Elida's
best citizens, and all honor him for the char
acter he has formed and for the service he has
bsen to the county in which he lives, not only
because of the example he has set in inde
pendent thought and living, but also for his
public spirit and private deeds. He has been
an attentive student of history in general, and
is the owner of an entensive and very valuable
library, with most of the volumes of which he
is quite familiar.

"^-y'OHN MERICLE, a highly respected
A farmer of Marion township, Allen
A J county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier, is a
son of Solomon and Catharine (Blos-
ser) Mericle, of whom further information
may be had by reading the sketch of George
Mericle of Van Wert county. John Mericle
was born in Hocking county, Ohio, May 10,
1838, was there reared to manhood on a farm,
and was there married, December 24, 1864, to

Nancy J. Fickle, who was born in the same
county March 21, 1843, a daughter of Isaac
and Elizabeth (Jonas) Fickle, of Virginian
origin, and parents of nine children, of whom
six grew to maturity, viz. : Joseph, Rachel,
Mary A., William H., Nancy J. and Harriet.
The father, Isaac Fickle, was a pioneer of
Hocking county and was the owner of a farm
of eighty acres, which he placed under a fine
state of cultivation, and on which, he passed
away at the age of about sixty-seven years.
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mericle lived
on the old homestead one year, when Mr.
Mericle enlisted, at Logan, Ohio, February 6,
1865, for one year or during the war, in com
pany C, Fifty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry,
and was honorably discharged, September 16,
1865, at Vicksburg, Miss., having served
mostly on guard duty. During his absence
his family had removed to Allen county, but
on his return from the army he went back to
Hocking county, taking his family, where he
resided about eighteen months, and then de
cided to make his permanent residence in Allen
county. After making a trial of two or three
farms he finally settled on his present place in
1888, or thereabout, and here cleared up a
comfortable homestead of twenty-three acres.
The family born to Mr. and Mrs. Mericle com
prises the following children: Elmer, Jacob,
Minnie, Wesley, Cyrus and Ethel. The par
ents are members of the German Baptist
church, and by their daily life give every evi
dence of the sincerity of their profession of
faith. In politics Mr. Mericle is a republican,
but affiliates with his party as a matter of
principle, and not for the purpose of reaping a
reward in the way of official emolument. As
a citizen, Mr. Mericle, like the distinguished
pioneer family from which he descends, has
always been ready to perform his full duty,
and as a neighbor enjoys the respect of all the
residents of his vicinage.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

389

aHARLES A. METHEANY. — The
Metheany family is an1 ancient and
influential one in both Virginia and
Ohio. They were always successful
business men and took especial pleasure in
pushing great enterprises through to success.
Charles A. Metheany is the eldest son of
Richard and Esther (Levering) Metheany, and
was born August i, 1837, m what is now Au
glaize county, but in what was then Allen
county. Richard Metheany was a son of John Me
theany, who was a native of Rockingham
county, Va. The family was of Scoth-Irish
origin, and settled in this Virginia county di
rect from Ireland at an early date. John, and
his brother, Israel, came to Ohio about 1802,
Israel settling in Knox county, where he died,
and in which are to be found at the present
time many of his descendants. John Me
theany settled in Brown county, remaining
there until 18 17, removing then to Clarke
county, and living there for seventeen years.
In 1834 he removed to Allen county, dying in
1846 in Lima, while living with his son,
Richard. He married a Miss Lydia Rolliston,
who died in Clarke county. They were the
parents of three children, as follows: Nancy,
who married a Mr. Baldwin, and died in 1891,
in her eighty-fifth year; Prudence, who died
single, and Richard, father of the subject of
this sketch, and the only son, who was born
June 16, 1805, in Brown county, Ohio. Being
born at a time when educational facilities were
exceedingly limited, his opportunities were not
of the best, and in fact he received only three
months' schooling in one of the log school-
houses of pioneer days. Plenty of work on
his father's farm he could always find. In
1834 he removed to Allen county — that por
tion now included in Auglaize county — and
purchased 160 acres of land on Two Mile
creek. Here he lived until 1843, clearing up

his land and converting it into a good farm.
At this time he was appointed clerk of the
county courts, under the old judicial system,
remaining in that office until 1852, when the
entire judicial system was changed by the
adoption of the new constitution. About the
time of the adoption of this constitution the
great enterprise of constructing the Ohio & In
diana railroad was projected (now the P., Ft.
W. & C. railroad), and Mr. Metheany became
associated with Judge Hanna in pushing it
along. Through the efforts of Mr. Metheany
the right of way was secured through Allen
county, Judge Hanna being the inspiring genius
of the movement and Mr. Metheany being his
principal assistant in that part of the state.
Mr. Metheany was appointed the first agent
for the road in Lima after its completion, and
held that position three years. In 1855 he
was elected county auditor by the American,
or know-nothing party, filling that office until
1857, after which time he was engaged in buy
ing and selling grain until his death, which oc
curred June 22, 1879.
Politically Mr. Metheany was a whig in
early life, and passed through the American
party into the republican party, being a lead
ing spirit in the organization of the latter
party in Allen county. Throughout his entire
life he was an active adherent of and supporter
of the principles of that party, and was a prom
inent figure in both local and state affairs. He
was eminently a nian of business, a/id in every
thing he undertook he proved himself a mas
terful spirit, succeeding where others would
have failed. For more than thirty years he was
thus prominent in private and public life, as
clerk of the county courts, as auditor, as mag
istrate, as mayor, and as school officer. The
magnificent railroad system from Pittsburg to
Chicago is one of the movements in which his
influence was powerfully felt. Living after him
this system of railroads will always perpetuate

390

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

his genius and be a worthy monument to his
memory. In his religious convictions he was a Bap
tist, and he was a member of the church dur
ing the latter years of his life. He was one of
the early members of Lima lodge, F. & A.
M., and was one of the original members of
Shawnee commandery. He was also a mem
ber of the state militia, holding a commission
as adjutant. On June 16, 1836, he was mar
ried to Ester Ann Levering, daughter of Judge
Charles Levering, one of the associate judges
of Allen county, Ohio. To this marriage the
following children were born: Charles A., of
Lima, the subject of this sketch; John M.,who
was superintendent of the G. R. & I. R. R. ,
but who is now deceased; Emma, widow of
Charles A. Lynch; Augusta, who died in 1871 ;
Mary S., wife of Col. L. T. Moore, of Lima;
Albert M., who is engaged in the insurance
business in Galion, Ohio; Annetta E., wife of
John H. Osborne, of Gardner, Kans. ; Clara
A., of Lima; Eldon L., freight and ticket
agent, G. R. & I. R. R. and mayor of Cadillac,
Mich.; William L., shipping clerk with Moore
Bros., Lima, Ohio; Richard R., auditor of the
G. R. & I. R. R. Co., at Grand Rapids, Mich.,
and Ada L., wife of U. M. Shappell, clerk of
Allen county courts.
Charles A. Matheany was reared in Lima
and received his education in the common
schools, and later attended a select school.
At the age of sixteen he entered the employ of
the Ohio & Indiana Railroad company, work
ing for that company in different capacities,
finally succeeding his father as agent at Lima.
Remaining with this company for eight years
he then accepted a position with the C. H. &
D. railroad company as book-keeper, and re
tained that position for twenty years. At the
present time Mr. Metheany has practically re
tired from active business, but has been one of
the most successful men in his county. For

some time he filled the office of secretary and
superintendent of the board of trustees of the
Lima waterworks, was a member of the city
council during 1878 and 1879, and was a di
rector in the Lima National bank from 1885,
to 1890. Politically he is a republican, and
his advice and counsel are always welcome to
his party associates. He is a member of the
First Baptist church of Lima, and has been a
deacon therein for the past twenty-one years.
He is past master and present master of Lima
lodge, F. & A. M., and is a member of Lima
chapter. Mr. Metheany was married, in 1858, to>
Miss Mary L., daughter of Thomas Harper, of
Green county, Ohio, and by this marriage four
children have been born, viz: Mary; Esther,
wife of attorney Ira B. Longsworth, of Lima;
Charles F., chief clerk of the C, H. & D.
Railroad company; George H., manager of
Lima Telephone company, and Allen, a student.
No matter what may be the character of a man
it will generally sooner or later manifest itself,
and thus it is that the public estimate of a man
is usually correct, and is a key to his character.
And so when it is said that a man stands high
in the estimation of his fellow-men, that is usu
ally the same thing as to say that he is an hon
orable and upright man. This, it is a pleas
ure to record, is the case with Mr. Metheany.

^'j'OSEPH MEYER, of Marion township,
A Allen county, Ohio, is prominent as a
A 1 carpenter and contractor, as well as
saw-mill proprietor, of Landeck, and
also a successful farmer of the township. He
was born in the village of Willmergen, in the
canton of Aargau, Switzerland, February 2,
1858, of German stock.
Jacob Meyer, father of our subject, was
also a native of Switzerland, was town clerk
of Willmergen, and married Miss Elizabeth.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

391

Kock, who became the mother of three chil
dren — Josephine, John and Joseph. The
father of this family died in his native canton
about the year 1864, when about fifty years
of age, being a devout member of the Catholic
church; his widow still resides in her native
mountain village, at the age of sixty-five
years. Joseph Meyer, onr subject, was six years
old when he lost his father, but received a very
good education in the excellent common
schools of the little republic of Switzerland. In
1872, at the age of fourteen years, he left
home in company with his brother, John, and
came to America under the auspices of Rev.
Father Brem, also a native of Switzerland and
the pastor of the Catholic church at Landeck.
Father Brem sometime afterward became
nearly blind and returned to Switzerland,
where he passed a blessed life to eternity. He
had been greatly loved by his congregation in
Landeck and left many friends there to mourn
his loss. Mr. Meyer, now about fifteen years
old, first worked out as a farm hand, and then
learned the carpenter's trade and in an incredi
bly short time engaged in contracting and
building on his own account. He married
Miss Emma Shaffer, daughter of John and
Julia (Sheeter) Shaffer, and this union has been
crowned by the birth of four children, named
Loretta, Bertha, Martha, and Oswald. The
father of Mrs. Meyer, John Shaffer, is one of
the oldest settlers of Landeck and is the father
of seven children, to-wit: Jacob, Mary, Louis,
Frank, Emma, Henry and Peter. Mr. Shaffer is
now seventy-eight years of age and is greatly
respected for the purity of his character and
honored as one of the founders of the town.
After his marriage Mr. Meyer settled in
Landeck, where he has since made his home.
He engaged in the saw- mill business in 1884,
buying out Jacob Shaffer, and this he has since
continued in connection with his contracting

and building, and has been very prosperous, as
a result of his honest and liberal method of
doing business. In 1892 he bought sixty acres
of farming land, and has it already well im
proved and tilled. His town residence, how
ever, he erected in 1889, and this is one of the
most tasteful and convenient in Landeck. In
religion Mr. Meyer and family are all devoted
Catholics, and in politics Mr. Meyer is a dem
ocrat. He is still a young man, and success
as a business man results from his indomitable
industry, correct judgment and mechanical
skill chiefly, but a great deal of it may be
awarded to the strict honesty which character
izes his every transaction. and the absence of all
desire to avail himself of petty advantages
that may offer in the execution of a contract.
His fellow-citizens have indeed learned that
"his word is as good as his bond."

*-|r-» EVI M. MYERS is among the prom-
I j inent and leading members of Elida,
.1 ^ Ohio. He is engaged in the grocery,
tinware, hardware, cigar and tobacco
business and in short carries a miscellaneous
srock comprising the necessities and luxuries
of life. He began his career in Elida on his
account February 17, 1892, with about $125
capital in stock, but at present, three years
later, he has a large and well-selected assort
ment of goods and wares. He is a native of
Marion township, Allen county, was born Feb
ruary 10, 1850, and is a son of Daniel and Re
becca Myers. His education was obtained in
the common schools, and when but a lad went
into his father's store and learned the mer
cantile business. His life has nearly all been
spent in Elida, or rather Elida has nearly al
ways been his home, where he has been in
business, the greater part of the time, for his
father. He has been twice married. His
first marriage occurred January 1, 1870, when

392

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

he was united to Miss Elizabeth Shoemaker,
daughter of C. M. Shoemaker of Allen county.
She died in May, 1874. Three children were
born to them, two of whom are deceased. In
August, 1887, Mr. Myers married Miss Allie
Chamberlain, daughter of William and Mary
(Burch) Chamberlain. She was born in Put
nam county, but reared in Delphos, Ohio.
The mother of our subject is deceased, but the
father is a resident of Sugar Creek township.
Mr. and Mrs. Myers are members of the Lu
theran church. In politics he is a stanch dem
ocrat. He is a representative man — one of
Elida's best — full of energy, vigor and push,
and is satisfied with nothing short of success.

^/^\ OBERT W. McCLURE, an enter-
I /^T prising and progressive young farmer
I P of Jackson township, is a son of the
first white child born in Allen county,
Ohio, and is a grandson of one of the earliest
pioneers of the state.
Samuel McClure, grandfather of our sub
ject, Robert W., was a native of Harrison
county, Ky. , born November 17, 1793, was
there reared to manhood, and served from
that state as a private in the war of 1 8 1 2 . The
war being ended, he moved to Ohio and lo
cated in Champaign county, where he engaged
in farming and was first married to Margaret
Watt, who was born July 6, 1800, the union
resulting in the birth of twelve children, viz:
Sarah A., Nathaniel, Mary, Thomas, Moses,
Elizabeth, Nancy, Cynthia, Margaret, Samuel,
Robert, and an infant that died unnamed.
Mr. McClure came to Allen county November
17, 1825, and by a second wife, who was born
in 1834, had born to him eleven children, viz:
John, Catherine, Isabel, James, Esther, Eliza,
Joseph, Newton, Alexander, Benjamin and
William. The father, Samuel McClure, was
a man of generous impulses, was an, active

member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and exercised a wide influence for good in the
communities in which he had lived.
Moses McClure, father of Robert W., was
born December 1, 1826, and, as intimated
above, was the first white child born in Allen
county, and is still living within sight of his
birthplace in Jackson township. He has al
ways been engaged in agricultural pursuits,
and has accumulated many acres, still owning
a large farm, although he has generously aided
his children with gifts of land. His first mar
riage took place July 23, 1848, the bride being
Elizabeth Murray, who was born in Highland
county, Ohio, February 8, 1831, a daughter
of John Murray. This lady died March 7,
1855, the mother of two children — Martha
(now deceased) and Margaret T. The second
marriage of Moses McClure was solemnized
October 18, 1855, with Elizabeth K. Greer, of
Montgomery county, Ohio, a daughter of
Joshua and Rebecca (Pierson) Greer, and
born January 18, 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Greer
were originally from New Jersey, but after
ward lived in Kentucky a number of years, and
in 1 841 settled in Allen county, Ohio. To the
second union of Mr. and Mrs. McClure have
been born eight children, in the following or
der: John M., who is married to Clarissa
Dotson; Isaac, married to Margaret Dotson;
Rebecca, wife of J. Sweeter; Robert W., the
subject of this mention; Samuel L., Joshua
G., Moses A. and Cynthia A. The father of
these two families of children, Moses McClure,
is one of the most prominent citizens of Jack
son township, and has done much to promote
its progressiveness. He is a stanch repub
lican in politics and a pillar of the Christian
church. In addition to his large farming in
terests he gives some attention to financiering,
and is a stockholder and director in the Metro
politan bank of Lima.
Robert W. McClure, whose name opens

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

393

this biography, was born in Jackson township,
Allen county, Ohio, June 20, 1863, received a
very good- common-school education and has
always been a farmer. November 23, 1884, he
was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss
Cora B. Bresler, who was born October 7, 1 866,
a daughter of Henry and Lovey (Woolet) Bres
ler, of Bath township — the happy union being
now blessed with five children, viz: Lovey
G. , Silva M., Harvey E., Clara M. and Fary.
In politics Mr. McClure is a thorough republi
can. He is very energetic in his industry and
has a model farm of seventy acres, improved
with a good new barn and all other necessary
out-buildings and a tasty cottage. He largely
shares the respect in which the family is held
by the community, and his present prosperity
augurs well for the future.

• HE MILLER FAMILY.— One of the
most distinguished families of Allen
county is that whose history is here
briefly traced. The founder of this
family in America was Stephen Miller, a native
of Holland, who in 1750 left that country and
settled in Vermont, subsequently removing to
Brock's Gap, Va., with several of his children,
where he continued to live until 1806, when
he and one of his sons were killed by Indians,
While facts in regard to the lives of his chil
dren are somewhat meager, yet it is known
that four of them, William, George, Abraham
and Daniel, removed with him to Virginia.
The family was afterward separated, part go
ing to Pennsylvania, while the others removed
to Ross county, Ohio, with the exception of
Daniel, who remained in Virginia.
George Miller was born in 1762 in Vermont,
and it is with his descendants that this sketch
has to deal. After the arrival of the family in
Virginia, he married Miss Mary Custer of that
state, in which state for sometime he pursued

the trade of tanner, but at length, as has been
intimated above, removed to Ross county,
Ohio, where he lived until his death. He and
his wife, Mary, were the parents of the follow
ing children: Stephen, Ferdinand, Benjamin,
Joseph, George, Mary, who became Mrs. Mur
phy; and. Rachel, who married a Mr. John.
Ferdinand, the second son of George, was
born in 1795, was reared in Virginia, was by
occupation a carpenter and farmer, and served
in the war of 1 8 1 2 as a colonel from commence
ment to the close. He married Miss Keturah
Carr, by whom he had the following children:
Charles; Israel; Isaac, who died in Ohio; Jos
eph, who served as a soldier in the war of the
Rebellion and also died in Ohio; Austin, who
was a veteran in the same war, and who now
lives in Van Wert; Jesse, also a veteran in the
Rebellion and who died in Allen county; Will
iam; Curtis, all of whom served in the Rebellion
except the first named son; Solomon, who now
lives in Allen county; Sarah, wife of John
Heisler, of Kansas; Keturah, wife of Samuel
Herring; Kesiah, wife of William Lettle. Fer
dinand Miller settled in Amanda township,
Allen county, he coming to Fort Amanda in
the winter of 1823-4 and there took up eighty
acres of government land, which he subse
quently sold and purchased eighty acres more.
From this fact it may be readily inferred that
he was one of the early settlers of that town
ship, and upon this land he lived and labored
in the manner of the pioneer the remainder of
his days, dying in Amanda township, his wife
Keturah having died some years previously.
Joseph Miller, the third son of Ferdinand,
who is mentioned above as a soldier in the war
of the Rebellion, was born in October, 1823,
in Ross county, Ohio, but was reared in Allen
county, educated in the common schools and
learned the trade of a carpenter. In 1864
he joined what is known as the home guards,
and served ninety days. He settled on eighty

394

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

acres of land, which he entered in section No.
26, forty acres of which he subsequently sold,
and purchased forty acres in section No. 34,
adjoining. Upon this farm he lived, improv
ing it and converting it into a good and fertile
piece of property, and died in May, 1883.
Politically Mr. Miller was a republican, and
was an active worker for his party's success.
Joseph Miller married Miss Minerva J.
Shock, daughter of Samuel Shock, of Alle
gheny county, Pa., who settled in Amanda
township, Allen county. To this marriage
there were born eight children, viz: Azariah
D., Mary A., Elizabeth, William F., of Lima,
Ohio; Hanibal, of Fort Worth, Texas; Solo
mon, of Lima, Ohio; Wilson C. and Charles
W., both of whom are living on the old farm.
Azariah D. Miller, eldest son of Joseph,
was born June 18, 1853, upon the homestead
in Amanda township, and received his edu
cation in the common schools. So well did
he improve his opportunities that he began
teaching at the age of sixteen years, in district
school No. 7. He was devotedly attached to
the profession of teaching and followed it suc
cessfully for twenty-five years, and closed his
career in this line of labor in the same district
in which he began. With the exception of one
term, when he taught in Elida, he taught the
entire twenty-five years in Amanda township.
During the many years thus spent, however,
Mr. Miller spent some time attending the
schools at Lima, and also in the National
Normal school at Lebanon, Warren county,
Ohio, in order that his own education might
be more complete and that he might be better
qualified for the performance of his duties;
and it is doubtless owing in part to this course
that he met with such extraordinary success.
In 1 87 1-2 he was book-keeper for the agent of
the Pennsylvania Railroad company, in its
freight and express business, at Elida, and at
the same time was clerk for Rice & Leist, and

afterward for G. W. Moore, merchants at that
place. In 1876 he married Darthula Place,
daughter of James and Susan Place, soon
afterward purchasing a farm in Amanda town
ship. In 1877 he was elected assessor of that
township, and in 1878 was elected justice of
the peace, filling the latter office for five years.
While he was engaged in teaching he had
made a special study of the law books from
the office of McKenzie & Robb, and in 1885,
as a member of the firm of Remington &
Miller, began the practice of that profession,
which hs continued until 1887, when, being
burned out and losing all his law library, he
discontinued the practice, and retired to his
farm. From this time on until February 9,
1894, he was engaged in farming and contract
ing, but on the latter date he was appointed
clerk of the probate court, and has continued
to fill this position until the present time.
Politically Mr. Miller is a democrat and always
takes great interest in his party's prosperity.
He has been a member of the county central
committee for several years, and once filled
the office of secretary, as such practically
managing the campaign in 1890 in Allen
county. Fraternally Mr. Miller is a Knight of
Pythias, of which lodge he was one of the
charter members — also a charter member of
Mount Lebanon lodge, of Lima. He is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and is altogether one of the most prominent
men in Allen county. Mr. and Mrs. Miller
are the parents of the following children:
Lehr E., Fredia G., Susan A., James J. and
Mabel, all bright and intelligent children.

*y- * ON. JOHN J. MILLER, mayor of
l^\ Spencerville and notary public, was
A. .r born in Spencer township, Allen
county, May 27, 1857, and was the
son of Joseph R. and Sarah (Berry) Miller.

Vr

HON- JOHN J. MILLER.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

397

The mother is now dead, but the father lives
in Spencerville. John J., was reared on the
farm and educated in the common schools and
began teaching when twenty years of age, which
vocation he followed for twelve years during the
winter, farming in the summer. During this
time he was elected to the office of justice of
the peace of Spencer township two different
times, and resigned the last term in order to
move to Spencerville. He was also elected to
fill the office of township trustee when but
twenty-four years of age. In 1889 he was
•elected land appraiser of Spencer township,
•decennial appraiser in 1890; in 1890 was ap
pointed to fill out the unexpired term of John
H. Dunathen as mayor, and the following
-spring was elected to the office and has twice
been elected since. Mr. Miller has made an
excellent mayor, and his incumbency has been
characterized by marked advancement and
improvement in the government of the town,
as well as in material improvements. He aided
in organizing the Cooperage company of Spen
cerville in 1892 and incorporated it with a
capital stock of $10,000, and of this he has
always been secretary. He has also been sec
retary of the Home and Savings association
since 1893. Meanwhile he does a lively in
surance business, both of life and fire, and is
withal one of the busiest men in the town.
He owns fifty-eight acres of good oil-producing
property, and also a neat place in Spencer
ville. His real estate transactions are heavy,
doing an extensive business at home and
abroad. Farm loans are likewise a specialty
with him, and he is in every respect an all-
around business man — such a one as is neces
sary in every community. He is a member of
the Knights of Pythias lodge, No. 251, also a
member of U. R. of K. of P., Spencerville di
vision, No. 60, having passed the chairs of the
subordinate and was a representative to the
grand lodge in 1892, at Columbus, Ohio.

December 24, 1878, Mr. Miller was mar
ried to Miss Naoma Hullinger, daughter of
Eli and Nancy A. (Russell) Hullinger. She
was born in Perry township. Mayor Miller
and wife are the parents of six children — Jesse
E., Sallie, Russell Ray, Cannor, Homer, and
Willie (deceased). Both are members of the
Christian church and active workers in the
society. Politically Mayor Miller is a demo
crat and is a wheel-horse of his party. That
Spencerville prospers goes without saying,
when it can boast of such men as the one of
whom this sketch is written.

m.

William finley mills, one of
the leading and representative cit
izens of Delphos, Van Wert county,
Ohio, dealer in hay, grain and seeds,
and proprietor of the Delphos elevator, was
born in Monroe township, Miami county, Ohio,
March 23, 1841. He is a son of Halstead C.
Mills, who was a native of New Jersey, born
on April 4, 18 1 2, and was a son of William
Mills, also a native of New Jersey, who re
moved from that state to Cincinnati, Ohio, in
about 1824. From Cincinnati he removed
to Lebanon, in Warren county, locating on
Turtle Creek, near where the old residence of
Tom Corwin now stands. From the above lo
cation Jie removed to Shelby county, Ohio,
where he purchased a fine farm. Subse
quently he purchased eight acres of land near
Piqua, where he resided until his death, which
occurred during the 'seventies. Halstead C.
Mills was a farmer by vocation. While his
father was living in Shelby county, he and his
brother, Dennis C, left home and went to a
point in Louisiana on the Mississippi river,
where they cut cord wood and made their first
money. Following that, he engaged in raft
ing to New Orleans for a short time. He then
went to Miami county, and cut cord wood

398

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

near Tippecanoe for a time. He was there
married to Mary Pearson, who was born in
Miami county, and was the daughter of Enoch
Pearson, a wealthy farmer living between Troy
and Dayton. After his marriage he farmed
one year in Miami county, and in the fall of
1842 he came with his wife and son to Van
Wert county, where he had traded for 160
acres of land near Willshire, in WTillshire
township. There he followed farming the bal
ance of his life, dying there in November,
1885. His wife died in 1883. To these par
ents two sons and three daughters have been
born, as follows; W. F., John P., who is en
gaged in business at No. 85, Liberty street,
New Vork; Calindia, who married Wilson
Johnson, a merchant of Willshire, Ohio, and
after his death was married to Samuel K.
Christy, M. D., of the same place; Rosanna,
widow of the late Nimrod Dailey, and now a
resident of Decatur, Ind. ; and Viola, now
Mrs. Dayton Hard, of Van Wert, Ohio. Hal
stead C. Mills was one of the most succesful
pioneers of Van Wert county. He came to
Van Wert county in 1842, and was a poor
man, owning nothing but the 160 acres of
land he had traded for, and at that time land
in Van Wert county was of small value. But
he was a good business man, and met with
success all through life, having accumulated a
competency before his death, owning, when he
died, nearly 1,000 acres of good land.
W. F. Mills was reared on the farm, and
secured a fair education by attending the com
mon schools of that time, and the Holdbrook
academy at Lebanon. He remained on the
home farm until during his thirty-eighth year,
assisting his father in carrying on the work.
He also, during that time, taught several ses
sions of school in the neighborhood during
winters. In the spring of 1879 he spent some
time in Willshire, engaged in closing out a
stock of goods belonging to his deceased

brother-in-law. The same year he associated
himself with David Casto, now of Dayton,
and they erected a grain elevator at Willshire.
The same year he came to Delphos, and in
partnership with D. A. Johns established an
elevator for the purpose of transferring grain
from the Narrow Gauge (now the Clover Leaf)
railroad to the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chi
cago railroad. That year they handled over
300,000 bushels of grain. This was conducted
as a transfer elevator until the change in the
gauge of the roads in 1885, and since that
time as a local elevator. The firm of Casto &
Mills continued for one year, during which the
elevator at Willshire was conducted by them.
This firm then dissolved, Casto renting the ele
vator from Mr. Mills, who still owns the prop
erty, and is this year operating it in connection
with the Delphos elevator.
Mr. Mills has met with success in his busi
ness operations. Besides his elevator interests
he owns 300 acres of farm land in Van Wert
county, lying along the Saint Mary's river, and
a number of town lots in Willshire, and his
residence property in Delphos. Mr. Mills was
married on March 3, 1880, to Miss Anna
Banta, who was born in Decatur, Ind., and the
daughter of Henry Banta, deceased. To. Mr.
and Mrs. Mills three children have been born
as follows: Henry Halstead, born in Allen
county, August 8, 1882; Leola, born in Van
Wert county, and Marion Finley, born Decem
ber 26, 1885. Mrs. Mills is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally
Mr. Mills is a member of the Masonic order
and the Royal Arcanum.

>-j*OHN HENRY MOENTER, a farmer
J of Marion township, Allen county,
A J Ohio, is a son of Henry and Elizabeth
"""* (Linkameyer) Moenter, also pioneers of
the same township and county, of whom

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

399

further mention is made in the memoir of
Frank Moenter, brother of our subject, which
will be found as an adjunct of this sketch.
John H. Moenter is a native of Hanover,
Germany, was born in 1838, and well remem
bers the voyage with his parents across the
ocean from Bremen to Baltimore, Md., in
October, 1845, when he was about seven years
of age. From Baltimore the family went to
Cincinnati, Ohio, where they passed the winter,
then came to Delphos, in 1846 — the father
purchasing a tract of forty acres in Allen
county, a couple of miles east of that then
hamlet. The family made their home tempora
rily with a neighbor, Christian Baumgartner,
now deceased, until a log cabin could be built.
which task was soon accomplished through the
kindly assistance of neighboring pioneers, and
in April the Moenters settled on their own
land'. Jobn H. Moenter was early inured to
the hard work of frontier farming, and as he
grew apace rendered valuable aid in clearing
up the farm from the wilderness. He had but
few advantages in the matter of education, but
did not entirely grow up in ignorance — receiv
ing instruction from other sources than the
pioneer schools.
October 28, 1857, Mr. Moenter was united
in marriage with Miss Mary Wolfhorst, who
was born at Fort Jennings, Putnam counly,
Ohio, April 5, 1839, a daughter of Anthony and
Mary (Siebenach) Wolfhorst. After his mar
riage Mr. Moenter made his home on the
Wolfhorst homestead for seven years and then,
in 1863 or 1864, came to his present farm in
Marion township, Allen county. This farm at
that time comprised but eighty acres, but Mr.
Moenter was thrifty and industrious and was a
good farmer, and increased his possessions to
120 acres, which are all now under a fine state
of cultivation and improved with a modern
dwelling, barn and other substantial farm
buildings.

To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Moenter
have been born ten children, viz: John, Frank,
(died at the age of twenty-five years), Annie
(died at three and a half years of age), Fred
erick, Henry, Elizabeth, Joseph, Anton, Louis
and Theodore, who died at the age of two and
one-half years. The family are all members
of the Catholic church, and in politics Mr.
Moenter is a democrat. The children have
all received good educations and have all been
reared to habits of industry and morality. Mr.
Moenter has built up for himself a fine reputa
tion as a useful neighbor and citizen and has
won, through his straightforward and honest
conduct in life, the esteem of the community
in which so many years of his active life have
been passed.

BRANK MOENTER, one of the promi
nent farmers of Marion township,
Allen county, Ohio, was born in Han
over, German empire, March, 1,1841,
a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Linkameyer)
Moenter, the former born on a farm in 1800,
and a resident of Bohemta, where the family
had lived for generations. To Henry and wife
were born two children, John Henry and
Frank, and in 1845 the family came to Amer
ica, landing in Baltimore, whence they came
to Ohio and passed the following winter in
Cincinnati, and then settled in section No. 10,
Allen county, now called Delphos, in which
were a small hamlet and a small log Catholic
church, with Father Bredeick as pastor —
since supplanted by the city of Delphos and its
magnificent Roman Catholic church edifice.
Henry Moenter here bought forty acres of land
in the woods, two miles east of Delphos, of
which tract about ten acres had been cleared;
he put up a log cabin and barn, assisted by his
neighbors in log-rolling, the custom of that
day. He soon had his forty acres cleared, and

400

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

as his sons grew strong enough to aid he added
another tract of forty acres, built ' a frame
dwelling and substantial out-buildings, brought
the farm fully under cultivation, and was soon
recognized as one of the prosperous farmers of
the township. He lived to be nearly seventy
years of age, dying on his farm in 1870, a
member of the Catholic church, of which the
family had for generations been members; his
wife had died three years after their reaching
Delphos. Mr. Moenter was an industrious
and frugal man and a sincere Christian, and
-did much to aid in the construction of the
Catholic church at Delphos, which is a monu
ment to the piety and liberality of the early
Catholic pioneers. After the death of Mrs.
Moenter, Frank Trentman and his wife Ange-
line came to live with Mr. Moenter to assist
on the farm and care for the two orphaned
boys, to whom Mrs. Trentman was as kind as
a mother for years — a fact never forgotten by
¦either Frank or Henry.
Frank Moenter, our subject, was about
three years of age when brought to America
by his parents and was reared among the pio
neers of Marion township; he learned to work
as soon as his young arms were strong enough
to carry a burden, doing the minor chores on
the frontier farm. He attended school at Del
phos for a while, and gained a fair common-
school education, but his young life was mostly
spent on the home farm. At the age of twenty
years he married, at Delphos, Miss Elizabeth
Wolfhorst, who was born at Fort Jennings,
Putnam county, Ohio, January 17, 1843, a
daughter of Anthony and Mary (Siebenach)
Wolfhorst, the former of whom was a farmer,
born in the village of Wittenburden, Hanover,
Germany, but who came to America when a
young man and was married in Glandorf, Put
nam county, Ohio, and became the father of
two daughters — Annie Mary and Annie Eliza
beth. After his marriage Mr. Wolfhorst re

moved from Glandorf to Fort Jennings, and
cleared 'up a farm of sixty-five acres from the
woods, and there died, March 11, 1852, a de
vout member of the Catholic church.
After marriage Frank Moenter settled on
his present farm, where he has since lived and
prospered. This farm now comprises 100
acres, is well cultivated and improved, and is
one of the most fertile in the county. The
marriage of Mr. Moenter has been blessed by
the birth of seven children, all living, and
named Annie E., Annie Regina, Frantz Henry,
Barnet Frank, Mary Elizabeth, Clara Catta-
lena and Rosa Elizabeth. The entire family
are faithful members of the Catholic church,
and in politics Mr. Moenter is a democrat.
He has held the office of supervisor and has
been a member of the board of education sev
eral terms, is an ardent friend of education,
and has given his children every advantage in
that respect. Of his children, Annie Regina
is married to Fred Schroeder, a farmer resid
ing near Leipsic, Putnam county, and is the
mother of four children; Anna Elizabeth is
the wife of Andrew Schroeder, brother of Fred
and also farming near Leipsic, and to this
union have been born two children. The
Moenter family stand very high in the esteem
of the residents of Marion township, and like
all the early settlers of Allen and Putnam
counties, have done much to redeem the wild
erness and transform it into blooming fields.
They are a God-fearing people, industrious and
peace loving, and ever ready to extend a help
ing hand to the needing and suffering.

HOMAS MONTAGUE.— That energy
and industry are essential to success,
and that when embodied in enterprise
they will lead to success, has been
demonstrated over and over again. This im-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

401

portant truth is once more illustrated in the
brief biography of Mr. Montague which is to
follow. This gentleman was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, and is a son of James M. and
Susan (Lockhart) Montague, both of whom are
now deceased.
James M. Montague was brought by his
parents, Peter and Mary (Grady) Montague,
to Fairfield county, when he was quite young,
and in Fairfield county, Peter Montague lived
and died. From that time until 1854, J. M.
Montague remained in Fairfield county, when
he removed to Allen county. Other members
of this family are scattered all over the United
States, for its members are very numerous,
and are able to trace their orgin back to early
times in France, though the first of its numbers
to settled in America came directly from Eng
land in the seventeenth century. When Peter
Montague settled in Allen county his family
consisted of his wife and three children. Al
most immediately he purchased a tract of land
containing eighty acres, partially improved.
It was located in section No. 10, German
township, and on this land he was engaged in
farming until his death, which occurred De
cember 14, 1 891 . In the meantime, however,
to the original eighty acres he added at one
time fifty-eight acres, and at another time,
eighty acres, until at length he owned 218
acres, eighty acres of which he gave to his
daughters. Mr. Montague was exceedingly
domestic in his habits, seldom seeking com
panionship away from his family, much less
seeking notoriety or office of any kind. He
was however widely known because of the ex
cellency of his character and the uniform in
tegrity of his conduct toward all. His widow
is still living with her son, the subject of this
sketch, and is seventy-two years of age. She
and husband were the parents of four children,
viz: Thomas, Elizabeth, deceased wife of Will
iam Ballard, of German township; Mary, de

ceased wife of J. P. Hall of Lima, Ohio; and
James, who died in infancy.
Thomas Montague, like all country boys at
that time and age of the world, was reared to
work on the farm, and was educated in the
district schools. Ever since he began life for
himself, he has carried on farming of different
kinds; but in 1883 began making a specialty
of market gardening on a small scale. His
operations have been gradually increased until,
at the present time, he is the largest producer
of garden truck in Allen county. His farm
contains 132 acres, and to this property he
devotes his entire attention. All kinds of gar
den vegetables are produced on this farm, but
those produced in largest quantities are cab
bage and celery. For watering his vegetables
Mr. Montague has erected a tank with a ca
pacity of 800 barrels, which is filled by means
of a steam pump. The facilities with which
he has surrounded himself are first-class in
every particular, and he now has one of the
finest farms in his part of the country. He is,
it may be said, without qualification, one of
the most progressive men of his times, always
abreast of all improvements. His marketing
is done principally in Lima.
Mr. Montague, perceiving clearly the great
and numerous evils of intemperance, has for
years been an ardent prohibitionist, and labors,
in season and out of season, for the success of
the cause. He was married in July, 1874, to
Miss Lizzie Neff, daughter of Jacob and Millie
(Kessler) Neff. She was born in Van Wert
county. Mr. and Mrs. Montague were the
parents of six children, viz: Ethel, James
Oscar, Charles E., Oliver E., Chalmers, de
ceased, and Jacob. The mother of these chil
dren died in August, 1887, at the age of thirty-
three. Mr. Montague was married in October,
1888, to Miss Maggie S. Ross, who was born
in Rockingham county, Va. , September 28,
1863, daughter of David and Julia Ross. By

402

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

this second marriage Mr. Montague is the
father of two children — William O., and
Emery R.
Mr. Montague and both of his wives were
always active in church work. He was one of
the principal factors in securing the United
Brethren church at Lima, and ever since it
has been established has been one of its trus
tees. He was also a delegate from his church
to one of its annual conferences. He has al
ways taken an active part in the work of the
Sunday-school. His family are all members
of the church, and his eldest son, James Oscar,
is preparing for the ministry, being at the pres
ent time a student at Otterbein Uuiversity.
Religion, temperance and morality are the
three grand conservators of society, and to all
of these Mr. Montague and his family are zeal
ously and intelligently devoted.

eDWARD MOORMAN, the represent
ative of the Moorman family in Allen
county, Ohio, was born February 15,
1856, in Amanda township. He is a
son of William and Nancy (Arnold) Moorman,
both of whom are now deceased. They came
to Allen county from Fayette county, Ohio, in
1830. The great-grandfather of Edward Moor
man, our subject, was a native of Ireland; the
father of " Ed.," as he was familiarly called,
was a gun and blacksmith by trade, following
these pursuits the greater part of his life.
When he came to this country he settled in
section No. 32, Amanda township, where he
made his home for a fifth of a century, during
which time he erected the Hartford Christian
church, furnishing material and building it at
his own expense, and at its completion donat
ing it to the society. He was engaged in the
ministry of the Christian church for nearly
forty years prior to his death, riding on horse
back as far as forty miles to preach. At

Vaughnsville, Ohio, he filled the pulpit for
ten years, where he had a large and flourish
ing church. He was distinguished as having
preached more funeral sermons than any other
clergyman in the conference, and received the
largest salary, but returned it all back to the
church. He lived in Spencerville for six or
seven years, and during this period donated
the site and $700 toward the erection of the
Christian church, and also gave his labor in
building the same. He aided in building many
Christian churches in the country and was the
first minister in this society who held service
in Delphos, Ohio. He was an untiring laborer
in the vineyard of Christ, and a pioneer and
advance guard in many good and Godly works.
In 1 87 1 he moved with his family to the farm
on which Ed. Moorman, our subject, now
lives, in section 29, Amanda township. The
original plat contained 300 acres, which the
father sold off, and in the year 1 884 moved to
Spencerville, where he died, February 14,
1885. His active pursuit was that of milling,
and he owned a flour and woolen-mill in the
village. As justice of the peace he served a
number of terms extending over a period of
twenty-one years. He was twice married; the
first time to Miss Walters, who died early in
life, leaving one child, a daughter, Elizabeth,
also deceased. His second wife was Miss
Nancy Arnold, who bore him eleven children,
and died in 1886. The following are their
names: Calvin, a farmer of Spencer township;
Louisa, wife of William Bice, Jr., of Spencer
ville; Levi, Samantha, Mary and Rebecca, de
ceased; James, of Amanda township; Edward;
John, a barber in Spencerville; Lucetta, de
ceased; and Patience, the wife of J. C. Purdy,
of Spencerville. Our subject was educated in the public
schools, and when he arrived at majority be
gan life for himself, choosing farming as an occu
pation, and working his father's place, uniting

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

403

stock raising with agriculture, and meanwhile
filling the local offices of township assessor and
member of the school board with marked
ability. In politics his is a stanch democrat
and has represented his party at various con
ventions. He is a member of the I. O. O. F.
lodge, No. 311, Spencerville, and has twice
passed the chairs, filling the chair of vice-grand
when but six months an Odd Fellow. "Ed "
is one of the up-to-date men of the county,
and a hustler in the best sense of the word.
He was married December 20, 1879, to Miss
Priscilla J. Purdy, who was born in Spencer
township, September 7, 1856, and is the
father of eight children: Arthur B., Clarence
M., Lois Nettie, Wilber W., Walter, Clyde,
Hugh and Ruth. Their home is a pleasant
and happy one, where good and plenty abound.

v/^~J ICHARD J. MORGAN, an ex-soldier
I -«*^ of the Civil war and a substantial
Jl .P farmer of Sugar Creek township, Al
len county, Ohio, was born February
2, 1 83 1, in Montgomeryshire, Wales. Thomas
Morgan, father of our subject, was a farmer,
and married, in Wales, Mary Jones, and of
the seven children born to this union all were
born in Wales, excepting the youngest. The
six Weish-born are named Ann, Daniel,
Richard J., John, Evan and Mary, and the
American-born child, William, is a native of
Putnam county, Ohio. Thomas Morgan and
his family sailed from Liverpool, England, in
1846, and after a voyage of thirty -two days in
a sailing vessel — a very fair speed — arrived in
the port of New York, whence he went to
Buffalo, N. Y., and nine weeks later came to
Ohio and located in Sugar Creek township,
Putnam county, where he lived two years on a
farm, and then bought forty acres in Sugar
Creek township, Allen county, and this tract
he cleared up from the wilderness, transformed

it into a handsome farm, and there passed the
remainder of his days. He and wife were
devout members of the Congregational church,
and both were much respected by their neigh
bors. They had two sons in the Civil war —
Richard J. and Evan — and both served in the
same company, in the 100-day service.
Richard J. Morgan, the subject of this
sketch, learned the Welsh language in the
Sunday-schools of his native land, and his
English education was acquired in the district
schools of Ohio after he had reached the age
of fifteen years, as that was about his age
when his father brought him to America. He
early began the hard work of clearing land, and
and was reared a pioneer farmer, aiding on the
home place until his marriage, of which further
mention will be made. In May, 1865, he en
listed, at Lima, Ohio, for 100 days, in com
pany F, Capt. C. W. Patrick, One Hundred
and Fifty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and
was assigned to the army defending Washing
ton, D. C. He served out his term and was
honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, in
August, 1865, with the rank of corporal, when
he returned to his wife and three young chil
dren, whom he had left in the woods of Sugar
Creek township when he enlisted.
The marriage of Mr. Morgan took place
February 19, 1854. with Miss Mary Jones,
who was born in Wales May 2, 1832, a daugh
ter of David and Jane Jones. Mrs. Morgan
was an infant when she lost her father, and
her mother's second marriage was with John
D. Jones, who later brought his family to
Sugar Creek township and settled on the land
on which Owen A. Jones now resides. For
four years after marriage, Mr. Morgan resided
in Sugar Creek township, north of German
township, and in 1858 his wife inherited from
her father forty acres; this land Mr. Morgan
cleared of the heavy timber with which it was
covered, by thrift and hard work added forty

404

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

more acres, petitioned for a ditch in the neigh
borhood, and also secured the building of a
road, so that in course of time he had as con
venient a farm as could be found in the town
ship. In 1885, he erected a handsome dwell
ing and has otherwise improved the farm,
including the erection of all needful buildings.
To Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have been born
six children, as follows: John A., Ida, Emma,
Julia, Anna and Lottie. The wife and family
are strong advocates of public education. In
politics Mr. Morgan is a republican, has held
the office of township trustee two terms, and
is now serving the third ; he has also served as
supervisor and has been a member of the
school board. He has shown himself to be in
every respect an intelligent and useful citizen,
and he enjoys the respect in a very large degree
of the citizens of the township and county.

WOHN P. MORGAN, a prosperous farmer
A of Sugar Creek township, and one of
A 1 the pionneers of Allen county, is a son
of Thomas and Mary (Jones) Morgan.
He was born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, in
August, 1834, and was about twelve years of
age when he was brought to the United States
by his parents. The voyage across the stormy
Atlantic he well remembers, and remembers
that he was glad to get safe to land. Having
arrived in this country he attended the com
mon schools, and learned to read and write in
both English and Welsh. He was reared on
the farm, and in February, 1859, was married
to Miss Margaret Evans, who was born in
Wales, and was a daughter of Evan Evans.
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were the parents of one
child, Abner. Mrs. Morgan died six years
after her son was born, and Mr. Morgan mar
ried, for his second wife, Mrs. Jane Morgan,
nee Jones, widow of Richard Morgan, and
daughter of John and Mary (Meredith) Jones.

She was born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, in
January, 1832, and her marriage to John P.
Morgan took place' December 25, 1866. By
this marriage there were born two children,
Thomas O. and William.
John Jones, father of Mrs. Morgan, lived
and died in Wales. To him and his wife
there were born ten children: Jane, Richard,
Hugh, Evan, Daniel, Mary, Ann, Elizabeth,
Sarah and John. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and Mr. Jones lived to the great age of eighty-
two or eighty-three years, his wife living to the
still greater age of eighty-eight. All their chil
dren remained in Wales, except Jane and
John. John went to Canada, and is now liv
ing near Toronto.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Morgan
settled on land in Marion township, Allen
county, Ohio, six years later moving to Sugar
Creek township, and there purchased 1 50
acres of land. This was in 1871, and the land
was partly cleared. Since then, by industry
and hard work, Mr. Morgan had cleared as
much of the remainder as is necessary, has im
proved what has been cleared, and now has an
excellent farm, well drained and under a high
state of cultivation. He has also erected a
a substantial residence, in the modern style,
with modern improvements, and has as pleas
ant and attractive a home as any man need
desire. To Mr. and Mrs. Morgan there have been
born two children, viz: Thomas O., born in
September, 1867, and William, born June 16,
1869. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan are members of
the Welsh Congregational church, he having
been a deacon for twelve years. In politics
he is a republican, and has served as township
trustee and school director. He is one of the
conspicuous, self-made men of his day. What
property he has accumulated has been through
his own industry and good management. He .

OF ALLEN COUNTY,

405

now owns 231 acres, and has one of the finest
farms in the township, if not in the county.
He is well and widely known for his honesty
and integrity of character, and for his general
good citizenship. He and his wife have reared
a family of good children, and have instilled
into their minds correct principles of conduct,
well knowing that, though property is valu
able, yet a good name is worth more than
wealth. Mrs. Morgan came from Wales when she
was about twenty-seven years of age, in 1859,
with a company of Welsh people. This com
pany sailed from Liverpool, England, on a
steamship, and were twelve days on the
ocean, landing in Portland, Me. She went di
rectly to Johnstown, Pa., and was married the
same year to Richard Morgan, and in 1861,
came to Allen county. Mr. Morgan was a
wagon-maker by trade, which he followed till
his death, March, 1866. It was in 1846 when
John P. Morgan, the subject of this sketch,
came with his parents to the United States,
and he can well remember the voyage across
the sea. He can also remember the early
pioneers and the early pioneer days, in Allen
county, which he has seen develop into a
highly civilized county, when compared with
what it was when he first saw it, and a goodly
portion of the credit for this great change is
justly attributable to the energy and industry
of Mr. Morgan.

QDWARD MORRIS, a prosperous
farmer and highly respected citizen
of Sugar Creek township, Allen
county, Ohio, is a native of Wales,
and was born in Montgomeryshire, Sunday,
June 29, 1 819.
John Morris, father of our subject, was also
a native of Montgomeryshire, was a farmer,
received a good common-school education and
14

married in his native county, or shire, Miss
Elizabeth Evans, a daughter of Thomas and
Jane (Jones) Evans, and to this marriage were
born four children, namely: Mary, John, Ann
and Edward, our subject. In 1840 John
Morris came to America, sailing from Liver
pool in the good ship England, and making.
the voyage to New York in thirty days — a
speedy passage for a sailing vessel. From
New York Mr. Morris came to Ohio and settled^
on forty acres of cleared land, which he pur
chased in Delaware county, and there passed
his remaining years, dying at the age of about
fifty-five years — a member of the Methodist
church and a highly respected citizen. Edward
Morris, our subject, was reared on his father's
farm and married at the age of less than
eighteen years, June 19, 1837, Miss Sarah
Breese, who was born in Wales in 1820, a
daughter of John and Mary (Edwards) Breese.
In 1840, Edward Morris and wife came to
America with John Morris and family, and at
once went to Oneida county, N. Y. , where he
worked at farm labor about four years; he
then came to Ohio, and for two years lived in
Licking county, but returned to Oneida county,
N. Y., and there passed nine years, when he
came once more to Ohio, in 1854, and rented
land in Sugar Creek township, Allen county,
and this township has ever since been his home.
In 1865, or thereabout, he bought his first
farm, which consisted of eighty acres, and of
which twenty acres only had been cleared.
But he was industrious, energetic and thrifty,
and in a short time had the remainder of the
farm cleared up and under cultivation, and
improved with a good frame dwelling and all
proper out-buildings; his land is well drained
and neatly inclosed, and is now as comfortable
a home as any in the township.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Morris was
fruitful in the birth of eleven children, viz:
A deceased infant, Thomas, Jane, Elizabeth,

406

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Sarah, Jane, Mary, Ann, George (who died at
the age of seven years), Harry A. and William.
Mrs. Sarah Morris, the mother of this family,
was called away by death November 17, 1873,
a member of the Welsh Congregational church
— a loving mother and a dutiful and affection
ate wife, whose loss Mr. Morris has never
ceased to deplore. Of the children above
named Thomas was a gallant soldier of the
late Civil war and fought at Pittsburg Landing
(Shiloh). Mr. Morris has always been a hard
working farmer and useful citizen, and has
earned by his thrift and industry all he pos
sesses. He has won for himself a good name
in the community in which he lives, and where
he is passing his declining years in strict con
formity with the teachings of the Welsh Con
gregational church, of which for many years
he has been a consistent member. In politics
he affiliates with the republican party.

>-jJAMES T. MORRIS, one of the repre-
A sentative citizens of Elida, Allen county,
A 1 Ohio, was born in Fairfield county,
~* Ohio, June 2, 1845, and was the son
of James and Margaret (Hilliard) Morris, the
former born in Indiana and the latter in Penn
sylvania. The father died in March, 1864.
He was a shoemaker by trade and worked at
the business all through life. He was a soldier
in the Mexican war and of the Rebellion, in the
latter being a member of the One Hundred
and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and
serving over two years. The wife is still living
in Van Wert, Ohio. A number of children were
welcomed to this union, their names being as fol
lows: Elizabeth, deceased; James T., of whom
this sketch is written; infant son, deceased;
Newton, George, Frank, Homer, deceased; Ca-
lista; Anna and Katie, twins; Laura; Emma,
deceased, and Eddie. The continuance of this
article will pertain largely to James T., the

second child. As soon as he was able to work,
life began for him in earnest on the farm; he
received his education in the public schools,
and when quite young he became an employee
of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Rail
road, and has been engaged with this company
constantly for the past thirty years, and as fore
man of a section gang for the past twenty-two
years. He enlisted January 4, 1864, in company
I, Thirty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry. He
participated in the battles, Cole's Gap, Lynch
burg, Bunkerhill, Martinsburg, Harper's Ferry,
Winchester and the two battles of Cedar Creek.
He was wounded at Cole's Gap — shot through
the ear and taken prisoner at Beverly, West
Va., and held forty days at Richmond. He
was mustered out July, 1865, and returned to
his home at Elida, where he has since been in
the employ of the railroad company. He is a
member of the John John post No. 386, and
also an Odd Fellow. On Christmas day, 1867,
he was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Wad-
dell, daughter of A. N. and Mary (Mumau)
Waddell, natives of Ohio and Maryland. The
mother died, August, 1886, at the age of sixty-
two years. The father died April 21, 1895.
Mr. and Mrs. Morris have had a family of
eight children, five of whom are yet living:
Idella, James A., Florence, Mary M., Martha
and Daisy, twins, deceased, Alfred, deceased,
and Lauanna L. The parents are highly re
spected members of the Methodist Episcopal
church.

1 HOMAS C. MOYERS, a veteran of
the Civil war and a substantial
farmer of Sugar Creek township, Al
len county, Ohio, was here born on
his father's farm February 21, 1837, and is of
old Virginia-German stock.
Isaac Moyers, father of our subject; was
born in Rockingham county, Va. , and when a

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

407

young man came to Ohio and located in Fair
field county, where he married Sarah Ward,
the union resulting in the birth of ten chil
dren, all of whom, with one exception reached
mature years, and were named as follows:
John, Nancy, Lydia, Matilda, Thomas, Cath
erine, Joshua, May J., William (twin of Isaac,
died young) and Isaac. The father, Isaac
Meyers, came from Fairfield county, Ohio, to
Allen county, as one of the early pioneers and
located in the southern part of Sugar Creek
township, on the old boundary line between
Allen and Putnam counties, where he cleared
up a farm of eighty acres and continued to
add to his land until he owned in the two
counties, 420 acres, becoming one of the most
substantial and wealthy farmers of the neigh
borhood, and leaving, at his death, a farm for
each of his children. He lived to be seventy-
three years of age, and died in the faith of the
Baptist church — an -upright citizen and one of
the most respected pioneers of Allen county.
Of his sons, three served in the late Civil war
— -John, Thomas and Joshua. John served a
full term in the 100-day service, One Hun
dred and Fifty-first Ohio national guard;
Joshua enlisted for three years in the One
Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer in
fantry, served six months, and died of disease
in Kentucky; Thomas C, who has been reared
to farming, enlisted at Lima, Allen county,
Ohio, September 12, 1861, for three years, in
company E, Eighty-first Ohio volunteer infan
try, Capt. George A. Taylor, served out his
time and veteranized, in 1863, for another
term of three years in the same company, and
received his second honorable discharge at
Louisville, Ky., in July, 1865, for the reason
that the war had closed. Among the many
battles in which Mr. Moyers took part may be
mentioned those of Shiloh, Corinth (siege and
battle), Tuscumbia, Dallas, the Atlanta cam
paigns, in which the troops were under fire,

night and day, for nearly four months; Re
saca, Snake Creek Gap, Kenesaw Mountain,
Rome Cross Roads; the fight in front of At
lanta, where the gallant McPherson fell; was
at Jonesboro, Ga., recruited at Rome and
then started on the famous march to the sea;
was at Savannah, Ga., Goldsboro, and Ben-
nettsville, N. C, and so on to Washington,
D. C, where he participated in the grand re
view of May, 1865. He was an active and
faithful soldier, and escaped the hospital, ex
cepting for a week or so at Franklin.
The marriage of Mr. Moyers took place in
Sugar Creek township, Allen county, Ohio,
April 10, 1866, with Miss Lovina Snyder, who
was born April 10, 1848, a daughter of Ben
jamin Snyder, of Pennsylvania, and an early
settler of Monroe township, Allen county,
Ohio. He also had two sons in the Civil war
— Levi and Oliver — the former of whom, while
serving in the One Hundred and Eighteenth
Ohio infantry, was struck by seven rifle balls
during the battles of Resaca, but still lives.
After marriage Mr. Moyers settled on his pres
ent farm of 1 1 5 acres, of which he has pur
chased from the co-heirs about sixty-five
acres, making one of the finest places in the
township. To this marriage have been born
five children, viz: Clinton, who died in his
twenty-first year; Minnie, who died at the age
of eighteen years; Daisy, who died at the age
of two years, and Walter and Lance. In
politics Mr. Moyers is a democrat, and in re
ligion, with wife, is a member of the Christian
church, of which he is a trustee, and no fam
ily in the township is more respected.

c/^"\ AVID B. MOYERS, one of the thrifty
1 I and well-to-do farmers of Sugar
/A^J Creek township, Allen county, Ohio,
was born on his present farm Decem
ber 6, 1842, received a good education in the

408

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

district schools, was reared to farming, and
served as a volunteer during the late Civil war.
Henry Moyers, the grandfather of our sub
ject, was of German descent, was a farmer of
Frederick county, Va. , where he married and
reared the following children: Elizabeth, John,
Isaac, Daniel, Jacob and Henry H., of whom
Isaac, Daniel and Henry became settlers of
Ohio, and Jacob of Illinois, near Whitehall,
and all of whom lived to advanced ages, and
all reared families excepting Daniel. Henry,
the father, died on his native farm, also at a
good old age.
Henry H. Moyers, father of our subject,
was born in Frederick county, Va., in January,
1809, was reared a farmer, and came to Ohio
about 1829, with some friends, and settled in
Fairfield connty. He there married, April 3,
1832, Miss Elizabeth Ward, who was born in
that county, December 1, 1806, a daughter of
William and Catherine B. (Herring) Ward.
William Ward was a native of Pendleton
county, Va., was born May 26, 1780, and in
1800 came to Ohio and located in Pickaway
county, whence he moved to Fairfield county,
where he farmed for forty-six years, and then,
in the fall of 185 1, came to Allen county,
where his death took place March 21, 1852.
His wife was born in Pennsylvania April 9,
1788, came to Ohio and located when a young
woman in Fairfield county, and there died
November 5, 1850. The Ward family were
of Scotch- Irish descent. Mr. and Mrs. Will
iam Ward were the parents of the following
children: Elizabeth, James (who died of dis
ease during the battle of Corinth), Nancy,
William, George, Sarah, Jacob, Peter and
Lydia — to each of whom the father donated
160 acres of land, with the exception of Will
iam, who was killed during the Rebellion.
After marriage Henry H. Moyers came to
Sugar Creek township, Allen county, February
13. 1833, making the journey in wagons and

cutting a road through the forest from Belle-
fontaine. He settled on 160 acres which had
been donated by his father-in-law, Mr. Ward,
but which land was in a deep woods and on
which not a stick had been cut. But Mr.
Moyers put up his log cabin, set industriously
to work, underwent all the hardships of pio
neer life, and added to his estate until he
owned 360 acres and eventually became one
of the most substantial and respected farmers
of the township. Here were born his children,
in the following order: Jacob, William, Cath
erine B., Samuel, Harrison, David B., Eliza
J. and Frederick A. T. Of these children five
sons served in the Civil war, viz: Jacob and
William in the One Hundred and Eighteenth
Ohio volunteer infantry — Jacob serving three
years until the close of the hostilities, and
William dying at Knoxville, Tenn., from
effects of over exertion at the battle of Mossy
Creek; Samuel and Harrison were in the 100-
day service, in the One Hundred and Thirty-
second Ohio volunteers — Harrison serving his
full time, although under fire, the greater part
of it, in front of Petersburg, Va., and Samuel
dying in hospital at Columbus, Ohio, from the
effects of wounds accidentally inflicted by the
Union cavalry and resulting in typhoid fever.
The brief military record of David B. will be
given further on.
Henry H. Moyers, the father of these brave
boys, had in his politics been a whig in his
earlier days, but later became a strong Union
man and a republican. His death took place
September 5, 1885, at the ripe old age of
seventy-six years, his wife having preceded him
to the grave September 6, 1883, and certainly
there were never two more honored pioneers
within the bounds of Allen county.
David B. Moyers, with a record of whose
birth this biography opens, was enrolled at
Lima, Ohio, May 2, 1864, in company C, One
Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volunteer infan-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

409

try, for the ioo-day service, he being at that
time a -member of company D, Thirty-third
Ohio National guards, in which he had en
listed for five years, and being called out with
the regiment and assigned to duty, as above
mentioned, under Capt. J. L. Booth. While
in active service Mr. Moyers was about four
months on guard duty at Washington, D. C,
was under fire at the time of Jubal Early's raid
on that city, July 13, 1864, and was also on
guard duty at Fort Sumner, Fort DeRusse and
Fort Simons. He was ever a cheerful and
active soldier and prompt in his attention to
duty on all occasions.
The marriage of David B. Moyer took
place, May 17, 1870, to Miss Malinda Miller,
who was born in Hocking county, Ohio, No
vember 19, 1844, a daughter of David and Re
becca (Rader) Miller. The father, David
Miller, was a native of Virginia, of German
extraction, and when a young man came to
Ohio and located in Fairfield county, where he
first married. He later moved to Hocking
county, where he for some time was employed
in farming, when he removed, in 1889, to
Huntington county, Ind., where he still re
sides. To his first marriage were born three
children — Mary A., Malinda and Laura.
After the death of his first wife, Mr. Miller
married Elizabeth Perry, and to this union has
been born one child — Perry C. Mr. and Mrs.
D. B. Moyers, after their marriage, settled
down to farming on the old homestead, his
birthplace, where until the death of Mrs.
Moyers they passed their lives in connubial
felicity. Through bis industry and economy,
Mr. Moyers has succeeded in purchasing the
interest ot the other heirs to the place, and he
now owns eighty acres of choice farming land.
Here, in 1892, he erected a tasteful modern
dwelling, and has otherwise greatly improved
the place. Here, also, have been born his
five children, named Perry C, Charles G.

(who died at about the age of twenty-two
years), Della, Elizabeth A. and Henry D.
The death of Mrs. Moyers took place January
17, 1882. She was a devout member of the
Christian church and a lady of many christian
virtues, whose loss was deeply deplored by her
immediate family and a large circle of earnest
and sincere friends.
In politics Mr. Moyers is a stanch repub
lican, has served as township trustee and has
been a member of the school board; in relig
ion he is a devout Christian and has always
aided this denomination liberally of his means,
as well as other religious societies of his neigh
borhood. He is a thoroughly practical farmer
and stock raiser, and is a useful and highly re
spected citizen.

t*S~\ ANIEL MULLENHOUR, a thriving
I I farmer of Marion township, Allen
/A\^J county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of
the Civil war, was born in Sugar
Creek township, in the same county, July 24,
1837. His grandfather came from Germany
and was a pioneer of Fairfield county, Ohio;
he was the father of four children — John, Fred
erick, Henry and Lucetta, of whom Henry is
the father of our subject.
Henry Mullenhour was born in Fairfield
county, where he married Lucretia Kitchen,
and in 1835 came to Allen county and settled
in Marion township, when the Indians still
roamed the forest, and afterward moved to
Sugar Creek township, where he followed his
trade of a blacksmith for a number of years
and later bought a farm. Here his eight chil
dren were born and named Joseph, Daniel,
John, George, Sallie, Wilson, Phebe and Chris
tian — the last named dying at the age of thirty-
one years. Of the other sons, three served in
the Civil war — Joseph, Daniel and John.
Joseph and John were in the Eighty-first Ohio

410

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

infantry, in which Joseph died after having
seen a little more than a year's service; John,
having also served a year or more, was taken
seriously ill, but later fought' at Vicksburg, and
later died at home. The record of Daniel will
be given further on. Henry Mullenhour was
always a hard-working man, was a member of
the Lutheran church and enjoyed the esteem
of all who knew him, and died October 29, 1895,
his wife having died twenty-two years ago.
Daniel Mullenhour, our subject, was reared
a farmer and received a fair common-school
education. In 1862 he enlisted, at Gomer, in
company E., Capt. John C. Walters, Ninety-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was enrolled
August 12, to serve three years, or during the
war. He was in the battle of Stone River and
was in all the marches and skirmishes in which
his regiment took part for seven months, when
he was entirely disabled for duty by an attack
of general debility, and was honorably dis
charged at Murfreesboro, March 5, 1863. On
his return to Allen county he resumed farming,
and October 15, 1865, married Mary Sherrick,
a daughter of Henry and Margaret (Stemen)
Sherrick, pioneers of Sugar Creek township,
Allen county, coming from Fairfield county,
and the parents of nine children, of whom four
are living and five deceased. Henry Sherrick
was a substantial farmer, was much respected
by his neighbors, and died after he had passed
his eightieth birthday.
After marriage, Mr. Mullenhour lived in
Sugar Creek township until 1875, when he
came to his present farm in Marion township,
of which he has made as fine a homestead as
there is of its dimensions in the township.
February 4, 1894, Mr. Mullenhour was visited
with a sad affliction — his wife dying on that
day, a member of the Mennonite church, a
devout Christian, a devoted mother and a
faithful helpmate to her husband. Mr. Mul
lenhour has reared a respected family of chil

dren, who are named as follows: Charles,
Lodanne (who died at the age of twenty-six
years), Beinna, Henry, Lizzie, Noah, Wesley
and Ethel — all of whom have been well edu
cated. Mr. Mullenhour has been a member of
the school board for two years, was a faithful
soldier, is a good citizen and is in every respect
a desirable acquaintance and neighbor.

>rr»ULIUS CURTIS MUSSER, proprietor
A of a livery and transfer business in
A J Lima, Ohio, was born in that city,
^~' November 15, 1837. He is a son of
Daniel and Maria (Mitchell) Musser, the former
of whom was a native of Lancaster county,.
Pa., and the latter a native of Ohio. They
were married in Lima, and afterward Mr.
Musser engaged in keeping a hotel where the
Union block now stands, remaining thus en
gaged for several years and at the same time
having charge of several mail routes. Mr.
Musser was a very popular citizen, a good
man, and died in 1881. His wife had died in
1 864. They were the parents of four children,
two that died early in their lives, and Harriet,
now the widow Harrington, and Julius C. , the
subject of this sketch. The parents of these
four children were members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and Mr.. Musser was. a
republican. Julius Curtis Musser was reared to manhood
in Lima, and received his education in the
public schools. When he was ten years old
his father engaged in the furniture and under
taking business, and not long afterward he had
to assist his father in the store, continuing
thus employed until he was twenty-four years
of age. His father then sold out and young
Julius C. became an employee of the succeed
ing firm, Mitchell & Mahan, with which firm
he remained four years. At the end of this
period he succeeded Mr. Mahan in the firm,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

411

and T. T. Mitchell becoming owner of the
share previously owned by Uriah Prangle, the
firm became Mitchell & Musser, and continued
in existence four years. Then Daniel Musser
bought the interest of Mr. Mitchell and the
firm became Musser & Son, and this firm
lasted until the death of the elder Musser in
1 88 1, from which time until 1893 the subject
carried on the business alone. At this time
he sold the entire business and embarked in
the livery and transfer business, in which he is
still engaged.
Julius C. Musser was married November
15, 1862, to Henrietta Basehore, who was
born in Lima, and by whom he has three
children, viz.: Aurelius N., William and
Milton J. Mr. Musser is a republican and a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and is an upright, honorable citizen, highly
respected by all.

<*/^\ ANIEL MYERS, one of the oldest and
I I most favorably known residents of
/A^J Allen county, was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, May 1, 1827, and was
the son of Abraham and Sarah (Conrad)
Myers, the father dying in Fairfield county.
The mother died in German township, Allen
county, in 1877, at the ripe age of seventy-seven
years. She had been married five times.
Mr. Myers, our subject, came with his
mother and stepfather to Allen county in the
year 1829, and grew up in the woods, his
playmates being the Indians, from whom he
learned to shoot the bow and arrow to a
nicety. Much, of his time was spent in hunt
ing and fishing, killing wild animals, such as
deer, wolves, etc., not needing to leave the
door-yard to kill deer and squirrel. When not
ten years of age he began the tug of life for
himself on his own hook, working by the day
and job. He once took a contract of clearing

eighty-five acres in German township, cutting
cord wood at eighteen cents per cord, and
made rails at the same price per hundred.
After completing this big job, he worked for
William Knittle for twenty-five cents per day,
with which earnings he purchased his first
tract of land — forty acres of timber in Sugar
Creek township.
Mr. Myers remained single until twenty-
two years of age, and on April 19, 1849, he
married Miss Rebecca Spangler, daughter of
Samuel and Polly (Marts) Spangler. After
this marriage he cleared eleven acres of land
for William Smith in German township, for
which he received $90, which money he had
used to fit up his home and purchase the
necessary articles for housekeeping. But
while earning this money he must needs take
care of his bride, but in default of having
money to build a log house and furnish it, they
fitted up an old disused pole sheep pen on Mr.
Smith's farm, making their bed out of poles,
the bottom of which was platted bark, on
which they placed their straw tick. Their
chairs were little benches made from split
logs, with wooden pins put in for legs; their
table was an old chest, which Mr. Myers has
to-day in his- possession, and their cooking
utensils a fryingpan and a dutch oven. Here
they lived until they had cleared the eleven
acres of land, and after clearing another five
acres on contract they moved into their own
home on his own land, which he partially
cleared, and after three years sold it and
moved into Elida and with $33 capital started
a store and with $40 bought a lot. He " kept
grocery " four years, when he traded his city
property for eighty acres of land, on which he
lived for a year and a half. The career of
Daniel Myers was a busy one, full of stiring
incidents and episodes peculiar to a pioneer
life in the west, but, with a competence
gained, he has settled down in Elida, one of

412

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the old, substantial and well-to-do and highly
respected citizens of the place. To follow his
career minutely would be intensely interesting,
but the space allotted forbids. His first wife
died December 3, 1875, having borne him
twelve children, of whom the living are: Levi
M., Samuel, Maria, David A., Eli and Em
etine. July 25, 1877, he was married to Mrs.
Sarah Moon, the widow of George Moon.
They are both members of the Lutheran
church, Mr. Myers having joined it over forty
years ago, and in which he is an elder. In
politics he is a democrat of the old stanch
variety.

"fcrVAMES H. NEELY, one of the most
A prominent citizens of German town-
A J ship, Allen county, is a farmer and the
~~ son of a farmer. He was born in Bath
township, March 4, 1844, and is a son of Will
iam and Martha (Snodgrass) Neely, both of
whom are now dead. William F. Neely was
born in Kentucky in 1806, and died February
5, 1880. His parents moved to Greene county,
Ohio, when he was quite young, and there he
was reared to farm life and labor, and he fol
lowed that calling all his life. He removed
from Greene to Allen county about 1830, when
the site and vicinity of the present fine city of
Lima was nothing but a wilderness. He pur
chased 120 acres of land in Bath township, just
opposite the present county farm, the land he
purchased being then entirely covered with
wood and underbrush, so that the term wilder
ness was no misnomer as applied thereto. He
immediately erected a log cabin, in which to
live for a time, and began to clear his land, and
was employed in cutting down trees and rolling
and burning logs, preparatory to the cultiva
tion of the soil, for several years, plowing and
cultivating piece by piece as it was "brought
under the harrow. " So scarce were milling

facilities in Ohio at that early day that Mr.
Neely was compelled to go to Greene county,
to the east of and a little further south than
Montgomery county, to get corn ground into
meal or wheat into flour. For one entire week
he lived on cracked corn, an experience which
would now be called starving. But those old
pioneers were made of the material that did
not run away from hardship, but, in many in
stances, took pride in ¦ their ability to stand
them. Eighty acres of this farm he cleared,
and in 1871 traded it for a tract of 120 acres
in sections Nos. 15 and 22, in German town
ship, eighty acres of this latter tract being im
proved. Upon this farm he lived until his death.
William F. Neely was twice married; first to
Miss Ruth Paulin, who after thirteen years of
happy married life, died, leaving five children,
viz: Bizaliel, who died in the army of the
Union during the war; William P., deceased;
Rebecca J., deceased wife of Lorin Smith, of
Lima, Ohio; Elizabeth, wife of J. McLain, of
California, and Malinda A., wife of Stephen
Greer, of Bath township. Mr. Neely married,
for his second wife, Miss Matilda Snodgrass,
who was born in Virginia in 18 17, and died in
1877, leaving seven children, three of whom
are still living, viz: Henry C, of Lima;
James H., and Arthur A., of Columbus, Ohio.
The others died in early life.
James H. Neely was reared in Bath town
ship on the farm, and was educated in the com
mon schools. Farming has been continually
his occupation, and he assisted his father to
improve the old farm, which now has on it
some of the best buildings in his part of the
county. The residence is unusually large for
a country home, being 30x40 feet in size. He
always strives to keep the best of stock and to
make not only the best possible showing, but
also the most profit out of what he keeps.
Politically Mr. Neely is a republican, and
though in no sense an office seeker, yet he has

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

415

been chosen a member of the school board.
During the late war he served in the ioo-day
service, enlisting in the spring of 1864. Mr.
Neely was married October 29, 1864, to Miss
Helen Mason, daughter of Jarvis and Elizabeth
{Hall) Mason. She was born in Bath town
ship, Allen county, October 29, 1846. She
and her husband are the parents of seven chil
dren, viz: Charles E., who married Miss
Viola Cotner, and who resides in Lima and is
in the employ of the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad
company; Junia L., wife of Sherman Shook,
of Lima; Jesse, who married Miss Nettie Clap
per, is employed by the L. E. & W. railroad
company and resides at Lima; Clifton L., a
telegraph operator, resides at home; Rufus M.,
lives at home, and Olive L. , now Mrs. Ozro
Copus, lives at home. Charles E. Neely, the
eldest son, has taught school four terms. Mrs.
Neely is a member of the United Brethren
church, and the entire family stand among the'
most respected people of Allen county.

>-y*OHN MUELLER, one of the well-
A known young citizens and business men
A 1 of Delphos, Ohio, and the leading
dealer in agriculture implements in the
city, was born in Van Wert county, about five
•miles southwest from Delphos, on October 5,
1863. His parents were Nicholas and Mar
garet (Gremling) Mueller, both of whom were
born in Germany.
Nicholas Mueller came to the United States
in about the year 1850, and located first near
Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, where he engaged
in farming for a number of years, and where
he was married. From Seneca county he re
moved to Van Wert county and purchased a
farm in Jennings township, where he has re
sided ever since. His wife died in January,
1893, in her fifty-ninth year. To these par
ents twelve children were born, eight of whom

are living. Of the children, our subject was
the fourth. He was reared on the farm and
attended the schools of the neighborhood. He
remained on the farm until he was twenty-
five years of age, and then came to Delphos,
in 1888; and engaged in his present business.
He began on a small scale, handling agricul
tural implements of all kinds, and has in
creased his business from year to year until he
has the largest house in his line in Del
phos and the leading one in this part of
the state, He handles all kinds of trac
tion and stationary steam engines, thresh
ers, etc., wagons, buggies and everything
in his line. He keeps five men on the
road as salesmen, and his business extends
over all the adjoining counties. He also owns
a half-interest in an extensive tile mill in Jen
nings township, Van Wert county. He is a
stockholder in the Citizens Building & Loan
association, and has also various other inter
ests. He owns real estate in Van Weft and
Paulding counties, and his place of business
in Delphos, which. is a two and a half story
building on Main street, near the Pittsburg,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad depot, having
160 feet frontage.
Mr. Mueller was married October 1, 1889,
to Miss Laura Shaffer, daughter of Charles
Shaffer, deceased, of Delphos. Mr. and Mrs.
Mueller are members of the Saint John's
Roman Catholic church. Mr. Mueller is re
garded as one of the leading young citizens of
Delphos. He is enterprising, entergetic and
liberal minded, always ready to do his share
in the building up of his city and community.
As a democrat he is exceedingly popular with
his party, and has frequently been solicited to
accept nomination for public office, but prefers
to attend to the calls of his numerous patrons
in a business way than to assume the responsi
bilities and perplexing duties of official position,
which are not quite to his taste.

416

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

>y*OHN S. NICOLET, one of the most
A prominent and substantial .farmers of
A I Richland township, Allen county, and
an ex-soldier of the Civil war, was born
in canton Berne, Switzerland, May 7, 1846,
and is a son of Francis and Harriet (Savine)
Nicolet. Francis Nicolet was born in 1805,
also in canton Berne, Switzerland, of French
and Swiss ancestors. By trade and by occu
pation he was a stone-mason and a farmer,
and to him, by his first wife, there were born
two children, viz: Celestine and Caroline.
He emigrated from his native country to the
United States, coming across the ocean in a
sailing vessel, in 1851, embarking at Havre
and landing in New York. At first he located
in Wayne county, Ohio, remaining there two
years, and then removed to Allen county in
I853, settling on land in Monroe township.
His first purchase of land here was of forty
acres, which he cleared, and which he sold,
and then removed to Richland township, trad
ing for the farm now occupied by the subject
of this sketch. He was a hard-working man,
always industrious and doing something to ad
vance his own or some one else's interests, for
he was a man who cared for the welfare of
others as well as for his own. He was a mem
ber of the French Reformed church, and died
at the home of the subject in 1888, when he
was eighty-two years of age.
John S. Nicolet was not quite five years of
age when brought to the United States by his
parents. He received but a limited education
in the common schools and began to work
when yet very young. He became a member
of the Ohio national guard in 1863, enlisting
for five years, and on May 2, 1864, he enlisted
in company E, One Hundred and Fifty-first
regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, under
Capt. Samuel D. McKee, enlisting in this
service for 100 days, and was honorably dis
charged therefrom August 25, 1864, at Camp

Chase, Ohio, by reason of his term of enlist
ment having expired. He served in the de
fense of Washington, at Fort Sumner, at Fort
Reno and at Fort Simmonds. He was en
gaged in one battle, that with Gen. Early's
forces when they made a raid on Washington,
D. C, with the view of its capture. He was
one of those that were taken sick with fever
and with camp diarrhea, and was sent to the
hospital, became very weak, and yet suffers
from his war's experience. But he performed
his duties as a soldier faithfully and cheer
fully, and, unless sick, was always at his post.
After the war he returned to Richland
township, and resumed farming. In 1872 he
married Electa Roberts, who was born in 1853,
in Allen county, and is a daughter of Louis
and Elizabeth (Rumbaugh) Roberts. Lewis
Roberts was born in the United States, and
descends from an old colonial family. He
served in the Civil war, is a farmer of means,
and is a highly respected citizen of Lima,
Ohio. His children are as follows: Samuel,
Electa and Lafayette.
Mr. and Mrs. Nicolet settled on their pres
ent farm of sixty-eight acres, which at that
was only partially cleared. This he has de
veloped and improved and now has a valuable
farm and a pleasant home. To his marriage
were born the following children: Ulysses,
Eva, Frank and Gladys. Mrs. Nicolet was a
member of the Disciples' church, and died
April 10, 1890, a woman of many virtues and
highly esteemed. December 31, 1895, Mr.
Nicolet married for his second *wife, Mrs.
Hannah E. Yant, daughter of J. L. and Lucy
L. Everett. Mr. Nicolet is a member of Mat
Armstrong post, No. 202, G. A. R., Lima,
Ohio, and in politics is a republican; he has
always been a hard-working, industrious man,
and has reared an excellent family of children.
Few families, if any, stand higher in the esti
mation of their neighbors, than his.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

417

>--t,ACOB A- NONNAMAKER, a respected
A citizen of Bluffton, Allen county, Ohio,
A J a veteran of the Civil war and present
commander of Robert Hamilton post,
No. 262, G. A. R., was born in Hancock
county, Ohio, May 30, 1845, and is a son of
Ami and Lucinda (Hondshell) Nonnamaker.
Ami Nonnamaker was born in Wurtenberg,
Germany, December 10, 1809, and came to
America with his parents, his father, Andrew,
settling in Fairfield county, Ohio, where he
passed the remainder of his days. Ami there
grew to manhood and there married his first
wife, Miss Hondshell; in 1836 he removed with
his wife and two children to Hancock county,
where the remainder of his children were born
— thirteen in all — in the following order: An
drew, Eli, Catherine, Nancy, Mary, John,
Jacob, George (who died at the age of four
years), Henry, David, Samuel, Lucinda and
one that died in infancy. Mrs. Lucinda Non
namaker having died in Hancock county, Mr.
Nonnamker made a trip to Fairfield county and
there secured, as his second helpmate, Mrs.
Ann Saliday, and to this union were born four
children, viz: Elizabeth and Lucy A., twins,
and Franklin C. and Sylvester J. M. Mr.
Nonnamaker, as a pioneer of Hancock county,
first cleared up a farm of 160 acres, to which
he added, through his thrift and industry, un
til he owned, in Orange township, 480 acres,
and at his death, which occurred October 28,
1884, at the age of seventy-four years, ten
months and eighteen days, he gave all his
children a good start in life, leaving land to his
sons, and to his daughters $1,000 each in cash.
In his younger days he had been a very strong
man, was very industrious and consequently
successful. He early became a member of the
Evangelical church, in the faith of which he
died, and was always respected for his strict
integrity and charitable disposition. In poli
tics he was a democrat, but was loyal to the

Union and had two sons in the Civil war-
John J. and Jacob A., both of whom served
in the same company, and the record of both
being identical, it will be given in full in the
biography of our subject, Jacob A.
Jacob A. Nonnamaker received a good dis
trict school education and lived on the home
farm until, at the early age of sixteen years,
he enlisted, at Cannonsburg, Hancock county,
in company G, Fifty-seventh Ohio volunteer
infantry, under Capt. J. Wilson, for the period
of three years, unless sooner discharged be
cause of the cessation of hostilities, but at
nearly the close of three years, January 1,
1864, he veteranized, at Bellefonte, Ala., for
three additional years, in the same organiza
tion, and served until honorably discharged at
Little Rock, Ark., August 14, 1865 — his
muster out taking place at Columbus, Ohio,
December 10, 1865. He fought at Shiloh and
in the siege of Corinth (forty days). He was
also in the battles of Holly Springs, Grenada,
Shewalla, LaGrange, Morning Sun, Wolf River
Bridge and in several battles in Tennessee, the
names of which he does not remember; was at
Yazoo, Miss., Chickasaw Bayou (a four-day
fight), Arkansas Post, the campaign at Steel's
Bayou, Miss., at Walnut Hills, Grand Gulf,
Champion Hills, Vicksburg, and in the siege
and assault of Jackson, Miss. His regiment
next then returned to Vicksburg and thence by
way of land to Memphis and Stevenson, fight
ing two battles on the way; he was then
at Missionary Ridge — his regiment having
marched three days and nights without sleep,
excepting the naps they caught while march
ing, and in this condition went into the fight;
next, the regiment marched from Chattanooga
to Knoxville, Tenn., and to Bellefonte, Ala.,
and here veteranized. Mr. Nonnamaker, in
the first Atlanta campaign, fought in the bat
tles of Resaca, Dallas, Marietta, Kenesaw
Mountain (and assault), and was in the front

418

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

line of the Fifteeth army corps, under Gen.
John A. Logan; was in front of Atlanta when
Gen. McPherson was killed, June 22, 1864,
and later was at Jonesboro, Ga. ; was then
with Sherman in his march to the sea, took
part at Fort McAllister, and was in many
skirmishes on the march through to Savannah,
whence the regiment went by boat to Buford's
Landing and took part at Columbia, S. C,
and Bentonville, N. C, whence it went to
Goldsboro, and was present at the surrender
of Johnston; was in the grand review at Wash
ington, D. C, after which it was sent west to
Louisville, Ky., and thence to Little Rock,
Ark. Mr. Nonnamaker sustained a few inju
ries during his service, receiving a slight scalp
wound, another over the right temple, and.
also had his left hand disabled, but never was
confined to hospital.
After the war Mr. Nonnamaker worked as a
carpenter in Hancock county, Ohio, until 1868,
on July 4th of which year he married, at Find
lay, Miss Jennie Rogers, who was born in
Demorestville, Canada, August 9, 185 1, a
daughter of Rev. J. and Catherine (Howell)
Rogers. Rev. Mr. Rogers, a Presbyterian
minister, was of Scotch-Irish descent, but was
born in Ireland in July, 1808, and graduated
from Belfast in 1828. He was pastor of Dem
orestville Presbyterian church for twenty-two
years, and was married in that town, the union
resulting in the birth of seven children. After
his marriage, Mr. Nonnamaker settled in Bluff
ton and has here since followed carpentering
and contracting, doing an excellent business.
In politics he is a democrat and is an honor
able and respected gentleman. To the nnion
-of Mr. and Mrs. Nonnamaker have been born
two children — Clarence and John — (the latter
dying at the age of fifteen years). The family
reside in a pleasant dwelling of their own, and
are highly esteemed by all who know them
throughout the county.

aLEMENT L. ODUM is a native of
Marion township, Allen county, Ohio,
was born on the homestead April 36,
1863, is one of the ex-assessors and
is a rising young farmer.
Richard Odum, father of Clement L. Odum,
was born in Franklin county, N. C, and was
a farmer by vocation. From North Carolina
he went to Virginia when a young man, and
later came to Ohio and located in Clermont
county, where he married Miss Catherine
Runyan, December 11, 1852. This lady was
a daughter of David and Elizabeth (Lamon)
Runyan, and was born in Brown county, Ohio,
March 19, 1825. David Runyan, father of
Mrs. Odum, was a native of Virginia, born in
1793, and when ten years old came to Ohio
with his father, William Runyan, who located
in Brown county at first, but later removed to
Warren county, where he cleared up a farm of
200 acres and passed the remainder of his life,
dying in 1 860. To him and his first wife were
born Parmelia, Hester, John, Wilhelmina,
James, William, Elizabeth and Catherine.
The mother of this family was called away
when Catherine (Mrs. Odum) was a little girl,
and then Mr. Runyan married Rebecca Sharp,
who became the mother of nine children, as
follows : David, Jackson, Simon, Hiram,
Mary, Martin, Abigail, Julia Ann and Hannah.
In 1 86 1 Richard Odum moved from Clermont
county to Allen county and settled on a farm
of forty acres, from which a small patch had
been cleared away, but Mr. Odum succeeded
in clearing up the entire tract and in making a
model farm, which is still the family home
stead. Eight children blessed the marriage of
Richard Odum, viz: David, Hannah, Saman
tha, Rebecca, Clement L. (our subject), Flora
B., Alice and Frances. The parents of this
family were strongly adherents of the United
Brethren church, in which the father was a
class leader. In politics he was a democrat.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

419

Mr. Odum was a hard-working man and a
skillful farmer, and highly respected for his
integrity of character. , Mrs. Odum still resides
on the homestead.
Clement L. Odum was very well educated
in his youth and thoroughly trained to farm
ing, a calling he has ever since followed. Mr.
and Mrs. Odum were among the founders and
organizers of the United Brethren church at
Fairview, Ohio, in which Mr. Odum is a
trustee and of which Mrs. Odum is a faithful
member. In politics Mr. Odum is a democrat
and is a very popular man with the party. In
1893 he was elected assessor of Marion town
ship and served two years, greatly to his own
credit, and to the entire satisfaction of his con
stituents. He possesses the entire confidence
of the people of Marion township, and also
of the people of the county.
Of the children born to the second mar
riage of Richard Odum, David married Jennie
Holmes, and is a farmer of Miami county,
Ind., with six children: Hannah is married to
Thomas Wert, and has two children; Re
becca is the wife of Rev. John N. Holmes, of
Dunkirk, Ohio, and is the mother of three
children; Flora is the wife of William Coch
ran, Jr., a manufacturer, and has four chil
dren; Alice is married to L. D. Seitz, a con
tractor of Delphos, Ohio, and Frances is the
wife of J. B. Peters, a farmer and school
teacher, near Kempton, Ohio. It is needless
to say that the entire family stand as high in
the esteem of their various communities as they
stood in Marion township.

HARON J. OSMON, now a leading
farmer of Allen county, Ohio, was
born in Bath township, in same
county, February 16, 1844, and de
scends from an old Virginia family, that early
became settlers in Ohio.

Brazelia Osmon, the grandfather of our
subject, was a native of the Old Dominion,
and was a blacksmith and farmer. He served
in the war of 18 12, and was a pioneer of Allen
county, there being but two houses in the now
city of Lima when he arrived here. He en
tered a farm, of 160 acres, from the govern
ment, and this land he subsequently cleared
up and converted into a good homestead. He
reared a family of eleven children, viz: Mary,
Phoebe, Sarah, Rhoda, Elizabeth, Aaron,
Abraham, died near Lima, in 185 1, Ebenezer,
now living in Wisconsin, Brazelia, deceased,
Rachael, deceased, and Lydia, now living at
Ada, Ohio, wife of Barton Holland, ex-sheriff
of Allen county. The father of this family
was a whig in politics, but later became a re
publican. He died near Lima, in the faith of
the Baptist church, at the age of eighty-five
years, his wife having preceded him to the-
grave some years previously.
Abraham Osmon, son of Brazelia Osmon,.
and the father of the subject of this sketch,
was also a native of Virginia, and was a young
man when he came to Ohio, and entered a
tract of 120 acres, in Bath township, Allen
county, which tract he likewise converted into
a fertile and profitable farm. He married Miss
Charity Tunget, the marriage resulting in the
birth of ten children, viz: John J., who died
at the age of seven years; Mary E., who was
first married to Levy Spiker, who died a pris
oner of the war of the Rebellion, at Anderson
ville, Ga. ; she then became the wife of Joseph
Bressler, also deceased; William C, now re
siding at Marion, Ind.; Martha J., wife of J.
H. Atmar, now residing in Lima, Ohio; Eliz
abeth A., died in infancy; Francis M., died at
Petersburg, Va., near Cheat Mountain, was a
member of company H, Twenty-second regi
ment Ohio volunteer infantry; Aaron J., our
subject; George R. ; Harrison H., who died in
infancy, and Lewis L., of Perry township,

420

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Allen county. The mother of these children
died June 28, 1877, in the faith of the Method
ist church, and is buried in Bath township;
and the father died December 15, 185 1, a
member of the Methodist church, and lies
beside her.
Aaron J. Osmon was reared a farmer and
remained with his parents until May, 1864,
when he enlisted at Lima, in company F, One
Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volunteer infan
try, and later in company B, One Hundred
and Ninety-second Ohio volunteer infantry,
under Col. Butterfield. He participated in
the battles of Fort Beards, Fort Sumner, Fort
Reno, Rockville and others, in the Shenan
doah valley, and was honorably discharged in
August, 1865. He then returned to Allen
county, Ohio, and purchased a farm of 143
acres in Perry township, where he has since
made his home.
December 30, 1866, Mr. Osmon married
Miss Amanda R. , daughter of -Asa Hungeford
of Allen county, but formerly of New York.
This marriage has been blessed with eleven
children, born in the following order: Fran
ces Hill, born December 17, 1867; Martha
Ellen, born July 14, 1869; William Herbert,
born March 26, 1871; Emma Lenore, born
June 1, 1873; Lewis Hungeford, born Febru
ary 15, 1875; Alton Lawrence, born April 2,
1876; Royal Edwin, born November 8, 1878;
Charity Agusta, born January 31, 1881; Asa
Hungeford, born January 31, 1881; infant
daughter, born April 25, died May 5, 1883;
Ralph Waldo, born July 26, 1884.
The parents are members of the Methodist
church and live in full conformity with its
teachings. Mr. Osmon is very popular with
the republican party, and in 1893 was elected
by that party county commissioner by a
majority of forty-one over George Kanall, of
Lima, the democratic nominee. Fraternally
Mr. Osmon is a member of G. A. R. post, of

Westminster, and also Mart Armstrong post,
No. 202, of Lima, Ohio. He is likewise a
member of George R. Taylor's command, No.
8, U. V. U., department of Ohio; of the
Auglaize grange, No. 347, P. of H. Mr.
Osmon is an adept at farming and has a well
improved and fertile farm, which he has
earned through well directed industry and in
telligent management. He is public spirited
and generous, a friend of education, and con
tributes freely to the support of church and
school. He is highly respected for his integ
rity and strightforwardness in all his transac
tions, and socially stands the peer of any
man in the county of Allen, his family enjoying
the same distinction.

>-j»AMES PARKER, a highly respected
A farmer of Marion township, Allen
A 1 county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier, was
born in Richland county, about 1837,
a son of Thomas and Rachael (Ford) Parker,
the parents of two children — James, our sub
ject, and a daughter, who died young. Thomas
Parker died ere the memory of our subject had
reached its retentive power, and the mother
married Samuel Buzzard, to which union were
also born two children, when the mother was
again left a widow and sought a home in
the west.
James Parker, on the death of his step
father and the departure westward of his
mother, went to live with John Enslen, a
pioneer and farmer of Sugar Creek township,
Allen county, with whom he found a good
home, and, although he received but little
schooling, was thoroughly inducted into the
art of farming. August 8, 1862, Mr. Parker
enlisted at Gomer, Allen county, in company
E, Capt. John Walters, Ninety-ninth Ohio
volunteer infantry, his company, the last year
of the war, being consolidated with company

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

421

I, Fiftieth Ohio infantry. His term of enlist
ment was for three years, unless sooner dis
charged by reason of the cessation of hostili
ties, and he faithfully served until honorably
discharged at Camp Dennison May 24, 1865.
He participated in the battles of Lookout
Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and Ringgold;
also took part in the Atlanta campaign, and
fought in the battles of Resaca, Kenesaw
Mountain, Pumpkinvine Creek, and Perryville,
Ky., and was in numerous skirmishes. He
was also at Rocky Face Ridge and in the
siege of Atlanta, and near the close of that
campaign was taken sick with scurvy, was laid
up in the hospital at Marietta, Ga., four
weeks, and then was granted a furlough home
for thirty days. At Chattanooga he was in
the convalescence hospital a short time, was
one month in hospital at Nashville, Tenn.,
and at Louisville, Ky. , eight weeks, and was
finally sent to Camp Dennison, where he suf
fered from a bad form of his disorder until his
final discharge — since when he has never seen
a well day.
The marriage of Mr. Parker took place
October 20, 1866, with Mrs. Mary (Sherrick)
Stocky, daughter of Samuel and Barbara
(Stemen) Sherrick. Her father, Samuel
Sherrick, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
a son of John Sherrick, a pioneer from Penn
sylvania, of German descent. Samuel came
to Allen county from Fairfield county, cleared
up a farm from the woods, and reared a re
spected family of children, viz: Henry J.,
Mary, Nicholas, Margaret, Lydia, Samuel L.
and Mahala. After marriage, Mr. Parker
settled on his present farm of forty acres in
the woods of Marion township, of which farm
six acres only had been cleared, but which is
now thoroughly drained and cultivated. The
union of Mr. and Mrs. Parker has been blessed
with seven children, born in the following
order: Isaac, Emma M., Thomas L., Bar

bara A., Lizzie G., Laura B. and Lenora. In
politics Mr. Parker is a republican, and in re
ligion he and wife adhere with sincerity to
the teachings of the United Brethren church.
As in war, so in peace. Mr. Parker has es
tablished an excellent- reputation, and few
men in the township stand higher in the es
teem of its citizens.

m.

'ILLIAM PATTON, a thrifty farmer,
an ex-soldier and a native of Marion
township, Allen county, Ohio, was
born in 1844, descends from an old
Pennsylvania colonial family, and is a son of
John and Rachael (Clamon) Patton, natives of
the Keystone state and the parents of eight
children, viz: Andrew, Hannah, Ann, Mary,
Frederick, William, Philip and Susanna. John
Patton, the father of this family, came directly
from Pennsylvania to Allen county, Ohio,
many years ago, was a well-known farmer, and
here passed the remainder of his days, dying
the owner of a handsome farm of forty acres;
Mrs. Rachael Patton is also deceased.
William Patton, our subject, was but a
small boy when his parents were taken from
him, and his recollections of his father are
very faint. He was reared among strangers
and early began to earn his living by working
for the farmers of Allen county, performing his
allotted tasks with alacrity until his enlistment,
when between seventeen and eighteen years of
age, at Gomer, to serve three years, if the war
should not sooner terminate. He was enrolled
at Lima, August 6, 1862, as a private, in com
pany E., Capt. John Walters, Ninety-ninth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until the
close of the war — nearly three years — when he
was honorably discharged, at Salisbury, N. C,
June 26, 1865. Among other battles, he took
part in the following: Stone River, January 2,
1863; Chickamauga, September 19, and 20,

422

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

1863; was in the charge up Lookout Mountain,
called "the battle above the clouds," Novem
ber 24, and at Missionary Ridge, November
25, 1863, and was also at the battle of Ring
gold, Ga. He was also through the entire
Atlanta campaign, including the fights at
Dalton, Resaca, Pumpkinvine Creek, Burnt
Hickory and Kenesaw Mountain; was next
under Gen. Thomas in the campaign against
Nashville, where he fought two days, De
cember 15 and 16, 1864 — annihilating the
rebel general Hood's army. He was never in
hospital, nor captured nor wounded, but on
one occasion barely escaped death — a rifle ball
passing above the right ear and cutting off the
hair in its course. Mr. Patton was a brave,
alert, and cheerful soldier, was in all the
marches, skirmishes and engagements in which
his regiment participated, and made a record
not surpassed by any of his comrades from
Allen county, nor, indeed, by any member of
the regiment.
After the war Mr. Patton returned to Allen
county and re-engaged in farm work. In
April, 1866, he married Miss Catherine Jacobs,
who was born in Seneca county, Ohio, in 1846,
a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Boley) Jacobs.
Jacob Jacobs came from France, settled in
Seneca county, Ohio, was there married, and
became the father of six children— Joseph,
Louis, Peter, Mary, August and Catherine.
Mr. Jacobs was a farmer, owning forty acres
of land, on which he died when Mrs. Patton
was but fifteen months old. His widow was
next married to Louis Fosty, bore him three
children — Benjamin, John and Martin — and
still lives in Seneca county, on a farm of 100
acres. After marriage, Mr. Patton continued
his farm work as a hired hand until 1877,
when he bought a farm of twenty-three acres,
and here have been born his ten children —
Philip Newton, Sarah J., Mary Susan, Louis
Andrew, Albert B., John William, Ellen E.,

Frank P., Grover Cleveland and Robert Ed
ward. Mr. and Mrs. Patton are members of
the Methodist church; in politics he is a demo
crat, and has served as supervisor.
Philip Newton Patton, son of our subject,
married Margaret Stevick, is a farmer of
Marion township and the father of one child;
Mary Susan, daughter of our subject, is mar
ried to Clemens Rollerson, a farmer of Spencer
township, Allen county, and also has one child;
Sarah J. is the wife of Isaac Keller, a farmer
of Marion township, has one child. The old
comrades of William Patton glow with pride
when they speak of his military career, his
gallantry in battle, and his promptitude in
responding to every call to duty, and what
prouder tribute could an old soldier expect?

at

ILLIAM C. PELTIER, a prosper
ous farmer of Marion township, Al
len county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier
of the late Civil war, was born
August 16, 1837, in the county named, and is
a son of one of the early pioneers. Antony
Peltier, grandfather of our subject, was a na
tive of Canada, of French descent, and came
to the United States in early manhood and lo
cated at Detroit, Mich., where he became an
Indian trader, lived there through the war of
18 12, and after that contest moved to Maumee
City — now South Toledo — where he continued
to traffic with the Indians until his death, at
an advanced age, in the faith of the church of
Rome. James Peltier, son of Antony, was born
in Detroit in August 1806, learned the French
and English languages, and, like his father,
became an Indian trader. About the year of
1830, at Findlay, Ohio, he was married to-
Jane Clark, daughter of John and Sarah Clark.
In 1834 he moved to Lima, and in 1835 set
tled in Sugar Creek township, a mile and a

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

423

quarter north of Elida, where he cleared up a
farm, on which he resided until 1863, and then
settled on the farm now occupied by his son
William C. His death took place in Bluffton,
Ohio, at the age of over eighty-three years.
He and wife were members of the Methodist
church, in which he was a local preacher for
over twenty years, and in politics was a repub
lican. Following are the names of the six
children born to James Peltier and wife:
Louisa, now Mrs. S. J. Brand, of Bluffton;
William C, John W., Enos, Joseph S. (de
ceased) and 'Charles W. Of these, four of
the sons served in the late Civil war, in Ohio
regiments. William C. Peltier, subject of this sketch,
was reared on his father's farm, received a
good education, and for twenty-three winters
taught shool at intervals in Sugar Creek and
Marion townships, Allen county. August 1 1 ,
1862, he enlisted at Lima in company E,
Ninery-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, Capt. J.
C. Walters, for three years or during the war,
and served until July, 1865, when he was hon
orably discharged at Salisbury, N. C. He
fought at Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain
(where he was wounded in the side by a rifle-
ball), and was on the Atlanta campaign, from
Dalton to Atlanta, Pumpkinvine Creek, Burnt
Hickory, Kenesaw Mountain, and at the fall
of Atlanta; was then with Gen. Thomas at
Nashville and fought in the two-days' battle of
December 16 and 17, 1864, and, in fact, in
all the battles and skirmishes in which his
regiment took part.
On his retnrn to Allen county he resumed
school-teaching and farming, and August 16,
1866, married Miss Leah A. McBride, who
was born September 18, 1842, in German
township, Allen county, Ohio, a daughter of
Alexander and Leah (Wolf) McBride. Alex
ander McBride was of Scotch-Irish extraction,
was a pioneer of Allen county, and he and wife
15

were the parents of ten children, viz: Levi,
Lewis, Alexander, Nelson, Benjamin, Eli,.
Leah A., Mary J., Martha and Rebecca. Of
the sons, four served in the Civil war — Levi,
Lewis, Alexander and Benjamin. Mr. Mc
Bride died on his farm at the age of seventy
years, a member of the United Brethren church
and in politics a democrat. After his marriage
Mr. Peltier settled oh forty acres of land in the
woods of Marion township, purchased with his
own money. This farm he cleared up and
added to, from time to time, until he has
now 160 acres of as good farming land as there
is in the county, well improved and under-
drained. Mrs. Peltier was called home No
vember 18, 1887, dying in the faith of the
United Brethren church. She was good wife
and fond mother, and her death was deeply
and -sincerely mourned by the bereaved hus
band and children. In politics Mr. Peltier
is a republican, is a good citizen, and is
highly respected for his integrity and straight
forwardness.

QASPER POHLMAN, a practical and
successful farmer of Marion township,
Allen county, was born in Putnam
county, Ohio, February 1, 1844. He
is a son of Mathias and Gertrude (Applebaum)
Pohlman. He was reared on a farm, and
received a good common-school education.
At the age of eighteen he began to learn the
trade of blacksmith at Delphos, and he fol
lowed this trade for seventeen years. On
May 6, 1868, he married Miss Josephine
Koordt, daughter of Joseph Koordt. She was
born in Germany, and died about 1872. Mr.
and Mrs. Pohlman were the parents of two
children, viz: Joseph and Anna. Mr. Pohl
man married, for his second wife, Miss Mar
garet Schmitz, daughter of Joseph Schmitz,
and to this marriage there have been born

424

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

eleven children, viz: Frank, August, who
died at the age of fourteen years,; Bernard,
Charles, Alexander, Josephine, Julia, Katie,
Antone, Henry and Willie.
In 1878, Mr. Pohlman, abandoning his
trade as blacksmith as a means of making a
living, settled on his present farm, then con
sisting of eighty-three acres. Here he has
worked faithfully and industriously, improving
the farm and improving and erecting other
buildings. He has also added to the size of
the farm, so that now it contains ninety-seven
instead of eighty-three acres. Among the
noticeable buildings Mr. Pohlman has erected
on his farm is a fine, new residence, which
makes a most comfortable home for himself
and his family. He has a very substantial
barn, and other good buildings. What prop
erty Mr. Pohlman has he has accumulated and
acquired by his own industry and economy,
and it is proper to refer to him as one of the
self-made men of Allen county. In religion
he is a devout Catholic, and has done his full
share toward building up his church in Delphos.
He is a very liberal man for his means, and
is in every way practical and sensible. He
has always been a hard-working man, and is
bringing up his children in the fear of God and
in the love of their country.

aLEMENS POHLMAN, one of the
well-known citizens of Marion town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, residing on
his farm in the edge of Delphos, is a
native of Hanover, Germany, having been
born in the neighborhood of the town of Melle,
October 2, 1840. His parents were Casper
M. and Clara (Hensle) Pohlman, the former
of whom was a carpenter and general wood
worker. He brought his family over to Amer
ica in October, 1844, and came direct to the

farm on which his son resides. At that time
there were only a few families in this locality,
the place being then known as section No. 10.
The canal had been opened in the spring of
the same year he came, and Delphos was un
known, what is now the city being only a few
log cabins. He purchased first only forty
acres, but afterward added to the first tract
until he owned altogether seventy -one acres.
After coming here he worked at his trade,
building churches, mills, etc. , in different parts
of the country. His death occurred in June,
1 88 1, in his eighty-first year. His wife died
in June, 1876, in her sixty-sixth year. On the
same ship that Mr. Pohlman and his family
came over in, was Father Bredeick, the
founder of Delphos and of Saint John's Ro
man Catholic church.
To the parents ten children were born,
three of whom are now living, as follows:
John, a farmer of Delphos; Mary, now the
wife of Frederick Louse, a farmer of Marion
township, and our subject. Clemens Pohl
man was four years old when he came with
his father to Delphos, and he has resided here
ever since. He secured his education in the
parochial school at Saint Mary's college in
Cleveland. In 1865 he was married to Berne-
dina Brinkman, who was born at Glandorf,
in Putnam county, Ohio, February 22, 1844,
and is the daughter of Frank Brinkman, a na
tive of Hanover. To Mr. and Mrs. Pohlman
seven children have been born, as follows:
John; Clara, now the wife of Jacob Thourenin,
of Canton, Ohio; Theresa, now the wife of
Joseph Wiesgerber, of Delphos; Henry, de
ceased; Annie, deceased; Josephine and Rosa.
Mr. Pohlman and family are members of the
Saint John's Roman Catholic church. John
Pohlman, deceased, was born in the kingdom
of Hanover, Germany, August 15, 1833, came
with his parents to America in 1 844, having
always resided in Delphos, owned a farm and

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

425

other property. He was a member of Saint
John's Roman Catholic church, and died April
17, 1895.

at

'ILLIAM D. POLING.— The. par
ents of William D. Poling came to
Allen county, Ohio, in October,
1845, Just a half century ago at this
writing. They were Benjamin and Elizabeth
Poling; the father died July 19, 1895, at the
age of eighty years and six months, but the
mother is still living at the advanced age of
seventy-nine years. The known record of the
Poling family begins with Rodney and Margaret
(Black) Poling, who were natives of Virginia
and the great-grandparents of our subject.
They had four sons, Samuel, John and Benja
min and another whose name is omitted, all
of whom came to Ohio, where their^ lives were
spent. Samuel, the grandfather, who served
in the war of 1812, was a great hunter and a
pioneer of Fairfield county, Ohio. He mar
ried Elizabeth Stemen, daughter of Peter and
Magdaline Stemen, of Virginia. There was
born to them a family of thirteen children, six
sons and seven daughters, all of whom lived to
maturity. Their names are as follows: Peter,
of Fairfield county, Ohio; Benjamin, the father
of our subject; John and Samuel, deceased;
Noah, of Hocking county, Ohio; Ezra, of Van
Wert county, Ohio; Rachael, deceased wife of
William Funk, of Fairfield county, Ohio;
Mattie, wife of David Weaver, of Fairfield
county, deceased; Mary, wife of Abner Elder,
of Fairfield county, deceased; M. Nancy, wife
of Noah Welty, of Fairfield county, deceased;
Elizabeth, deceased; Margaret, wife of Nathan
Tucker, of Highland county, Ohio; Louisa,
wife of Bartel McGinnis, of Van Wert county.
Benjamin Poling, the father of William D.
Poling, our subj'ect, was reared on a farm, and
received a limited education; in 1841 he was

married to Miss Elizabeth Short, who was
born in Pennsylvania, September 7, 18 17, a
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Donaldson)
Short, who came from Ireland and located in
Philadelphia. The parents of William D. had
five children: Anna M., deceased: our subject;
Mrs. Rachael Laman; Mary E. and Samuel A.
William D. was born prior to his parents com
ing to this country in 1845, and locating on
eighty acres of timber land in Marion township,
which was improved to the extent ot a small
log cabin and two acres cleared.
In time the father put the entire eighty
acres under cultivation and purchased forty
acres more adjoining. He was a sturdy pioneer
and a thoroughly enterprising man, domestic
in his habits, always refusing public recog
nition as regards office. Politically he was a
democrat of the Jefferson type and lived con
sistently with his doctrines.
William D. was born April 19, 1843, was
reared in the country and educated in the
common schools. At the age of twenty
he began teaching, and thenceforth taught
winters and followed the carpenter's trade dur
ing summers. He had graduated from the
commercial schools of Pittsburg, the only part
of his education received abroad, and for
eighteen years he made teaching his pro
fession in winters — all in Allen county, except
one term in Indiana county, Pa. In every
good substantial way he has liberally assisted
in the building up his county and home inter
ests, and is a moral and financial force in the
community. In 1881 he was elected by the
democrats of Allen county to the office of
auditor and was re-elected for another term,
and was then appointed to fill a vacancy ten
months longer. In September, 1888, his official
career expired. He remained at the county
seat until the following July, when he moved
to the farm, on which he erected a handsome
residence, in which he now lives. His farm

426

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

consists of 200 acres, 160 acres in Amanda
township and forty acres in Marion, which he
devotes to agriculture and stock raising. On
November 18, 1869, he was united in wedlock
to Miss Kesiah Baxter, daughter of James and
Malissa Baxter. Mrs. Poling was born in Allen
county, August 21, 1844. Of this marriage
nine children are now living: Malissa A. ;
Arthur B. ; Mary E. ; James B. ; Bertha B. ;
Rachel A.; Corrol B., deceased; William B.
and Clarence D. Mr. and Mrs. Poling are
members of the Methodist church and Mr.
Poling is superintendent of the Sunday-school.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Poling are prominent in
the social world and leaders in society; each
casts a moral and healthful influence wherever
they go, and no public enterprise or worthy
undertaking is passed by them without receiv
ing very liberal support. They are both strong
advocates of good schools and aid as largely
as possible to the success of the same, and
both are highly esteemed wherever known.

aHARLES C. POST, deceased, was
one of the old and highly respected
citizens of Amanda township, Allen
county, Ohio. He was born in Wash
ington county, Pa., July 27, 1800, where he
spent his boyhood days. He was the son of
Jeremiah, who was born in New York, and
who removed to Pennsylvania about the year
1775. The family dates back several genera
tions to German ancestry. In 1822 Mr. Post
moved to Richland county, Ohio, and twenty
years later settled in Amanda township, Allen
county, and located in what is now known as
Post Mill, which he erected in 1843, where he
engaged in the milling business for several
years — being a millwright by profession. For
three years previous to his coming to Allen
county he was located at Upper Sandusky,
constructing mills for the Indians. After he

had operated the mill in Amanda township for
a few years he moved to his farm in sections
Nos. 8 and 17, which consisted of 540 acres,
where he made many valuable improvements.
He was elected to the Ohio legislature in 1855
and held at different periods many of the
township offices. He died March 27, 1884,
and his wife died February 22, 1886. Before
her marriage Mrs. Post was a Miss Elizabeth
Bryant, a cousin of William Cullen Bryant,
and a relative of the first Bryant of Washing
ton county, Pa. She was born March 13,
1 801. A family of eight children were born to
them, five of whom grew to maturity : Mar
tha, wife of Cyrus Hoover, of Spencerville,
Ohio; Leonides H. ; Adam C. ; Isaac B. and
Charles G. With the birth of the republican
party Mr. Post became identified with it and
was a member of the Methodist church.
Leonides H. Post was born August 9,
1832. His boyhood was spent at home and
in Oberlin college, Ohio, and at the age of
fifteen he engaged in the trade of a stove
molder, at Lima, Ohio. In 1852 he made a
trip to California via New York, returning
by way of New Orleans, in 1854. August 2,
1854, he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza
J. Stewart, daughter of Samuel Stewart, since
which time he has lived in Amanda township,
where he owns a farm of 200 acres of finely
improved land, there being none superior to it
in the county, the entire estate indicating the
thrift of the owner. He has contributed more
than any other man in his section to the im
provement of draft horses, having owned
seven blooded breeding horses, in company
with Mr. Hoover. He also raises a high
grade of cattle, having introduced the short
horn and other breeds well known.
Politically Mr. Post has always been a
stanch republican, but at present is a strong
advocate for free coinage of silver. He has at
different times filled several of the local offices

OF ALLEN COUNTY,

427

of the township and has proved himself an effi
cient and trustworthy public servant. His
marriage has been blessed by the birth of four
children, viz: Samuel A., Charles C, Ed
ward G. and Leonides H., Jr. The family
are Baptists in religious profession. The son,
Charles C, was married May 19, 1884, to
Miss Ida Crites, daughter of Isaac and Eliza
beth Crites. She was born February 22, 1862,
and died March 24, 1889, leaving two chil
dren, Clar B. and Ida G. Mr. Post is one of
the progressive young -farmers of the township
and owns a farm of 171 acres. Politically he
is a populist and lives in full faith of its suc
cessful future.
The Stewart family, alluded to above, was
represented among the very earliest settlers of
Allen county, Ohio; by William and Samuel,
who came to this county in 1824. They were
natives of Pennsylvania and were of a family
of ten children. Their parents were Matthias
and Elizabeth Stewart. Samuel Stewart was
born in Lycoming county, Pa., grew to man
hood in Champaign county, Ohio, where he
was married, and two years after that event,
came with his wife and one child, to Amanda
township, and entered a tract of land in sec
tion No. 9, where his daughter, Mrs. Leonides
Post, now lives. His brother William entered
land at the same time, adjoining him on the
west. Here they made homes and spent the
balance of their lives. Four children were
born to Samuel, viz: Thomas, Elizabeth,
Eliza J. and Matthew; the last named died in
childhood, as did Thomas. Samuel Stewart
was a man of rare and noble qualities — was
open-hearted and generous and ever ready to
lend a helping hand whenever needed. He
was public spirited and enterprising and was
among the first in all good works and under
takings, and was one of the first board of
county commissioner's of Allen county. His
first wife dying, he was married a second time,

and to this marriage two children were born,
but both died in infancy. Mrs. Post's mother's
name was Thomas and her father, Capt.
Thomas, was a soldier in the war of 18 12 and
was afterward killed by the Indians in Logan
county, Ohio, near Bellefontaine, about 181 5.

^~V*AMUEL A. POST.— Modern farming
V^S&T 1S distinctively different from that
K^J kind of agriculture carried on by the
pioneers. With the pioneer it was
not necessary to do anything more, after clear
ing his land, than to cultivate the soil. The
modern farmer has, beside the cultivation of
his farm, to attend to its fertilizing and its
underdraining. All of these he must do in a
scientific manner if he would secure the best
results. Samuel A. Post is one of the secien-
tific farmers of German township, Allen county,
and is illustrating by his own course and ex
perience what farming can be developed into.
Mr. Post was born in Amanda township, Allen
county, Ohio, November 22, 1856, and is a
son of L. H. and Eliza J. (Stewart) Post. By
them he was early instructed in all the duties
of a farmer's boy, and was given a good com
mon-school education, he remaining at home
with them until he had attained to manhood.
In 1876 he entered the Western Normal uni
versity at Ada, Ohio, with the view of taking
a thorough normal course of study; but after
he had been in attendance one term he was
compelled to return to his home, and give up
school, on account of ill health. Here, how
ever, occurred probably one of the most event
ful and probably also the happiest event of his
life, that of his marriage, which is noticed
more in full in the following paragraph.
Not long after his return to his home he
married Miss Sarah A. Crites, daughter of
Jacob and Emily Crites, who was born in Ger
man township, Allen county. Mr. and Mrs.

428

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Post have a family of five children, viz: Will
iam Stewart, born October 19, 1881; Cora
Ethel, born November 22, 1882; Louie Crites,
born November 10, 1884; Charles B., born
December 8, 1888, and Clarence M., born De
cember 7, 1892. After his marriage Mr. Post
settled down on the farm he has occupied ever
since, and which he still occupies. It consists
of seventy acres in section No. 29, German
township, and this farm, since he located upon
it, he has made, by careful and skillful tillage
and improvement generally, one of the best
farms in Allen county. One improvement
worthy of note is his fine frame house, erected
in 1890, with all modern improvements, and
with a depth of seventy-two feet. His stock
barns are also of the most improved kind, as
also are his grain barns. Another very notable
improvement is the putting down of nearly
30,000 feet of underdraining tile, which, by
its carrying off the surplus water, lengthens
out the season for cultivation, and warms up
the soil, so that his farm is more productive
than it otherwise would be, in addition to be
ing pleasanter to cultivate. Mr. Post is en
gaged principally in general farming and stock
raising, keeping only the best grades of stock.
Thus it will be seen that he is one of the lead
ers in adopting modern and improved farm
methods, and in this way sets an example to
his neighbors, and exercises an influence upon
them that he could not do in any other way,
and which would at the same time be so bene
ficial to them. Politically Mr. Post is a strong
republican, and though never seeking office, he
has been selected as a member of the school
board. Religiously he is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and lives con
sistently with his profession. Altogether Mr.
Post is one of Allen county's representative
men, and his industry and well directed energy
have placed him in the front rank of her best
citizens.

eLIHU REED.— The Reed family is
one of the ancient families of the
United States, having come to Amer
ica, probably from England, previous
to the Revolutionary war. Like many other
families of Allen county, they originally came
from Pennsylvania, the father of Benjamin
Reed living on the Shawnee Flats, in the
famous Horse Shoe Bend, on the Pennsylvania
railroad, and it was there that Benjamin was
born, probably about 1782. He was taken by
his father when a lad,, to Trumbull county,
Ohio, where he was reared and where he re
ceived his education, but as that was before
the days of what are now called common.
schools, the facilities he enjoyed were not of
the best.
It is not now apparent whether any of the
immediate ancestors of Benjamin served in the
Revolutionary war, though they probably did,
as he himself, when the war between the
United States and England came on in 181 2,
gave evidence of the flow of patriotic blood in
his veins by then going into the service of
his country. In April, 1833, Benjamin Reed
settled in Shawnee township, Allen county,
Ohio, having made the entire trip from Trum
bull county by means of wagons, reaching the
old Shawnee council house on Sunday, April
10, 1833. Upon his arrival there he entered
eighty acres of land, that upon which Isaac
Hall now lives; but he did not settle on that
piece, but on 160 acres which he purchased,
where Elias Bowsher now lives. This farm he
cleared, improved and resided upon for forty
years, and it was the scene of most of his ac
tive labors as a pioneer farmer. Late in life
he sold this farm, and retired to spend the re
mainder of his days with his son, Elihu, dy
ing in 1 87 1.
While yet living in Trumbull county, Ohio,
he married Miss Jane De Courcy, whose par
ents were among the early pioneers of that

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

429

county. By her he was the father of the fol
lowing children: Peter, Sally, Kate, Henry,
all deceased; Jane, deceased wife of Henry
Crider; Mellie A., deceased wife of Sarhuel
Crider; Elihu, the subject of this sketch;
Thomas and Isaac, both deceased; and Eliza,
wife of Ellis Darling. The mother of these
ten children died in 1851. Both parents were
members of the Shawnee Methodist Epis
copal church, and stood high in the opinion of
all their neighbors and friends.
Elihu Reed, the third son of Benjamin
Reed, was born September 23, 1823, in Trum
bull county, Ohio, and came with his father to
Allen county. In the fall of 1852 he pur
chased his present farm of 120 acres, upon
which he has lived ever since. This farm he
cleared and improved, himself and his sons
doing most of the hard work necessary to be
done. Leaving his sons at home to attend to
the farm and his family, he enlisted in Febru
ary, 1865, in company C, One Hundred and
Twenty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, and
served until the following September, when he
was discharged. Mr. Reed married Miss Mar
garet Robbins, daughter of John Robbins, who
settled in Shawnee township in 1839, and by
this marriage he had . the following children:
Mellie A., wife of Joab Bowsher; Jane, wife
of A. V. Mechling; Benjamin, deceased; Will
iam, John, Lorinda, wife of Theodore Fris-
inger, and Charles.
Mr. Reed is thus one of the oldest contin
uous residents of Allen county, and ever since
his arrival has been both an interested spec
tator of and active participant in its develop
ment. He has been an industrious and honest
man, of private enterprise and public spirit,
kind and charitable in disposition, the friend
of the needy and the upholder of morality and
religion. Now at the age of seventy-three he
is spending the evening of his days in the calm
reflection of a life well spent.

'w * ORACE ADELBERT REEVE, the
l'^ leading member of the Delphos
A. .r (Ohio) bar, was born March 29, 1854,
at Hancock, Delaware county, N. Y. ,
where his father was a pioneer merchant.
Our subject was educated principally in the
New York academies, and in 1873 began the
study of law in Deposit, N. Y., continued his
study in Lebanon, Ohio, and was admitted to
the bar at Findlay in April, 1875. He then
taught school in Ohio for one year, and in No
vember, 1877, located in Delphos and began
the practice af law, going into partnership
with James K. Reeve, his brother, now a well-
known author of Franklin, Ohio. That part
nership lasted about two years, and then Mr.
Reeve practiced alone until September 15,
1 89 1, when he formed a partnership with John
W. Roby, who had studied under Mr. Reeve,
which connection continued until the fall of
1893. His next partnership was with Judge
Lindemann, who had been eight years probate
judge, retired from office February 9, 1894,
and came at once to Mr. Reeve, with whom a
co-partnership was formed March 1, 1894.
Mr. Reeve was soon chosen as director of and
attorney for the Ohio Wheel company; acted
as director of and attorney for the Electric
Light & Power company, and also as attorney
for the Delphos National bank, as well as di
rector of and attorney for the Delphos Savings
& Loan association from its organization. He
is also president of the Delphos school board,
and has acted as member of the board of edu
cation, in the Delphos union school district,
for eight years, proving an able and efficient
adviser and one at all times ready to grasp and
secure everything that would aid in promoting
the educational interests of his city. In poli
tics Mr. Reeve affiliates with the republican
party. Mr. Reeve was happily married, in 1879,
to Miss Mary Frances King, the accomplished

430

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

daughter of John King, of Delphos, and by
this union have been born four bright children,
viz: Adelbert King, Horace Kent, Rowena
and William Addison. Mr. Reeve is still a
young man, full of vigor and in the prime of
his intellectual endowments. He is a ripe
•scholar and a lawyer of astuteness and prac
tical ability.

I-* ON. THEODORE D. ROBB, judge
^^ of probate and a well-known attor-
11 F ney at law at Lima, Allen county,
Ohio, was born in Bellefontaine,
Logan county, Ohio, June 29, 1843. The
genealogy of the Robb family in America is
traceable to a gentleman who came from Scot
land between the years 1760 and 1770, but
whose name cannot now be recalled, but it
is certain that his sister, Elizabeth Robb, was
born in Aberdeen, Scotland, sometime in the
decade of 1740 and 1750, and a year later her
brother came to America and landed in Hali
fax, Nova Scotia. From this unknown brother
have descended, it is thought, all of the Robb
family, with which this history has to do, now
residing in the United States. These data,
however, may be relied upon: There was one
family of five children, of whom George Robb
and Sarah, his wife, lived and died in Morgan
county, Va. (now W. Va.), and were parents
of the following children: Robert, David,
William, Josiah and Sarah. John Robb and
Sarah, his wife, had born to them eight chil
dren, named Isaac. John, James. William,
Robert, Joseph and two daughters, whose
names cannot be recalled to memory; the
elder of these daughters, however, was married
to Caleb McNulty, and the younger to Charles
Hay. James Robb, the fourth of this family,
settled in the Carolinas, and all trace of him
is lost. The fifth brother, Joseph Robb, was
the progenitor of the Robb family of Allen

county, Ohio. He married Mary Hill, the
union resulting in the birth of fourteen chil
dren, viz: John, Rachael (both of whom died
in infancy), Robert, Joseph, Rachael (the
second), Rebecca, Samuel, John (the second),
William, Mary, James, Sallie, David and
Joshua. The latter of this family, Joshua
Robb, is supposed to have been in York county,
Pa., about the year 1786; he married in Wash
ington county, in the same state, Mary, daugh
ter of Rev. Thomas Marquis, on August 27,
1807, and between 18 12 and 181 5 came to
Ohio. Here he first located in Guernsey
county, and hence he moved to Logan county,
where he became associate judge under dem
ocratic auspices. In 1852, Joshua Robb came
to Lima, and purchased a farm on the north
boundry line of the city, where he lived a few
years, and then retired from active labor to
the city, where he died January 26, 1865, his
wife having preceded him to the grave Sep
tember 24, 1863. The children of these par
ents were as follows: John, born July 19,
1808, in Washington county, Pa., died July
19, 1827; Joseph was also born in Washing
ton county, Pa., May 30, 18 10, and died in
September, 1865; Thomas M. was born in the
same county, October 25, 1812; David was
born January 25, 1815, in Guernsey county,
Ohio; Sally was born in Guernsey county,
Ohio, May 16, 18 17; Samuel was born in
Guernsey county, July, 6, 18 19; Mary was
born in Guernsey county, November 22, 1821,
and died November 6, 1856; Vance, born May
4, 1823, in Guernsey county, died in March,
i860, and Minerva Ann, born March 18, 1829,
in Logan county, Ohio, was married to Joseph
Thomas and died in Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo
county, Michigan.
Thomas M. Robb, the third son of Joshua
Robb, was born in Washington county, Pa.,
as stated above, but his education was acquired
in Guernsey county, Ohio, in the best of al

HON. THEO. D. ROBB.

HON. THOMAS M. ROBB,
DECEASED.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

433

institutions of learning — a printing office, at
Cambridge, where he found the arcana of
" ars conservation at tern." When he had
learned his trade he "tramped" all over the
•country — to Zanesville, Cincinnati, Philadel
phia, Baltimore, and other minor points. He
•eventually returned to Logan county, where
he edited the Western Aurora, of Bellefontaine,
in 1836; the Gazette of Marysville, Union
county, Ohio, in 1842, and the same year was
editor of the Logan Democrat. In 1844 he
was appointed clerk of the court of common
pleas of Logan county, and filled the office
seven years. He was, prior to this, appointed
postmaster of Bellefontaine, and served several
years with credit to himself and to the satisfac
tion of the community. In 1853 he was ad
mitted to the bar of Allen county, having
studied under Judge William Lawrence, and
then formed a partnership with C. N. Lami-
son of Lima, Allen county, Ohio, which part
nership lasted until 1856, when he was elected
judge of the probate court, which position he
held for six years. He then resumed the
practice of his profession for a year, when the
firm of Robb, Hughes & Robb, was formed,
of which he was the senior member, and which
terminated in 1874, owing to the breaking
down of the health of the senior member of
the firm. In the fall of 1872 Mr. Robb was
elected as a democrat to represent Allen county
in the lower house of the state legislature, and
served one term; he also served a term as
mayor of Lima, and was for some time chair
man of the democratic county committee,
being a very popular and prominent man in
his party. In i860 he joined the Presbyterian
church of Lima. The marriage of Thomas
M. Robb took place July 31, 1835, to Ann
Moore, daughter of James Moore, of Wash
ington county, Pa. Mrs. Ann Robb is still
living at the age of eighty-five years. She
bore her husband eight children, as follows:

Edward L., born June 15, 1836; went to
Texas in 1855, served as a captain in the Con
federate States army, and was formerly judge
of Angelina county court and member Twelfth
Texas legislature; Josephine Mary, born Octo
ber 28, 1838, is the widow of J. H. Armstrong,
formerly treasurer of Allen county, Ohio;
Thomas B. (deceased) was born February 24,
1 841, went to Texas in i860, served in the
Fourth Texas cavalry, C. S. A., during the
rebellion, returned to Lima, Ohio, on a visit,
and here died; the fourth child, Theodore D.,
will be made mention of further on; Caroline,
born July 20, 1848, died in infancy; Anna C,
born May 31, 185 1, is the wife of Ira P.
Carnes, superintendent of construction in the
Lima Locomotive Machine shops; John M.,
was born March 28, 1854, and is a resident. of
Piatt county, S. Dak.; the eighth child, Frank
R., was born November 14, 1856, and is a
resident of Galveston, Tex.
Theodore D. Robb, the fourth child in the
family of Thomas M. Robb and wife, came with
his parents to Lima when a lad. He learned
the trade of a carpenter after reaching ma
turity. He followed his trade, however, for
only four years, when a higher impulse led
him to the study of law under his father.
After a due course of preparation under the
instruction of his father, he entered the law
department of the Michigan State university,
at Ann Arbor, from which he graduated in
1870. In 1869, however, he had received a
license to practice, having been admitted to
the bar of Allen county, Ohio, his studies
under his father having fully qualified him to
pass the necessary examination. His first
practice was in partnership with his father,
but later the firm of Robb, Hughes & Robb
was formed, but the firm name was later
changed to Hughes & Robb, in 1874, through
the retirement of the senior partner, the
father of Theodore D., after which the busi-

434

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ness was continued under the style of Hughes
& Robb. This partnership was terminated by
the election of Mr. Hughes to the bench,
when a new partnership was formed by Mr.
Robb uniting with ex-Judge James Mackenzie,
under the firm name of Mackenzie & Robb,
which was continued for five years, when
Judge Mackenzie retired from practice. Mr.
Robb was then alone in business for a year,
and for the following five years practiced under
the firm name of Robb & Leete. In 1894 he
was elected by the democratic party probate
judge of Allen county, of which office he is
now the incumbent. Ever prominent as a
man of business, he has served as president of
the board of trade of Lima, and is also presi
dent of the South Side Buildiug & Loan
association. In all the public affairs of Lima
he has taken a most active part and has
proven himself to be a valuable and useful
citizen. Fraternally he is a member of Lima
lodge, No. 205, F. and A. M., and of Lima
lodge, No. 162, B. P. O. E. The marriage
of the judge took place January 21, 1894, to
Mrs. Mary C. Owen, daughter of Thomas
Mungiven, of Dunkirk, Ohio, and by this
union one child, Theodore D., Jr., was born
June 21, 1895.

>-j'OSEPH REIF, proprietor of the Del
ft phos Bottling works, and one of the
A J well-known citizens of Delphos, was
born in Memphis, Tenn., June 2, 1862,
and is a son of Joseph and Johanna (Webber)
Reif. The father was born on board a vessel
while his parents were on their way from
Baden, Germany, to the United States, and
the mother was born in Elsass, Germany.
They were married in Buffalo, N. Y. From
Buffalo, Joseph Reif went to Minnesota, but,
not liking that part of the country, went to

Memphis, where he secured a position as head
cutter in a boot and shoe factory. When the
late war broke out, rather than go into the
southern army he left Memphis and returned
to Minnesota. That was in 1862, when his
son Joseph was born. His wife joined him
with her children in Minnesota, and two years
later, 1864, she died in Saint Paul. He is
now a citizen of near Bear Lake, Minn. , twelve
miles from Saint Paul. Three children were
born to the parents, our subject and his elder
brother and sister, all three of whom are still
enjoying life's happiness.
When our subject was less than three years
old he was taken by his uncle, Jacob Riehl,
who was then living at Fremont, Ohio, and
by his uncle and aunt he was reared. He at
tended school for about five years at Fre
mont, and then, his uncle removing to Millers-
ville, he went to school at that place until he
was thirteen years old. He then took a posi
tion as clerk in a grocery store at Millersville,
where he remained about seven years. In
1884 he came to Delphos and engaged in the
bottling business, establishing the bottling
works of which he is now proprietor. Two
years later his uncle, Jacob Riehl, came to
Delphos, and the two were in partnership for
five years, when Mr. Riehl retired from the
business, and Mr. Reif has run the works ever
since/ meeting with success. He bottles the
beer of Steinle & Co., of Delphos, and the
beer of Berghopp & Co., of Fort Wayne, and
also bottles all kinds of mineral water for the
Delphos trade and for points within fifteen and
twenty miles from the city.
Mr. Reif was married July 17, 1882, to
Catherine Schachtele, who was born in Belle-
vue, Ohio, July 4, 1862, and is a daughter of
John Schachtele. To this union two sons have
been born, as follows: Carl J., born on Feb
ruary 7, 1885, and Louis H., born February
7, 1 89 1. Mr. Reif and family are members

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

435

of the Saint John's Catholic church, and he
is a member of the Catholic Knights of Amer
ica, branch No. 438.

*w ¦* ENRY REITER, the well-known ar-
|r\ chitect and builder of Bluffton, Allen
Jl ,F county, Ohio, was born in Centre,
Pa., February 22, 1834, and descends
from a Revolutionary family of Dutch origin,
his great -gandfather having come from Holland
and served as cavalryman in the American
army during the Revolutionary war. In one
of his battles this hardy warrior was cut across
the abdomen with a saber, and, with his intes
tines protruding, he himself bound up this
wound and went on fighting until he could
obtain help. He later became a substantial
farmer in Lehigh county, Pa.
George Frederick Reiter, father of our sub
ject, was a native of Pennsylvania, and in
that state married Catherine Baylor, daughter
of a' fife-major of the Revolutionary army,
and this union resulted in the birth of ten
children, as follows: Manassa, Jacob, Mary
A., Catherine, George, William, James, Reu
ben, Henry and Elizabeth — a warlike family
withal, as Mr. Reiter himself was a patriot in
the war of 181 2, had six sons in the Civil
war, and also five grandsons and a son-in-law
in the same struggle. Among these, beside
our subject, may be named Jacob, the second
son, who enlisted for three years, and died
four days after being mustered out; George,
who enlisted for three years and was killed in
the battle of the Wilderness; William, who
enlisted for three years, veteranized and served
through to the end; James, who served in a
cavalry regiment until the close; Reuben, who
served three years, and is since deceased. The
three sons of Manassa, eldest-born of George
F. Reiter, were George and John, who served
three years each, and Isaac, who was killed

at Stone river. The son of Catherine Reiter
(Mrs. Founderstone), named John, served
three years, and William Raine, the husband
of Eliza Reiter, was also a three-year soldier.
George F. Reiter, father of our subject, was a
wagon-maker by trade, passed the major part
of his life at Centre, Bellefonte county, Pa.,
and was in very comfortable circumstances; he
was a member of the Presbyterian church, in
the faith of which he died at the age of about
fifty-one years; his widow lived to reach the
advanced age of ninety years, seven months
and twenty-seven days, and died in Trumbull
county, Ohio.
Henry Reiter, our subject, was but four
years of age when his father died, and at the
age of five years he was brought to Ohio by
his mother, who settled in Trumbull county,
where Henry was educated in the common
schools, learned the carpenter's trade, grew to
manhood, and married, November 25, 1862
(Thanksgiving day), Miss Margaret E. Wins
low, who was born in Trumbull county July
29, 1844, a daughter of Edward and Jane
(Gilliland) Winslow. The Winslows were of
English descent, and Edward, father of Mrs.
Reiter, was an early settler of Vernon, Trum
bull county, Ohio; he was the father of five
children, Lucy, Jane, John, Margaret E. and
George M. He died in Vernon, a consistent
member of the Methodist church and a highly
respected citizen.
Henry Reiter, our subject, enlisted at San
dusky, Ohio, April 27,. 1864, in company B,
One Hundred and Seventy-first regiment, Ohio-
volunteer infantry, and served until honorably
discharged; at Sandusky, August 20, 1864,
having more than served out the term of his
enlistment — 100 days. He served in Ken
tucky, and at Cynthiana, that state; eight com
panies of his regiment (two companies being on
duty elsewhere) were captured by the notori
ous rebel raider, John Morgan, but were

-436

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

¦paroled the next day, the rebels being so
-closely pursued by the Uuion forces that they
were unable to retain their prisoners. Mr.
Reiter performed his duties faithfully and
bravely, and, although never confined in the
hospital, suffered from an inflammation of his
eyes, which are still affected. Returning from
the war in the spring of 1865 Mr. Reiter
brought his family to Allen county, settled in
Bluffton, and has here since followed his call
ing, meeting with flattering success. The
marriage of Mr. Reiter has been blessed with
-eight children, viz: MaryF., AltheaA., Osie
E., Orvis F. S. (who died at the age of twenty-
years), Katie K., Callie V., Louis C. and
Josephine. In politics Mr. Reiter is a republican, has
served in the town council and has been a
member of the. board of health; he is a mem
ber of Robert Hamilton post, No. 262, G. A.
R., in which he has served a term as junior
-vice-commander. He is a highly intelligent
gentleman, has reared his family in respect
ability, and is an honored and useful citizen,
ever ready to perform all duties that may de
volve on him.

a APT. WILLIAM B. RICHARDS, one
of the highly respected citizens of
Bluffton, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of
the Civil war. was born in Chester
county, Pa., February 28, 1838, and is a son
of George W. and Margaret (Burns) Richards.
The education received by Capt. Richards in
his youth was limited to that furnished by the
district schools of his day. When yet young
he became a clerk at McComb, Hancock
county, Ohio, in which position he remained
for some time. When the war of the Re
bellion broke out, filled with the fires of patri
otism, he enlisted at Findlay, Ohio, where he
was then clerking, in company F, Twenty-

first regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, for
three months. This was in April, 1861, under
the first call of the president for 75,000 men.
After serving about four months he was hon
orably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, and re-
enlisted at Findlay, in company D, Ninety-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years
or during the war, under Capt. James A. Bope.
He was promoted to orderly sergeant, and
then for meritorious conduct to second lieu
tenant, and still later to first lieutenant, and
was afterward offered a captain's commission,
which he declined to accept, because he did
not wish to succeed an able officer. He served
with his company until the consolidation of
his regiment with the Fiftieth Ohio regiment,
and was then assigned to command company
E, and served as captain of his company until
the close of the war, being honorably dis
charged at Salisbury, N. C, in 1865. He
was in the battle of Skerry Creek, W. Va. ,
July 17, 1861, at Chaflestown, W. V., and at
Cincinnati and Covington, Ky. , during the ex
citement caused by Morgan's raid, and in a
fight at Cynthiana, Ky. He was promoted to
orderly sergeant for meritorious conduct and
was detailed as one of Gen. Wright's body
guards from Cynthiana to Lexington, Ky., to
Louisville, Ky., and thence to Seymour, Ind.,
where the sidewalks had to be cleared at the
point of the bayonet to permit the passage of
Gen. Wright. After this he soon rejoined his
regiment near Cynthiana, Ky., and with it fol
lowed the rebels through Kentucky. He was
with it in many battles and skirmishes, some
of which are here given: Perryville, Ky. ;
Stone River, Chicamauga, Lookout Mountain,
Missionary Ridge, and all the battles of the
Atlanta campaign, Taylor Ridge, Pine Knob,
Nashville, and many others too unimportant to
enumerate. At the battle of Stone River he
was shot through the throat, the ball entering
the right side of the neck and being cut out

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

437

just under the skin on the left shoulder. He
walked to the hospital where the ball was cut
out, the surgeons believing death would result
from the wound. The ball, which was a round
ounce one, the captain yet has in his posses
sion. While in the hospital at Nashville, he
was looked upon by the surgeons and attend
ants as one of those who must die, and but
little attention was given him, and though he
suffered intensely, and came near dying, yet
his strong constitution carried him through.
Previous to the battle of Murfreesboro he re
joined his regiment, and was in that battle.
At the battle of Pine Knob he was shot
through the right thigh, was sent to the hos
pital on Lookout Mountain a short time, and
then was granted a short furlough home. Re
covering again from his wounds, he rejoined
his regiment and was in the battles of the At
lanta campaign, was afterward in the battle of
Nashville, encountering on the forced march
from Centerville, Tenn., to that city a heavy
force of rebel soldiers within eight miles of
Nashville. Turning west, they went to Char
lotte and thence to Clarksville and thus on to
the Union lines. Having served his country
faithfully three years and four months, he was
at length honorably discharged at Salisbury,
N. C, as stated above
The war being over, he returned to Find
lay, Ohio, was there a clerk in a store, and
was married at that city in December, 1866,
to Miss Phoebe Swartz, born in 1847, of Ger
man ancestry, a daughter of Henry and Mar
garet (Gribble) Swartz. Henry Swartz, her
father, was an old settler of Findlay, and for
many years a merchant of that place, his sons
now conducting the business. His children
are as follows: Edward, Charles, Frank,
Phoebe and Caroline. Mr. Swartz is one of
the honored citizens of Findlay, and one of the
most solid men of the place.
To Capt. and Mrs. Richards there have

been born five children, as follows: Maggie,
Carrie, Edith, Edward and Elmer. The cap
tain is a member of Robert Hamilton post,
No. 262, G. A. R. , and was that post's first
commander. In politics he is a republican
and has been a member of the board of educa
tion. For four years he was in business at
Carey, afterward locating in Bluffton, and
buying grist-mill property, in which he was
engaged some twelve years. He is a member-
of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and was
an elder for many years. He has filled all the
chairs in the Bluffton lodge, I. O. O. F., in
cluding that of noble grand. He is also a
member of the encampment, in which he has-
also filled all the chairs, including that of
chief patriarch.
Capt. Richards descends from sterling Ger
man and Scotch-Irish ancestry. His grand
father, Richard, was a farmer of Pennsylvania,
and his father, George N. Richards, was a
pioneer of Hancock county, and reached the
ripe age of eighty-four years. His children
are as follows: Sarah, Matilda, Anna, Mary,
William B., Henry, Mark and Peter. Two of
the sons were in the Civil war, William B. and
Peter, the latter going in when a mere boy,
and afterward serving four years in the regular
army. Capt. Richards was a good and faith
ful soldier, performed every duty promptly and
cheerfully, and was in all the battles in which
his regiment participated, except when on ac
count of wounds he was unable to be present.
He is a man of high character and sterling worth.

at

* ALTER J. RICHIE, one of the
promising young attorneys of Lima,
Ohio, is a son of Judge John E.
and Margaret (McCoy) Richie. He -
was born March 21, 1867, at Bluffton, Allen
county, Ohio, and obtained his primary educa
tion in the public schools of Lima. He had -

438

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

exceptional opportunities for becoming profi
cient in the law, reading with his father and
with his uncle, Walter B. Richie, both of
whom are of high standing as lawyers. He
was admitted to the bar March 8, 1894, and
immediately began the practice of his profes
sion, still continuing actively, and bidding fair
to be the peer of any of his fellow-attorneys,
many of whom are superior men. He is also
at the present time filling the office of clerk
for the superintendent of construction of the
new government building at Lima, now in
course of erection. Politically Mr. Richie is a
democrat and can always be relied on to give
his assistance to his party at any time and in
any way that it may need, and he is in point
of fact considered one of the rising young
democratic politicians of western Ohio. Fra
ternally he is a member of Lima lodge, No.
91, K. of P., standing well with his order, and
also with the general society in the city of
Lima and Allen coun.y.

WOHN G. RIDENOUR, a very promi-
A nent and popular farmer of Allen
A 1 county, and justice of the peace of
Sugar Creek township, is of Pennsyl
vania-Dutch origin. There is a tradition in
the family that long ago seven brothers emi
grated from Germany, and landed in the New
England states. They later settled in New
York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and from
them have descended the numerous families of
Ridenours now to be found in all parts of the
United States.
The grandfather of the subject of this
sketch was named John. He was born in
Germany, and married Miss Christine Walters,
a native of Germany, and to them were born
John, Henry, Peter, Michael, George, David,
William, Mary, Catherine, Christine, Sarah,
Susan, Esther and Elizabeth. The father of

these fourteen children was a farmer in Wash
ington county, Pa., and was a good, indus
trious citizen. In religious belief he was a
Lutheran, lived to an advanced age, and died
in Fairfield county, Ohio, where he settled in
1809, becoming a man of considerable wealth.
George Ridenour, his fifth son and the
father of the subject of this sketch, was born
in Washington county, Pa., August 3, 1794.
When he was a child he was taken by his par
ents to Westmoreland county, that state, and
when eighteen years of age enlisted in the serv
ice of the government of the United States
in the war of 18 12-15, serving under Capt.
Spangler and Gen. Hooker, on the lake fron
tier. After the war was over he became a
farmer, and in November, 1820, he married
Miss Mary Conrad, in Fairfield county, Ohio.
She was born July 3, 1802, in Maryland, near
Hagerstown, and was a daughter of John and
Catherine (Adams) Conrad. To George Ride
nour and his wife there were born eleven chil
dren, two of whom died in infancy, the others
being as follows: Catherine, Christine, Doro
thea, John G., Sophia, Isaac, Mary, William
and Sarah. Dorothea married and died after
ward. Isaac died a soldier in the Civil war.
George Ridenour settled on land which he
cultivated, and he also owned a saw-mill,
which he ran in Fairfield county, where he
lived until 1829. He then removed to Sugar
Creek township, Allen county, and entered
eighty acres of land, then all in the woods.
This land he cleared and improved, and by
industry and thrift he added other acres until
he owned 200 acres in all, upon which he
made important improvements, and made
of it one of the best improved farms of those
days in the county. He had a good com
mon education in German and in English,
was an unusually intelligent man, was very
handy with tools, understood the carpenter's
trade, aud made many useful articles. Wooden

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

439

mold-boards, plows, coffins, and many other
things were the result of his handiwork. He
also had considerable skill as a surgeon, and
was accustomed to lance his patients and bleed
them, as was then the fashion for any ills. He
had also a knowledge of herbs, barks and
roots, and administered them according to his
own judgment. He also acted the part of
dentist, extracting teeth with an old-fashioned
punch, knocking them out. Afterward he used
an instrument called the pelican. He was well
known among the early settlers and was of
great use to them as long as he lived.
When he removed to Allen county in No
vember, 1829, he made the journey by wagon
and a four-horse team. There was then no
settlement at Lima, not a tree was cut, and
the Indians had a council house at Shawnee-
town. They however were always friendly to
those whom they could trust. The trail fol
lowed bridle-paths through the woods, and in
many places the road had to be cut through
the standing timber from Shawneetown to
where Mr. Jacobs now lives, his father being
one of the early settlers in the county. Mr.
Ridenour was also one of the first settlers,
nearly the entire county being a wilderness
when he moved into it. At that time deer and
wolves were plentiful; they were visible around
the cabin in the day time, and the wolves
could be heard at night, howling all around.
Mr. Ridenour's family then consisted of his
wife and five children, the youngest member
of the family having been born in Allen county.
He and his wife were members of the Lu
theran church, he assisting to establish the
Lutheran church in Elida. The first church
edifice of this denomination was a frame struc
ture, the second of brick. Before the erec
tion of the frame building, services were
held in the homes of the pioneers. Mr. Ride
nour was a popular man, and held the offices of
deacon and elder in his church. Politically he

was a democrat, and was widely known as an
honorable man, and his house was headquar
ters for the traveler and the prospective settler
in search of land. His hospitality was un
bounded, and in the homely phrase, now so
seldom heard, his ' ' latch string was always
out." He died on his homestead February 25,
1879, and his wife died January 11, 1892,
aged nearly ninety years. She was a woman
of remarkable constitution, and of many
virtues. John G. Ridenour, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, February
14, 1827, and was about two years old when
he was brought to Allen county by his parents.
He was reared among the pioneers in the old
log cabin, and thus became a pioneer himself.
His education was received in the log school-
house at Elida, then the best school-house
anywhere around. The school was supported
by subscription paid in by the patrons of the
school. David Ridenour, a distant relative of
the subject, was one of the early teachers
there. John G. Ridenour, however, did not
begin to attend this school until he was four
teen years of age, and then he attended but
two months in the winter season, the rest of
the year having to work upon the farm. Not
withstanding all these disadvantages he him
self began teaching school when nineteen years
of age, and received $5 per month, finding
himself, not even "boarding 'round." He
continued teaching for nine terms, one of
which terms was in Putnam county. His
uncle, Hiram Stotts, was sheriff of Allen
county, and Mr. Ridenour acted as clerk for a
term of four years, attending school at Lima
at the same time, and it was there he acquired
most of his early knowledge.
In politics Mr. Ridenour is a democrat and
was elected recorder of Allen county in 1857,
being re-elected in 186 1. He was deputy
treasurer of the county for two years, and was

440

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

also employed in the auditor's office. In 1854
he was engaged in mercantile business at Elida,
and then removed to the home farm, where
he has since remained. In 1881 he was elected
justice of the peace, and has held this office
ever since. On his farm he is engaged in rais
ing small fruits, in which he is quite successful.
In religion he is a member of the Lutheran
church, and has been one of the elders of his
church. He stands high among the people of
his township, and is as popular as. an official
as he is a man, his official career having made
him well known to all the citizens of the
county. His life is co-extensive with the his
tory of the county, and his is one of the hon
ored pioneer families of this section of the
country. Mr. Ridenour is really a self-edu
cated and a self-made man, and one of the
most popular officials Allen county has ever
had, and has a wide knowledge of affairs.

•^""V AMUEL O. RIDENOUR, one of the
*^^^* most experienced and skillful farmers
N._y of Perry township, Allen county, Ohio,
is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Oats)
Ridenour, was born in Allen county, Sep
tember 11, 1832, and is remotely of German
descent. Lewis Ridenour, great-grandfather of the
subject of this biography, came from his na
tive Germany to America prior to the Revolu
tionary war, and during that gallant struggle
was a teamster in the patriot army. His first
settlement was in Virginia, but he later moved
to Westmoreland county, Pa., where he fol
lowed farming until 1803, when he came to
Ohio and settled in Perry county, bringing his
wife and children, the latter numbering ten,
and comprising seven sons and three daughters.
The sons were named Matthias, David, John,
Jacob, Lewis, Isaac and Martin, all of whom
served in the war of 18 12, entering the army

as volunteers from Perry county, Ohio. David,
John and Isaac subsequently came to Allen
county and settled in Perry township, but the-
other four brothers passed the remainder of
their lives in Perry county. Of the three broth
ers whom came to Allen county, David never-
married, while the other two were wedded and
reared families; but this sketch will be confined
to John and his descendants.
John Ridenour, the grandfather of our sub
ject, was born in Virginia in 1785, accompa
nied his father to Pennsylvania and came with
him to Ohio. In March, 1831, having come
to Allen county, he entered a half section of
land in section No. 5, Perry township, where
he cleared up a farm of considerable dimen
sions. He married Miss Hannah Spahn, who
was born in Hagerstown, Md., and who came
with her parents to Perry county, Ohio. To
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour were born
the following children: Jacob; John, who died
in Perry township, Allen county; Matthias, re
sides in Paulding county; George, who also
passed away in Perry township, Allen county;
Rebecca, deceased wife of Solomon Wollet;
Hannah, deceased wife of J. L. Stevenson;
Phebe, deceased wife of Samuel Wollett, and
Amelia, also deceased. The death of John
Ridenour, the father of this family, occurred
on his farm in Perry township in 1874, and
that of his wife took place in July, 1879.
Jacob Ridenour, the eldest son of John
Ridenour, and the father of our subject, was
born in Perry county, Ohio, January 14, 1809,.
learned blacksmithing, and in 1831 came to
Allen county and settled on eighty acres of the
land his father had entered in Perry township
and on which his son, Samuel O., our subject,.
now lives. Here, in the latter part of 1832, he
established his blacksmith shop, and for many
years carried on the trade in connection with
farming. He was a stanch democrat in his
politics and took a lively interest in public

OF ALLEN COU*NTY.

441

affairs. He filled a number of township offices,
including that of trustee, and was an active,
useful and public-spirited citizen. He was a
good Christian and was one of the original
members of Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran
congregation, aided liberally with his means
toward the erection of its church edifice, and
was one of its early trustees.
The first wife of Jacob Ridenour was a
daughter of William Oats, of Perry county,
Ohio; she died in 1836, leaving three children,
viz: Samuel O., the subject of this sketch;
Jacob, who was a member of company K, One
Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer in
fantry, and who died from exposure while in
the service; and Catherine, who became the
wife of Daniel Losh and died in August, 1 860.
The second marriage of Mr. Ridenour was
with Mrs. Lovis Boyer, who bore the maiden
name of Mechling, and to this union six chil
dren have been born, named, in order of birth,
as follows: Rebecca, married to William
Verbryke; Phebe, wife of James K. Spear;
Emma, wife of J. G. Barr; Lovis, widow of
Isaac Lehman, of Indiana; Knox P., of Day
ton, Ohio; and John W., deceased. Jacob
Ridenour, the honored father of this family,
was called from earth November 9, 1879, and
the mother in 1872.
Samuel O. Ridenour, the gentleman whose
name opens this biography, was reared from
infancy to manhood on the old family home
stead in Perry township, Allen county, which
has never lost its charms for him and of which
he has purchased ninety acres, which, beside
" being arable land, contain within their bounds
several .flowing oil wells. He has this farm
under a rare state of cultivation and keeps it
in such a condition that it is justly called a
model farm.
Mr. Ridenour was a patriot in the days
when patriots were most in demand, and in
1864 enlisted in company A, One Hundred and

Eightieth Ohio volunteer infantry, was assigned
to the Twenty-third army corps, under Gen.
Schofield, and was present at the battle of
Kingston, N. C, which was one of the termin
ally deciding fights of the Civil war, and also
took part in numerous minor engagements or
skirmishes, receiving an honorable discharge-
at the end of nine months, on account of the-
close of the war.
Samuel O. Ridenour has been twice mar
ried. In 1870 he was united in matrimony
with Miss Mary C. Sellers, daughter of John
Sellers. This lady died in 1875, leaving two
children — John F. and Hattie (wife of Morgan
L. Harrod). The second marriage of Mr.
Ridenour was with Miss Elizabeth Swinehart,
daughter of Samuel Swinehart, of Perry county,
Ohio, And this union has been crowned by
the birtti of two children — Grover DeWitt and
Samuel O., Jr. In politics Mr. Ridenour is a
reliablegdemocrat, having always been faithful
to his "party, under whose auspices he has
served as township trustee, clerk and treas
urer. In religion he is a Lutheran and a
member of- Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran
congregation, whose house of worship, it will
be remembered, was erected in the days of
Jacob Ridenour, the father of our subject, who
contributed so freely toward its construction.
Samuel O. Ridenour is now recognized as one
of the most skillful agriculturists of Perry town
ship, and socially he and family are respected
and welcomed to the homes of not only their
immediate neighbors, but to those of their
neighbors living miles away.

^%ETER RIDENOUR, a thrifty and
1 m respected farmer of Marion township,
A Allen county, Ohio, springs from
sturdy Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and
is a son of Peter and Sarah Catherine (Con
rad) Ridenour. Peter Ridenour, the subject

442

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of this memoir, was born in Elida, Allen
county, Ohio, in 1841, and was but two years
of age when his father was taken from him by
death, and this misfortune necessarily resulted
in his receiving but a limited education. In
his youthful days, as he gained strength and
experience, he devoted himself to various
kinds of labor, chiefly that of the farmer, and
just before his majority he enlisted, August 8,
1 86 1, at Gomer, Ohio, in company E, Ninety-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry for three years,
or until the end of the war. He was honor
ably discharged at Nashville, Tenn., July 2,
1865, having taken part in the battle of Perry -
ville, Ky., and in a battle that occurred be
tween Perryville and Nashville; was also at
Stone river, was at Snow Hill and Tullahoma,
and in a dozen or more severe skirmishes in
the surrounding territory. At Chatanfoga he
was struck by a piece of shell, which crippled
his left hip and caused his confinement"! at hos
pital No. 2 for over a year, but part of this
time he was on detailed duty with the invalid
corps at Nashville. He was a good, brave
and faithful soldier, and was neyer missing
from his post of duty, save when disabled by
his wound. July 5, 1865, three days after his
discharge from his military service, Mr. Ride
nour married, at Nashville, Tenn., Catherine
Garvin, a native of Ireland, born about 1844,
a daughter of William and Bridget (Gibbons)
Garvin, and the eldest of five children born to
her parents, viz: Catherine, John, Michael,
Margaret and Maria. The father, William
Garvin, was an industrious and hard laborer,
and came to America when Mrs. Ridenour was
a little girl, leaving his wife and children in
the old country, and dying in New Orleans, of
cholera. Mrs. Garvin reached America soon
after her husband's death, bringing her young
family with har and supporting herself and
children by keeping boarders at Moscow,
Tenn., where she died within a few years after

her arrival. On the death of her mother,
Mrs. Ridenour became a nurse in hospital No.
2, was afterwards transferred to hospital No.
17, and performed her merciful and tender
duties as nurse three years, and while thus de
voting herself to the care of the sick and
wounded, formed the acquaintance of our sub
ject, who in time became her husband. Of
course it would be but an attempt in vain to
depict the sights of horror witnessed in hos
pitals by Mr. Ridenour and his wife, resulting
from wounds, disease and casualties, but which
they treated with a care and humane tenderness
peculiar to themselves.
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour
came to Allen county, Ohio, the birthplace of
Mr. Ridenour, and here the latter engaged in
farming, making a good livelihood and win
ning for himself and family the respect of all
who knew them. The family that have
blessed Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour consists of
nine children, who are named in order of
birth as follows: William, Maria, Edward,
Daniel, Matilda, Emma, Hermie, Harry and
Pearl, the last named of whom died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour are both members of
the United Brethren church and fully live up
to the teachings of the denomination in which
they have placed their faith, and never fail to
aid it in a pecuniary point of view, when its
material necessities demand such aid. In pol
itics Mr. Ridenour is a democrat; he votes as
his conscience tells him and fought as his con
science told him to fight. Of the children
born to Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour, William mar
ried Anna Laman, is a farmer of Sugar Creek'
township and is the father of two children;
Maria is married to Oscar Ludwig, a farmer of •
Marion township, and the mother of one child,
Edward is a farmer of Marion township, is
married to Matilda Cramer, and the whole
family is well circumstanced throughout the
county, as they well deserve to be.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

443

>^7*0SIAH B. ROBERTS, a wealthy farm-
A er, vice-president of the Ohio National
A I bank, and a well-known business man
of Bath township, Allen county, Ohio,
was born in Greenbrier county, Va. (now
W. Va.), in 1822, near the famous White Sul
phur springs, and is a son of William and
Hannah (Morrison) Roberts.
Thomas Roberts, grandfather of our subject,
was also a native of Virginia, and was the
owner of several large plantations in the south
ern part of the state; he married Catherine
Spurh, also a native of the Old Dominion and
* a relative of Martin Van Buren, of Kinder
hook, Columbia county, N. Y., and formerly a
president of the United States. From Virginia
Thomas Roberts removed to Kentucky, where
he died in 1838, a man of much prominence
in the state and of considerable consequence
in his local community.
William Roberts, son of Thomas and Cath
erine (Spurh) Roberts and the father of Josiah,
our subject, was born on his father's planta
tion near Winchester, Frederick county, Va. ,
and when a young man learned the carpenter's
trade. On attaining his majority he married
Miss Hannah Morrison, a daughter of Andrew
Morrison, of Greenbrier county, Va. , and in
1828 came to Ohio and located in West Lib
erty, Logan county, where he followed his
•trade until his death, which occurred in 1830
— a member of the Methodist church, and in
politics a whig. His children were four in
number, and were named as follows: / Josiah
B., our subject; Catherine, wife of Jacob
. Maus, of Westminster, Auglaize township;
i Margaret, deceased wife of C. D. French, of
Perry township, and Thomas, who died in
infancy. The mother of these children sur
vived until May, 1877, when she was called to
rest on the farm now occupied by her son,
Josiah, our subject.
Josiah B. Roberts, the subject proper of

this memoir, early became a merchant in his
native county and state and carried on a suc
cessful trade until he came to Bath township,
in 1839, and purchased 160 acres of land from
Samuel Tingle. On this land he has made all
the improvements upon it and wrought from
the wilderness one of the best farms in the
county. In 1840 he married, in Auglaize
township, Allen county, Miss Margaret, daugh
ter of Andrew Winrot, of Adams county, Pa.,
and this union was blessed with six children,
viz: William, who is the owner of a large
amount of real estate in Lima, and is also
largely interested in the oil business; Oliver,
who died from injuries received while serving
in the Civil war; Lenore, wife of H. A. Hol-
dridge, of Lima, Allen county; Viola, wife of J.
R. Dunjgjp, of Hardin county, Ohio; Thomas,
of Bathw|wnship, Allen county, and Alton, at
home. Fj.
Mr. Roberts is one of the most energetic
and conspicuous business men of Allen county.
He built the-French hotel and Commercial
block in Lnjja, and is now vice-president of
the Ohio National bank of that city. He owns
1,000 acres of land in Bath, Auglaize and
Perry townships, in Allen county, and stands
the peer of any business man in the county.
In religion he is a Methodist, and in politics a
stanch republican; for twelve years he held
the office as justice of the peace, and so keen
was his interpretation of the law that not one
of his decisions was ever set aside by the
higher courts. He is a model citizen and an
exceptionally prominent man.

^V^V AVID J. ROBERTS, one of the old-
I I est settlers of Sugar Creek township,
/A^J Allen county, one of the most sub
stantial farmers, and the honored
head of a highly respectable family, is a de
scendant of Welsh, or ancient British ancestry.

444

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

His great-grandfather was Robert Thomas,
which may appear strange to English readers,
but it should be understood that it was the
custom in Wales generations ago, as it also
used to be and perhaps is still in Sweden, to
confer upon the son as a surname the Christian
name of the father. In accordance with this
custom the grandfather of the subject was
named Thomas ap Roberts, or Thomas
Roberts, the " ap " meaning "the son of" or
simply "of." The family had for generation
lived on a farm in Montgomeryshire, which
from ancient times belonged to the estate of
Earl Powys, and one of the family lives on
the farm at the present day. This farm, it is
believed, belonged in ages gone by to the
Roberts family, but in feudal times was confis
cated by the lords of the manor in cigft strife,
so that the Roberts family thus BBt their
holding. |J
Thomas Roberts, the grandfather of the
subject, was born on the old Montgomeryshire
farm, married in Wales, and became the
father of Robert, who was a preeminent man
in his country, and also of Thomas, David,
Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary, the first two
coming to the United States, the rest remain
ing in Wales, marrying and rearing' families
there. Thomas Roberts was a prosperous
farmer and veterinary surgeon, a highly re
spectable citizen and a teacher of the Welsh
Congregational church. He lived to the
venerable age of eighty years, and died in
Wales, on the old homestead. Robert Rob
erts, the father of the subject, was born on
the old farm in Wales. He married Martha
Jones, and they became the parents of nine
children, viz: Richard, Mary, Thomas, Jane,
Edward, Martha, Robert, David J. and Evan,
all of whom were born and reared on the old
homestead. There Robert Roberts passed
his life, and died at the comparatively early
age of forty-nine. He was a member of the

Welsh Congregational church, and was a
teacher in the Sunday-school.
David J. Roberts, the subject of this sketch,
was, as were so many of his ancestors, born
on the old farm in Wales, named "Doley, "
May 17, 1828. He received a common En
glish education, was reared a farmer, and at
the age of twenty -three, in the spring of 185 1,
came to the United States, landing in New
York. He went first to Utica, and remained
there until the following fall, and then he came
to Ohio, and located in Allen county. Here
he at first worked for his uncle, David Rob
erts, in his mill at Gomer for a few years, and *
then, in 1855, or 1856, he engaged in farm
work. October 2, 1857, he married Elizabeth
Watkins, daughter of Thomas and Jane
(Evans) Watkins, the former being a son of a
prominent pioneer of Sugar Creek township.
Mrs. Roberts was born in 1833, and was
brought to Sugar Creek township when but
two months old.
After his marriage Mr. Roberts setlled on
a farm in Sugar Creek township, two and a
half miles northeast of Gomer. This farm,
which contained eighty acres, he cleared and
improved, and by persistent and patient in
dustry has made it a good, comfortable home.
Upon this farm he and his family lived until
1876. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have had born
to them two children, that have grown to ma- •
turity, viz: Martha M., who married John D.
Evans, a contractor of Columbus, Ohio, and
by him has two children; and Jennie E., wife
of John R. Jones, of Columbus, Ohio.
Mr. Roberts enlisted May 2, 1864, in com- •
pany F,One Hundred and Fifty -first Ohio vol- *
unteer infantry, and served his country until
he was taken ill of typhoid ferer, with which
he lay sick in hospital at Washington, D. C.
His regiment served in the fortifications around
Washington, and through his experience in the
war he has been much disabled. Mr. and Mrs.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

445

Roberts are members of the Welsh Congrega
tional church, in which he has been a deacon
for twelve years, and has contributed liberally
toward its support. He has always been a
true and strong republican, was one of the
original republicans of his county, and cast his
first vote for Abraham Lincoln for president in
i860. He has been honored by his party
friends at different times, having held the of
fice of township assessor for three terms, and
was land appraiser in 1890. He is a member
of the G. A. R. post at Delphos, and is one of
the leading citizens of his township, is well
known for his liberality and generosity, and is
highly esteemed by all. He and his wife are
members of the church at Gomer, and are
among the most prominent Welsh pioneers of
the county. The entire Roberts family are de
scendants from the best Welsh stock, and have
been and are among the best American citizens.
They are a fine illustration of what can be ac
complished by earnest, manly and honest efforts.

at

'ILLIAM W. ROBERTS, a sub
stantial farmer of Sugar Creek town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, and a sol
dier of the Civil war, was born No
vember 8, 1837. He is a son of Thomas
# Roberts, who was born in Montgomeryshire,
Wales, and was there married to Jane Will
iams, daughter of John Williams. He came
to the United States about 1828, and lived for
a time in Steuben and Schenectady counties,
New York state. He removed to Cincinnati,
Ohio, in 1832, at which time Cincinnati was
but a small town, located in the woods. Mr.
Roberts was offered one-half of twenty acres of
land if he would cut off the timber for the use
of steamboats, but the offer was not accepted,
much to the regret of himself in later years,
and of his descendants to the present time.

At one time he worked for the famous Nich
olas Longworth.
To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Roberts there
were born six children, three of whom grew to
mature years, viz: Jane R., John and Will
iam W. Mr. Roberts first settled, in 1838 or
1839, on forty acres of land in Sugar Creek
township, all in the woods. This land, by
dint of hard work, he cleared of its timber, and
by his industry and thrift became able to add
forty acres more to it, which eighty acres
made him a good farm and home. He and
his wife were members of the Welsh Congre
gational church, and assisted in building it up
from its very foundation. In his early life he
was an old-line whig, but later became a re
publican, on account of the tendency of the
democratic party to favor slavery. He died
an honoted citizen in June, 1886, at the age of
eighty wars. He was a man of rare strength
of constitution, and his moral character was as
invincible as his physical system.
William W. Roberts, the subject of this
memoir, was born in Cincinnati, November 8,
1837. His .^education was received in the
common school and he was brought to Allen
county when one and a half years old, in
1839, and was reared upon the farm. Early
in life he learned the carpenter's trade and has
worked at that trade, more or less, during life,
finding it of great use to him on his own farm.
In 1863 he enlisted in company F, One
Hundred and Fifty-first regiment Ohio volun
teer infantry, for one hundred days, under
Capt. Patrick. For meritorious conduct he
was promoted to sergeant, and served as such
during the rest of the period of his enlistment.
He recruited about sixty men for the service,
and served at Washington. D. C. , on the de
fenses around that city, at Fort Sumner, at
Fort Blair, and at Battery Cameron. He was
in the defenses at Washington when Gens.
Breckinridge and Early made their historic at-

446

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

tack on that city, and were so ingloriously
driven back into Virginia. He performed his
full duty as a soldier, promptly and cheer
fully, and was honorably discharged at Co
lumbus, Ohio.
Mr. Roberts was married in Sugar Creek
township, July 20, i860, to Miss Margaret J.
Jones, daughter of John D. Jones, for fuller
particulars of whom the reader is referred to
the biography of Owen A. Jones, elsewhere in
this volume. To Mr. and Mrs. Roberts there
were born six children that have reached ma
ture years, viz: Charles, Frank, Jennie, Ella,
William and Walter. Mrs. Roberts, who was
a member of the Welsh Congregational church,
and a most worthy woman and wife, died Oc
tober 17, 1 88 1, aged forty years. Mr. Rob
erts was married, the second time, in Lima,
March 10, 1882, to Miss Catherine! Hughes,
who was born June 8, 1856, in Morngomery-
shire, Wales, and is a daughter of Thomas
and Jane (Breese) Hughes. Thomas Hughes
was born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, August,
1 8 14, and was a son of Nathaniel and Mary
Hughes. By trade he was a carpenter, his
father having been a butcher. He and his wife
were the parents of six children that grew to
mature years: John, Thomas, Jane, Cath
erine, Ann and Margaret. Mr. Hughes has
always been a man of high character, and he
and his wife have long been members of the
Welsh Congregational church in Llanbrynn
Air. He is still living in Wales, at Glanrhyd,
or in English, "The Bank of the Brook," at
the age of eighty years and a highly respected
citizen. After the close of the war Mr. Roberts set
tled- in Sugar Creek township, on eighty acres
of land, which he has very much im
proved, and cultivated into a good farm. Po
litically he is a republican, and is a member
of the Welsh Congregational church. He is
a public-spirited man, and has always taken

an interest in having good schools, for the
public generally recognize the fact that the in
terests of education are best served by those
who believe in the common-school system.
He is well known far and wide as an honest
man and a patriot, and one that desires to see
his country prosper as well as he desired to see
it preserved. Mr. Roberts, by his marriage to
Miss Catherine Hughes, became the father of
two children, viz: Idris E., born in May,
1887, and Gladys M., born March 12, 1892.
They are now living at Gomer, are members
of the Welsh Congregational church, and
highly esteemed by all their neighbors and
friends.

*w * ENRY L. ROMEY, an ex-soldier of
l^\ the late Civil war and postmaster of
A . r Bluffton, Allen county, Ohio, is a na
tive of Switzerland, born in canton
Berne, October 19, 1843, and is a son of
Henry and Elizabeth (Conrad) Romey.
Abraham Romey, grandfather of our sub
ject, also a native of canton Berne and a sol
dier in the war between the Swiss and the
Austrian's, was the father of four children —
Henry, Abraham, Julia, and Catherine— and
lived to the great age of ninety years. His
son Henry, father of our subject, was born in
the canton of Berne, March 10, 18 15, received ,
a good common-school education and was
reared to farming. He married Elizabeth
Conrad, also a native of canton Berne and a
daughter of John Conrad. This lady died in
her native land, a member of the German Re
form church and the mother of four children,
viz: Henry L., Julius, Edward and Rosetta.
In April, 1854, Henry Romey, father of
our subject, embarked on a sailing vessel with
his children at Antwerp, and after a voyage of
thirty-three days landed in New York city,
whence he came to Ohio, and in the fall of

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

447

1854, settled at Beaver Dam, Allen county,
February 1, 1862; he there enlisted, for three
years, in company H, Seventy-fourth Ohio
volunteer infantry, was disabled in the battle
of Murfreesboro, Tenn., then was transferred
to Chicago to do guard duty over prisoners,
and was there honorably discharged. He had
two sons — Henry L. and Julius — who were
with him in the same company, and all served
their full term of three years. Mr. Romey is
still living at the age of eighty years, is a
member of the German Reform church, and
in politics is a democrat. He has been a hard
working man and is an honored citizen.
Henry L. Romey, the subject of this
memoir, who came to America with his father,
was partly educated in his native land and
partly in America. He here learned the trade
of carpenter, at which he worked while yet a
lad in Bluffton and vicinity until his enlist
ment, at the age of eighteen years, January
15, 1862, for three years, in the same com
pany with his father and two brothers, and
served until honorably discharged at Louis
ville, Ky., July 10, 1865, and mustered out
ten days later, at Camp Dennison, Ohio, with
the rank of corporal, having been promoted
for meritorious conduct. His two brothers
veteranized January 1, 1864, after the battle
of Chattanooga, and of course served until
mustered out after the cessation of hostilities.
Our subject participated in the following san
guinary battles, beside numerous skirmishes:
Murfreesboro, or Stone River, and Hoover's
Gap, Tenn.; Dug Gap, Chickamauga, Ga. ,
Lookout Mountain., Tenn.; Buzzard's Roost,
Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Chatta-
hoochie River, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta and
Jonesboro, Ga., and was shot in the left foot
September 1, 1864, which wound caused his
confinement in hospital three months at Atlanta,
Ga., and Nashville, Tenn. After recovery,
Mr. Romey took part in the battles of Averys-

boro and Bentonville, N. C. Having rejoined
Sherman's army at Savannah, Ga. , in January,
1865, he marched to Goldsboro, N. C, and
thence to Washington, D. C, where he par
ticipated in the grand review, and then returned
to Allen county, after being mustered out.
The marriage of Mr. Romey took place in
Bluffton, March 10, 1872, to Miss Rossie
Kuhni, who was born in canton Berne, Switz
erland, December 16, 1850, a daughter of
John and Barbara Kuhni, who brought their
family to America in 1854, and settled near
Beaver Dam, Allen county, Ohio. Here Mr.
Kuhni bought eighty acres of partly cleared
land, of which he made a fertile farm and be
came a substantial citizen. While on a visit
to the old country he died, leaving in America
his widow and four children, Fred, Gottleib,
Alexander and Rossie. Mrs. Kuhni then mar
ried John Stull, to whom she bore three
children — John, Jacob and William — and was
herself called away a few years since.
After his marriage Mr. Romey settled in
Bluffton and engaged in the furniture business,
for which he was well qualified, and for eight
een years did a most prosperous trade. To
his marriage have been born the following
children: Elizabeth, Carrie, William H., El
mer C, Samuel D., Richard E. and Freder
ick. Mr. and Mrs. Romey are consistent
members of the German Reform church, and
in politics he is a strong democrat. He is very
popular with his party and has served seven
years as township treasurer, five years as town
ship clerk, a number of years as a member of
the school board, and for two terms was
mayor of Bluffton. In September, 1894, he
was appointed postmaster of Bluffton, under
President Cleveland, and is acknowledged to
be one of the best and most obliging officials
who has ever held the position. He is a mem
ber of the G. A. R., in which he has filled the
office of treasurer and some of the minor offices.

448

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

He is also a member and past noble, grand of
Bluffton lodge, No. 371, I. O. O. F., and has
also filled the other chairs of the lodge. He
is a self-made man and has always been loyal
to his adopted country, and has been public
spirited and generous in measures intended to
promote the interests of his town and county,
and deservedly enjoys the sincere regard of all
his fellow-citizens.

>tt» ULIUS ROSENTHAL, one of the well-
A known citizens and business men of
A 1 Delphos, is a native of Nagelsberg,
Wurtemberg, Germany, born on July
30, 1857, and is the son of Max Rosenthal.
Mr. Rosenthal received a common-school
education in his native town, and remained at
home until his fourteenth year, and then went
to Stuttgart, capital of Wurtemberg, where he
learned the jeweler's trade, serving an appren
ticeship of four years. Then for one year he
was an assistant to the firm with whom he
learned the trade. Leaving Stuttgart he went
to the town of Ingelfurgen, Wurtemberg, where
for three years he was assistant in a jewelry
establishment. He then concluded to emi
grate, and in August, 1880, he came to the
United States, landing in New York city on
the fourth day of that month. He went di
rect from New York city to Rochester, N. Y. ,
where he had relatives living, and there he re
mained for four weeks, seeking for work in the
jewelry line. But being unable to find em
ployment in that city, on account of his not
being familiar with the English language, he
went to Peru, Ind., where he had brothers and
sisters living. In Peru he found work for three
months in a bagging-mill, working for his
brother. From Peru he went to Indianapolis
and spent six weeks in that city, working in a
clothing store. His health being poor just at
that time, he returned to Peru, where he spent

about two weeks, and then he went to Tipton,
Ind., and went to work in the clothing busi
ness for M. Haas, his brother-in-law, and his
present employer. He remained in Tipton for
seven years, and then, in 1886, returned to his
old home in Europe, where he spent about
four months. After his visit to Europe he re
turned to the United States and once more
went to work for M. Haas in Tipton, Ind., and
continued there for about two years. In April,
1888, Mr. Haas determined to start another
store, and taking Mr. Rosenthal in partnership,
established the Lion clothing house in Del
phos, under the firm name of Rosenthal &
Haas. When they first opened up in Delphos
their place of business was on the corner of
Main and Third streets, in the building now
occupied by the postvoffice. In 1891 they re
moved to the present location on Main street,
near Second street, where they have the lar
gest house in their line in the city of Delphos.
They occupy both floors of the building, carry-
rying a full line of clothing and gents' furnish
ing goods. Since coming to Delphos Mr. Ros
enthal has met with success, building up a
large business, and establishing for himself a
fine reputation both as a business man and
citizen. Mr. Rosenthal was married on Sep
tember 2, 1892, to Miss Mollie Stein, of Indian
apolis, daughter of Abe Stein, of that city.
To their union one daughter has been born,
Cora Teckla, on February 24, 1895. On Jan
uary 30, 1896, our subject sold his interest in
the clothing store to M. Haas and is now under
his employ.

>»j*OSEPH ROTH, one of the well-known
¦ and representative business men and
A 1 citizens of Delphos, Ohio, is a native of
~ Ohio, having been born in Hocking
county on February 20, 1850, and is the son
of John M. Roth, one of the leading citizens

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

449

of Delphos. In 1859, when our subject was
nine years old, he came to Delphos with his
parents, and has resided here ever since. He
attended the German department of the public
schools of Delphos until his fourteenth year,
when he left school and went to work with his
father in the meat business, but continued his
schooling for a time by attending night school,
and all through his life he has been a student,
i and has^ thereby acquired a good education of
affairs and public questions. October, 1879,
when his father retired from active life, our
subject succeeding to the business by purchase.
Later his brothers, John and Frank, came into
the business, and the firm of Roth Bros, was
then formed and has since continued. Their
place of business is on Main street between
Second and Third streets, -where they have the
largest meat market in the city. They own
their business house, which is a two-story
brick building, the lower floor having been
fitted up especially for their purpose. They
also own their own slaughter house and kill
and prepare all their meats. Mr. Roth is one
of the directors in the Commercial bank of
Delphos, and is vice-president of the Citizens
Building & Loan association.
Mr. Roth has always taken an active inter
est in public affairs, particularly those per
taining to his city and county. In 1891 he
was elected on the democratic ticket to the
city council from the Fourth ward, notwith
standing the fact that the ward is republican.
In 1893 he was re-elected to the council from
the same ward without opposition, his term of
office expiring April 9, 1895. During his term
in the city council he served on some of the
most important committees, the first term be
ing on the finance, improvement and sanitary
committees, and the second time on the
finance, improvement aud fire department
committees, and on all of them rendered the
city valuable service. , Mr. Roth was married,

in 1 88 1, to Miss Lucy Harman, of Delphos,
daughter of Jacob Harman, deceased.
Mr. Roth is a liberal man on all subjects,
whether religious or political. He holds liberal
ideas on the church, belonging to no denomi
nation, and accords to all men freedom of
thought and speech and action, so long as
they do not conflict with the rights of others.
In politics he leans to the democratic faith,
but votes rather for the man than the party.
In all matters pretaining to the development
and building up of Delphos he has ever been
found progressive and willing to contribute his
share toward the industries and institutions of
the city. He is in fact a broad and liberal-
minded man in every way, and as such com
mands the esteem and respect of his fellow-
citizens. Frank Roth, of the firm of Roth Bros., of
Delphos, Ohio, and treasurer of Marion town
ship, Allen county, was born in Delphos, June,
16, 1862, and is the son of John M. Roth. He
attended the German and English day and
night schools of Delphos, securing a good com
mon-school education. He left school when
about fifteen years ,of age and went to work
with his father, with whom he continued un
til the latter retired from business and the firm
of Roth Bros., was formed, in 1871. In 1891
he was elected to the office of treasurer of
Marion township, Allen county, for a term of
four years, his time expiring in September,
1895. In politics he is a democrat, and is a
member of Saint John's Roman Catholic
church. He was married in October, 1886,
to Miss Flora Amann, of Sidney, Ohio, daugh
ter of ex-treasurer Ferdinand Amann of Shelby
county, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Roth three
children have been born as follows: Oscar,
born in August, 1887; Ladonna, born in Octo
ber, 1890; and Frank, born in November, 1893.
He is a stockholder in the Commercial bank
and in the Citizens Building & Loan association.

450

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

John Roth, Jr., of the firm of Roth Bros.,
of Delphos, was born in Hocking county, Ohio,
in 1853. He came to Delphos with his par
ents in 1859, and attended the German school
of the city. When quite young he left school
and went to work for his father in the meat
business. In 1871, when his father retired
from business, he became a member of the
firm of Roth Bros., and so continues at the
present time. He was married, in 1876, to
Miss Josephine Arenhoebel, daughter of John
Arenhoebel, deceased, a miller of Delphos.
To their union seven children have been born,
six of whom are living, as follows: John,
Annie, Willie, Carl, Eda and Aline. Mr. Roth
is a stockholder in the Commercial bank of
Delphos, and of the Citizens' Building & Loan
association. He and family are members of
the Saint John's Roman Catholic church.
John Roth, retired butcher of Delphos,
was born in Bierne, Bavaria, in 18 16, and en
gaged at butchering there. In 1 842 he came
to America and completed learning his trade
in Baltimore, Md., afterward locating in Lo
gan, Hocking county, Ohio, where he was suc
cessfully connected with butchering for fifteen
years. He was married in Logan, in 1845, to
Miss Mary, daughter of the late John Ramser,
a native of Alsace, Germany, and at one time
a prominent merchant of Logan. Our subject
had a family of four sons and four daughters:
Mary (wife of Joseph Kindly, of Delphos),
Joseph J. (of the firm of Roth Bros.), Barbara
(wife of George Stevens, of Delphos), John (also
a member of the firm), Henry (a butcher of
California), Kate, Frank (of the firm) and
Julia. In 1859 Mr. Roth came to Delphos
and carried on the butchering business success
fully until his retirement from it in 1879, when
he transferred it to his sons, who constitute
the firm of Roth Bros., having a meat market
prominent among the leading industries of
Delphos; Mr. Roth, by steadily working at his

business, secured a handsome competence, and
he has lived to see his family occupying good
positions in the social and industrial life of his
adopted city. He has visited the land of his
nativity on different occasions. He and fam
ily are members of the Saint John's Roman
Catholic church.

^y^VHILIP ROUSH, a well-known,, farmer
II of Bath township, Allen county, Ohio,
jf^^ is a native of the Keystone state and
was born in Juniata county m 1 840 —
a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Mohart) Roush.
Henry Roush, the father, was born in Dau
phin couhty, Pa., in 1803, on his father's
farm, on which he remained until his marriage,
the union resulting 'in the birth of nine chil
dren, as follows: George, John, Joseph,
William, Henry, Catherine (wife of Willis
Copeland), Franklin, Philip and Jacob. The
mother of this family died in 1843, and in
1844 Mr. Roush married Susan Winegardener,
of Juniata county, in the same state, who
bore four children, as follows: Theodore, Jane,
Emma, and Ephraim.
About the year 1851, Henry Roush came
to Ohio and purchased a farm of 100 acres in
Bath township, just east of the land on which
the county infirmary now stands. This farm
he cleared from the woods and improved in
every respect; and, although a practical black
smith, gave but little attention to his trade,
preferring the life of a farmer, and so closed it
in 1 88 1 on this Bath township farm, in the
faith of the Lutheran church, and in politics a
democrat. He was a man of much energy
of character, was industrious and frugal, and
was held in high esteem by the community in
which he had passed the closing years of his
useful life. Here, also, his wife died in 1887.
Philip Roush, the subject of this sketch,
was but eleven years of age when he came to

0

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

451

Allen county with his parents. Here he was
reared until eighteen years old on the home
farm, learning in the meantime much of the
carpenter's trade. At the age named he went
to Orion, Richland county, Wis., where, for a
short period, he clerked in a brother's store;
but he soon tired of western life and returned
to the home place in Bath township, Allen
county, Ohio, where he remained until the
outbraak of the late Rebellion, when he took
« up arans in defense of the flag of the Union by
enlisting in company A, Twentieth Ohio vol
unteer fnfantry. On the organization of his
company he was elected corporal and later on,
for meritorious conduct in the field, was pro
moted sergeant. He was in nearly all the
battles fought in Virginia, in which his regi
ment had any part, including Fair Oaks,
Chapin 's Farm, Petersburg, Drury's Bluff, etc.
and in all took a noble and valiant part, reap
ing a reward through promotion, as has been
indicated a few lines above.
Mr. Roush was united in wedlock January
i, 1866, with Miss Nancy A. Mason, daughter
of Jarvis and Elizabeth (Hall) Mason, of Bath
township, and the four children born to the
union all died in infancy, only one, Jessie, the
youngest, receiving a name. For a few years
Mr. Roush followed his trade of carpenter,
but preferred farm life and purchased forty-
three acres in Bath township, to which he has
added twenty acres, on which he now lives
and which he has improved and cultivated
until it is readily recognized as a model. In
politics Mr. Roush is a republican, but seeks
no office. He is a strictly moral man, and
has long been a member of the United Breth
ren church, in whicn he has held the offices of
trustee, treasurer and Sunday-school superin
tendent. He is a public -spirited citizen, and
never is backward in his aid to matters that
are designed for the public good, and he enjoys
the esteem of all about him.

5>^V R. WILLIAM ROUSH.- Among the
I I best known and most highly respected
^A^^f citizens of Spencervillle, Ohio, is Dr.
William Roush, who may be con
spicuously mentioned. He has been a resident
of this place since October, 1893, and although
his stay has been comparatively short, has
been sufficiently long to establish him in his
profession as a physician and surgeon, as well
as to make him many warm and ardent friends
and admirers. He is a native of Amanda
township, Allen county, was born December
6, 1864, and is a son of Jacob M. and Eliza
beth (Holtzapple) Roush. The father died in
April, 1894; the mother still survives and re
sides in Amanda township. The doctor was
a farmer born and reared, and received his
education in the public schools and at Elida,
with two terms at the Ada (Ohio) normal. He
lived on the farm until twenty-one years of
age, giving all possible time to his literary
education. He then taught school for four
years, reading medicine, the last year, with
Dr. S. A. Hitchcock of Elida for preceptor,
afterward marticulating at the Cincinnati col
lege of Medicine and Surgery, graduating from
there in March, 1 89 1 . He first located in Elida,
where he remained two years, when he removed
to Spencerville. His professional education
has fitted him for a general practitioner, being
well equipped in the various department of
the healing art, and he has established for
himself a large and lucrative practice. He is a
valuable member of the Allen county Medical
society, which finds him a thoroughly live up-
to-date doctor. In June of 1894 he was mar
ried to Miss Vada Wright, the accomplished
daughter of W. G. and Louisa Wright. Her
birthplace was Highland county, Ohio. Politi
cally Dr. Roush is a democrat and has un
bounded faith in the future of the party. In
1893 he was appointed to the pension board
of examiners. He is a member of the Odd

452

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Fellows' order of Spencerville, No. 311; also
of the Daughters of Rebecca and Spencerville
encampment, No. 279, arid is vice-grand sub
ordinate. It is superfluous to say that the
doctor is an altogether very able young man —
just such as the world is depending upon for
its best future.

*m * ON. WILLIAM RUSLER is in a
j^^ double sense a representative citizen
\.r °f Allen county, as he is not only
prominent in the private walks of
life, but he has also been honored at different
times with responsible public duties. For
these reasons it is eminently proper that his
biography should find a page in this record.
Mr. Rusler was born March 7, 185 1, upon
the homestead upon which he still resides, and
which has in fact always been regarded by him
as his home. He is a son of Phillip and
Elizabeth (Anthony) Rusler, the father of the
former of whom, George Rusler, it is sup
posed, was born in Washington county, Pa.,
and is known to have been of German ex
traction, if not parentage. George Rusler
married a Miss Ellenberger, and to them were
born eight children, viz: Thomas, who died
in Nebraska; John, of Auglaize county, Ohio;
Jacob, deceased; Polly, wife of William Har
riott, residing in Erie, Pa. ; Phillip, who died
in Allen county; Lavina, who was twice mar
ried — first to David Bailey and second to Mr.
Miller, who died in Marion county, Ohio;
William, who resides in Marion county, and
Juliana, who married George Crozier.
Sometime between 18 16 and 1820, George
Rusler removed with his family to Trumbull
county, Ohio, and in Lordstown township of
that county purchased fifty acres of land. He
was, of course, one of the earliest settlers of
that county, and having established his home,
spent there the remainder of his life. It is

believed that the only portion of the time
from his settlement there until his death in
1846, during which he was away from his
home, was while he was serving in the army,
into which he was drafted, that defended the
country against the British in the war of 1812.
Phillip Rusler, the fifth child of George,
whose life is thus briefly referred to, was born
October 17, 1825, on the old homestead in
Trumbull county, where he remained tuEftll he
was about twenty-two years old. In 1^7 he.
removed to Allen county, where he purchased v
about three years later, in Shawnee township,
forty acres of land in section No. 17, which is
now owned by the subject of this sketch.
This farm he lived upon, cleared it and car
ried on farming thereon, for about four years,
when he sold and went to Iowa, but shortly
afterward returned. Not long after his return
he purchased sixty acres of land in Auglaize
county, but soon afterward sold this and pur
chased eighty acres adjoining the original forty
purchased in 1850, and upon which the sub
ject of this sketch now resides. In February,
1865, Mr. Rusler enlisted in company C, One
Hundred and Ninety-second Ohio volunteer
infantry, serving until the following June,
when he was discharged on account of physi
cal disability.Mr. Rusler was married July 29, 1849, to
a daughter of David Anthony, of Northum
berland county, Pa., by whom he had the fol
lowing children: William, David, and three
others that died in infancy. Mr. Rusler died
August 8, 1873, and his widow married James
Yoakum. Mr. Rusler, though a farmer all his
life, yet found time to interest himself in the
politics of his country, and was strongly in
favor of the preservation of the Union, as is
evident by his willingness to serve in the army
of his country. In politics he was a demo
crat, and in religion a Methodist, being a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

453

Hon. William Rusler, though reared upon
the farm, has followed other lines of activity
to a considerable extent, beside agriculture.
His primary education was received in the
public schools, and later he attended the high
school at Lima. It was his intention to take
a full college course, but the poor health of his
father made it necessary for him to remain at
horri,e\upon the farm. His education was,
howe\ter, well supplemented by his experience
Mks teacher in the public schools, he following
that profession in Shawnee township, Allen
county, and Noble township, Auglaize county,
for thirteen years, while he was at the same
time managing his father's farm.
His public life began in 1886, he then being
appointed government farmer on the Indian
reservation at Lac Court Oreilles, and on De
cember 17, 1888, he was appointed Indian
agent, having in his charge the La Point agency
of Ashland county, Wis., which agency included
the Chippewa reservations of Wisconsin and
Minnesota. This position he filled with great
accptance until 1889, when he was removed,
owing to a change in the administration, from
Grover Cleveland to Benjamin Plarrison. Mr.
Rusler then returned to Allen county, and re
sumed his labors on the farm. From this
statement of facts in reference to his public
career it is scarcely necessary to say that Mr.
Rusler is a democrat. Not only is he a demo
crat, but he is one of the leading democrats of
his county. His party has rewarded him
locally by giving him several of the minor
offices of the township, and, in 1893, he was
elected to represent his county in the state leg
islature, which responsible position he filled so
satisfactorily to his constituents that he was re
elected in November, 1895, 'by a handsome
majority. He is now a member of the county
executive committee, and his counsel is always
sought by the party managers.
Fraternally Mr. Rusler is a member of Lima

lodge, No. 91, K. of P. and religiously he is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On October 1, 1874, he was married to Miss
Anna M. McClintock, daughter of Charles
McClintock, by whom he has four children,
viz: Tessie, Albert, Eva and Daisy. The
mother of these children died in April, 1884,
and Mr. Rusler married, for his second wife,
Miss Sophronia Weisenmyer, daughter of
George Weisenmyer. To this marriage there
has been born .one child, viz: Bessie. The
career of Mr. Rusler has, as it will be seen,
been eminently creditable to himself and to his
county, and his private character is as emi
nently worthy as has been his public career.

(D

ORRIS RUMBAUGH, who was one
of the oldest and most experienced
farmers of Bath township, Allen
county, Ohio, was a native of the
Buckeye state and was born in Greene county,
county in 181 7, a son of George and Elizabeth
(Briton) Rumbaugh.
William Rumbaugh, great-grandfather of
our subject, was born in Germany, came to
America when a young man, located in New
Jersey, and was there married. He served in
the Revolutionary war, also had many excit
ing adventures with the Indians, and died in
Greene county, Ohio, at an advanced age.
His son, Jacob Rumbaugh, was born in New
Jersey, moved thence to Virginia, thence to
Greene county, Ohio, and in 1835, came to
Allen county and settled on 200 acres of land'
in Bath township. His marriage took place,
in Virginia, to Barbara Wikel, who bore nine
children, viz: George, William, David, Philip,
James, Daniel, and three girls who died in in
fancy unnamed. Jacob Rumbaugh was a whig
in politics. In his later years he removed to
Missouri, where his death took place, in the
faith of the Methodist church.

454

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

George Rumbaugh, eldest son of Jacob and
Barbara (Wikel) Rumbaugh and the father of
our subject, was born in Virginia, on the
homestead, in 1790, married Miss Elizabeth
Biton, and came to Ohio when twenty-five
years of age, and for fifteen or sixteen years
engaged in farming in Greene county. In
18 1 7 he came to Allen county, and settled on
160 acres, the land now occupied by the
county infirmary. Here he resided for nearly
twenty years, when he removed to Iowa, where
he ended his days a member of the Methodist
church. Morris Rumbaugh, the subject proper of
this biographical notice, came to Allen county
with his parents and rendered his father valu
able service in clearing up the new homestead
in Bath township, and with him made his
home until nearly thirty-six years of age, when
he purchased a farm of 100 acres in Bath
township, much of which he cleared up and
upon which he made many improvements. In
the spring of 1852, he sold this property and
moved to Wisconsin, but in the fall of the
same year returned to Allen county, Ohio, and
purchased the farm of eighty acres in Bath
township, on which he resided until his death,
July 18, 1895.
Mr. Rumbaugh was united in matrimony,
in 1835, with Miss Mary Hanson, a daughter
of Benjamin Hanson of Bath township, the
union resulting in the birth of seven children,
in the following order: Lydia, wife of William
McClellan; Milton, deceased; Eliza J., de
ceased wife of George Fungate; Henderson
and Holllis, deceased; Lambert, and Cyrus,
(deceased). In politics Mr. Rumbaugh was a
republican, but never sought public office, yet,
as a matter of duty, he felt it incumbent upon
himself to fill the office of constable in Bath
township, for two years. A strict member of
the Methodist church, his life had been such
as to show his fellow-men that he was sincere

in his faith in its teachings. A man of unim-
peached honor and a man of generous impulses
and broad-minded views, he had few peers in
the regard of his fellow-citizens.

<>^ANIEL RUSSELL, a well-known
M B banker of Bluffton, and a gentleman
/A^_J who has been largely interested in
the other business interests (of the
town, descends from an old Puritan farrnly of
New Hampshire, of English extraction, and
was born in Licking county, Ohio, November
24, 1821.
Elijah Russell, father of our subject, was
born in New Hampshire, a son of a Revolu
tionary patriot who also bore the name of
Daniel. Elijah was but seven years of age
when he lost his father, and ever afterward
cared for himself. He learned cabinet-making
at Norfolk, Va., whither he had gone on a
sailing vessel. While yet a single man he
came to Ohio, and in Granville, Licking
county, married Miss Elizabeth Wright, a
native of Shenandoah county, Va. , and daugh
ter of Alexander Wright, who was a black
smith by trade and who died in Illinois, the
father of nine children, viz: Alexander, John,
Burgess, Alvin, Elizabeth, Catherine, Thomas,
Susan and Nancy. After his marriage, Elijah
Russell worked at his trade in Granville for
some years and then bought and cultivated a
farm near that town for some time, thence
moved to Hebron, Licking county, and in
later life went to Ligonier, Ind., where he died
at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, in
the faith of the Baptist church, of which he
had for a long time been a deacon, leaving
behind him, to mourn his loss, five children,
viz: Daniel, Mary S., Rachael, Burgess and
John. Daniel Russell passed his boyhood on his
father's farm in Licking county, about eight

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

455

miles out of Newark, the county-seat, and,
besides farming, learned cabinet-making and
also gained a general knowledge of several
other trades. February ii, 1844, he married
Miss Fannie Townsend, who was born in
western New York, January 23, 1822, was of
Puritan stock, and a daughter of Appleton and
Roxey (Field) Townsend. After marriage,
Mr. Russell lived on the homestead until
^jNoven^er, 1851, when he brought his wife
a$d t\ABhildren to Allen county, making the
journey in a wagon, his wife, being sick, lying
on a becT He purchased seventy acres of
woodland in Jackson township, on which was
a log cabin, and this land he cleared up and
converted into a fine farm, and when he moved
from it, eighteen years later, he left behind,
instead of a rude log house in a wooded swamp,
a fine frame dwelling in the midst of fields of
nodding grain and fruit -bearing orchards. In
1867, Mr. Russell engaged, in Bluffton, in
the general mercantile trade, in partnership
with his brother-in-law, I. M. Townsend, and
this connection lasted six years, and for the
twenty years following Mr. Russell carried on
a prosperous trade on his sole account. In
1880, before relinquishing his mercantile inter
ests entirely, he and Mr. Townsend being for
three years in the lumber trade, Mr. Russell
embarked in banking, in which he has also
prospered, and now, besides other valuable
real estate, owns the Commercial block in
Bluffton, a livery barn and three residence
properties. Mrs. Fanny Russell departed this life, at
Bluffton, December 12, 1888, a member of the
Disciples' church, and the mother of two chil
dren — Mary A. and Orin J. — and sincerely
mourned by her family and a large circle of
friends. In 1889 Mr. Russell chose, for his
second helpmate, Mrs. Martha Cunningham,
who had borne the maiden name of Church.
In politics Mr. Russell has been a life-long

republican and voted for JohnC. Fremont, the
first republican candidate for the presidency of
the United States. Although one of the
founders of the republican party in Allen
county, Mr. Russell has taken no real or per
sonal interest in office holding, yet has been a
member of the town council of Bluffton. He
is widely known throughout the county, is still
an active business man, and has always taken
a lively interest in the weal of the public. His
integrity stands unimpeached, and, a well pre
served gentleman and an honored citizen, he
is a credit to the business and society circles of
Bluffton and Allen county.

(D

ARSHALL J. SANFORD.— In con
nection with the life of Marshall J.
Sanford is it manifest that, beside
natural adaptability for a profession,
careful and thorough preparation is essential
to the highest success. Mr. Sanford is an
attorney at law, with his office in the Satterth-
waite block in Lima, Ohio, and having as his
associate in practice W- T. Copeland, the
firm name being Sanford & Copeland.
The Sanford family are of good Connecti
cut stock, but William F. Sanford, the father
of our subject, was born at Hoboken, N. J.
Their talents were such as to enable them to
readily adapt themselves to any branch of
business or to any of the learned professions.
One of their most remarkable characteristics,
and the one which perhaps had as much in
fluence as any other on their success in busi
ness, was their determination to keep out of
debt, unless driven to debt by circumstances
beyond the power of their will to control.
They were and have been men of integrity and
high standing in their respective communities,
and have been always industrious and prosper
ous, their prosperity being the result of their
industry.

456

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Marshall J. Sanford is a native of Madison
county, Ohio, having been born in that county
December 20, 1856. He is a son of William
F. and Caroline (Brown) Sanford, the former
of whom died in 1886, the latter now residing
in Madison county, with her post-office at
Rosedale. William F. Sanford was an extra
ordinary man in many ways. He always took
great interest in everything pertaining to the
moral and material welfare of humanity. The
right of the young to the best education obtain
able, and the duty of the state to protide the
best education possible, always found in him
an earnest advocate. He constantly strove
for what, in his opinion, was the best in poli
tics, and to attain that end identified himself
with the republican party. He was of a fam
ily of six brothers, only two of whom are still
living, Edwin, and Dr. Samuel Sanford, both
of whom live in Lima.
William F. and Caroline Sanford were the
parents of ten children, seven of whom are
still living, and named as follows: David B.,
an extensive farmer, and ex-commissioner of
Madison county; Mary A., wife of John W.
Williams, lumber dealer of Jeffersonville, Fay
ette county; Fletcher P., a teacher by profes
sion, who was accidentally killed in 1880;
Charles F., a successful and wealthy farmer
and stock raiser, of Madison county, Ohio,
who has been a school-teacher and county
school examiner for a number of years; Marsh
all J. , of whom more will be said later in this
sketch; Lida M., widow of Henry P. Hinkle,
of Savannah, Tenn., who formerly was a
teacher in Ross academy of that place, and
who now resides in Madison county, Ohio;
Arthur M., formerly a school-teacher and a
manufacturer of draining tile, but who died in
1882 of brain fever; Francis M. , a school
teacher and farmer of Madison county, Ohio;
Carrie M., a school-teacher, and Irwin H.,
who died of scarlet fever, aged four years.

Marshall J. Sanford was a school-teacher
six years, closing his career as principal for
one year of the Ross academy at Savannah,
Tenn. In his youth he received a thorough
course of mental training, and graduated from
the National Normal university at Lebanon,
Ohio, in which institution he took a five years'
course in science, classics and the law. While
in attendance at that school he read la»t. with g
Judge W. S. Dilatush and John E. S^rr^th, of
Lebanon. Immediately upon graduating Kje^,
opened an office at Lima for the 'practice of
the law, and has been thus engaged ever since
1885, at first alone until 1894, and since then
in partnership with Mr. Copeland. This firm
attends to general practice, not making any
specific department of the law a specialty. In
politics Mr. Sanford is a republican, has been
chairman of the county central and executive
committees, and has at all times been inter
ested in the success of his party. He is also a
member of the Royal Arcanum. Mr. Sanford
was married May 16, 1888, to Miss Tirzah K.
Crites, daughter of Daniel L. and Martha
(John) Crites. They are the parents of three
children: Paul D., who died at the age of ten
months and sixteen days; Marshall Blaine,
born March 16, 1893, and Howard Crites, born
August 20, 1895. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sanford
are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. They reside in Elida at present and
Mr. Sanford goes back and forth to Lima to
attend to his professional duties.
The grandparents of Mr. Sanford on his
mother's side were James and Mary (Burnside)
Brown, both of whom lived long enough to
celebrate their golden wedding. They were
among the most prominent of the early pio
neers of Madison county, and reared a large
family of children. Mr. Brown was an exten
sive farmer and was far above the average of
men in intelligence, education and wealth.
The educational interests of his children were

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

457

always carefully looked after, and some of
these children were among the early educators
of the county.
The parents of Mrs. Sanford, as stated
above, were Daniel L. and Martha (John)
Crites, the former of whom was born October
31, 1833, and removed with his parents,
Charles and Sophia (Ludwig) Crites, to Ohio.
His early life was spent in assisting his father
k in theNwork upon the farm, and in securing
kuce J&ucation as the facilities of pioneer days
would peVnit. But these facilities were mainly
furnished at home, he being his own teacher
for the most part, and the traditional pine
knot or some other blazing knot supplying him
with light. He was a hard and successful stu
dent, as indicated by his beginning to teach
school when quite young. He alsp engaged in
clerical work in the office of the county auditor.
Beside his activity in other directions, he pri
vately took up the study of medicine, which in
later years was of practical use to him.
Mr. Crites was married to Miss John, as
above narrated, and they settled in Elida, he
teaching school for a couple of terms, continu
ing at the same time to read medicine. For
a time he was engaged in mercantile business
with S. D. Cremean, but this relation lasted
only one year, when he sold his interest and
engaged in the practice of medicine at Elida
for about two years. Then removing to Fort
Jennings, Putnam county, he was engaged,
until the fall of 1861, in both teaching and
practicing medicine, when he was elected sur
veyor of Putnam county. Soon after the..^
breaking out of the war he took up arms in
defense of his country, and went to the front
as a substitute for Christian Raabe, and was
chosen captain of his company; but by order
of the war department of the government at
Washington, some one else was appointed to
the place. He was enlisted in company K,
One Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer
17

infantry, and on November 8, 1862, was ap
pointed second lieutenant of his company. In
1863 he was detailed for duty under Col.
Pierce, as adjutant, and went to Springfieldr
Mass., to organize a regiment of drafted men..
During the summer of that year he joined
Gen. Burnside in east Tennessee, and was ap
pointed chief of ordnance upon the staff of
Gen. White. Afterward he was appointed
provost marshal, but soon resigned on account
of ill health, his resignation being accepted
December 24, 1863.
Upon arriving home he entered Bryant &
Stratton's commercial college at Toledo, but
in the fall of 1864 once more went to the front
as a substitute, from Pickaway county, and
was detailed as clerk at Tod barracks, in which
capacity he served until April 15, 1865, when
he was mustered out. While in the army he
contracted diseases which afterward resulted
in partial paralysis. In 1866 he was appointed
deputy county auditor, and in 1869 was ap
pointed auditor to fill out the unexpired term
of the auditor who had died. In 1870 he was.
appointed deputy clerk of the county court,.
and again in 1875. In 1878 he was elected
clerk of that court, and while serving in this.
capacity he was elected journal clerk of the-
state house of representatives of the sixty-first
general assembly. He was sixteen times a
candidate for office and was always elected:.
In 1882 he retired from official life to his farm
near Elida, Ohio, and was thenceforth an
invalid until his death, which occurred March
30, 1885. Mr. Crites was a member of Shaw
nee commandery, No. 14, of Lima, Ohio, and
was a Mason in good standing. He was a
member of Jehu John post, G. A. R., of Elida,.
Ohio. By his marriage to Miss John he was;.
the father of two children, viz: Bertha W.„
wife of Adam Pfeifer, of Elida, and Tirzah K.,
wife of Marshall J. Sanford, of Lima, Ohio,
both of whom still live'to bless their parents..

458

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

eDWARD SARBER, one of the pio
neers of Sugar Creek township, Allen
county, Ohio, a substantial farmer
and a highly esteemed citizen, sprang
from sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.
Christain Sarber, grandfather of our subject,
was a native of Germany and early settled in
Northampton county, Pa., where he followed
farming until his death, and was also a re
nowned hunter. His family, it is thought, con
sisted of ten children, of whom three sons
and two daughters came to Ohio. Of these,
one daughter, Mrs. Shoemaker, and her hus
band, moved later to Indiana, and another
daughter, Mrs. Twicebough, and her husband,
also settled in the same state. The three sons
died in Ohio, and the other children remained
in Pennsylvania. John Sarber, father of our subject, was
born in Northampton county, Pa., and was
reared a farmer. In his native state he was
married to Miss Clara Decker, a native also of
Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Elias Decker,
who served through the Revolutionary war. In
1833 John Sarber moved from Pennsylvania
to Sugar Creek township, Allen county, Ohio,
settling three-fourths of a mile east of where
the subject of this sketch lives at the present
time, making the entire journey by means of
wagons. In Allen county he entered 160
acres of land, cleared a portion of it of its
timber, and made a good farm and a good home
for his family. He was among the earliest
pioneers of the county, settling here when the
country was almost a dense wilderness. He
lived many years in the log cabin which he
built upon his arrival. His children were all
born in Pennsylvania, and their names are as
follows: Catherine, Daniel, Henry, Peter,
Sarah, Martha, William, Anna, Edward and
Elizabeth. They all ultimately came to Ohio,
and settled in Allen county. Mr. and Mrs.
Sarber were members of the Presbyterian

church, and Mr. Sarber was prominent as a
citizen in many ways. He held several of
the township offices in the early day, such as
township trustee and other minor ones. He
was a hard-working man, a great hunter, and
killed many a deer and wild turkey in Allen
county, which was in fact necessary for the
pioneers to do, as wild game was the only
meat they had then to eat. His market, when
he arrived, and for some time thereafteTTVas
at Lower Sandusky, 1 00 miles away, ansKnereJj
he had to go for butter and salt, but/at ^mesl
he could secure groceries and dry goods nearer
home. Edward Sarber, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Luzerne county, Pa., July 3,
1826, was but seven years old when he
came with his parents to Ohio, and he can well
remember the journey. Arriving in Allen
county, after the long, tedious journey, he re
ceived his education in the subscription schools,
for that was before the day of ' ' common
schools ", attending about three months in the
winter season in his youth, and three months
after attaining his majority. When twenty-
' five or twenty-six years old he married to Isa
bel Ridenour, a daughter of Peter and Sarah
(Conrad) Ridenour. She was born October
14, 1 83 1, and the marriage occurred June
30, 1850.
Peter Ridenour, father of Mrs, Sarber, was
born in Maryland, and was of German an
cestry. Early in life he was taken by his
father to Fairfield county, Ohio, and was left
fatherless when he was twelve years old. The
children of this family were, so far as remem
bered, Michael, John, George, Peter, Jacob
and Katie. Peter Ridenour, the fourth of
these children, married and became the father
of five children, viz: Lucretia, George, John,
David and Sarah. The mother of these chil
dren died in Allen county, soon after the ar
rival of the family there, and Mr. Ridenour

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

459

married, for his second wife, Miss Sarah Con
rad, by whom he had also five children, viz:
Isabel, Alexander, Catherine, Adeline and
Peter. Mr. Ridenour lived for some time in
Fairfield before settling in Allen county, his
removal to this county taking place in 1830,
and the place he selected for his home was
hear Elida. He was thus one of the earliest
of the pioneers of Allen county, and cleared
ns fflaof the timber that was on it. He was
hunter in his day, many a deer

md wild rVirkey falling before his unerring
rifle. It^P/as during the first year of his res
idence in Allen county that his first wife died,
and as no nails could be obtained with which
to fasten the coffin together, it had to be
bound around with lin or basswood bark.
Her's was one of the very first burials at Elida.
At the time bread was so scarce, and the pio
neers had to go so far to mill, that they were
accustomed to boiling hominy to live on until
bread could be again secured. Peter Ridenour
died when he was about sixty years of age,
and he is remembered as one of the hardy, in
dustrious pioneers of the county, who did his
full share of work in its development.
After his marriage Mr. Sarber located on
land in Sugar Creek township, and about i860
he bought his present farm, forty acres in the
woods, of which a small spot had been cleared.
He subsequently cleared the remainder and
added thereto until he owned 121 acres of fine
farming land. By his untiring energy and
patient industry, he made valuable improve
ments thereon, and now has a most com-,
fortable home. With the aid of his faithful
wife he has reared a family of excellent chil
dren, whose names are as follows: Perry,
Cordelia, Clara, Sheldon, Clinton and Jerome.
The parents of these children are members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has
been a class leader and steward for many
years. He assisted to build the first house of

worship of the Methodist society in his neigh
borhood, services having been previously held
in his and other private houses, and in the
little school-house. In politics he is a dem
ocrat and has been elected trustee of his town
ship twice. He and his wife are among the
typical pioneers of Allen county, and among
the best of its citizens. He has always stood
high among his fellow-men, and having reached
the allotted three score and ten, his active life
is almost concluded, and he may confidently
expect to spend the rest of his life in peace and
that joyful contentment which naturally 'fol
lows a life well spent.

ISAAC SAWMILLER, a patriotic and
industrious citizen of Allen county, re
siding on section No. 27, German
township, was born in that township,
March 29, 1845. He is a son of Jacob and
Mary Ann (Huffer) Sawmiller, and was reared
in German and Amanda townships to farm life.
His education was received in the public schools
and his boyhood days and youth, until he was
nineteen years old, were spent at home with
his parents, to whose kind guidance and advice
he owes much of his success in life. In March,
1864, he enlisted in company B, Fifth Ohio
cavalry, and was mustered out of the service
at Columbus, Ohio, in November, 1865. He
participated in the battles of Resaca, Atlanta,
Macon and Savannah, being, as will be seen,
with Sherman on the march to the sea. Be
sides these important battles Mr. Sawmiller
was in many battles of minor importance. He
was one of the last of the volunteer soldiers to
be mustered out of service, being held to guard
government property at Raleigh, N. C, for a
considerable time after the war was really over.
From his exposure to the concussion of roar
ing cannon and musketry he suffered a partial

460

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

¦loss of hearing, which he finds now very in
convenient, and a constant reminder of the
attempt by the south to overthrow the national
government. After being mustered out he returned to his
home and lived in Amanda township for a
couple of years. He then went to Decatur and
Springfield, 111., where he was engaged in farm
ing, but returning to Allen county in the winter
of 1872-3, he was married, March28, 1873, to
Miss Margaret Herring, who was born in Ger
man township, in October, 185 1, a daughter
of Emanuel Herring. After his marriage he
lived upon a rented farm for two years, and
then purchased forty acres in section No. 27,
German township, where he now resides. To
this forty acres he has added other lands, until
at the present time he owns 104 acres, finely
improved, and having upon it excellent build
ings, all of which he has erected himself. In
1877 he built a fine frame residence, and has
excellent barns for his stock and grain. Stock
raising and general farming are the branches
to which he gives most of his attention. He
however operates a steam thresher during the
threshing season. On his farm he also has a
feed mill, in which he does custom work for
the neighborhood. From all of what has been
recited it will be observed that Mr. Sawmiller
is an industrious, and successful man. Politi
cally he is a democrat, and he is a member of
Lima post, G. A. R. He and his wife are
the parents of five children, viz: JohnB., mar
ried and living on his father's farm; Viola, at
home; Arville, wife of Samuel Shook, of Ger
man township; Ada, and Harley L., who died
November 30, 1887, at home. Mr. Sawmiller
is truly a self-made man, for, starting at the
bottom of the ladder, without property, he has
by his own efforts and industry become one of
the prosperous citizens of Allen county, and
his family are among the most highly and most
justly esteemed.

HDOLPHUS E. SCHOSKER is one
among the representative men of
Spencerville, Ohio. He first saw the
light of day in Lorraine, France, Oc
tober 24, 1852, and is the son of Michael
and Tillie (Smith) Schosker. Both parents-
are now deceased, the mother dying in 1872^
at the age of fifty-six years and the father
June 22, 1886, at the advanced age of eighty-
one years. The mother died in New jmmen,/
Ind., near Fort Wayne, and the fa-Sfer a//
Spencerville, Ohio. f ' r
When the subject of this sket&huwas ten
months old, the family came to America,
landing in New York, where they remained
four years, at the expiration of which time
they moved to Syracuse, N. Y. , where the fol
lowing eight years were spent, when the fam
ily again moved, this time locating in New
Haven, Allen county, Ind. In religion the
father was a devout Catholic and in politics-
an equally devoted democrat. Five children
were born to Michael and his wife, namely:
Lina, wife of Mr. John Rupple, of Fort Wayne;
Christian, of Tipton, Ind., who is an employee
in the factories at that place; Adolphus E.,
who forms the subject of this biography;
Michael, of Wapakoneta, Ohio, a drayman of.
that city; and Franklin, an oil pumper of
Spencerville. Adolphus E. Schosker, with whom this-
sketch will now deal, spent his early boyhood
in town and received his education in the pub
lic schools. At the age of twelve he began to-
s/ipport himself by working in a stave factory,
where he was employed until his marriage,.
which occurred January 2, 1879, after which
he became clerk in a general merchandise es
tablishment in Spencerville, where he occupied.
the position of head clerk for seven years,.
when he accepted the position of foreman in
the Spencerville stave factory, which place he-
occcpied for two years, when he engaged in

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

461

grocery business, on his own account, Decem
ber 1 6, 1887. He continued in the grocery
trade until January 22, 1895, when he sold
out,' and on May 22, purchased a half-interest
in the Spencerville flouring mills, to which,
since then, he has given his undivided atten
tion. Mr. Schosker is as popular as he is suc-
January 2, 1879, he was united in
je to Miss Mary A. J. Halter, daughter
ird and Barbara Halter. Miss Halter
jn Annapolis, Auglaize county, Ohio,
1859, and died January 9, 1895, a
lolic.
Schosker is a thoroughly live business
man, and from the humblest beginnings has,
by ability and perseverance, amassed a compe
tence. At the present time he owns a half-in
terest in the Spencerville mills. He has held
the office of town clerk two terms and clerk of
the corporation one term, and was a member
of the council two terms, and at the present
writing is treasurer of the Spencerville school
board. In politics he is a democrat, true and
consistent. He is a man of genuine worth
and an acquisition to the community in which
he lives — in business, straightforward and
upright and in social life a kind neighbor, a
warm friend and always a gentleman.

aONSTANTINE SCHERGER, one of
the well-known citizens of Delphos,
Ohio, and the head of the firm of C.
Scherger & Son, proprietors of the
Delphos Marble and Granite works, is a nativ^.
of Germany, and was born, on October 1,
1842, and is the son of Anton and Josephine
Scherger, both natives of Baiern, Germany.
The parents came to the United States in
1845, and located first in Seneca county, Ohio,
where Anton Scherger followed farming for a
number of years. His wife's death occurred
in 185 1, she being drowned by falling in a

well. She was in her thirty-seventh year
when she died. He died in Delphos in 1875,
in his seventy-third year. Both parents were
members of the Roman Catholic church. To
them four children were born, three of whom
are living, as follows: Anton, living on the
old homestead in Seneca county; our subject,
and John, blacksmith of Delphos.
Constantine Scherger was three years of
age when he came with his parents to America.
He remained at home until .1858 and then
went to Hancock county, Ohio, where he
worked on a farm for about one year. He
next went to Fremont, Sandusky county, and
there served an apprenticeship of two years at
the wagon-maker's trade. He returned home
for a couple of weeks, and then struck out to
hunt for work at his trade. He found employr-
ment at Lima for about a month, and then
came to Delphos; here he worked for about
one year, and on June 28, 1862, enlisted in
company A, Ninety-ninth Ohio regiment of
volunteer infantry for three years, serving until
the war was over, being mustered out of serv
ice in Nashville, Tenn., in the latter part of
June, 1865. He was with the Ninety-ninth
regiment for only about fonr months, and then
became a member of Rosecrans' pioneers and
engineers, and did duty in that capacity dur
ing the war. He was never wounded nor cap
tured, nor ever in the hospital during all his
service. After the war he returned to his old home
in Seneca county, passed a month there, then
returned to Delphos and went to work with Sam
uel Stuter & Son, with whom he had worked
before going into the army. He remained
with that firm for about a year, part of the
time being in partnership with them, and then
began wagon-making for himself in Delphos,
and continued for five years, but, not meeting
with success, he became so involved that he
thought it best to go out of business, and went

462

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

on a farm in Van Wert county, owned by his
brother Anton. There he remained two years,
when his health became so poor he was not
able to do outside work, and so returned to
Delphos and began to work for Fred Kqllsmith,
who gave him a position as foreman -of the
wood-working shops. Ill health still kept him
from doing good work in the shops, and so, in
1875, he and his brother John bought out the
marble shops of James Toland, and our sub
ject took charge of that business. He and
his brother were in partnership for two years,
when his brother sold out to him, and he con
tinued the business alone. When he first be
gan it was on a very small scale, but his busi
ness has continued to grow each year until he
now has the largest marble works in Delphos,
and one of the largest in Allen or Van Wert
county. He also owns an interest in a shop at
Ottawa, Putnam county, Ohio, which is con
ducted under the name of C. Scherger Sons &
Co. He works on an average six men the year
round, and has three traveling agents. They
do business all over Van Wert, Allen, Putnam,**
Paulding and Auglaize counties. The firm of
C. Scherger & Son was formed on January 1,
1892, when John A. became a member of
the same.
C. Scherger was married in the spring
of 1868, to MiSs Fannie Fischer, of Seneca
county, Ohio, but who was born in Huron
county, Ohio, a daughter of Saffron Fischer.
Her death occurred on February 10, 1883,
leaving five out of nine children born. The
living children are as follows: John A., Bar
ney, Theresia, Anna and William. On April
22, 1884, Mr. Scherger was again married,
this time to Mrs. Mary Suever, who was born
in Ohio, and the daughter of Joseph Dolt, who
was one of the oldest citizens of Delphos. To
this union four children have been born, as
follows: Joseph, Leo, Eda and Anthony. Mr.
Scherger and family are members of the Saint

John's Roman Catholic church. Mr. Scher
ger has served on the city council of Delphos
from the Fourth ward for two terms, and
served part of a term as city treasurertfTDy
appointment.

at1

ILLIAM SCOTT, one of the
known citizens of Delphos aj
oldest one in Allen county
was born at Elk Creek,
county, Pa., February 19, 1796.
were John and Jane (Perry) Scotf?
of Scotch-Irish descent and distantly related
to the poet, Robert Burns. John Scott was a
soldier in the war of 18 12, and Grandfather
Perry was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.
When William Scott was eighteen years
of age, in 18 14, he went to Baltimore to enlist
in the army. He was accepted by the captain,
and was drilled to s_>me extent, but upon ex
amination he was rejected on account of physi
cal defects of some character. In 1821, when
twenty-five years of age, William Scott went to
Virginia and was employed as a school-teacher
in Shanandoah county. Later he was ap
pointed a clerk in Saleyards, of the Jackson
Forge iron works, in the above county. Be
ginning as assistant clerk, he worked his way
up to the place of manager of the works and
to an interest in the business. In the fall of
1 83 1 he came to Ohio in time to legalize his
vote for Gen. Jackson in 1832, he being a
strong Jackson democrat, and he is yet an
SdeBrt admirer of Old Hickory. At the age
twenty-seven, on July 31, 1823, he married
Miss Elizabeth K. Pangle, the wedding occur
ring in Virginia, with whom he lived for about
forty years. Of their eight children, two died
in infancy; of the six that grew to maturity
three are now living, they being Mrs. P. W.
Morton, of Delphos; Mrs. E. D. Peltier, resid
ing on the old homestead in Allen county, and

OF ALLEN COUNTY,

463

John J., farmer of Allen county. When Mr.
Scott came to Ohio in 1831, he located in the
f' unity of New Salem, where he remained
out four years. February 19, 1835, he re
moved to Putnam county, where he bought
205 acres of canal lands from the state, at
$1.25 per acre. This land is now in Allen
co'unty; there he made his home, following
faf-^uig and other occupations for fifty years.
HflBbe to Delphos about 1885, on account
* >pf^fqjijpjk, health, to make his home with his
chird^fe.l%On February 19, 1896, he cele-
brated*'Tf«Fone hundredth birthday. He was
commissioner of Putnam county before this
part of Allen was struck off, and he has also
served as justice of the peace and notary
public.

>Y*AMES W- SELLERS, one of the most
¦ enrerprising and successful farmers of
A 1 Shawnee township, Allen county, Ohio,
and a man of intelligence and unusally
varied experience, is a son of Jacob and Emily
(McDonald) Sellers. He was born May 23,
1853, in the township in which he still resides.,
Jacob Sellers, the father, died when his son,'
James W., was five years old, and the mother
of our subject afterward married Jacob ^Crites,
by whom the young son of Mr. and Mrs. Sel
lers was -reared, and educated. Mr. Crites
was a good and kind stepfather and gave his
stepson a good common-school education,
and put him through the Lima high scfk>ol.
He was thus qualified to teach, and did'tea^h
school in Amanda and German townships,
meeting with most gratifying success. Giving
up his profession of teacher, he next engaged
in mercantile business at Hume, Ohio, in
which he continued for three years, meeting
with success in this line, as he had in teaching.
At the end of these three years he located on
his present farm of eighty acres, on which he

himself made all the improvements, and so
has not by any means been lacking in industry
or determination to make of his farm work a
success. Beside the eighty acres he owns he
is also operating eighty acres more, and thus
has all the work he needs always present with
him. Beside farming, he is also engaged in
producing oil, having three wells drilled on his
own farm.
Politically Mr. Sellers is a democrat, and
<»
though not seeking office of any kind, yet he
has been elected trustee of his township,
serving during the term of 1885. However,
he has always been and is now ready to do any
work for his party, by means of which he can
add to that party's success or prestige, and is
thus in good and favorable standing with his
party associates. Mr. Sellers was married, in
1878, to Miss Emma Shoppell, daughter of
John G. Shoppell, and by this marriage he has
jhad three children — Carrie M., Orlando C,
and one that died in infancy. Mr. Sellers all
through life been true to his convictions of
right, and his influence upon the community,
though perhaps more of a silent than of a pro
nounced and an expressive kind, is yet strong
arid effective. He is a citizen highly esteemed
by all who know him, his acquaintances fully
appreciating his worth.

@EORGE B. SHAFFER, one of the
most enterprising. and industrious cit
izens of Allen county, is a son of
Daniel and Hannah (John) Shaffer,
and was born October 15, 1866. Daniel
Shaffer was a son of Henry Shaffer, who was
born in Harrisburg, Dauphin county, Pa., in
1765. Most of his life was spent in his native
state, but in 1824, when he was fifty-nine
years old, he sought fields and pastures new,
removing to Fairfield county. Remaining in
that county during the next twelve years, he

464

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

removed to Allen county, settling on forty
acres of government land, for which he paid
$1.25 per acre, and upon which he lived the
rest of his days, dying in 1845, at the age of
eighty years. He was one of the old time
pioneers, always preferring to live in a new
country, where he was constantly in commu
nication with nature in her pristine forms and
beauty. He was a man of exceptional health
and strength, and physical exercise and labor
were to him a source of pleasure, for which
reason he kept constantly in the van of civil
ization. He married Catherine Moke, by
whom he had nine children, viz: Jacob,
Henry, Katie, John, Michael, Mary, Agnes,
Daniel and one that died in infancy.
Daniel, the youngest son, was the father
of this sketch. He was born October 27,
1824, in Fairfield county, Ohio, and when his
father removed to Allen county, in 1836, he
also came. Here he was of great assistance
to his father in clearing up the land, and was
in every way a dutiful son. The farm upon
which he had worked so faithfully was willed
to him by his father, and upon this farm he
has always lived. His family consists of the
following children: John, of Auglaize county;
George B., the subject; Annie, Eliza, and
Mary. Politically Mr. Shaffer is a democrat
and he is a member of the Lutheran church.
Taking him all in all he is a man of sterling
character and ability, and is much devoted to
his family.
George B. Shaffer was born on the old
homestead which his grandfather entered
from the government. He remained at home
until he was twenty-two years of age, in the
meantime receiving a good education in the
public schools. At the age mentioned he
established himself on the Amanda road,
where, in company with Dr. E. G. Barr, he
operated a saw-mill until October 15, 1891.
At this time Mr. Shaffer purchased the inter

est of Dr. Barr and 'moved the mill to Auglaize
county, but early in the next year returned to
the old location in Shawnee township, Allen
county, and there remained until Septemberof
that year, 1892, when he settled on his pres
ent location in Shawnee township. Here he
has since been engaged in manufacturing lum
ber for building purposes, and gives constant
employment to about fourteen men.
cally Mr. Shaffer is a democrat. On
ber 24, 1889, Mr. Shaffer was marrie^
Flora Jackson, daughter of W. T. Ji
to this marriage there has been borrrl
Earl W., born December 20, 1890.
brief has been the life of Mr. Shaffer. He is
a man of independent thought and action,
honest and fair in his dealings with men; pub
lic spirited and always ready to aid the good
causes of education, morality and religion, as
well as industrial enterprises and movements
that bid fair to promote the general welfare.

aM. SHAPPELL.— It is not generally
recognized, especially by the young,
that elevation to honorable position
frequently comes after and is the
result of a successful and honorable private
career, and that this position is won frequently
because of the possession of good character
and peculiar qualifications acquired without
any reference to or thought of such elevation.
These reflections are fully warranted, as will
be seen by reading the following sketch of U.
M. Shappell, the present popular clerk of
courts of Allen county, Ohio.
George Shappell was a native of Berks
county, Pa., but he removed thence to Fair
field county, Ohio, and subsequently to
Auglaize county, about 1850. Soon after this
removal he purchased government land, sit
uated in the two counties of Auglaize and
Allen, and, being a carpenter by trade, fol-

/J /?

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

467

lowed that trade in connection with his work
upon his farm. His wife, who, previous to
her marriage, was Miss Mary Reigle, of Fair
field county, Ohio, bore him the following
named children: John G., father of the sub
ject of this narrative; Elizabeth, who married
William Hastings, of Auglaize county; Nelson,
of Sandusky city; Sarah, who became the wife
of William Bowsher, of Auglaize county;
JacobjjjfAfarmer of Ingham county, Mich. ;
Daniel'^ltnperchant of Lima, Ohio; Solomon,
of Hume, Ohio; Catherine, widow of William
Baker and ^residing in Saint Mary's, Ohio;
Emma, who married James W. Sellars of
Allen county, Ohio; and D. U., who resides
on the old homestead in Aaglaize county, Ohio.
The father of these children died in 1858, and
the mother in April, 1889.
John G. Shappell was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, and was there reared and edu
cated, receiving, however, only such education
as could then be obtained in the common
schools. The war of the Rebellion breaking
out, and being inspired with a love of country,
he with his brothers, Daniel and Nelson, en
listed, in 1862, in company G, Eighty -first
Ohio volunteer infantry, and served over
three years, or until the close of the war.
Upon the close of his service in the army of
the Union he returned to Ohio and engaged
in farming in Shawnee township, Allen county,
where he had settled in February, 1858, and
where at the present time he owns a well im
proved farm of 104 acres. Upon this farm he
has always been satisfied to reside, well know
ing that agriculture, from the dawn of history,
has been one of the most noble and independ
ent of callings, and knowing that there is in
reality no limit to the value that may be given
to any particular piece of land by careful and
intelligent cultivation.
Politically Mr. Shappell has always been a
stanch democrat, and religiously he is a mem

ber of the English Reformed church. In 1858
he married Miss Harriet Bowsher, daughter of
Benjamin Bowsher, and to this marriage there
have been born four children, as follows: U.
M., the subject of this sketch; Benjamin, who
died December 16, 1894; John H., who died
February 20, 1884, and Mary E., wife of
Charles McClintock of Hume, Ohio.
U. M. Shappell was born May 1, 1859, in
Shawnee township on the old homestead.
After obtaining what education could be fur
nished by the public schools of his county he
entered the Northwestern Normal uinversity,
at Ada, Ohio, from which he was graduated in
1894. In the meantime he had taken a post
graduate course in the Home college of Boston,
Mass. Being thus thoroughly qualified for the
profession of teaching, he followed that profes
sion and was continuously thus engaged for
twenty years, after which he graduated, hav
ing always refused so to do till he should quit
teaching. Five years of this time he was
principal of the schools at Hume, Ohio, and
two years at LaFayette, Ohio. He was after
ward engaged as superintendent for seven years
at Bluffton, Ohio, and as evidence of his quali
fication to hold these several responsible posi
tions he holds a life certificate granted by the
Ohio State board. In 1887 he was appointed
county examiner, and held this position till
1893, when he resigned to accept his present
office, to which he was elected the same year,
and which he is filling with great acceptance
to the people of the county. In politics he is
a democrat and has always taken an active
interest in his party's success. He is a mem
ber of the English Reformed church, and a
consistent Christian. Fraternally he is a mem-
of Bluffton lodge, No. 371, I. O. O. F. ; also
of Rainbow encampment, No. 288, and was
one of the charter members of Heroic lodge,
No. 466, K. of P., of Bluffton, Ohio.
Mr. Shappell was married April 22, 1883.

468

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

to Miss Ada L. Metheany, the daughter of
Richard Metheany, deceased, and by this
marriage he is the father of four children, viz:
Harold M., George L., Richard A., and Fred
erick B. Both Mr. and Mrs. Shappell are
active in all good works, and are among the
most estimable citizens of the county.

P. LEATHERMAN, a responsible
farmer now residing in Auglaize town
ship, was born in Jackson township,
Allen county, Ohio, April 10, 1846,
was reared to his present vocation and re
ceived a good common-school education. After
having fully developed his physique on the
farm and having achieved a complete knowl
edge of agriculture, he enlisted, May 2, 1864,
in company E, One Hundred and Fifty-first
Ohio volunteer infantry, was assigned to duty
in Virginia and Maryland, and aided in the
defense of Washington, D. C, against the
attack of the rebel general Early in the begin-
ing of July, 1864. Although Mr. Leatherman
came very near dying from typhoid fever while
in the army, he faithfully served until his hon
orable discharge in September, 1864. On his
return home Mr. Leatherman married, in Jan
uary, 1865, Miss Clarissa Jagger, daughter of
Elias and Maria (Kankle) Jagger, who were
natives of Maine and early pioneers of Licking
county, Ohio, but later became residents of
Allen county. Mr. Jagger was a Jacksonian
democrat, served as a justice of the peace, and
still survives, a pious member of the Christian
church. The children that blessed the
union of Mr. and Mrs. Leatherman were
named, in order of birth, as follows: Clear-
man, Lula M. (deceased), Eva J. (de
ceased) Josie A., Mark, Abbie N. and Sarah
L. (deceased). Mr. Leatherman is a model farmer and
owns a well improved farm of 1 20 acres, with

a fine dwelling, barn and all necessary out
buildings, the result of his own industry and
gobd management. In politics he is a repub
lican, although formerly a democrat; he has
been on the board of education fifteen years, is
deeply interested in the cause of public instruc
tion, and is at present a township trustee. In
her religious affiliations Mrs. Leatherman was
a member of the United Brethren chuajh, and
in that faith she died September 8, JF891 ; Mr.
Leatherman is a consistent Universalist and
is a good and useful citizen, fully deserving
the high position he holds in theVsteem of his
fellow-men.

BRANK M. LEECH.— It is not always
dear to the minds of men that the
wealth of a country may increase, while
money, the circulating medium, re
mains the same in amount, that is, in propor
tion to the population. This is because labor
and intelligence working together are continu
ally creating wealth, in the form of public and
private buildings, in manufacturing, mining,
agriculture, and in many other departments of
industry. And it is in one of these important
departments, that of architecture, contracting
and building, that the subject of this sketch
has been long engaged.
William F. Leech, one of the representa
tive citizens of Lima, residing at No. 940
West High street, is a native of Fayette
county, Pa., and was born June 4, 1837. He
is a son of Jesse and Susanna (Eisler) Leech,
who removed from Pennsylvania to Allen
county, Ohio, in 1863, settling on a farm of
160 acres one mile east of Elida. Upon this
farm they lived several years, and then, trad
ing it for a farm near Lima, they removed to
this latter farm, and upon this farm Mrs.
Leech died in 1876 at the age of seventy-one
years. Jesse Leech, her husband, died in

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

469

1885, aged seventy-eight. In early life he had
learned the trade of shomaker, whieh he fol
lowed in connection with farming. He and
his wife were the parents of nine children, as
follows: Paulina J., who died in 1872, the
wife of Henry Rumble; Hulda A., widow of
Dr. U. Hurts, of California; George and Joseph
both deceased; William F. ; Lucian B., who
was a^oldier in the Civil war, and who resides
in Ff||||te county, Pa.; Mary A., widow of
Abraham1 East, and who resides at No. 325
McDonald .street, Lima, Ohio; Sallie E., wife
of John Peltier, of Lima, and James L., who
resides at No. 320 North Washington street,
Lima. William F. Leech was reared on the farm
until he attained the age of seventeen years,
when he began to learn the trade of carpenter,
and at this trade he worked some three years.
Afterward he became engaged in making am-
brotypes, continuing at this work for two years.
On August 26, 1 86 1, he entered the service of
the government of the United States as car
penter and was engaged in the field under Gen.
Banks for three months, when he returned to
his home. On September 2, 1862, he enlisted
in company F, Fourteenth Pennsylvania cav
alry, in which he served until he was mustered
out of service, May 31, 1865, at Fairfax
Court House, Va. Mr. Leech participated in
sixty-seven battles and skirmishes, and was
frequently a member of scouting parties, but
he was never wounded, taken prisoner, nor
sick during the entire time.
After being mustered out he returned to
Allen county, and for nine days worked at his
trade, when he began work as contractor and
builder, following this line until October, 1892,
during which time he erected many buildings,
both public and private, in Allen county, but
since the year last mentioned he has lived a
retired life, free from active duties. He resided
at Elida until 1880, when he removed to Lima,

his present home. Mr. Leech was married
October 15, 1865, to Miss Mary J. Rittenaur,
who was born in Fayette county, Pa., August
12, 1842, and who died January 16, 1887.
They became the parents of six children, viz:
Frank M., who resides on North street, Lima,
Ohio; and has an office in rooms 15 and 16,
Holmes block, where he follows his profession
of architect and superintendent; Charles M.,
architect and superintendent, Columbus, Ohio;
Anna P., wife of C. E. Crum, of No. 147
Eureka street, South Lima, a carpenter by
trade; Ira E., deceased; Mina M., and Cloyd
E. , both living at home. In politics Mr. Leech
is a republican, and is a member of Lima post,
No. 202, G. A. R. He is also a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, having united
with that church when he was seventeen years
of age. Frank M. Leech was born in German town
ship, August 5, 1866.' He was brought up to
the carpenter's trade, and naturally rose to his
present position, his father being one of the
oldest and most prominent and successful con
tractors and builders of Allen county. At the
age of sixteen he was so well versed in his trade
that he was able to command a man's full
wages, something remarkable in one so young,
and presaging a most successful career. Work
ing with his father until he was eighteen years
old, he then turned his entire attention to his
trade, and at twenty-one years was engaged in
contracting and building on his own account.
He soon became a practical and skillful archi- '
tect, and in 1892 added that branch to his
business of contracting and building. In 1894
he gave up building and turned his whole at
tention to architectural drafting and superin
tending. Among the fine buildings of which
he was the architect and builder is that of the
Young Men's Christian association at Lima,
besides a large number of the principal resi
dences of the highest grade, such as that of

470

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mr. F J. Banta. He has also done much
work in his line at a distance from his home,
so that his reputation is very widely extended.
That he is one of the most promising young
men in his profession may be truthfully stated,
and that this is so is most gratifying to both
himself and all his friends. Fraternally Mr.
Leech is a member of Lima lodge, No. 91, K.
of P. He was married April 22, 1891, to Miss
Mary T. Hursh, of Mansfield, a daughter of
John and Clara M. (Stewart) Hursh. Mr. and
Mrs. Leech are the parents of two children,
viz: Clara M. and Majorie P. They reside at
No. 756 North street, Lima, and are members
of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Leech
is now carrying on business in partnership with
Mr. S. W. Funk, the firm name being Leech
& Funk.

@EORGE SHEETER, proprietor of
Sheeter's Opera House, and a well-
known citizen of Delphos, Ohio, was
born in what is now the Third ward
of Delphos, April 21, 1846. His parents were
Xavier and Otilda (Stippich) Sheeter, the
father a native of Alsace, France, and the
mother of Baden, Germany.
Xavier Sheeter came to America when a
young man, and at Tiffin, Ohio, was married.
From Tiffin he came to what is now Delphos,
then known as Section Ten, in the early
'forties. At that time the town consisted of
only a few log houses, and the surrounding
country was in woods, with few settlers and no
roads. The canal was then being dug, and
the few people here were most all employed on
the construction of the canal. Mr. Sheeter
had learned the shoemaker's trade in the old
country, and when he came to Delphos he
opened a shoe-shop on Canal street, between
Second and Third, in Van Wert county. He
worked at his trade for many years, and was a

successful and highly respected citizen. He
died in about 1883, having lived, however, long
enough to see Delphos grow from a small vil
lage of log houses into a prosperous city of
5,000 people. He and wife were among the
first members of the Catholic church of Del
phos. His widow survives him. Eight chil
dren were born to the parents, all of whom
are living.
George Sheeter was born and iplftd in
Delphos, and was educated in the^ German
schools of this place. After he left school he
went to learn the shoemaker's trade in the
shop of Peter Bormuth, in Delphos, and there
worked for about one year. For two years
following he worked in different shops, and
then started one his own. At about this time
he purchased the lot on the southwest corner
of Canal and Second streets, and on this he
erected a frame shop. During the late war he
was a member of the Ohio militia (home
guards), but when they were called out he was
not permitted to go, as he was under age and
his father would not consent. He then left
Delphos, spent one year in Van Wert, after
which he returned to Delphos, and again
opened his shop and continued at his trade for
about seven years, when he engaged in the re
tail liquor business, at which he has since con
tinued. In 1 89 1 he erected his present hand
some business block on the site of his old
house, corner of Canal and Second streets,
which is the largest brick business house in
Delphos. The building is two stories in
height, 66 x 90 feet. The ground floor con
tains four spacious store rooms, while the en
tire upper floor is fitted up for an opera house.
The opera house is furnished in first-class style,
having a fine stage with modern improvements,
and the house is seated with the latest-style
opera chairs, with a- seating capacity of 1, 100.
Probably no other town of its size in Ohio
has a better or more handsome theater, and the

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

471

citizens of Delphos owe many obligations to
to Mr. Sheeter for giving to them a first-class
playhouse. In 1875 Mr. Sheeter was married to Agatha
Reader, who was born in Delphos. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Sheeter are members of Saint John's
Roman Catholic church. In politics he is a
democrat, but has never held or sought public
office. He is a self-made man, having made
hif w.j!!y¥n life by his own exertions, enterprise
and energy.

aHARLES E. SHENK, a leading busi
ness man and prominent citizen of
Delphos, Ohio, was born November
4, 1839, in Hohenzollern, Prussia,
and a son of Martin Shenk, also a native of
Germany and a pioneer of Delphos. By occu
pation Martin Shenk was a tailor, in connec
tion with which he also carried on a mercan
tile business in the fatherland for some time
prior to his immigration to the United States.
Being the father of five sons, all of whom, as
they reached the proper age, would be subject
to military service, Mr. Shenk decided to
avoid, if possible, the expense and loss of time
to his boys, in thus giving three years of their
lives to the army; accordingly, in October,
1853, with his family, he started for the
United States, going via Paris to Havre, at
which port they were detained for nearly a
month, waiting for a vessel of the company
with which he had contracted passage. The
voyage consumed forty-two days, and the
landing was effected at New York city, in Jan
uary, 1854. Mr. Shenk's destination was the
settlement at Ottoville, Putnam county, Ohio,
six miles from Delphos, to which point a num
ber of old friends from Prussia had preceded
him, but owing to the severe winter of 1853-4,
he was compelled to locate temporarily in
Williamsburg, N. Y., where the family re-.

mained about six months. In September,
1854, Mr. Shenk succeeded in reaching Del
phos, and upon his arrival decided to make
that place his home instead of Ottoville, as
originally intended.
After locating in Delphos Mr. Shenk went
to work for Mr. Frank Byres, a tailor, in
whose services he continued about two years;
he then engaged with Lye & Marble, tailors,
remaining in their employ for about the same
length of time. A few years after coming to
Delphos he purchased a small farm of ten
acres, adjoining the corporation, in Allen
county, where he made his home until about
1865, when he removed to town. His death
occurred on March 22, 1872. His wife died
in 1865. Charles E. Shenk was fifteen years of age
when he came to Delphos. He secured his
education in Europe by attending the schools
of his native town. In the fall of 1855 he en
tered the employ of Bernard Esch, a merchant
of Delphos, with whom he remained about
one and a half years. Mr. Esch then sold out
to Jacob Cowan, and Mr. Shenk was in that
gentleman's employ for about one year. He
next accepted a position as salesman with the
firm of Lye & Marble, large general merchants,
in the dry-goods department of which firm he
remained two years, acquiring a thorough
knowledge of the business in the meantime.
He was placed in charge of the clothing de
partment of the establishment, in which capac
ity he remained until i860.
On the 8th day of May, i860, Mr. Shenk
was married to Mary Victoria, the second
daughter of Ferdinand Bredeick, the pioneer
citizen of Delphos, and immediately fol
lowing he became a member of the firm of
Ostendorf & Moeing, general merchants. In
1863 Mr. Moeing retired from the above firm,
the style of which became J. O. Ostendorf &
Co., the members being Joseph Ostendorf, Mr.

472

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Shenk and Henry J. Trame, a brother-in-law
of the subject. This firm continued until 1871,
when Mr. Trame retired in order to accept the
secretaryship of the Ohio Wheel company,
Mr. Osterndorf and Mr. Shenk conducting the
business under the same firm name.
On April 25, 1873, Mr. Shenk and his wife
left home for a trip to Europe. They took a
steamer at New York May 8, and sailed for
Hamburg, at which port they landed after a
voyage lasting twelve days. They spent six
months in Europe, spending about one month
at Mr. Shenk's old home. They also made a
tour of Switzerland, spending about four weeks
visiting all the principal points of interest in
that country, and then went to Paris, spending
about two weeks at that place. They also
visited most of the important cities of Europe,
and sailed from Bremen on their return voyage
on the 28th of September, landing in New
York after a voyage of twelve days, and arriv
ing at home in Delphos October 16 following,
Mr. Shenk continuing as a member of the. firm
of J. Ostendorf & Co. until the fall of 1879,
when he purchased his partner's interest.
In 1863 Mr. Shenk was elected clerk of
Washington township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, which office he held for about eighteen
years. In the spring of 1 88 1 , he was appointed
treasurer of Van Wert county, to fill the unex
pired term of A. Balyeat, whose death occurred
a short time after his election, and held the
office for two years. He continued in busi
ness in Delphos, appointing a deputy who
attended to the details of the official business
in Van Wert. After buying out Mr. Osten
dorf in 1879, Mr. Shenk continued the business
until 1884, when he closed out the entire stock
of goods and was out of business until the
spring of 1886. In 1885 he purchased his
present brick business house on the corner of
Main and Second streets, and in 1886 he
opened up a large stock of dry goods.

In 1887 Mr. Shenk was appointed, by
President Cleveland, postmaster at Delphos,
which office he held for a year and a half,
when he resigned in favor of Mayor Baxter,
his object in so doing being his inability to
give the office his personal attention on account
of his business affairs.
Mr. Shenk is a member of Saint John's
Roman Catholic church and for two years was
one of the trustees of that church. Me was
treasurer and secretary of Saint John's church,
during which time he also held the position of
trustee of the Saint Mary's school building. He
was the first prefect of Saint Aloysius sodality,
organized in 1856, which position he held until
his marriage. Mr. Shenk was quite active in
the building of the narrow-gauge, now the
Clover Leaf railroad. He also laid out and
platted Charles E. Shenk's first and second
additions to the town of Delphos.
August 15, 1 88 1, Mr. Shenk had the great
misfortune of losing his wife, who died sud
denly of heart disease, in the fortieth year of
her age.

HLEXANDER SHENK, one of the
leading citizens of Delphos, Ohio,
and a well known man in both Allen
and Van Wert counties, is a native
of Prussia, born July 19, 1842. His parents,
Martin and Christine (Kern) Shenk, both
natives of Prussia, are mentioned in the biog
raphy of Charles E. Shenk, elder brother of
the subject.
Alexander Shenk attended school in his
native town of Rangendingen, Prussia, and for
a while in Delphos. At about the age of
twelve years he took a position as clerk in the
drug store of J. W. Hunt in Delphos, where
he worked for about seven years. During
that period he thoroughly learned the drug
business, including the filling of perscriptions.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

473

In 1 86 1 he and his brother, Saffron Shenk,
engaged in the drug business, opening a store
in the lower end of the town. At the expira
tion of two years our subject purchased his
brother's interest in the business, and con
ducted the same alone for about three years,
when, having accumulated some capital, and
being ambitious to extend his operations, he
bought out the other drug store in Delphos
(that of Mr. Hunt, where he had served his
apprenticeship). He then took in as a part
ner John Walsh, and they conducted the two
stores together for about one year, and then
our subject disposed of his interest in the busi
ness to Mr. Hunt, his old employer. About
four months later Mr. Shenk again engaged in
the drug business as a partner with Michael
Brickner, which firm continued together for
about two years, at the expiration of which
time Mr. Shenk bought out his partner, and
at once took in as his partner George F.
Lang, who had been clerking for Mr. Shenk
for about six years. The firm of Shenk &
Lang continued in the drug business until
1880, when they sold out the same.
In 1873 the Union Flouring mills began
operation in Delphos as a stock company.
After five years' time the mill closed down, the
company making an assignment owing to
large losses, and, going into litigation, was
sold in the fall of 1879 at sheriff's sale, Mr.
Shenk bidding in the property, acting as the
agent of what was then the First National
bank, the main creditor of the old company.
The same year Mr. Shenk and another direct
or of the bank were instructed to remodel
the property and put it into operation, and
about the first of April, 1880, the mill was
started up. While acting as one of the com
mittee from the bank to look after the mill,
Mr. Shenk conceived the idea of taking hold
of the mill himself, feeling that he could make
a success of it. This was in 1880, and Messrs.

Shenk & Lang closed out their drug business
purchased the mill property and immediately
took hold of it. The mill has been twice re
modeled under the ownership of Shenk &
Lang, the first time in 1882, when a full roller
system was put in at a cost of $9,000, and
again in 1892, when the old machinery was
taking out and entirely new and improved ma
chinery placed in. The mills are known as
the Eagle Flouring mills, and are among the
largest and best in this part of the country.
The capacity is 150 barrels per day, the pro
duct being consumed in the surrounding towns
and country. The firm is also one of the
largest wheat buyers in Allen and Van Wert
counties, shipping on an average of 200,000
bushels annually. In about 1872 Mr. Shenk
became a director in the First National bank,
continuing as such until the expiration of the
bank's charter. In 1883 the Delphos Na
tional bank was organized as successor to the
First National bank by the same people, Mr.
Shenk being a director in the same. Upon
the death of the old president, Theodore
Wroeklage, in 1891, Mr. Shenk was elected
as his successor, a position he has since held.
For thirty years Mr. Shenk has always
taken an active part in the building up of
Delphos, and probably not a single worthy en
terprise has been launched during that time to
which he has not given his aid and assistance,
and been connected with as a stockholder.
Among the most important enterprises with
which Mr. Shenk is and has been connected,
we mention the following: The Delphos Elec
tric Light & Power company, of which he is
vice-president; the Delphos Building & Loan
association, one of the largest financial institu
tions in the city, of which he was one of the
organizers and has been the president from its
beginning; the Ohio Wheel company, of which
he was a stockholder for a time. Mr. Shenk
began his public life when he was about twenty-

474

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

one years of age, by being elected to the office
of clerk of Marion township, Allen county,
which office he held for about twelve years.
His next office was that of township trustee of
the same township, which he held about two
years, and following that he was elected town
ship treasurer, which office he held for about
ten years. During the time he served as town
ship treasurer he served part of one term by
appointment and two full terms by election,
retiring from that office in 1892. The latter
year he was appointed by the board of com
missioners as one of the board of trustees of
Allen county Childrens' home, located near
Lima, which is one of the finest public institu
tions in the state of Ohio. Mr. Shenk is one
of the most prominent members of Saint John's
Roman Catholic church of Delphos, of which
church he has been a member all his life. In
1878 the building of the present handsome
church edifice was begun, at which time Mr.
Shenk was a member of the board of trustees
and treasurer of the board, and it was during
his administration the building was completed,
he having supervision of the same and attend
ing to the contracts, raising of the money and
disbursing the same. The building is one of
the largest and handsomest in the state, cost
ing in round numbers $100,000.
Mr. Shenk was married, in 1863, to Miss
Elizabeth Wroeklage, born in Germany, and
a half-sister to the late Theodore Wroeklage,
one of the prominent citizens of Delphos.
Mr. Shenk is a self-made man in the true
sense of the word. He has made his way in
life by his own efforts and exertion, depending
upon his business ability and natural talents
to succeed. How well he has done this is set
forth in this brief biographical sketch. And
his success has not been secured at a sacrifice
of his standing and reputation as a man and
citizen, as is attested fully by the esteem and
respect in which he is held by his neighbors

and fellow-citizens. His career in public office
has been in keeping with his business life, he
always discharging the duties of the office he
has filled with strict fidelity, impartiallity, and
with an eye single to doing justice to both the
office, the public and himself, and giving en
tire satisfaction to all concerned.

{~^f YLVESTER F SHENK, one of the'
*v^fafo* representative citizens and leading
h<_J business men of Delphos, Ohio, is a
native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and
was born December 31, 1847, a son 0I Martin
and Christine (Kern) Shenk. Martin Shenk
was one of the early settlers „of Delphos, he
having located in this place in the latter part
of 1853. (Further mention of him may be
found elsewhere in this work.) Sylvester F.
Shenk received a common-school education,
and at the age of thirteen years began work as
a clerk in a store in Delphos, which occupa
tion he continued until 1876, when he began
business for himself as senior member of the
firm of Shenk & Zimerle. This firm continued-
until 1880, when Mr. Zimerle retired, since
which time Mr. Shenk has been in trade alone.
His place of business is on the corner of Main
and Second streets, where he occupies three
floors, carrying a complete line of dry goods,
clothing, carpets, etc., his establishment being
the leading one in his line in Delphos, and
one of the largest in this part of the state.
Mr. Shenk was married June 29, 1872, to
Miss Rosilla, daughter of Francis J. Lye, one
of the pioneer settlers of Delphos, then sec
tion No. Ten. Mr. and Mrs. Shenk have eight
children, as follows: Frank, Mary, Martin,
Amedeus, Alexander, Sylvester, Richard and
Robert, and the family are members of the
Saint John's Roman Caiholic church of Del
phos. Mr. Shenk has given his time and at
tention almost exclusively to his business, and

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

475

as a natural result has met with flattering suc
cess. While he has never held or sought po
litical office or honors, he has always taken an
active interest in the affairs of his city, county
and state, and has never failed to perform
willingly the duties incumbent upon all good
citizens. He has always been found ready
and willing to assist in the building up of Del
phos, having at heart the best interests of the
city's enterprises and institutions.

lS^\ EV. JOHN M. SHENK, a prominent
I ^Z minister of the Mennonite church, as
H P well as a substantial farmer of Marion
township, Allen county, Ohio, is of
good old German extraction, but more proxi
mately of Pennsylvania descent, the grand
father, Jacob Shenk, having been born in
Lancaster county, that state, whence he
moved to Rockingham county, Va. He was
wedded to Miss A. Miller, by whom he became
the father of the following children: Henry,
John, Jacob, Michael and Anna. He lost his
first wife in middle life, and his second mar
riage was with Anna Stauffer, who bore him
four children, viz: Christian, Fannie, Lydia
and Mary. He owned a good farm of 160
acres near Harrisonburg, Va., which he dis
posed of for $13,000, retired to private life,
and died at the age of about seventy-five
years. Mr. Shenk was a devout member of
the Mennonite church, and, although an exten
sive farmer, was bitterly opposed to slavery.
He was greatly honored for his upright life
and his generous and open-hearted liberality.
Henry Shenk, son of Jacob Shenk, was
born on the homestead in the Shenandoah
valley, Va., received a good common school
education, and was fully instructed, also, in
farming. When a young man he came to
Ohio, located in Fairfield counjy, and there
18

married Miss Susannah Brenneman. He then
moved to Hocking county, Ohio, where he
cleared eighty acres from the wild wood, but
a few years later moved to Hamilton county,
Ind., where he purchased another farm of
eighty acres and also ran a saw-mill for a few
years, and then returned to Ohio, lived in
Franklin two or three years, then went back to
Fairfield county, and finally settled in Marion
township, Allen county, on a farm of 160
acres, that had been partly cleared. His nine-
children were named Jacob, Henry, Anna,.
John M., Andrew, Daniel, Katie, Lydia and
Abraham. Of these, two are in the ministry
— John M. and Andrew. The death of Henry
Shenk took place on his farm at the age of
fifty-eight years, and his loss was deeply
lamented by the whole community, who felt
that one of their best neighbors had been
taken from their midst.
Rev. John M. Shenk, our subject, was bora
in Hocking county, Ohio, January 19, 1848,
and was seven years of age when brought to
Allen county by his father. He was educated
in the common schools, but sufficiently well to
enable him, in turn, to become a teacher, a
vocation he followed a few years and then
turned his attention to farming. At the age
of twenty-one years he was married, in Marion
township, December 24, 1868, to Miss Fannie
Good, who was born March 24, 1849, a
daughter of Abraham and Rebecca (Rhodes)
Good. Abraham Good was of German de
scent, and was born in Rockingham county,
Va. , a son of Peter and Anna (Diller) Good,
and was the father of ten children: Elizabeth,
Fannie, Henry, Simon, Christian, Frank, John,
Lydia, Daniel and Jacob. After marriage
Mr. and Mrs. Shenk settled on their present
farm of forty acres in Marion township. The
greater part of this farm Mr. Shenk has him
self cleared up and has erected on it all the
buildings, set out the orchard, and brought it

476

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

to a high state of cultivation, and increased its
dimensions to 190 acres.
Mr. Shenk united with the Mennonite
church at the age of nineteen years and at
once took an active part in Sunday-school
work. November 30, 1876, he was ordained
a minister at Elida, Allen county, since when
he has preached constantly and most accept
ably to the flock confided to his charge. To
the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Shenk have
been born eleven children, named as follows:
Henry (died in infancy), Abraham, Amos,
Simon, Moses, Reuben, John, Levi, Daniel,
Rebecca and Jacob. Mr. Shenk is largely
self-educated and is still a hard student, read
ing constantly works on theological subjects
and papers on horticulture. In his vocation
of farming he has a special taste for agricul
ture and horticulture, and his orchard is well
stocked with every kind of fruit trees indige
nous to the temperate zone. He is a gentle
man of refinement and culture, and is honored
and respected by all classes, and is withal a
progressive and useful citizen.

lJ~\ EV ANDREW SHENK, a prominent
I /^ minister of the Mennoite church of
ff fP Marion township, Allen county, Ohio,
is a son of Henry and Susannah
(Brenneman) Shenk, and was born in Hamil
ton county, Ind., August 19, 1850, on his
father's farm.
Andrew Shenk was but an infant when
brought to Ohio, in 1852, by his parents, who
first located in Fairfield county, and in 1855
came to Marion township, Allen county. He
received a limited education in the district
schools, but, being of studious habits, with an
inquiring turn of mind, as well as possessing a
retentive memory, he gained a practical edu
cation by studying at home. In Elkhart county,
Ind., March 24, 1872, he married Susannah

Good, who was born July 7, 1850, in Fairfield
county, Ohio, a daughter of Noah and Frances
(Culp) Good. The father, Noah, was of Penn
sylvania-Dutch stock paternally, and a son of
Daniel and Magdelena (Campbell) Good; he
was married in Fairfield county, Ohio, where
he was a prosperous farmer, and to him and
wife were born ten children, viz: Sophia, Mag
dalena, Elizabeth, Joseph, Susannah, Annie,
Nancy and Fannie (twins), Christopher and
Lydia. Mr. Good came to Sugar Creek town
ship, Allen county, in 1851, where he lived on
rented land until 1864, when he moved to Page
county, Iowa, and thence, in 1872, moved to
Kansas. He and family, with the exception
of two children, are all pious adherents of the
Mennonite church, and he still has his residence
in Kansas, being now seventy-four years of age.
After marriage Mr. Shenk settled on his present
farm, then consisting of forty acres of partly
cleared land, but this farm, by industry and
thrift, he has increased to eighty acres, all of
which he has now cleared and converted into
a good home. The marriage of Mr. Shenk
has been blessed with eight children, named
as follows: Henry G., Noah H., Perry J.,
Gabriel D., Rhoda F. , Timothy C. , and Mary
E. and Martha A. , twins.
Rev. Andrew Shenk has been a member of
the Mennonite church for twenty-seven years,
and his wife twenty-eight years, and for the
past four years he has been preaching very
acceptably to quite a large congregation,
handling his various themes with pious fer
vor and always with a view to lead sinners
to Christ and the saved to a higher spiritual
life. He has educated his children as well as
the advantages of the district schools will per
mit, and he and his faithful helpmate are rec
ognized as among the truly good, charitable,
and sincerely pious members of the community
of which they have so long been respected
members.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

477

>-j*OHN SCHERGER, a well-known citi-
A zen of Delphos, Ohio, was born in Seneca
A 1 county, in August, 1847, an(^ is the son
of Antone and Josephine Scherger, both
of whom were born in Germany. Antone
Scherger came with his family to the United
States in 1845, and settled in Seneca county,
Ohio, where he purchased land and followed
farming for many years. His wife died in
1 85 1, her death resulting from falling in a well
and drowning. His death occurred in Del
phos in 1875. They had four children, three
of whom are still living, as follows: Antone,
now a farmer of Seneca county; Constantine,
of the firm of C. Scherger & Son, marble and
granite dealers in Delphos, and our subject.
John Scherger remained on the farm in
Seneca county until he was eighteen years of
age, and then came to Delphos and went to
work for his brother Constantine, who was en
gaged in the blacksmithing and wood-working
business. After working one year in the wood
working shop our subject went into the black
smith shop and learned that trade. He
worked for his brother for two years, and then
formed a co-partnership with William Han-
kins, the shop foreman, and bought out the
blacksmith shop. He and Mr. Hankins con
tinued together for four years, and then our
subject bought out his partner and has carried
on the business by himself ever since. When
he first began the business it was on a very
small scale, but it grew and enlarged from
year to year until he soon had one of the lead
ing shops in Delphos. In 1880 he began
building buggies, carriages, wagons and all
kinds of vehicles, and for over ten years did a
large and successful business in that line, em
ploying a large force of hands. Since 1892,
however, he has been doing all kinds of repair
work, and in this he has all he can do. In
1887 he erected a large two-story brick busi
ness . house on Main street, between Fourth

and Fifth streets, on a lot 66x132 feet. This
building was destroyed by fire on the evening
of July 4, 1 89 1, but he rebuilt it the same
summer and now occupies it. This'was the
second time he had been burned out. In 1875
he joined his brother Constantine in the marble
business in Delphos, he still keeping up his
other business. Two years later, however,
after the marble business had been put on a
successful footing, he retired from the same, as
his own business demanded all his time and
constant attention.
Mr. Scherger was married, in 1872, to Eva
Sorge, the daughter of Peter Sorge, of Seneca
county, Ohio, and to their union ten children
have been born, seven of whom are living, as
follows: Louis, Edward, Mary, Ella, Ora,
Frank and Albert. Mr. Scherger and family
are members of the Saint John's Roman Cath
olic church. When Mr. Scherger came to
Delphos he was a poor boy, without much
schooling or a trade. He here learned his
trade, and worked industriously, lived econom
ically, and soon engaged in business for him
self. Since then he has attended strictly to his
calling, and he has met with deserved success.
He now owns his place of business on Main
street, also his residence on Fifth street, Van
Wert county, and another piece of property in
Delphos, Allen county. The attention of the
reader is respectfully called to the biography
of Constantine Scherger, on page 461.

EENRY J. SHERRICK, one of the
most substantial farmers of Marion
township, Allen county, and an ex-
soldier of the late Civil war, was
born in Fairfield county, Ohio, March 16,
1834, and is a son of Samuel and Barbara
(Stemen) Sherrick, pioneers of Allen county,
mention being frequently made of both families
within the covers of this volume.

478

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Henry J. Sherrick received the usual
education granted the pioneer lad, but, having
a natural aptitude for the acquirement of
knowledge soon added greatly to that which
he had secured at school, and later fully pre
pared himself for the business affairs of life.
In the fall of 1842 he came with his parents to
Allen county, and still remembers the journey,
which was made with horses attached to three
wagons. The father, with the aid of his chil
dren, had to cut his way through the woods
from Lima to the tract he had selected for a
home in Marion township, on which our sub
ject still resides. There were but few cabins
then in Lima, and a log structure answered the
purpose of a court-house.
Samuel Sherrick, on coming to Allen
county, settled on a farm of 160 acres, in the
.clearing up of which from the primitive forest
our subject gave valuable aid. Henry J.,
although young, was a strong and vigorous
youth, and many a black walnut and oak and
hickory tree fell under the sturdy strokes of
his ax, to be rolled into heaps and destroyed
by fire. The first marriage of Mr. Sherrick took
place in Marion township, Allen county, Ohio,
September 26, 1858, with Miss Mary M.
Stuckey, who was born April 14, 1838, in
Marion township, Putnam (now Allen) county
— a daughter of Samuel H. and Mary (Peters)
Stuckey. The father, Samuel H. Stuckey,
was a native of Pennsylvania, who came to
Ohio with his father, Christian Stucky, and
settled in Fairfield county as a pioneer. In
1838 he came to Allen county and settled in
Marion township, on the line of Sugar Creek
township, when there were but four families in
Marion, and the township itself a vast wilder
ness. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Stuckey
was blessed by the birth of the following
children: Levi, Ezra, Betty, Mary M., Maria,
Daniel (who was a soldier in tlie late Civil

war), Sarah and Christian. Mr. Stuckey
cleared up a good farm of 140 acres, became
a well-to-do farmer, and was noted for his
piety and religious zeal, being a member of the
German Reform church, while his wife was at
first a Lutheran and later a member of the
United Brethren congregation. Mr. Stuckey
was an elder in his church for many years,
was a Sunday-school superintendent, and also
served as township trustee and in several
minor offices. His death took place April 19,
1874, on his farm in Marion township, at the-
age of sixty-nirie years, six months and twenty
days. After his marriage Henry J. Sherrick set
tled on a tract of eighty acres two and a half
miles southwest af Delphos, and cleared up, of
this tract, fifty or more acres, selling most of
the timber to the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne
railroad company. Being a very robust man
he made much money, and in the fall of 1863,
removed to a farm of 103 acres, which he also
cleared up and converted into a profitable
farm, built a tasteful residence, a substantial
barn snd all necessary farm buildings, and
otherwise improved, so that the place is un
surpassed by any other farm of its dimensions.
in the township — being all well drained and
fenced. The children that blessed the union
of Mr. and Mrs. Sherrick were six in number
and were born in the following order: Shel
den, Sabina, Alfred M., Newel Sylvester, Mat-
tie Dell and Samuel Francis.
The same fall in which Mr. Sherrick settled.
on his first farm in the woods of Marion town
ship he enlisted in the Ohio national guards,
in Sugar Creek township, September 8, 1863,
for five years, leaving his wife and two small1
children in an humble log cabin on a small
clearing. He served in this branch of the serv
ice, however, for about eight months only,
being honorably discharged in May, 1864, on
account of his enlistment in company F, One

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

479

Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volunteer infan
try, under Capt. Isaac Patrick, in order to go
to the front for ioo days, but served twelve
days over his time and was honorably dis
charged at Columbus, Ohio, in August, 1864—
he and his comrades receiving a letter of
thanks from the President of the United States
for their meritorious services. He was assigned
to duty in Virginia, Maryland the District of
Columbia, and defended the city of Washing
ton against the raid of the rebels in July, 1864,
and at one time had charge of a 100-pound
Parrott gun in guarding the Potomac river.
He was a strong and active soldier and did his
full duty faithfully and cheerfully. After his
return home he suffered for a time from an at
tack of sickness, but on his recovery suc
ceeded in clearing up the remainder of his
farm and became a substantial and prosperous
citizen. Mrs. Mary M. Sherrick was called from
earth September 25, 1881, a pious member of
the United Brethren church, which organiza
tion she had joined at the age of thirteen
years. She was a loving wife and a devoted
mother, and her death was a sad blow to her
family. December 6, 1883, Mr. Sherrick
chose, for his second life-companion, Miss
Sabina Dustman, who was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, December 4, 1843, a daughter
of George and Metta (Peters) Dustman, but
to this union no children have been born. Mrs.
Sherrick's father, George Dustman, is a pio
neer of Van Wert county, Ohio, is a prosper
ous farmer, and has reared his family in a
most respectable manner, all its members
being well educated and trained to habits of
industry and usefulness. Mr. and Mrs. Sher
rick are consistnent members of the United
Brethren church, in which Mr. Sherrick has
been a trustee for many years and is now a
class leader and steward. In politics he is a
republican, but simply contents himself with

the exercise of his franchise at the polls, hav
ing no ambition for holding office. He is a
gentleman of the strictest integrity and a pro
gressive citizen, taking much interest in the
growth of his township. Always a man of
great physical strength, he has never hesitated
in using it for the benefit of his family, and
much of what he owns has been gained
through his labors for a wage compensation at
the start. He is still well preserved and vig
orous, and to such pioneers as he is due the
material progress of Allen county.

«¦» ¦* ENRY M. SHERRICK, one of the
|f\ prominent and active citizens of the
f^ F town of Elida, Allen county, Ohio,
was born in Sugar Creek township,
same county, December 23, 1849, he being
the second son but sixth born, in the family of
eleven children of Henry and Margaret
(Stemen) Sherrick, the former of whom was
born in Fairfield county, August 25, 181 1, and
died on his farm, two and a half miles north of
Elida, April 12, 1891, from paralysis. The
father was reared to manhood in his native
county, receiving a limited education from the
common schools of his day, and was early
inured to hard labor, as he assisted his father,
who was one of the pioneers of that county,
and redeemed from the forests a good home.
Upon arriving at his majority, he began life's
work in the world, starting out empty handed,
but with a willing disposition and a determina
tion to succeed, and soon found that the task
of making a home not so difficult as it had
been pictured. At the age of twenty-four,
feeling the need of a home, and the desirability
of a companion, he chose for his helpmate
Miss Margaret Stemen, with whom he was
united in marriage on the 14th day of June,
1835. Three years later they both united

480

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

with the^Mennonite church and became active
workers in that organization.
In 1 841 they sold their possessions in Fair
field county and migrated by an overland route
to Allen -county, Ohio, locating in the dense
woods in Sugar Creek township, north of
Elida, being compelled to cut away the forests
before they could erect their pioneer home,
and Mrs. Sherrick performed her part of the
task in preparing meals for her husband and
his assistants, by cooking in kettles over a
log-heap, until they could move into their
cabin and prepare for living the life of a pio
neer. Their cabin home was one of the modern
dwellings, with two rooms on the first floor
and the same number on the second, in which
they lived, while they were redeeming from
the forest a 129-acre farm and rearing their
family of eleven children. In course of time,
having practiced economy, the were enabled
to build a modern frame dwelling, in which
they spent the remainder of their lives.
Mr. Sherrick, the father of our subject,
was one of the pioneers of Allen county, locat
ing here before there were any roads to the
north of Lima, and he was one of the party
who blazed and cut out the road from the
county seat to the town of Gomer, in Sugar
Creek township. He was a public-spirited
man, always taking an active interest in the
welfare of the county and the home community
where he resided for nearly fifty years, being
looked to as one of the model citizens and
farmers of the county. He was a strong,
hardy, robust man, and hardly knew what it
was to be sick a day for a period of fifty years.
He was a stanch republican and took an active
interest in the public schools. He and wife,
soon after locating in Sugar Creek township,
along with sixteen of their neighbors, assisted
in organizing the first Mennonite congregation
in the county, and in erecting a building first
known as Dutch Hollow church, now called

Salem church. Mr. Sherrick was at that time
placed in charge of the church and cemetery
and faithfully executed the duties devolved
upon him as a church worker and a guardian
of the house of worship until within eight years
of his death. His worthy companion survives
him at the ripe old age of seventy-seven years,
and is one of the well-known and active mem
bers of the church of her choice, being highly
respected in the community in which she has
lived for over half a century. To the union of
Henry and Margaret (Stemen) Sherrick were
born eleven children, viz: Nancy, Mattie, Eliza
beth, Mary, John W., Henry M., Noah,
Christian, an infant daughter deceased, Will
iam and Andrew.
Henry M. Sherrick was reared on a farm
and remained at home until he was married,
which event took place April 25, 1872, to Miss
Mary C. Pfeifer, daughter of J. Nicholas and
Eva B. (Zeor) Pfeifer, both now deceased.
The father died September 29, 1871; the
mother November 2, 1871, aged respectively
fifty-nine and fifty-seven years. A family of
eleven children were born to them, viz: Eliz
abeth, Anna B., Henry (deceased), Catherine,
John A., Jacob, Mary C. (wife of Henry M.
Sherrick, our subject), Nicholas, Adam, An
thony, and Martha. Two of the children were
teachers — Henry and Mary C. Mr. Sherrick,
after his marriage, located in Sugar Creek
township, Allen county, and engaged in oper
ating a saw-mill and running a threshing ma-,
chine, but in February, 1876, he moved to:
Elida and erected the house which he now oc-.
cupies, and since his residence here has been
engaged in selling farm implements, threshing,
and in buying and shipping stock, of which he
handles large quantities, shipping to Chicago
and Pittsburg. He sells the reaper and mower
of the Buckeye manufacture and the Deering
threshers and engines, and now gives his entire ,
attention to the sale of farm implements. He

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

481

is a republican member of the town council,
and he and Mrs. Sherrick are members of the
Lutheran church. Three interesting children
have blessed their union: Gertrude, wife of
William Kesler; Eva M, deceased, and Lloyd
P., at home; Miss Gertrude Sherrick, before
her marriage, was a teacher and was a grad
uate of the Elida high school.

>-j*OHN w. ROBY, attorney-at-law of
A Lima, Ohio, was born in Delphos, Jan-
flft J uary 8, 1868, and is a son of John and
Melinda (Searing) Roby, both of whom
will be mentioned more fully in this sketch.
John W. Roby received his education first in
Delphos public schools, from which he gradu
ated in 1884, and then he attended the Ohio
Wesleyan university, at Delaware, Ohio, re
maining there for two years. For two years
afterward he was in attendance at Yale college,
which institution conferred upon him the de
grees of LL. B., and M. L., the latter in 1891.
During his vacations he engaged in teaching in
Delphos, and in June, 1891, was admitted to the
bar in Delphos, and at once began the practice
of the law in partnership with H. A. Reeve.
This partnership lasted until 1895, when Mr.
Roby removed to Lima and formed a partner
ship with F. H. Leland, under the firm name
of Leland & Roby. Mr. Roby is a Mason and
a Knight of Pythias. He is also a member of
the Protestant Episcopal church, is popular in
Lima, and is a growing young lawyer, having
met with marvelous success in his professional
practice. John Roby, father of the above, is pro
prietor of the Phelan House in Delphos. He
was born in the province of Bavaria, Germany,
March 31, 1839, and is a son of John and
Mary (Munger) Roby. His parents were both
natives of Bavaria, were reared and educated
in Bavaria, and there Mr. Roby followed farm

ing for a livelihood. When John Roby was six
years of age the family emigrated to the
United States, landing in New York, and go
ing thence to Perrysburg, Wood county, Ohio,
by way of Buffalo, N. Y. , where Mrs. Roby
died in the winter of 1845, leaving a family of
four children, viz: Mary, two that have since
died, and John. After the death of his wife
Mr. Roby continued his journey to Perrysburg,
engaged in farming, and there, in 1850, mar
ried his second wife. Residing in Perrysburg
until the death of this wife, he afterward lived
with his daughter, Mary, at Maumee, until his
death in 1882. He and his family were all
members of the Catholic church, all were
good people, and in politics he was a stanch
democrat. John Roby was but seven years old when
his mother died and after her death he lived
wherever he could find a home. Having
friends along the canal, his home for years was
practically on board of a canal boat. This
mode of life he continued until he was twenty-
eight years of age, and then he engaged in
teaming for some time, and afterward bought
a canal boat which he ran for about three
years. Selling his boat, he engaged in the
produce business, which he followed for three
years, when he opened a hotel at Delphos,
which he managed until the building of the
new Phelan House, when he assumed charge
thereof and has been thus engaged ever since.
In Delphos he married Malinda Searing, a na
tive of Ohio, born in Maumee, and by whom
he has had one son, John W. Roby, now en
gaged in the practice of the law in Lima.
The Phelan House is one of the fine hotels
along the line of P., Ft. W. & C. railroad,
contains forty rooms, and everything in con
nection with it is in first-class order. Mr.
Roby is a republican in politics, is a pleasant
and genial gentleman, and is popular with all
classes of the people.

482

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

-V^~\ ANIEL SELLERS, an intelligent and
ti B thriving farmer, was born April 3,
/A^J 1853, on the homestead where he
now lives in Perry township, . Allen
county, Ohio, and is of Pennsylvania-German
descent.
Leonard Sellers, grandfather of our subject,
was a native of Berks county, Pa., born in
1785, where he followed agricultural pursuits
for many years, and eventually came to Ohio,
making his residence in Franklin county until
1856, when he came to Allen county and pur
chased 282 acres of land in the wild woods of
that part of Allen county known as Auglaize
county; subsequently he settled in section No.
30, in Perry township, Allen county, where he
owned 100 acres; he also owned 180 in section
No. 31, in the same township.; in Auglaize
county he owned six-six acres, and in Williams
county owned 640 acres, but later divided all
this land among his children — giving to his
sons the land in Auglaize and Allen counties,
and to his daughters the Williams county prop
erty. His own homestead was the farm on
which his son William now lives, in Auglaize
county. He married Elizabeth Wengar, and
to this marriage were born the following chil
dren: Joseph, John W. , Henry, Samuel,
William, Catherine, Susan Eliza and Harriet.
The death of this old and respected pioneer,
Leonard Sellers, took place on his Auglaize
county homestead in 1861, and his widow died
at the ripe old age of eighty years.
Joseph Sellers, the eldest son of Leonard
and Elizabeth (Wengar) Sellers, and the father
of Daniel Sellers, our subject, was born in
Franklin county, Ohio, about 1829, and was
reared on his father's farm. On coming to
Allen county he selected for his homestead
that part of his father's estate for his home on
which his son Daniel now resides, increasing
his property by his industry and frugality until
he owned 500 broad acres, becoming one of

the most prospsrous farmers of Perry township.
He married Elvis Crumrine, by which union
the children named as follows were born:
Daniel, David, William, Catherine, and Mar
garet. In politics Mr. Sellers was a democrat
and held a term of township trustee, and school
director several terms each, but served only at
the solicitation of his friends. Mr. Sellers died
in the faith of the Lutheran church, a sincere
Christian, but his wife still survives.
Daniel Sellers, the eldest son of Joseph
Sellers, was well educated in the common
schools of his native township, and so well
trained in agriculture that he is today recog
nized as one of the best farmers in the neighbor
hood. His farm comprises 100 acres and is a
model one. Mr. Sellers was united in marriage
with Miss Louisa Beeler, who died in 1888,
leaving two children— Clinton and Lewis C.
In politics Mr. Sellers is a democrat, but has
never been a partisan in the office-seeking
sense of the word, and in religion is a Lu
theran of the purest and simplest type, and is
greatly respected by his neighbors for the fidel
ity with which he holds to the teachings of
his church.

aHARLES M. SHOEMAKER, one of
the pioneers of Sugar Creek township,
Allen county, Ohio, is a native of
Fairfield county, and was born Oc
tober 8, 1824, of remotely Swiss ancestry, but
of more recent Pennsylvania descent — his fore
fathers in this country having left Switzerland
in the latter of the seventeenth century, on
account of some religious persecutions, with
no property except their extra clothing, and
found refuge in Pennsylvania, settling in Berks
county, were there engaged in farming, and
their descendants after them for generations.
Jacob Shoemaker, the grandfather of our
subject, was a native of the Keystone state,

CHAS M, SHOEMAKER.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

485

was a patriot of the American Revolution, and
took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, in the
battle of the Brandywine, where he was twice
wounded; in the battle of Cowpens, and in
many other conflicts. About 1 784 he married
Madelina Reicheldeffer, of Pennsylvania-Dutch
descent, and before the opening of the war of
18 1 2 came to Ohio and was the third settler
in the township of Clear Creek, Fairfield county,
where he cleared up a farm from the woods
and acquired large landed estates, so that he
was enabled to give to his sons a quarter sec
tion of land each and still retain a quarter sec
tion for his own use. His children were six in
number and were named Mary M., Mary,
Catherine, Rebecca, Henry and Daniel R.
Jacob Shoemaker was a founder and a pillar
of the Lutheran church in Ohio, was a demo
crat in politics, and lived to reach a ripe old
age, dying a prominent and respected citizen
and an honored pioneer.
Daniel R. Shoemaker, father of our subject,
was also, born in Pennsylvania, in the county
of Berks, and was a boy when brought to Fair
field county, Ohio, by his parents. Here he
grew to manhood on his father's homestead
and later embarked in business on his own
account as farmer and stock dealer, and also
ran a saw and grist-mill. He first married in
Pickaway county, Ohio, Sophia Martz, daugh
ter of Abraham and Katie (Harmon) Martz —
John Harmon, the grandfather of Mrs.
Sophia Shoemaker, having lived to the ex
treme age of 104 years. Mr. Shoemaker
owned 400 acres1 of land in different tracts in
Clear Creek township, and was a highly re
spected citizen. To his first marriage were
born five children, viz: Charles M., Sophia,
Joseph, Jacob and Emily, all deceased except
our subject. Mrs. Shoemaker having died in
the homestead in Fairfield county, Mr. Shoe
maker there married his second wife Mrs.
Elizabeth Walters, a widow who had borne

the maiden name of Baker — and to this mar
riage were born Malinda, Daniel, George,
Noah, Abraham, Andrew and Mary Ann. Mr.
Shoemaker was a soldier in the war of 18 12,
was a democrat in politics, and for many years
was an elder in the Lutheran church. About
1859, or i860, he removed to Indiana and set
tled in Wells county, where he died in 1863,
a recognized gentleman of culture and high-
toned character.
Charles M. Shoemaker, the subject proper
of this biography, was educated in the pioneer
schools of Fairfield county, Ohio, especially in
German, and this education he supplemented
by a wide course of reading. He was reared
to farming and milling, and August 9, 1846,
came to Allen county, Ohio, and in 1847,
purchased forty acres of land in German town
ship, where, also, October 12, 1848, he mar
ried Rebecca Sawmiller, who was born Sep
tember 4, 1829, in Fairfield county, Ohio, a
daughter of Jacob and Rachael (Fry) Saw
miller — or Sakemiller, as the name was orig
inally spelled — the family being of Pennsyl
vania-Dutch stock. The parents of Mrs.
Shoemaker came to Allen county in 1831 and
settled on the land now owned by our subject,
and reared the following children: John,
Fred, Elizabeth, Jacob, Daniel, Benjamin,
Jane, Rebecca, Mary and Samson. The father
of this family died on his farm at the age of
seventy-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker
at once settled on their forty-acre farm in
German township, where Mr. Shoemaker fol
lowed carpentering in conjunction with farm
ing until 1855, when he removed to his present
farm in Sugar Creek township, which farm
then consisted of eighty acres, but, by thrift
and industry, he has increased it to 155 acres,
of which he has cleared fifty acres. This tract
he has placed in a good state of cultivation
and has improved it with a tasteful residence,
erected in 1884. Here he has reared his six

486

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

children, named Rachael, Phebe, Elizabeth,
Charles, Rebecca, and Emily. Mr. Shoemaker
is a member of the Lutheran church, of which
denomination he has been an elder nine years —
his wife being a member of the United Brethren
church. In politics Mr. Shoemaker is a dem
ocrat and as such has served as township
trustee for four years and also as assessor.
He stands very high in the esteem of his neigh
bors and is recognized as a skillful and saga
cious farmer, and, above all, as an honest man
and useful citizen. Mr. Shoemaker, in con
nection with his farming, was fifty -three years
engaged in the undertaking business and was
the first in this locality to engage especially in
this business — his first funeral took place
March 19, 1847 — and his last February 17,
1893.

^-j'ACOB W. SHOBE, a man of high
A character and varied experience, one of
A J the representative citizens of Allen
county, residing on section No. 31,
German township, was born in Amanda town
ship, Allen county, June 15, 1854. He is a son
of Samuel and Mary (Gracy) Shobe, excellent
people, but both of whom are still living, and
of whom further mention will be made.
Jacob W. Shobe was reared on the home
farm with his parents, receiving as good an
education as they could give him, in the public
schools. Having remained at home until he
became of age, he then learned the blacksmith's
trade at Vera Cruz, Ind., working at that
trade from June 5, 1876, until 1890, two years
and a half of which time he remained at Vera
Cruz. Returning to Allen county May 28,
1879, he continued his trade at Allentown
until 1886; he then returned to Indiana, work
ing four years at his trade, at a point in Ran
dolph county; at Rochester, in Fulton county,
and at Tiosa, in the same county. In 1890

he returned to Allen county, locating on the
present farm in German township, where he
has been living, engaged in farming, and where
they own sixty-five acres of good farming land.
He is engaged for the most part in general
farming, raising some stock, but not making a
specialty of any particular breed.
Mr. Shobe has been married three times —
first, on March 22, 1878, to Miss Eliza A.
Nunn, daughter of Mrs. Emeline, Nunn, who
was born in German township, Allen county,
and who died March 4, 1882, at the age of
twenty-five years, eleven months and one day.
To this marriage one child was born, viz:
Myrtle V. On November 22, 1882, Mr. Shobe
was married to Miss Fannie E. Thuma, daugh
ter of Mrs. Catherine Thuma. She was born
in Augusta county, Va., May 30, i860, and
died February 24, 1887. By this second mar
riage Mr. Shobe had two children, viz: Virginia
and Laverna. Mr. Shobe's third marriage
occurred March 22, 1891, to Mrs. Naomi
Baumgardner, "widow of Jacob Baumgardner,
and a daughter of Henry and Lydia A. Imler.
She was born in German township, Allen
county, June 12, 1854, and by her present
husband is the mother of one child, James
Wilber, born January 3, 1893. Henry Imler
was born June 20, 1827, and died March 7,
1889; his wife, Lydia A. Imler, was born Au
gust 15, 1835, in Jackson county, Ohio, and
died May 8, 1895, in German township, Allen
county, Ohio — members, respectively of the
Methodist Episcopal and United Brethren
churches. Henry Imler had been a wagon-
maker and farmer through life and died a
highly respected gentleman. Mrs. Naomi
Shobe, by her marriage with Jacob Baumgard
ner, March 12, 1872, became the mother of
two children — Anna .J., born January 30,
1873, and Curtis P., born October 15, 1874,
Mr. Baumgardner dying July 21, 1889.
In politics Mr. Shobe is a stanch democrat,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

487

and fraternally he is a member of Bloomings-
burg lodge, No. 516, I. O. O. F., of Bloom-
ingsburg, Ind. Mr. Shobe, though a young
man, has yet done a great deal of work, has
seen much of the world, and is one of the most
progressive and enterprising of the foremost
citizens of Allen county.
Samuel Shobe, father of our subject, was
born in Ross county, Ohio, April 6, 1822, and
was a son of Jacob and Mary (Bush) Shobe,
natives, respectively, of Hardy and Pendleton
counties, Va. The father of Samuel came to
Ohio in 18 10, and followed farming in Ross
county until his death, in August, 1823; his
widow died February 28, 1866, the mother of
three sons and six daughters, all deceased
with exception of our subject and one daugh
ter, Mrs Ireland, now living in German town
ship. Henry Shobe came to Allen county,
Ohio, in 1851, and settled in Amanda town
ship on his present farm of 120 acres, in sec
tions Nos. 23 and 24. He had been educated
in Ross county, and first married, in 1844,
Harriet Jones, of Ross county, who died in
1845, the mother of one daughter, Harriet E.
His second marriage was on June 5, 1847,
with Mary Gracy, who was born in Fayette
county, Ohio, January 12, 1828, and to this
union were born twelve children, viz: Albert
(deceased), Johannah (deceased), Rachael J.,
Franklin P., Jacob W., Samuel A. (deceased),
Mary E. (deceased), Sarah A., Alva, Cyrus D.,
Harry and Martha .E. Mr. and Mrs. Shobe
are members of the Christian Uuion church,
of which Mr. Shobe is an elder and trustee.
In politics he is a democrat.

J^VLIAS H. SHOOK.— It is always a
A J pleasant task to write, of an intelligent
%k_>/ and progressive man, especially of one
devoted to the development of mod
ern methods in agriculture. Such a man is

Elias H. Shook, the subject of this biographi
cal sketch, who in this respect is one of the
leading citizens of the county. Mr. Shook
was born in Ottawa county, Ohio, near Port
Clinton, the county seat, September 30, 1835.
He is a son of Isaac and Susan (East) Shook,
the former of whom, like his son, was a prac
tical farmer.
Elias H. Shook was reared in Allen
county from the time he was a small boy,
about four or five years of age, his parents at
that time locating in German township, on
section No. 21, where Mr. Shook himself now
lives. He there assisted in clearing up the
farm, which contained eighty acres, and in
securing his education, at the public schools
and in a subscription school, so that he was
more than ordinarily well educated for the
times in which he spent his youth. His father
died about 1845, and he then went to live
with his uncle, Jdhn East, where he remained
until he was eighteen years old. At this time
he returned to his home and began to learn
the trade of carpenter, which trade occupied
the most of his time for twenty years. Many
of the best residences in Allen county have
been erected by Mr. Shook. At the same time,
however, that he was engaged in the carpenter
trade and in erecting houses for other people,
he was also engaged in farming to a consider
able extent, and about 1876 he erected a
manufactory, for the purpose of making drain
ing tile, at which he was employed in connec
tion with his farming and building until 1892,
when he sold out the tile manufacturing
business. Mr. Shook has purchased the old home
stead, which now contains eighty-two acres of
land, and upon it has erected a fine frame
residence, the old one having been destroyed
by fire. He also has excellent barns for stock
and grain, all of which he himself erected. He
is engaged for the most part in general farm-

488

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ing and in the cultivation of small fruits, rasp
berries, strawberries, etc., and is also engaged
in raising the best grades of stock, such as the
Poland-China hog and Jersey cattle. Most of
his farm is under a high state of cultivation,
and he is generally looked upon as one of the
most progressive men of Allen county. Not
only this, but he has public spirit, which is
something hard to find, most men thinking
that if they successfully carry on their own
private business they are doing all that is re
quired of them. Mr. Shook always is ready
to assist any enterprise which bids reasonably
fair to -promote the public good. He is a man
of broad and liberal views, and is one of the
wheel-horses of the democratic party of Allen
county, always ready to work for his party in
or out of office. His party has honored him
by giving him the office of township trustee,
which office he has held for many years. He
has also been sent by his party as delegate to
several conventions, and is now a member of
the county central committee, and one of the
advisory board.
Mr. Shook was married September 18,
1858, to Miss Mary Blausser, who was born in
Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1832. She is a
daughter of Joseph and Magalena (Stolter)
Blausser. Mr. and Mrs. Shook are the par
ents of seven children, viz: David, a farmer
of German township; Alonzo, also a farmer of
German township; Frank, a fireman on the D.
& M. railroad, living at Lima; Sherman, in
the employ of the L. E. & W. railroad com
pany, at Lima; Charles, another farmer of
German township; Princess Almeda, wife of
Clarence Miller of Lima, Mr. Miller being a
fireman on the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad, and
Samson, living at home. Mr. Shook is in
every way, .and in the best sense, as will be
seen by what has been written of him in this
sketch, a self-made man. What he has ac
cumulated has been by his own labor and en

ergy, and what he has made of himself per
sonally has been no less by the exercise of his
own will and talents. Too many such men
can not be found in any community.

¦^t^AEOB L. SHOOK, a successful manu-
A facturer of a high grade of tiling at
A ¥ Westminster, Auglaize township, Allen
"*-"** county, Ohio, was born in Franklin
county, May 21, 1843, and is of German de
scent, The paternal grandfather of our sub
ject, John Shook, settled in Ohio about the
year 181 5; his maternal grandfather, John C.
East, was born in Hesserland ¦ July 25, 1754,
was a soldier in the British army, and was sent
to America during the Revolutionary war. On
arriving in this country he deserted the British
and joined his fortunes with the patriot army*.
Subsequently he located in Pennsylvania, but
about 181 5 or 18 16 came to Ohio.
Isaac Shook, father of our subject, was born
in Allegheny county, Pa., September 10, 1803,
came to Ohio about 181 5, settled in Pickaway
county and died November 1,1843, a member
of the United Brethren church, and in politics
a democrat. He married Susanna East, Sep
tember 9, 1824. This lady was born in Penn
sylvania November 14, 1805, came to Fairfield
county, Ohio, in 18 15, and died in Allen county
in August, 1882. The union was blessed with
seven sons and one daughter.
Jacob L. Shook, our subject, worked at
the carpenter and joiner's trade until seven
teen years of age, when he was appointed, by
Gov. Bishop, a guard at the Ohio state peni
tentiary, a position he held for two years, four
months and eleven days, and located at Lima,
Ohio, where he bought, with his savings, four
town lots, from the sale of which he netted
$2,500, and this profit he invested, some six
years ago, in his present business, which has
been a source of profit to him up to the present

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

489

time. In 1894 he bought a farm of ninety acres
in Adams county, Ind., to which he expects to
remove in 1896, and follow agriculture for the
remainder of his life. He married in Allen
county, October 12,1878, Miss Mary J. Baker,
a native of the county, born September 21,
1858, and a daughter of Jacob L. and Mary
(Grubb) Baker, and to this union have been
born the following children: Howard C. and
Ada, deceased, Edith G., Jacob L. G., and
Nettie M. The father of Mrs. Shook was
born in Washington county, Pa., and the
mother in Morgan county, Ohio, and since
their marriage have always been identified
with Allen county. Mr. Grubb was an elo
quent and successful minister in the German
Baptist church, in which the major portion of
his life was passed, and in the ministry of
which he died December 14, 1893. In poli
tics he was a democrat. To his marriage were
born children as follows: Addison (deceased),
Andrew M. , James I., Jacob M. (deceased),
Mary J. and Minnie (deceased).
Mr. Shook is a self-made man, all he owns
being the result of his well directed toil and
good management. In politics he is a demo
crat, and with his wife is a member of the
German Baptist church, the teachings of which
have been the guiding rules of his life. Fra
ternally he is a member of lodge No. 581, I.
O. O. F. , and socially he and wife are held in
in high esteem by the community in which
they live.

eETER SNYDER, an industrious and
successful farmer of Bath township,
Allen county, Ohio, is a native of
New York state and was born in
1820, a son of Philip and Mary (Sharpstein)
Snyder, also natives of the Empire state and
parents of twelve children, viz: John, who

died in Michigan, where Henry also died;
Lydia, died in New York; Cornelius, who died
in Michigan; William living in Iowa; Mary,
deceased wife of Asa Slocum, of Michigan;
Walter, who died in Michigan; Louisa, de
ceased wife of Samuel Learn, of the same
state;- Philip, also died in Michigan; Phebe,
wife of Mr. Pifer, also expired in that state;
Lorenzo D., died in Michigan, where so many
of his brothers and sisters took their departure
from terestrial life, and Peter is the subject of
this sketch, and the youngest of the family.
Philip Snyder, the father of this family, was a
blacksmith and an expert at his trade, which
he followed all his active life. His children,
as will be seen, nearly all settled in the state
of Michigan, where the mother died at the
home of her son, Lorenzo D.
Peter Snyder, the gentleman with whom
this memoir has most to do, was thirteen
years of age when he found a home in Trum
bull county, Ohio, where he worked out at
farm work five years by the month, and econo
mized his earnings. He then came to Bath
township, Allen county, where he worked at
any honest employment he could find until his
marriage, in 1839, to Miss Clarinda Edgecomb,
a daughter of Uriah Edgecomb, of Bath town
ship. He then rented a farm of 160 acres
and diligently set to work to meet the obliga
tions incurred by this very important step in
his life, and so far succeeded that he was able,
in 1849, to purchase forty -seven acres, which,
by intelligent enterprise and well directed effort,
he increased by the addition of 100 acres,
then, at a fovorable opportunity, sold the
whole tract and removed to Shawnee town
ship, where he resided until 1861, when he
returned to Bath township and purchased 160
acres on which he resided several years, but,
finding another opportunity for profit, again
sold out and purchased his present farm of
160 acres, which he has thoroughly cleared

490

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

up, improved, and converted into one of the
best farms in the township.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Snyder was
blessed with ten children, born as here de
tailed: Joseph died a soldier in the late war;
Murilla became the wife of Sumner F. Mason,
of Bath township; William also died in the
army; Walter is living in Indiana; Amy is the
wife of Marcus Mason, of Bath township;
Henrietta is married to Charles Shimaberry;
George lives in Shawnee township; Jasper re
sides in Paulding county; Newton and Clay C.
reside in Lima. Mr. Snyder lost his wife in
November, 1863, and for his second compan
ion he married Mrs. Ellen (Baker) Kollar,
widow of George W. Kollar, who died in the
army. The second marriage of Mr. Snyder
has been crowned by the birth of seven chil
dren, viz: Alta, wife of Albert Roberts, of
Bath township; Ida M., deceased wife of
James Getz, of Bath township; Della, wife of
Dr. Kiser, of Bluffton; Edward F., of Beaver
Dam, Allen county; James, Laura and Addie,
at home. Mr. Snyder is politically a republi
can and has served as trustee of Bath town
ship, a number of years, and no man stands
higher in the esteem of his fellow-citizens than
he and his family.

«y-* ON. JAMES V. SMILEY, mayor of
If^rV the city of Lima, and an active, en-
A .r terprising man, is a son of William
and Mary A. (Sliester, nee Stevenson)
Smiley. Francis Stevenson, the great-grand
father of Mr. Smiley on his mother's side, was
the first white settler in what is now Auglaize
township, Allen county, having located there
in the fall of 1829. He was of sturdy Scotch
ancestry, and came from Ross county, Ohio,
to Allen county. The second log cabin erected
in that township was erected by him, and stood
on section No 17. Here he lived nearly twenty

years, engaged in clearing up his land and in
making a home for his family. His death
occurred in 1847, and that of his wife the
next year.
James Stevenson, his son, married Miss
Arabella Hullinger, by whom he had five
daughters and one son. His settlement was
two miles east of Westminster. Here he lived
until his death, which occurred in either 185 1
or 1852. The paternal grandfather of the subject
emigrated from Washington county, Pa., and
settled in Harrison county, Ohio, at an early
date, and there died. He married a Miss Vin
cent and reared a family of three sons and two
daughters, of whom the father of Mr. Smiley
was the second son. He was born in 18 16 in
Harrison county, and was reared on his fath
er's farm, accustomed to all kinds of pioneer
farm labor. Not, however, satisfied with that
kind of life, he learned the trade of plasterer,
and followed this trade as a means of liveli^-
hood throughout his life. Some time after
acquiring his trade he removed to Morgam
county, Ohio, removing to Allen county in
1875, where he passed the remainder of his
days, dying in 1881. He married Mrs. Mary
A. Sliester, nee Stevenson, who still survives,
and resides in Van Wert county, Ohio. To
this marriage of Mr. Smiley and Mrs. Sliester
there were born the following children: Frank,
Emma (wife of J. S. Gorrell), Mary, and the
subject of this sketch.
James V. Smiley was bern February 23,
1853, and hence is in the prime of his life and
in the vigor of his powers. Like most boys of
American parentage his education was obtained
in the common schools, but unlike many of
them he prepared himself for the work of a
teacher, and at the age of twenty-one began
teaching in Logan county, in the district
schools. This profession he followed for twelve
years, with unusual success, in Logan, Au-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

491

glaize and Allen counties, the length of time
he taught in the same vicinity being a fair indi
cation of the estimation in which he was held
by the patrons of and the managers of the
public schools.
In 1887 he entered the employ of the
Buckeye Pipe company of Lima, remaining
with that company for three years. In 1890
he was elected truant officer of Lima and was
the first incumbent under the law providing for
such officer. In the spring of 1890 he was
elected city clerk, which position he filled for
two years, and in 1894 he was elected mayor
of Lima, a position he fills at the present time.
It will thus be seen that Mr. Smiley has been
and is equally as popular as a public official as
he was as a school-teacher. His duties are
well performed, and he is always true to the
trust reposed in him by the people. Politic
ally he is a republican, and, believing strongly
in his party's principles, he takes an active in
terest in its success. Fraternally he is a mem
ber of Solar lodge No. 793, I. O. O. F. ; of
Ohio encampment, No. 256, and Wayne castle,
K. of G. E.
Mr. Smiley was married, in 1880, to Miss
Ella Plummer, daughter of Rev. C. Plummer,
of Allen county, and by her he has four chil
dren, viz: Frank, Lee, Fred and Ruth. The
career of Mr. Smiley has been and is such as
to emphasize the fact that sometimes at least
the faithful performance of duty as it comes to
hand, with a single purpose to serve others,
will be recognized and will meet with its reward.

>»j'ACOB C. SNIDER, the popular young
A tile manufacturer at Harrod, Auglaize
A 1 township, is a. native of Jackson town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, and was born
July 19, 18.59. His great-grandfather, Adam
Snider, was a resident of Pennsylvania, of

either German birth or German parentage.
Adam Snider, Jr., the grandfather of our sub
ject, was born in Pennsylvania and there mar
ried Elizabeth Lones, to which marriage were
born the following children : Mrs. Sarah Shook ;
Mrs. Rebecca Hollman, deceased; Mrs. Mary
Shrider; Mrs. Susanna Dauenhour; Nancy,
widow of a Mr. Carselow; William, Jacob,
John and Leonard. The father of this family
came to Ohio in the pioneer days and first lo
cated in Perry county, and in 1841 came to
Allen county, here entered a large tract of land
in Jackson township and hewed out of the
wilderness an excellent farm. He took an act
ive interest in democratic politics and became
a leading citizen of the township. He was a
noted student of the Scriptures, which he read
and re-read, and died in January, 1889, a de
vout member of the German Reform church
and a highly respected gentleman.
William Snider, son of Adam Snider, Jr.,
and father of our subject, was born in Perry
county, Ohio, November 19, 1829, and was
twelve years of age when brought by his par
ents to Allen county, where he was reared to
farming and has ever since been identified
with the agricultural interests of Jackson town
ship. He received a good common-school ed
ucation and was thus thoroughly prepared for
the ordinary affairs of business life, in which
he has been very successful. May 15, 1852,
he married Elizabeth Matthews, who was born
April 27, 1 83 1, a daughter of Samuel Mat
thews, and this union has been blessed by the
birth of the following children: Leonard, Am
brose, Samuel A., and Jacob C, our subject,
all married. Mr. Snider owns a handsome
and profitable farm of eighty acres in Jackson
township, and is in very comfortable circum
stances. He is a democrat in politics, and,
though not a partisan, has never missed at
tending the polls since he cast his first vote.
He and wife are members of the German Re-

492

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

form church and are among the most respected
residents of Jackson township.
Jacob C. Snider, whose name opens this
biography, received a good common-school
education and remained on his father's jarm
until twenty -nine years of age. December 4,
1884, he married Miss Hester May MatMeny,
who was born in Fayette county, Ohio, Sep
tember 27, 1867, a daughter of Charley and
Verlinda (Morgan) Matheny. Her father was
born in Adams county, Ohio, in October, 1829,
and his wife was born in Kentucky May 30,
1 83 1. They were married in Adams county,
Ohio, whence they moved to Fayette county,
and in 1873 migrated to Hardin county, where
they now make their home in Ada. They have
had born to them the following children: Jen
nie, wife of Leonidas Richeson, proprietor of
the tile factory at Ada, Ohio ; Lewis A. ; Ann,
deceased wife of James Johnson; Grant and
Melissa F., both deceased; Hester May (Mrs.
Snider); Ada F., wife of Charles P. Baker,
and Leonidas. The children that have blessed
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Snider are three in
number and named Donel Earl, Oca P., and
William C.
In politics Mr. Snider is a democrat, and
he and wife are devoted members of the Chris
tian church, in which he has been assistant
superintendent of the Sunday-school. Mr.
Snider has been engaged in making a high
grade of tiling at Harrod and has established
a fine reputation for the quality of his product.
^He owns three acres of land inside the corpor
ate limits of the town and a good home, and
is recognized as among the most enterprising
young business men of the township. In the
spring of 1895 he was a candidate for town
ship trustee, and was defeated, but lowered
the republican majority one-half, thus fully
indicating that he was not only popular with
his party, but with the public at large of his
township, as a politician and business man.

@EORGE SOLOMON, one of the most
substantial farmers of Richland town
ship, Allen county; Ohio, and an ex-
soldier of the Civil war, was born at
Mount Eaton, Wayne county, February 8,
1828. He is a son of Paul and Catherine
(Phillipi) Solomon. Having acquired all of
the limited education supplied by the common
schools of his day, he then learned the trade
of carpenter. When nine years of age, in
1837, he was brought by his father, to Ohio,
the family settling in Richland township, then
Putnam county, now Allen county, where he
learned his trade. Arriving at the age of
eighteen years he returned to Wayne county,
where he worked one summer at carpentering,
but returned then to Allen county, where he
finished learning his trade. In Richland town
ship, Allen county, he married Catherine
Lloyd, who was born in Tuscarawas county,
Ohio, May 7, 183 1, and is a daughter of Minor
and Mary (Beamer) Lloyd, and then located
in Beaver Dam, Allen county, where he lived
until 1855, and on December 25, of that year,
he moved to his present home.
On May 2, 1864, Mr. Solomon enlisted at
Beaver Dam in company E, One Hundred
and Fifty-first regiment, Ohio volunteer in
fantry, to serve 100 days, under Capt. S. D.
McKee. He served out his full term of en
listment and was honorably discharged at
Columbus, Ohio, at its expiration. He had a
taste of war when Gen. Farly made his
famous raid on Washington, and performed all
duties assigned him in the defenses of that
city, at Fort Sumner, Fort Reno, and at Fort
Simmons. Most of his company were sick
with fever and some from exposure, and atone
time there was not one man in the company
fit for duty except Mr. Solomon, who was
obliged to remain on duty for several weeks at
a time every night, so that it is within the lim
its of truth to say that he performed his full

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

493

share of soldier's duty. At Columbus, Ohio,
on account of some oversight, on the part of
the company's officers, the men were obliged
to sleep out of doors all night, for want of
barracks or tents, and as they had not then
had blankets issued to them, many of them
suffered a great deal. Mr. Solomon, however,
stood it better than most of the others, be
cause in his early life he had been used to the
life of a hunter, and had then slept out of
doors more or less in his youth.
After the close of the war he returned to
Putnam county, in the fall of 1864, but on ac
count of being then taken sick he did not settle
down at that time, as had been his intention.
However, on December 28, 1865, he removed
to his present farm, then consisting of forty
acres, partly cleared, and which by persistent
industry and energy he has succeeded in re
claiming from the wilderness, and has improved
it with good buildings, and especially with a
fine, substantial residence, and now has a most
comfortable home. To Mr. and Mrs. Solomon
there have, been born two children — James B.
and George H. G. Politically Mr. Solomon
is a democrat, and his wife is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. He has been
honored by election to the office of township
trustee, and was for several years a member of
the school board. *
The Solomon family is descended from
sturdy Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry. Henry
Solomon, the grandfather of the subject, was
born in Pennsylvania, and was married in his
native state. He removed later to Stark
county, Ohio, where he lived until his death.
Those of his children whose names are now
remembered were as follows: Daniel, Samuel,
David, John, Paul, Susan, Hattie and Polly.
Paul Solomon, the father of the subject, was
born in Pennsylvania, and became a farmer
and a mill-wright. In Pennsylvania he mar
ried Catherine Phillipi, and, removing to Wayne
19

county, Ohio, became one of that county's
earliest pioneers, settling down on a farm in
the woods. His children were Henry, John
M., David, Samuel, Francis, Isaac, George,
Sarah, Elizabeth, Susan and Christian. In
1837, as stated above, Mr. Solomon removed
to Richland township, and settled on the land
now occupied by the subject of this sketch, not
a stick having then been cut, and died there a
year and a half after coming to the county.
His sons later cleared up the farm. He was,,
so long as he lived, a hard-working, industrious
man, and was highly honored as an upright
citizen by all who knew him. While in Penn
sylvania he was a member of the state militia,
and served in the suppression of the whisky
insurrection in that state. He had two sons
in the Civil war, viz: Isaac, who was in the
same regiment with the subject, and died from
the effects of exposure.
Minor Lloyd, the father of Mrs. Solomon,
was born in Maryland and was of Scotch de
scent. He was one of the old pioneers of Put
nam county, but sold his property there and
removed to Richland township, Allen county,
about 1848 or 1850, settling on eighty acres of
land which was then covered with the prime
val forest and inhabited by wild beasts and
game of various kinds. This farm he cleared,
converted it into a good home, and added to
it until he had 120 acres, and became a thrifty
and well-to-do farmer. To him and his wife
there were born the following children: Mar
garet, Peter, James, William, Isaac, Elizabeth,
Mary J., Eliza A., and Catherine. Mr. Lloyd
died on his farm, about 1856, at about the age
of fifty-two years. He was hard-working and
industrious, was highly respected for his hon
esty and integrity, and was a member of the
Methodest Episcopal church.
Mr. Solomon, the subject of this sketch,
has always been an honored citizen. He was
reared amid pioneer scenes and trials in the

494

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

¦wilderness, and at the early age of eleven
years began to handle the rifle and to kill deer
and wild turkey, many of which fell before his
aim. On one day he killed seven deer and
wounded two others, and caught the two wound
ed ones the next day. The last deer he killed in
Putnam county was in 1865, and there has
been none killed there since. Mrs. Solomon
had three brothers in the Civil war — William,
James and Isaac — all in Ohio regiments of in
fantry, in the three years' service, and all of
whom participated in many battles. Beside
one brother, Mr. Solomon had four nephews
in the army — C. W. Solomon, Isaac Lytle,
Lewis Lytle and James H. Lytle. The three
Lytle boys were sons of Mr. Solomon's eldest
sister, and were all of her sons that were able
to enlist. The youngest of the three was not
then of legal age, but being large and strong,
was accepted. Thus it will be seen that the
Solomon family in all its branches has patriot
ism in its blood, and no doubt would be ready
again in case of war to take up arms in their
country's defense.

^~>TIM0N SPELLACY.— One of the
«v%^^* must active, useful and prominent
K^_/ citizens of the town of Lima, Allen
county, Ohio, is Mr. Simon Spellacy,
a native of Glen Falls, N. Y., and a son of
John and Ellen (Byrne) Spellacy, the former
of whom was born in county Clare, and the
latter in county Wexford, Ireland. John
Spellacy came to the United States in 1832
with his parents, who settled in Glens Falls,
N. Y. The father of John Spellacy was also
named John and he spent the remainder of his
life, after coming to this country, at Glens
Falls. There John, the father of the subject
of this narrative, was reared and educated,
his education consisting of such instruction as
could then be obtained in the ojd log school-

house of that early day. Completing his edu
cation, he was apprenticed to a cooper and
learned that trade in Williamsburg, now the
eastern division of Brooklyn, Long Island,
with a Mr. Polhemus, for whom he subse
quently became foreman. In 1852 Mr. Pol
hemus purchased a tract of timber land in
Crawford county, Pa., and upon it erected a
saw-mill, placing the entire plant in charge of
Mr. Spellacy, which position he filled four
years. At the end of this period, in connec
tion with his brother Simon, he purchased the
property and the business, and they operated
it together until about the close of the late
war, when John Spellacy purchased his broth
er's interest, and alone conducted the business
until 1873, when, owing to the depression of
the times, he was compelled to make an assign
ment. Since then he has not been engaged
in active business, but has lived retired. In
1894 Mr. Spellacy moved to Saint Mary's,
Ohio, where he now resides. Politically he
was a democrat until 1873, when, in common
with a large number of citizens of this country,
he became convinced that an increase in the
circulating medium would be beneficial to the
entire country, and became identified with the
greenback party, taking an active interest in
its work. In his religious belief he is a
Catholic, but accords to all the privilege of
choosing for themselves, or not choosing at all,
the church to which they shall belong. His
family consists of the following children:
Martin, now residing in Indiana; Simon, the
subject of this sketch; Timothy, of Saint
Mary's, Ohio; Catherine, in Chicago; Michael,
in Indiana; Peter, of Lima, and Mary, wife of
Judge Mooney, of Saint Mary's.
Simon Spellacy, our immediate subject,
was born in Glens Falls, N. Y. , in 1853. He
was reared in Conneautsville, Pa., and edu
cated in the common schools of that vicinity.
Remaining with his father until 1876, he then

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

495

went to the oil fields of Bradford and Butler
counties, Pa., where he was actively engaged
in the production of oil until 1881, during
which year he went to Smith's Basin, N. Y.,
as manager of the company's store for the
Keenan Lime company, retaining this position
until 1887. Removing then to Lima, Ohio,
he established himself in the grocery business,
which business he has since conducted. Polit
ically Mr. Spellacy is a democrat, and has
been an active and influential member of his
party in Lima, which in 1893 honored him by
electing him to the city council from the
Fourth ward, a position which he filled with
credit to himself and general satisfaction to his
party friends. In his religious convictions he
is a Catholic, and is a member of Saint Rose
Roman Catholic church. Mr. Spellacy was
married in 1884 to Miss Eleanor, daughter of
Adam and Mary Kline, of Batavia, Ohio, by
whom he has the following children: Kline,
Cecilia, Louisa, Eleanor, and Grace. Mr.
Spellacy is-one of Lima's most progressive and
enterprising citizens, and is always ready with
his means and influence to promote all the
local interests of the city of Lima and county
of Allen.

BRANCIS H. STALLKAMP.— For al
most half a century Francis H. Stall
kamp has been a residence of Delphos,
Ohio, and during most of that time
he has been a leading business man and a
prominent citizen. From a village of only a
few hundred he has witnessed Delphos grow
into one of the most flourishing little cities in
the west, and to its growth and development
he has contributed as much as any other one
man. Few if any enterprises of importance
have been inaugurated in Delphos that he has
not been in some way identified with, either as
a promoter or as an official or stockholder.

Mr. Stallkamp is a native of Hanover,
Germany, having been born in the province of
Osnabruck, September 25, 1824. He came to
America in 1847, and to Delphos in 1848.
Being practically without means he took ad
vantage of the first opportunity offering work
and for a time was employed in a saw-mill;
later he went to work as hostler at the Ameri
can House, the then leading hotel in Delphos,
and was thus employed until 1853. Being
saving and industrious, and ambitious to better
his condition in life, in the above year he en
gaged in the mercantile business under the firm
name of Stallkamp & Co., Theodore Wroek
lage and B. Esch being silent partners. In
1865, he and Mr. Wroeklage formed a new
partnership, and under the firm name of T.
Wroeklage & Co., carried on business until the
death of Mr. Wroeklage in 1890. Since that
time he has conducted the business under the
firm name of F. H. Stallkamp &Co., and now
has the leading grocery house in Delphos.
From the time he and Mr. Wroeklage first
began business together until the latter's death
they were always amicable in their many enter
prises and business adventurers. They were
warm, life-long friends, and stood by each
other with the love and abiding faith of broth
ers. Mr. Stallkamp has been identified with
many enterprises during his life, and while not
so active now, is still connected with some of
the leading establishments of Delphos. He is
vice-president of the Ohio Wheel company,
and is vice-president and stockholder in the
Delphos National bank. He has for many
years been connected with both the above,
having been one of the founders and original
directors of the bank.
Mr. Stallkamp has met with deserved suc
cess in his business pursuits, and has accumu
lated a handsome competency, and, better
still, he has made a name and character for
honesty and integrity which is known all over

496

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Van Wert and Allen counties, and has so lived
that he has always enjoyed the esteem and
respect of all who know him. He is what
may be truly termed a self-made man. Com
ing to America a poor youth, he made his way
through life step by step, aided only by his in
dustry, energy and perseverance. He is a
member of Saint John's Roman Catholic
church of Delphos, being one of the oldest
members of that congregation. In 1855 Mr.
Stallkamp was married to Josephine Hetrich,
whose death occurred in November, 1880,
leaving eight sons and one daughter, as fol
lows: Theodore J.; Frank X.; Sylvester A.;
Otto W. ; Edward L. ; Josephine E. ; Louis C. ;
George H. and John H., deceased.
Edward L. Stallkamp, cashier of the
Delphos National bank, and one of the prom
inent young business men and citizens of Del
phos, was born in this city on the 22nd day of
October, 1866. He is the son of F. H. Stall
kamp, one of the pioneer citizens and business
men of Delphos, a sketch of whose life appears
above. Edward L. Stallkamp was reared in his
native city and educated in German and En
glish. In the summer of 1883, while in his
seventeenth year, he entered the Delphos
National bank as collector and messenger. In
1886, at the age of twenty years, he was pro
moted to the position of assistant cashier, and
as such had charge of the business of the bank.
In 1887, at the age of twenty-one, he was
chosen cashier of the bank, which position he
has since held, discharging the duties thereof
with efficiency and satisfaction to all concerned ;
he is also a member of the board of directors
of the bank. Although young in years, Mr.
Stallkamp is regarded as one of the leading
financiers of Delphos. He is conservative and
careful, sagacious and foreseeing, full of energy
and enterprise, and wide and liberal in his
ideas. He is public-spirited and progressive

in his views, and is always to be found on the
right side of all movements having for their
object the building up and advancement of
Delphos and other enterprises. Mr. Stallkamp
was married June 18, 1889, to Miss Rosa
Ricker, the accomplished daughter of Herman
Ricker, one of the leading citizens of Delphos.
Mrs. Stallkamp died on the last day of June,
1892, leaving a son, Edward F. Mr. Stall
kamp is a member of Saint John's Roman
Catholic church of Delphos, and has' always
been punctual in the performance of his church
duties.

v/^\ ETER STEMEN was born Septem-
1 M ber 15, 1802, and died in October
I 1 88 1, at the age of seventy-nine
years. He was born in Rockingham
county, Va. , and in 1807, his parents, Peter
and Margaret, came to Fairfield county, _Ohio,
where they lived until 1838. He was brought
up on a farm, and November 25, 1824, was
married to Miss Mary Blosser, who was born
in Fayette county, Pa., May 12, 1807, and
was the daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Blos
ser. Peter and his wife, Mary, had a family
of eight children: Andrew, Benjamin, John
(deceased), Mary M., Peter (deceased), Isaac
W., Elizabeth and Christian. When the
parents of these children came to Allen county,
Ohio, they located on a tract of 160 acres of
unimproved land, excepting a few acres, and
here the father spent the remainder of his life,
following farming as an occupation. He was
a Mennonite in religious faith, a republican in
politics, and held the office of township trustee
for a number of years. Two of his sons
served in the Rebellion — John and Christian.
The latter served about nine months, toward
the close of the war, in the One Hundred and
Seventy-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and
was corporal of the guard.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

497

Isaac W. Stemen, with whom this sketch
will now deal, was born in Fairfield county,
Ohio, February 6, 1837. His parents came
to Allen county in 1838 and located on a farm
in Marion township. When Isaac grew up he
followed farming, obtaining a fair education in
the public schools. In later years he was in
the employ of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne &
Chicago Railroad company, a part of the time,
and for the past ten years he has followed the
trade of carpentering. He was married,
March 7, 1861, to Miss Elizabeth Cochren,
daughter of James and Isabella (Sunderland)
Cochren, both deceased, the mother dying in
October, 1880, at the age of sixty-four years
and the father in June, 1893, at the very ad
vanced age of eighty-eight years. Mr. and
Mrs. Isaac W Stemen are the parents of five
children: Mary E., wife of A. L. Brower, of
Iowa; Sidney G., a teacher in Shenandoah,
Page county, Iowa; Orlando, at home; Ada
B., at home, a school-teacher; Frank F., a
school-teacher by profession but now a student
of the Lima college, further preparing himself
for his chosen calling. Politically Mr. Stemen
is an ardent prohibitionist and he and his
family are members of the United Brethren
church. He is a man who believes in making
things move, is always prepared to give a
"boost" when needed, and is withal an active,
progressive man, imbued with vim and vigor
of the kind that succeeds without unnecessary
delay.

^^"AMUEL P. STEMEN.— The Stemen
<^^K| family is an ancient one in the United
bs^y States. While there appears to be
no positive historical knowledge upon
its origin, yet it is believed that its first Amer
ican ancestor came from Germany. The first
reliable history of the family that has as yet
been discovered is in the old family Bible,

which was purchased by Christian Stehmann,
as the name is spelled in that old Bible, in
December, 1770. In this Bible there is a family
record which states that Christian Stehmann
was born in the year of Christ, May, 28, 1747,
and that he was married to Miss Hannah
Barin, April 1, 1770, her birth being given as
on April 18, 1750. To them there were born
eleven chidren, of whom Peter, the eldest,
was born January 2, 1 77 1 , and Maria, the
youngest, was born February 6, 1796. The
intermediate children, in the order of their
births, were as follows: Christian, born April
18, 1773; Henry, May 26, 1775; Anna, Octo
ber 5, 1777; John, April 17, 1780; Samuel,
November 12, 1782; Francis, Januarys, !786;
Johanna, May, 1788; Elizabeth, June 24,
1 79 1, and Michael, January 21, 1794.
Christian Stehmann, the father of this
numerous family, it is believed, was born near
Red Stone, Rockingham county, V.a. In 1803,
in company with a number of his family, he
moved to Fairfield county, Ohio, where they
all began to clear away the timber and to make
homes for themselves. Here he lived until
after the death of his wife, which occurred
July 15, 1834, she being then eighty-four
years, two months and twenty-seven days old.
He then removed to Allen county, to his son,
Rev. Henry Stemen's home, where he died
August 28, 1844, he was ninety-seven years
old, and was buried in the graveyard near the
Mennonite church. Mrs. Stemen was buried
in what is known as the Stewart graveyard in
Fairfield county. When this ancient patriarch
was born the name was recorded in the old
family Bible, above mentioned, and was spelled
"Stehmann," but when the record of his
death was made it was spelled " Stemen," so
that the change in spelling of the name was
made during his lifetime.
Peter Stemen, the eldest son of the above
mentioned Christian Stemen, was born January

498

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

2, 1 77 1. He married Miss Magdalena Swick,
by whom he had three sons, viz: Christian,
born in Rockingham county, Va., April 23,
1779; John, born in the same county, Septem
ber 12, 1780, and Peter, born September
15, 1802.
Christian Stemen, the eldest of these three
sons, moved with his parents to Fayette
county, Pa., and in 1807 removed with them
to Fairfield county, Ohio, where he resided
until December 13, 1821, when he was mar
ried to Miss Margaret Moyer, removing imme
diately thereafter to Perry county, Ohio, and
after a short residence there returning to Fair
field county. In 1834 he purchased a tract of
land — not a farm, for it was all timbered land
— in Sugar Creek township, Allen county,
where he lived the rest of his days, earnestly
striving to improve his farm and his condition
in life, and enduring all the privations and
hardships incident to the life of a pioneer.
But in all his trials and struggles he was nobly
aided by his faithful wife. He was one of the
best of men, universally honored and loved;
kind-hearted and tender, always having a word
of cheer for all he met. He was twice elected
county commissioner for Allen county, and
filled the office with credit to himself and with
satisfaction to those interested in the manner
in which his duties were performed. He lived
upon his farm until April 16, 1865, when he
died, his wife having died a few months before,
on December 1, 1864.
Samuel P. Stemen, the eldest son of
Christian Stemen, whose life has been briefly
outlined above, was born in Rush Creek town
ship, Fairfield county, Ohio, October 24, 1822.
He removed in 1834, when he was twelve years
of age, with his father, from Fairfield county
to Allen county, and he is thus one of the oldest
settlers and continuous residents of the county.
He well remembers the journey, which was
made by horses and wagons, when there were

no roads through the wilderness, and their way
had to be cut through for miles in order to
reach the tract of land destined for their occu
pation, on Hogg Creek, in German township,
where the father had purchased 146 acres of
land in the woods, with no neighbors, except
Indians, with whom to associate. Young Ste
men had but few educational advantages in the
wild region, but he succeeded in learning the
cabinet-maker's trade and in becoming a good
farmer. September 7, 1847, he was united in
marriage, in German township, with Miss Isa-
belle Spangler, who was born in Fairfield
county in January, 1831, a daughter of Samuel
and Mary (Lutz) Spangler — Samuel Spangler
being a native of Pennsylvania and a pioneer
of Allen county, Ohio. After his marriage Mr.
Stemen settled on his present farm, which then
comprised sixty acres, but of which he has
disposed of twenty acres, as forty were as
many as he cared to handle. As usual with
those who settled in the woods, he assiduously
set to work and cleared up a farm, which in
due course of time rivaled that of any of his
neighbors. The children born to Mr. and Mrs.
Stemen were ten in number and were named:
Catherine, Mary, Daniel, William, John, Sallie,
Laura Bell, Lydia A., and two that died young.
The father, mother and elder children were all
hard workers and lent willing hands towards
building up a home, and it is related that the
eldest daughter, after her father had enlisted
to aid in saving the Union, put on her father's
pants and went into the field to plow.
September8, 1863, Mr. Stemen enlisted in
company H, Capt. Isaac Patrick, Fifty-first
Ohio national guard, in Sugar Creek township,
for five years, but was honorably discharged to
be mustered in as corporal, May 2, 1864, into
the United States service, with a volunteer
regiment, but was again honorably discharged,
August 27, 1864, after having defended Wash
ington, D. C. On his return home Mr. Stemen

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

499

again turned all his attention to the cultivation
of his farm and to the rearing of his family,
and has proven himself to be, under all circum
stances, a good and true citizen. October 2,
1885, Mrs. Stemen died in that faith of the
United Brethren church, of which she has long
been a pious member. Mr. Stemen is also a
member of this religious organization, and in
1859 was made its first trustee, and is still in
office. He is noted for his strict integrity and
for his industry and devotion to his calling and
to his family. All he has is the result of his
own labors and that of his lamented wife, as
sisted by the children, and he is now living in
the enjoyment of compensative opulence, re
spected by everybody in his neighborhood.

£~VAMUEL A. STEMEN is one of the
•t^^fek* representative citizens of German
K^_y township, Allen county, Ohio, and a
conspicuous figure in Elida, where he
now resides. He was born in Marion town
ship, December 8, 185 1, and is the son of
John B. and Mary J. (Myers) Stemen, natives
of Fairfield and Marion counties, Ohio. The
father died January 10, 1865, at the age of
thirty-four years, while a soldier in the war of
the Rebellion; the mother was a teacher in
early life, she is now living in Warren county,
Iowa. The family of Stemen, or Stehmann,
are supposed to be of German extraction.
John B. was the second son of Peter and Mary
Stemen, who had eight children. John B.
became father of nine children, six boys and
three girls.
Samuel A. Stemen was born and lived on
the farm until thirteen years of age, when he
began clerking in a store in Lacona, Iowa,
where he remained for four years. After this
he was six months on a farm in Neosho county,
Kans., and a year in driving cattle from Texas
to Kansas, and a year clerking in a store at

Tioga, now Chamute, Kans., after which ex
perience he returned to Ohio in 1871, and
located in Elida, where he spent two years in
a saw-mill — afterward renting the plant and
operating it until 1887, when, in company with
J. R. Brenneman, he purchased it, and to
gether operated it until March, 1895, when
they sold out the business. In 1881 Mr. Ste
men associated himself in the mercantile busi
ness with C. B.- Rice, the partnership lasting
two years, when Mr. Rice withdrew and
Messrs. Brenneman & Stemen constituted the
firm until October 9, 1893, when Mr. Stemen
became sole proprietor, conducting the home
mill until June, 1894, when he sold out to S.
R. Stemen. However, he still owned a stock
of drugs, which he disposed of last year (1895)
and sold the saw-mill, but retained a half-
interest in a mill three miles west of Elida. A
new enterprise now claims his attention. On
December 1, 1894, in company with C. H.
Mosier he engaged in the Wind Engine and
Auburn Engine and Demming Pump company.
Mr. Stemen was married August 3, 1873,
to Miss Ollie Burdge, daughter of Newton and
Lockey Burdge. She died January 10, 1877,
at the age of twenty-three years. Two chil
dren were born to them, both dying in infancy.
He next married, September 15, 1878; his
present wife's maiden name was Saloma J.
Kiracofe, daughter of Henry and Delilah (Huf-
fer) Kiracofe. She was a native of Allen
county, and was born July 12, i860; eight
children have blessed this union: Myrtie M.,
Mary, Lena L., Elva D., Nina A., Floyd K.
(deceased), Thomas R. and Clarence B. Mr.
and Mrs. Stemen are worthy and faithful mem
bers of the United Brethren church, of which
Mr. Stemen is a trustee and has been superin
tendent of the Sunday-school for the past six
teen years. When the division of the United
Brethren church occurred, Mr. Stemen's sym
pathy and support was cast with the Radicals.

500

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

He is an anti-saloon man and is bitterly op
posed to all things in the shape of intemper
ance. He has also the courage of his convic
tions and does not hesitate to declare himself
on this important subject. In conclusion we
may say that the Stemen family are among the
substantial residents of the county and all are
well known as men of unquestioned integrity
and honesty, and are good business men and
equally good neighbors and citizens.

BELIX STEINLE, one of the well
known citizens and business men of
Delphos, Ohio, and senior member of
the firm of Steinle & Co., proprietors
of the Delphos Brewery Co. , is a native of
Baden, Germany, was born January 14, 1847,
and is a son of Peter and Rosa (Simmermann)
Steinle, both natives of Baden. The father
was a farmer by occupation, and died in 1854,
at the age of thirty-eight years; the mother is
in her seventy-seventh year, and still lives in
Baden. Felix Steinle attended school and
learned the brewer's trade in the old country,
and in 1868, when twenty-one years of age,
decided to come to America and make his for
tune. When he first came to the United
States he located in Pittsburg, Pa., where for
three years he followed his trade. From the
latter city he went to Cleveland, Ohio, in the
fall of 1 87 1, working at his trade in that city
for two years, and then went to Cincinnati,
where he remained until 1874, returning to
Cleveland in the latter year.
In June, 1874, Mr. Steinle was married, in
Cleveland, to Mary Small, who was born in
Prussia. In 1875 he returned to his native
country for a visit to the old home, revisiting
the scenes of his youth, renewing his old ac
quaintances, and remaining about four months.
Returning to Cleveland he remained a short
time, and then went to Monroeville, Ohio,

where he took a position as foreman of a
brewery. Eight months later he went to Fre
mont, Ohio, and established a brewery, known
as the Fremont Brewing company, with Mr.
Steinle as the head man in the concern.
He continued in Fremont until 1883, all
the time conducting the brewery and meet
ing with success. He then sold out his inter
ests in Fremont, and in June, 1883, came
to Delphos. Upon coming to Delphos he
purchased the plant of the Delphos Brew
ing Co., which was at that time in a bad con
dition, financially, the brewery never having
been carried on successfully, the property be
ing sold at sheriff's sale to Mr. Steinle. As
soon as he obtained possession of the plant he
gave it a thorough overhauling and put it into
operation. When he purchased the property
Mr. Steinle had Mr. H. P Isenbauch as a
partner, who remained in the business about
six months, his place being then taken by
Charles Schmidt, of Fremont. Mr. Schmidt
died in 1892, and for one year Mr. Steinle ran
the business himself. In 1893 Mr. L. Leilich
became a member of the firm, and is connected
with the same at the present time. Since
Mr. Steinle took charge of the brewery, en
tirely new machinery has been put in, includ
ing an ice plant, and is now the largest and
most complete brewery in this section of Ohio.
The annual capacity is 7,000 barrels of beer
and about 3,600 tons of ice; they ship beer to
a great many points and are doing a large and
very successful business.
Mr. Steinle s first wife died in 1880, leav
ing four children, as follows: Willie,, Charley,
Eddie and Felix, Jr. In 1881 Mr. Steinle
took a second companion — Miss Augusta Small,
a sister to his first wife. To the second mar
riage six children have been born, viz: Elsie,
Arthur, Emma, Lena, Meda and Elmer. Mr.
Steinle is a director in the Commercial bank
of Delphos, and is a stockholder in the two

jt.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

503

huilding and loan associations of the city. He
has always taken an active interest in the af
fairs of the city, but has never held office of
any kind. He has always given his support
to every worthy enterprise having for its object
the good of the community, and contributes in
every way he can toward the building up ¦ of
the city.
Mr. Steinle is a self-made man. When he
came over from the old country, a young man,
he had no capital, and what he now has, he
has made by his own energy and business abil
ity. His position in Delphos as a citizen and
business man is a most enviable one and he is
considered one of the representative men of
the city. In religion he is a Catholic, belong
ing to the Saint John's Roman Catholic church.

c/^\ ANIEL STEVICK is a well and favor-
B I ably known resident of Allen county,
^A^J Ohio, and is one of German town
ship's most substantial men. He
was born in Cumberland county, Pa., Decem
ber 4, 1826, and is a son of Jacob and Sarah
(Myres) Stevick, both deceased and natives of
Pennsylvania. The father died in 1887, in the
ninetieth year of his age. He was twice mar
ried, his first wife having been Sarah Myres,
by whom he had twelve children: John, de
ceased; William; Anna, deceased; Joseph,
deceased; Jacob, deceased; Daniel, of whom
this sketch will particularly treat; Eli, de
ceased; -Sarah; Mary; Elizabeth; an infant
deceased and George.
Daniel Stevick was reared a farmer's boy
and by his own efforts gained a fine education.
He was twenty-one years of age when he left
home and walked the entire distance to Mas-
sillon, Ohio, carrying a grip strapped to his
back. He remained in Massillon five years,
and there learned the carpenter's trade, which
'he followed for about eighteen years, in con

nection with cabinet-making and millwright-
ing. Leaving Stark county, Ohio, he spent
three years in Huntington, Ind., where he
married Miss Margaret Drushel. She was
born September 18, 1832, and died February
18, 1881. Their marriage took place, June
15, 1852. In 1854, he removed to Allen
county, Ohio, and settled in Sugar Creek
township where his time was given to farming
and following his trade. In 1870, he was
elected or appointed to the position of super
intendent of the Allen county infirmary, which
he filled with great satisfaction for nine years.
In 1875 he bought a farm of seventy-nine
acres in German township, and in 1879 moved
upon it, and here he has since lived, devoting
himself to general farming and stock raising,
serving three years as trustee of Sugar Creek
township. He is a member of the Masonic
order, lodge No. 205; Lima council, No. 49;
Lima chapter and Shawnee commandry, No.
14. He had a family of three children: David
A., died at Chattanooga, Tenn., January 26,
1890, where he was buried; he was born
March 10, 1853; Althedora J., born February
11, 1859; Jesse L., born September 16, 1864.
Mr. Stevick was married a second time, June
29, 1888; this wife was Mrs. Louisa Doner,
the widow of Abraham Doner, and the daugh
ter of Abraham and Barbara (Gephart) Holts-
apple. Her father died in 1889 at the age of
eighty-nine years; the mother, September 24,
1874. They had a family of eight children,
viz: John, Henry, Susan (deceased), Eliza,
Maria (deceased), Louisa, Leah and Adam
(deceased). Mr. Stevick was first married,
in 1854, to Mrs. Doner, and four children
were born lo them; Frances C, Florence G.,
Cloyd, and Julius deceased. Mr. Doner died
in 1878 in the fifty-eighth year of his age. He
was a member of the Lutheran church, a very
public-spirited man and greatly respected by
all who knew him. Mr. Stevick is a self-made

504

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

man — resolute, energetic, perservering and in
dustrious. Starting life with empty hands, he
has made for himself a comfortable home in
which to pleasantly pass the last years of his
life. To such men the country is indebted
for its happiness and prosperity.

aHARLES F STOCKLER, a highly
respected citizen of Bluffton, Ohio,
and an ex-soldier of the Civil war, is
a native of Wurtemberg, Germany,
is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Brokel)
Stockier. Joseph Stockier owned a small
farm in Germany, upon which he lived and
supported his family. He and his wife had
but one son, Charles F., the subject of this
sketch. Joseph Stockier died in Germany, a
member of the Catholic church.
Charles F. Stockier was born October 13,
1834, was reared on his father's farm, and
received a common-school education in his
native country, coming to the United States
after both his father and mother had died,
they dying when he was about seventeen years
of age. He embarked, in 1854, at Antwerp,
in a sailing vessel, the good ship Amarcand,
and was forty-two days on the sea. He landed
in New York, having come in company with
two cousins, Alexis Obert, who served three
years in the army, and John Brokel, both
young men, and upon reaching the hospitable
shores of the United States, the entire party
had left but $2.50. They found work at
Utica, N. Y., on the New York Central rail
road, and then at Lyons, and after six months'
labor of this kind they came on west to Cleve
land, Ohio. He worked on farms in various
parts of the state of Ohio until the breaking
out of the war, when he went to Cincinnati,
Ohio, and engaged to work for the government
at driving and breaking mules. This he con
tinued to do until February 10, 1865, when he

enlisted in company I, Fifty-fifth regiment of
Kentucky mounted infantry. He was pro
moted to fourth corporal and acted as com
missary sergeant, serving in this capacity until
the close of the war. He was in the battle of
Stone River and a number of skirmishes in
Kentucky and Tennessee. Being injured by
being thrown from a horse on the turnpike
between Georgetown and Mount Sterling, he
went to hospital No. 11, at Louisville, where
he remained four weeks. The previous season
he had lain in the same hospital two weeks,
sick with ague. Mr. Stockier was always an
active soldier when in health, was always on
duty, and in all the battles and campaigns of
the war in which his regiment participated.
He was honorably discharged at Louisville,
Ky., September 19, 1865, the war having
come to an end.
Mr. Stockier was married May 29, 1859,
at Urbana, Ohio, to Clarissa C. Henkle, who
was born at Urbana, September 9, 1839, and
is a daughter of Fletcher and Emily (Sampson)
Henkle, the former of whom was born in
Virginia, of an old colonial family of German
descent. He was a wagon-maker by trade
and moved to Urbana when a young man.
His wife was born in Cincinnati, and her peo
ple, the Sampsons, were among the first set
tlers of Urbana. She and husband were the
parents of the following children: John, Clar
issa C, William B., Mattie, Kate, Henry and
Molly. Mr. Henkle died in Chicago in 1891,
aged about eighty-two years, having moved to
that city about 1873 and engaged in garden
ing. He was an industrious man, esteemed
by all for his upright and honest course of life.
Both he and his wife were members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, in which he was
a class leader and exhorter for some years.
He was a republican in politics and had two
sons in the Civil war — William B. and Henry
— in Ohio regiments, the former in the 100-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

505

day service, and the latter in the one-year serv
ice. Mr. Henkle was a strong Union man,
and a man of sterling character.
Mr. and Mrs. Stockier settled in Urbana,
Ohio, remaining there until 1864, when they
removed to Ada, Ohio. Later they removed
to a farm lying a short distance west of Fort
Wayne, and moved to their present farm in
1869. To them there have been born ten
children, as follows: Albert E., Ida M., Enos
H., Henry (who died in infancy), Lizzie, Mol-
lie, Frank V., Estelle, Tima, and Ross E.
Mr. Stockier has given all his children a good
education, four of them being school-teachers
— -Lizzie, Mollie, Frank and Estelle. Frank
is now attending the Normal school at Ada,
Ohio, with the view of better preparing him
self for his work in the teachers' profession.
Lizzie married Prof. Noah Stull, principal of
the high school at Spencerville, Ohio. He is
a member of the county board of examiners,
and she has taught in the graded schools for ten
years. Mollie married Bert Hawk, of LaFay-
ette, Ohio. She taught in graded schools for
five years. Estelle has been teaching at
Beaver Dam two years. Mr. Stockier is a re
publican in politics, and is a member of Ada
lodge, No. 343, F. & A. M. Mf. and Mrs.
Stockier are among the most highly respected
people of their township, and he has always
been an industrious, energetic and successful
man. Assisted by his faithful wife he has
reared a family of children, all of whom main
tain honorable and responsible positions in the
community, and are most useful men and
women. The Henkles are descended from old Rev
olutionary stock — directly from Count Henkle,
an officer in the Revolutionary army. The
Sampsons were English Puritans and of an
cient New England stock, from near Boston,
Mass. Calvin Sampson, the maternal grand
father of Mrs. Stockier, was one of the pio

neers of Cincinnati, Ohio. He went down the
Ohio river on a flat-boat with his family, and
became one of the first merchants of Cincin
nati, where his father was the first wholesale
merchant. Hepzabel Leftbridge married Cal
vin Sampson and lived to be ninety-two years
old, and was blind the last fifteen years of her
life. The Sampsons were among the early
settlers of Urbana, and also among the first
merchants of that place.

BOBERT G. STOCKTON.— Among
the many distinguished families that
in the early history of this country
abandoned their own countries for
the sake of political as well as religious liberty,
was the family of which brief mention is made
in this sketch. They were among the very
earliest settlers of America, the first of the
name of whom any data are obtainable being
Thomas Stockton, who came from Scotland in
1620, and landed at Plymouth Rock, Mass.
Subsequently one of his descendants removed
to New Jersey, and later to Pennsylvania.
This was the great-grandfather of the subject
of this sketch. His son, Thomas Stockton,
served in the Revolutionary war, and was the
progenitor of the Stocktons that settled in
Washington county, Pa. , for there is where he
died. Thomas Stockton married a Miss Gra
ham, by whom he had children as follows:
Robert, who died in Washington county, Pa. ;
Thomas; Mary, who married a Mr. Flack and
died in Virginia; Sarah, who married a Mr.
Vance, and, dying, left no family; Rev. John
Stockton, who was pastor of the Criss Creek
Presbyterian church of Washington county,
Pa., for fifty years.
Thomas Stockton, second son of the above-
mentioned couple, was born December 29,
1798, on the old homestead in Washington
county, Pa., where he was reared and where

506

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

he remained until he was thirty years of age.
In 1828 he settled in Licking county, Ohio,
where he purchased 480 acres of land, a por
tion of which he cleared, and remained there
until 1865, when he purchased forty acres in
section No. 14, Shawnee township, afterward
adding thereto land lying in sections Nos. 22
and 23, until he owned in all, in this township,
280 acres, which he cleared and improved,
and remained there engaged in farming until
about 1873, when he retired from active life,
and removed to Lima, where he died in 1875.
Politically Mr. Stockton was first a whig until
the formation of the republican party. He
was a member of the Presbyterian church. He
married Sarah Rea in 1835, this lady dying in
1879. By her he had the following children:
Joseph R., Sarah Isabella, wife of Henry
Adgate; Robert G., the subject of this sketch;
Thomas M., who enlisted in company K,
Ninety-fifth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry,
was wounded August, 1862, at Paris Ky. , was
taken prisoner and died within the rebel lines,
and was buried at Paris, Ky. ; James, who died
in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, in 1892; Rev. John
V., of Mercer, Pa., and Mary A., who died in
infancy. Robert G. Stockton was born October 9,
1840, in Licking county, Ohio. His education
was received in the common schools, and dur
ing his minority he was brought up to work
upon a farm; he was also engaged somewhat
in teaching school. In 1865 he removed to
Allen county with his father, and in 1877 set
tled upon the eighty acres of land where he
now lives, which he cleared himself, and upon
which he has made all the improvements that
are on it. The only office he has ever filled is
that of township clerk. As his ancestry have
been, so is he a member of the Presbyterian
church. He has served the church at Lima,
of which he is a member, as elder; he has al
ways taken great interest in the work of his

church, and given liberally to its support.
Politically he is a republican, and believes as
strongly in its principles as he does in the pre
cepts of his church, for both, in his opinion, are
founded on a basis of truth, and truth is al
ways the same. In 1870 Mr. Stockton was
married to Miss Mary Heindel, daughter of
Daniel Heindel, of Ottawa township, and one
of the early settlers thereof. By her Mr.
Stockton is the father of the following children:
Eva L., Laura B. (deceased), Amanda B.,
Lydia A., Mary L., and Thomas H., deceased.

¦fc*j»ACOB N. STOLZENBACH, member of
A the livery firm of Botkins & Stolzen-
A I bach, was born July 14, 1867, in Rose-
ville, Ohio, and is a son of J. H. and
Louisa (Jockers) Stolzenbach. J. H. Stolzen
bach, father of the subject, was born in Ham
burg, Germany, in 1829, learned the tanner's
trade, and in 1849 emigrated to the United
States, and located in Pittsburg, Pa., where
he followed his trade. Subsequently he went
to Zanesville, Ohio, where he also worked at
his trade. In 1857, he settled at Roseville,
Ohio, and there established himself in the
business of* a tanner, which he successfully
conducted for thirty years. Removing to
Lima in 1870, he there became interested in
the firm of Stolzenbach & Co., thjugh he is
now practically retired from active business.
While he was a resident of Roseville he was
an active citizen, taking interest in public af
fairs, and served as a councilman, and as a
member of the school board. He was also a
member of the republican central committee
many terms. In his religious belief he is a
Lutheran, and for years has been prominently
interested in church work and life. To his
marriage with Miss Jockers, who was a resi
dent of Muskingum county, Ohio, there were
born seven children, as follows: Martin, of

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

507

Lima, Ohio; Conrad, of Junction City, Ohio;
Charlie, of Lima; William, of Canton, Ohio;
Mary, of Lima; Jacob N., the subject of this
sketch, and Albert, of Lima.
Jacob N. Stolzenbach was reared and edu
cated in Roseville, and had learned the tan
ner's trade by the time he was twenty years of
age, when he accepted a position as clerk in
the office of the C. & M. V. Railroad company,
at Zanesville, Ohio, which position he filled
for about two years. Removing then to Lima,
Ohio, he accepted a position with Stolzenbach
& Co., and in 1889 formed his present part
nership with W. S. Botkins. He was married
November 19, 1895, to Miss Cora Bostapb, a
daughter of Samuel Bostapb, of Munhall, Al
legheny county, Pa. , a lady of refinement and
excellent qualities. Mr. Stolzenbach is a re
publican in politics, and an excellent citizen in
every way, and greatly respected by all.

*y~VROF. NOAH H. STULL, superin-
1 W tendent of the public schools of Spen-
M cerville, Ohio, ranks among the first
educators of the state. Mr. Stull has
been located at this place for the past nine
years as teacher and superintendent, having
begun his work here in the autumn of 1887.
He was born at Huntsville, Logan county,
Ohio, September 26, 1863, and is the son of
William and Mary (Scott) Stull, natives of
Philadelphia, Pa., and Hardin county, Ohio.
The mother passed away in 1875,' at the age
of forty-nine years, and the father died in 1883,
at the age of sixty-nine years.
The Stull family has its origin in Hesse
Cassel, Germany, where the grandfather,
Abraham Stull, was born, where his earlier life
was spent, where he married, and where a part
of his family was born. The grandfather was
a distiller by trade, and on coming to America
located in Philadelphia, where he died. He

was a magnificent financier and amassed a
large fortune. His private enterprises were
many and prospered under his able and efficient
direction. His family was a large one, for
whom he amply and generously provided. His
children settled in Ohio principally, and be
came valued citizens of the state. The father
of Supt. N. H. Stull located on a section of
land in the west part of Hardin county, and
operated his princely domain for a few years,
when he removed to Huntsville, in Logan
county, and later to Ada, Ohio, where he re
tired from business, after having been engaged
in railroading successfully for a nunber of years.
The mother of Supt. Stull was the daughter
of Jonathan Scott, of Irish extraction. The
family of Scott were open-hearted, generous
and hospitable, and their friendships were wide
and valuable. In religion Mr. Stull was a
Methodist and a man who carried his religion
into his life and never wore it as a mere Sunday
garment. Nine children were born to him, to
all of whom he gave a good education. The
following are their names: Madison, of Ada,
Ohio, a teamster by occupation; Matilda J.,
wife of John F. Firestone, of Welcome, Neb. ;
Colonel, of Ada, Ohio, one of the enterprising
men of that section; Samantha J., wife of John
F. Miller, of Huntsville, Hardin county; Will
iam B., a sheep raiser of Australia; Lena and
Ellen deceased; Squire, a farmer of Milan,
Mo., deceased, and Noah H., the subject of
this biography.
Noah H. Stull was born in Huntsville,
Ohio, and received his education in the union
schools of Ada, from which he graduated in
1882 and also from the Ada Normal school in
the class of 1893. At the age of nineteen he
began teaching and has ever since followed
this profession as his occupation. His work is
congenial, which may be the secret of his pro
nounced success as an educator. Since his
connection with the Spencerville schools the

508

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

regular and prescribed course of study has
been adopted, and he has successfully, by de
grees, introduced into his curriculum the ad
vanced principles of educational work. In
1892 he was made one of the county school
examiners. Politically he is a democrat and
socially a member of the Knights of Pythias of
Spencerville lodge, No. 251.
August 29, 1894, he was united in marriage
to Miss Elizabeth E. Stockier, of Bluffton,
Ohio, who had been a teacher in the Spencer
ville schools, and since her marriage has been
retained. She is the daughter of Charles F.
and Clarissa (Henkle) Stockier, living near
Bluffton, Ohio. Supt. Stull and Mrs. Stull are
both members of the Methodist church and
are esteemed as among the county's most
worthy and respected citizens. It is a pleasure
to write of such people — men and women who
make the social and moral life of a place bet
ter for having lived in it.

BRANK STUMP, one of the well-known
citizens of Delphos, Allen county,
Ohio, and a leading saloon and res
taurant proprietor, is a native of
Baden, Germany, where he was born October
17, 1857. After finishing his education, he
served an apprenticeship at the saddle-maker's
trade, and followed that trade in the old coun
try until 1873, and then came to America. He
landed at New York city, but came direct from
that city to Gallion, Ohio, where two of his
uncles were living. He put in two months
arid a half at his trade in Gallion, and then he
concluded there was not enough in the sad
dler's trade, and throwing it up he learned the
machinist's trade, in Gallion. He worked at
the machinist's trade in Gallion until 1879,
and then went to Fort Wayne, Ind., where he
worked for two years, going from Fort Wayne

to Bucyrus, Ohio, where, on May 25, 1881, he
was married to Miss Kate Burmoth, of Crest
line, Ohio. In February, 1883, he came to
Delphos and went to work in the Clover
Leaf Railroad shops, where he continued until
1890. Then he spent about eight months in
the Lake Erie shops at Lima, and then en
gaged in the saloon business at Lima for three
years; returning to Delphos he opened his
present place of business on the west side of
Main street, second door from Second street,
which he purchased from H. W. Bechman.
His business embraces one of the first-class
bars and the leading restaurant in the city
where everything can be found to suit the
palate of the most fastidious epicure.
Mr. Stump takes an active interest in the
affairs of Delphos, and formerly was an active
worker in the ranks of the democratic party,
but has never held or sought public office. He
is a member of the Odd Fellows, Machinists'
union and the National union, and is, beside,
a member of the Roman Catholic church.
Two daughters have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Stump — Celia and Naomi Ruth.

>^t*OSEPH SUTHOFF, one of the well-
A known and prosperous farmers of
A 1 Marion township, Allen county, on the
edge of Delphos, Ohio, is a native of
Hanover, Germany, born October 13, 1830,
and is a son of Francis and Elizabeth (Huck-
rey; Suthoff, both natives of Hanover. The
family came to America in the fall of 1837, an^
located, first, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where
Francis Suthoff was employed in various ways
for about two years. He then removed his
family to Lawrence county, Ohio, where was
employed in the iron furnaces, being at the
Aetna furnaces most of the time. Here his
wife died in about 1840, leaving three out of

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

509

five children. In 1846 he returned to Cin
cinnati, where he was again married, his sec
ond wife being Agnes Repa, and in November
of the same year he came to Delphos. He
purchased forty acres of land in Jennings town
ship, Putnam county, near Delphos, and en
gaged in farming, which vocation he continued
the balance of his life, his death occurring in
1866. His wife died in 1888. He and wife
were both members of Saint John's Roman
Catholic church.
Joseph Suthoff is the only surviving child
born to his father, and was sixteen years of
age when he came to Delphos. He had
secured his schooling in Cincinnati, and so,
after coming here, he went to work with his
father on the farm. In 1849 he went on the
canal, being employed on the state boats, at
which he continued until 1852. In April of
that year he joined a party of six others, who
were bound for the gold fields of California.
From Delphos the party went to Saint Mary's,
where they took the canal packet to Dayton,
thence went to Cincinnati by railaoad, where
they took a boat down the Ohio, and up the
Mississippi to Saint Louis. From Saint Louis
they went up the Missouri river to Independ
ence, Mo., where they purchased their out
fit for crossing the plains. Their outfit
consisted of one wagon and five yoke of
oxen, and provisions. They left Independ
ence on April 29th, and journeyed across
the plains in company with seven other teams,
and reached Soda Springs, Idaho, on July 4th
the same year. Here the trail forked, one
leading into Oregon and the other to Califor
nia. At this point the wagons separated, three
going to Oregon, our subject forming one of
the Oregon party, which reached its destina
tion, Jacksonville, Ore., m September, 1852,
the last 700 miles of the journey having been
made by our subject on foot. Mr. Suthoff re
mained in the gold fields for five years, two in

Oregon and three in California, during which
time he was engaged in mining about three
years, the balance of the time being spent in
packing. In August, 1857, he returned to
Delphos, making the trip by water and the
Isthmus. The following October, less than
two months after reaching home, he started
once more for the gold fields, sailing from New
York to San Francisco. He went next to the
mines in Siskiyou county, CaL, and remained
there for two years, following mining all the
time, meeting with success, and making enough
money to get a good start in life. In August,
1859, returned to Delphos. When he returned
in 1857 he purchased eighty acres of land in
Marion township, and in 1859, upon his sec
ond return, he purchased eighty acres more,
located near his first eighty. So, in 1859 he
settled on the first purchased and began farm
ing, at which he has since continued. In
March, 1864, he traded for his present place,
which contained at that time ninety-two acres,
and located just on the edge of the city of Del
phos. In 1 882 he erected his present residence,
which is a substantial two-story brick. In
1874, in company with Theodore Wroeklage,
Mr. Suthoff made a trip to Europe, spending
about two months in Germany, most of the
time at Medical Springs, in hopes of improving
their health.
Mr. Suthoff was married on November 9,
1859, to Mary Haunhorst, daughter of Henry
Haunhorst, of Delphos. To this union seven
children have been born, as follows; Amos,
deceased; Josephine, now Mrs. Benjamin
Richter, of Fort Wayne, Ind. ; Rosellia, de
ceased; Rosellia Philomere, now Mrs. Otto
Stallkamp, of Delphos; Joseph J., Katie Cecel-
lia, and, Katie Veronica. All the family are
members of the Saint John's Roman Catholic
church, of which Mr. Suthoff was a trustee for
five years, and in the faith of which he has
faithfully lived, being a dutiful church member.

510

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

)AFT BROTHERS.— The enterprising
mercantile house of John H. Taft &
Bro., is composed of John H. and
Robert V. Taft, and was established
in Spencerville in 1882, under the firm name
of J. H. Dunathan & Co., JohnH. Taft being
one of the founders of the same, which was
one of the small mercantile houses of this part
of the country. The original firm was suc
ceeded by Taft & Gamble, and later by John
H. Taft, who became sole owner. This change
occurred in 1888, and he remained sole propri
etor until 1892, when his brother, Robert V.,
was admitted to partnership, since which time
the junior member has had the entire con
trol of the business at Spencerville, the other
brother, J. H., looking after his growing in
terests in the cities of Sidney and London,
Ohio. The Spencerville business has grown
from a small and unpretending concern to one
of good proportions, now occupying its own
building, a fine brick edifice, two stories in
height and 45x90 feet ground floor, the first
being divided into two beautiful rooms, con
nected with arches. At an early day the
building will be enlarged by the addition of
thirty feet to the block. The house carries a
fine stock of dry goods and notions, clothing,
shoes, carpets, cloaks, etc. The store is
bright as a picture and the neatest business
place in the village. The firm is full of energy
and business and thoroughly alive to the best
interests of the public. Eight employees are
engaged, and time does not drag with them for
lack of occupation. The cash system is
adopted, this greatly simplyfying the book
keeping. The elder brother devotes his time
to the keeping of stock in shape and does the
purchasing for their several stores. Under
the sagacious management of the junior part
ner, Robert V. Taft, the business in Spencer
ville has doubled within the past two years,
and further comment is unnecessary.

The Taft family came from Baltimore, Md.,
late in the 'sixties and located at Kossuth, Au
glaize county. They are originally from Green
ville, N. C, and are of English extraction.
The father of our subject, Elias F. Taft, was.
a soldier in the Union army during the Rebel
lion, and was a stanch supporter of the Union
cause, while two of his brothers were soldiers
in the southern army and proved themselves
valiant defenders of the southern cause, even
though they had a brother who was fighting
for the flag of his country, and it is barely
possible that these three brothers participated
in some of the same battles, as each served
their country through the greater part of the
great struggle.
Elias F. Taft, father of the Taft Bros., was
reared and educated in his native state, near
Greenville, N. C, and upon arriving at man
hood estate began tilling the soil and was iden
tified with agricultural interests for several
years, and soon after the war closed -he with
several others moved to Auglaize county, Ohio,
in order to better their condition, and here-
abandoned the agricultural line and began in a
commission business at Kossuth, which he fol
lowed for some time, and in which he met
with serious reverses financially, though at this
time his boys were active young men and each-
put his shoulder to the wheel to assist in re
deeming the lost fortune. Later a few years-
the father located at Spencerville, where he-
died at the age of fifty -five years ; the wife and
mother yet is enjoying the fruits of her earlier-
life in a comfortable home in the same town.
Mr. Taft married Miss Jane Melhorn in
Baltimore, Md., at the home of her childhood,
and to them nine children were born, as follows:.
Arnold, of Kossuth, Ohio, engaged in the mer
cantile business; J. H., the senior member of
the Spencerville firm, but a resident of Sidney,
Ohio, where he has also a large mercantile
house, as well as one at London ; Mary, wife of-.'

HENRY J. MOENNIG.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

513

William Hogue, of Spencerville; James H., of
Dunkirk and proprietor of the Taft hotel of
that place and also traveling salesman for a
dry-goods house; Francis, of Columbus, Ohio;
Robert V., the junior member of the Spencer
ville firm; Thadeus, a student at Lebanon,
Ohio, and Addie and Lulu, at home. The
men of the family are born business men, are
full of energy, tact and ability, and success
follows their undertakings. They dare to ven
ture and to risk, trusting to their good business
judgment that they will come out all right.
Kossuth was the scene of their first operation,
and although their house here was destroyed
by fire once, business was resumed. The
firm speculated quite extensively in oil and is
the owner of valuable property in Spencerville
and Mendon, and also has a number of good
oil wells in operation. Such men, enterprising
and energetic as the Taft brothers, are of the
kind that make the country rich and prosper
ous and the community alive and enlightened.

'w * ENRY J. MOENNIG, one of the lead-
|rV ing citizens of Delphos, Ohio, is a
A .r native of the kingdom of Hanover,
and was born at Bohmte, on Jan
uary 15, 1830. He left Europe on September
3, 1843, landing at New Orleans in company
with his parents, his grandfather and two
sisters and two brothers coming in November
of the same year. From New Orleans they
came tp Cincinnati, Ohio, the same month,
where they all resided for about three months.
From Cincinnati they moved to Piqua by canal,
and then by wagon to Section Ten (now Del
phos), locating here March 2, 1844. With his
parents he helped to cut down the original
forest and clear up what is now the northeast
part of the town, from Third and Main streets
east. H. J. Moennig commenced clerking for
so

Esch & Wroeklage on July 5, 1847, and con
tinued with that firm until October, 1852, and
began general merchandising with Joseph
Ostendorf under the firm of Ostendorf & Moen
nig the same month. He was elected clerk of
Washington township, Van Wert county,
April 6, 1857, and held the office until April,
1864, in all, seven years. He was elected
treasurer of Washington township April 1,
1867, and held the office four terms. He also
served as member of town council of Delphos
three terms (1868-69-70), and again, in 1890,
he was elected to the council, and served until
1894, representing, first, the Fifth ward, and
the last time, the Third ward. April 1, 1895,
he was elected clerk of Washington township,
Van Wert county, to fill a vacancy, and April
6, 1896, was re-elected clerk for a full term.
He began business in 1852 and continued
until the beginning of 1862, when he began
the general merchandising business in October,
under the firm name of Moennig & Wulfhort,
near the southwest corner of Main and Second
streets. In 1866 he put up the building on
the corner of Main and Second streets, where
Charles E. Shenk now holdsforth, and started
in an exclusively hardware and agricultural
business, under the firm name of H. J. Moen
nig & Co. This he continued until 1880,
when he closed out hardware, and carried on
agricultural business by himself until 1893. In
1875 he put up the building now occupied by
the Delphos National bank, corner of Main
and Second streets. He was a member of the
council and treasurer of Saint John's Catholic
church for several years and is a member of
the Catholic Knights of America branch at
Lima. Mr. Moennig was married on August
6, 1857, to Mary B. Bredeick, daughter of
Ferdinand Bredeick, the original founder of
the town, and brother of Rev. Father Bredeick,
the founder of the Catholic church of Delphos,
and also of Ottoville. To Mr. and Mrs. Moen-

514

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

nig seven children have been born, as follows:
Ferdinand H. C, traveling salesman for the
D. Black Cloak company of New York; Eliza
beth B. ; Agnes T. ; Otto W. ; Mary and Mar
garet, both dead; Henry, died in Cleveland,
in July, 1892, at the age of twenty -three years.
H. J. Moennig has certainly proveniJu ielf
to be an excellent business man and one fully
worthy of the extensive patronage he now
enjoys. That he las been a popular and
efficient politician is also evident, and it would
seem that he is a favorite with the voting
population of Delphos, as may be judged from
his successive elections to the offices he has so
satisfactorily filled.

>*j* OSEPH TAPSCOTT, one of the lead-
A ing and most progressive farmers of
A 1 Perry township, Allen county, Ohio,
v""* was born on the homestead December
1, 1850, and here has passed all his life, be
coming thoroughly acquainted with the re
quirements of his vocation.
The grandfather of our subject, also named
Joseph, was. a native of Monmouth county, N.
J., and was of Scotch-Irish descent. He be
came an early settler of Warren county, Ohio.
James, the father of Joseph, purchased a tract
of 800 acres of wild land, which he cleared up
and from which he developed a good home;
he reared a large and respected family, and
divided his land among them. Joseph mar
ried Miss Annie Schenck, also a native of
Monmouth county, N. J. — the Schenck fam
ily, until the present day, being numbered
among the most prominent people of Mon
mouth county and other parts of southern
New Jersey. The children born to Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph Tapscott were named James, Sal-
lie (Mrs. Nelson Clark), William, Rachael
(Mrs. Nathan Beals), Joseph, Mary (Mrs.
Joseph DuBois), Mulford, Ellen (Mrs. Joseph

Beard), and John — all deceased excepting
Mrs. Beard.
James Tapscott, the eldest of this family,
was born in Warren county, Ohio, in 1808,
on his father's farm, where he remained until
1848, when he came to Allen county and set
tled on 200 acres of land which his father had
entered in Perry township some years pre
viously. Here he cleared up a farm, on which
he lived until he purchased a tract of 280
acres, now owned by his son Joseph, the sub
ject of this biography. The marriage of James
Tapscott took place March 6, 1850, to Miss
Maria Rankins, daughter of George Rankins,
one of the pioneers of Perry township.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. James
Tapscott were four in number, viz: Joseph,
our subject; and Annie, James and an un
named infant, all three deceased. Mr. Tap
scott was in politics a democrat, and was early
elected township trustee, school director, and
to several township offices. He was an ener
getic and successful farmer and a prominent
citizen, and died on his farm in 1884, a truly
lamented and respected man. His widow still
resides on the old farm, passing her declining
years in quietude and respected by all who
know her.
Joseph Tapscott, the subject proper of this
memoir and the only survivor of the children
born to James and Maria Tapscott, received a
very good common-school education, and, as
stated, was thoroughly instructed in the voca
tion of a farmer, in which he now stands with
the most prominent in the township. Polit
ically he is a radical prohibitionist, and in re
ligion he adheres to the faith of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which he is a trustee and
steward; he is also a Patron of Husbandry, and
is also one of the trustees of the Orphans'
home of Allen county. November 28, 1872,
Mr. Tapscott was happily united in marriage
with Miss Elizabeth A. Crossley, daughter of

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

515

Ross Crossley, of Lima, Ohio, and this union
has been blessed by the birth of the following
children: Jessie, wife of William Hardesty;
Augusta Mulford, and William. In addition to
the handsome revenue Mr. Tapscott is deriv
ing from the skillful management of his well
tilled farm, three producing oil wells on his
premises, operated by the Delaware Oil com
pany, net him a steady and remunerative in
come. Mr. Tapscott is a factor in the prog
ress of Perry township and is recognized as a
gentleman of unswerving integrity, in whom
the community have never hesitated to place
its fullest confidence.
George Rankins (deceased) was a native of
Stafford county, Va., born September i, 1797,
was reared on a plantation, and at the early
age of fifteen years entered the patriot army
of the war of 1812. He was a son of John
Rankins also a native of the Old Dominion and
of Scotch-Irish extraction, but at what time
the family first settled in Virginia is unknown.
But it is certain that John Rankins lived and
died in Stafford county, that state, that he was
a planter, and that he married Isabel Byran,
who became the mother of three children —
Frankie, who was married to Benjamin Hutchi
son; Peter, deceased, and George, the sub
ject of this sketch. After the death of her
husband Mrs. Isabel Rankins came to Ohio,
and here passed the remainder of her life with
her daughter, Mrs. Frankie Hutchison, in
Clinton county.
In 1 8 14 George Rankins came to Ohio and
worked as a farm hand in Warren county,
where he remained until 1839, when he came
to Allen county and entered eighty acres of
land in section No. 4, Perry township, which
land he cleared, but later sold and in section
No. 14 bought forty acres, which he also
cleared up and converted into a comfortable
homestead. He married Miss Wealthy A.
Tunget, born May 14, 1800, a daughter of

John and Mary Tunget, of Stafford county,
Va. , and had born to him the following family:
John, deceased; Maria, widow of James
Tapscott, of whose life a full relation is made
above; Mary, deceased; William, who mar
ried Anna Osman and died in Perry township,
Ah3, i sunty; Joshua, of Auglaize township,
Allen county, and married to Mary Lane;
Eliza, widow of A. R. K-ebs; Charlotta, wife
of Adam Stoops, of Wafren county, Ohio;
Isabel, wife of Joseph Nealey, of Auglaize
county, Ohio, and Joseph, deceased. The
father of this large and respected family was
one of the early trustees of Perry township,
and in his integrity his fellow-citizens never
failed to place their implicit trust. Mr. and
Mrs. Rankins were devoted members of the
Methodist church and early joined the congre
gation of Perry chapel, in the erection of
which they assisted largely by a contribution
of their means, and their own dwelling, for
fourteen years before the building of this edi
fice, was the place of worship for the embryo
congregation. In politics Mr. Rankins was a
democrat and very active and successful in
advancing the interests of his party, but often
declined acceptance of nominations for public
office. Mr. Rankins expired on his farm in
Perry township July 14, 1881, and his widow
died April 12, 1891, at the home of her
daughter, Mrs. James Tapscott, the mortal re
mains of both now reposing side by side in the
Perry chapel cemetery, Perry township, Allen
county, Ohio.

^/\EWTON B. THRAPP, of Bluffton,
I ¦ Ohio, one of the oldest and most
I * prominent of the pioneers of Putnam
county, and an honored citizen, was
born in Muskingum county, Ohio, June 20,
1 8 12. He is descended from the best of En-

516

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

glish ancestry, who were among the early set
tlers of America.
William Thrapp, the grandfather of the
subject, was a citizen of Maryland, and a
farmer. There he married Frances Baker, by
whom he became the father of the following
children: Robert, Francis, William, John,
Sarah, James and Samuel. These are all that
are remembered. Mr. Thrapp removed to
what is now West Virginia, and thence later to
Muskingum county, Ohio, where he was one
of the original pioneers. From Virginia to
Ohio he packed his goods on horses' backs
across the mountains, this being before there
were even wagon roads across the country.
In Muskingum county he passed the remainder
of his days, engaged in clearing and improving
his farm. There is a tradition in this family
that in the early settlement of this country,
somewhere in the east, there was a boy lost
for some time. He was at length found by
some trappers and hunters in the woods. They
gave the name "Trap" to this boy, and this is
the origin of the name "Thrapp."
William Thrapp, third son of the above,
and father of the subject of this sketch, moved
with his father to Virginia, and thence to
Muskingum county, Ohio, when a young man.
He married Miss Rachael Camp, of that
county, who was a daughter of Adam Camp.
To Mr. and Mrs. Thrapp, there were born
three children, viz: Newton B., Ann, and
Lilbourn. The mother of these children died
in Licking county, Ohio, to which county Mr.
Thrapp had moved soon after his marriage.
There they settled on 120 acres of land, and
in 1835 removed to Putnam county, being
there among the pioneers. Mr. Thrapp set
tled on section No. 2, Riley township, and
entered 160 acres of land. This he cleared
and converted into a good farm, and by indus
try and good management, he was enabled to
add other acres thereto, until at length he had

320 acres of fine farming land, thus becoming
one of the most substantial farmers of his day.
Having lost his first wife, Mr. Thrapp married,
in Licking county, Miss Sarah Davidson, by
whom he had the following children: Rachel,
Elizabeth, Mary, George (who died at the age
of eighteen), Margaret, Samuel (who died in
infancy), and Sarah J., who also died in in
fancy. Mr. Thrapp was a soldier in the war
of 1 812-15. In politics he was a democrat up
to the time of the formation of the republican
party, and then he became a republican. He
was one of the most highly esteemed citizens
of Putnam county, was elected commissioner
of that county twice, and besides held the
office of township trustee and other minor
offices. He was a member of the Methodist
Protestant church, and assisted to establish the
church in his neighborhood, being one of the
charter members. He lived to be seventy-five
years old, and when he died left many friends-
in all parts of the county, who keenly felt his
loss, for all recognized the fact that he was an
honest, christian gentleman.
Newton B. Thrapp, the subject of this-
sketch, was born June 20, 1812, in Muskingum
county, Ohio, and was taken to Licking county
by his father in 1820. He was about twenty-
two years old when his father moved to the
wilderness in Putnam county. Here he grew
up among the pioneers, when there was only
here and there a settler's clearing, these clear
ings being frequently miles apart. His educa
tion was obtained in the subscription schools,
for this was before the common-school system
of Ohio was established. When twenty-seven
years of age, he married Miss Barbara Cham
bers, who was born May 5, 18 15, in Mus
kingum county, and was the daughter of
Matthew and Mary (Radabaugh) Chambers,
they being respectively of Irish and of Penn
sylvania-Dutch descent. Mr. Chambers set
tled in Putnam county in 1838, first locating in

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

517

Gilboa, where he kept a store for years. His
children were Eliza, Barbara, Nancy, Mary,
Bartholomew, Violet and Matthew. Mr.
Chambers was a soldier in the war of 1812,
was a member of the Methodist Protestant
church, was for his entire life an honored cit
izen, and died at the great age of eighty-seven.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Thrapp
settled on section No. 1, of Riley township,
Putnam county, on 120 acres of land, all in
the woods. This he cleared of the heavy
timber with which it was covered, and by hard
work, industry and thrift, soon had a fine farm,
which he enlarged to 160 acres. It is now
well improved, has upon it good buildings, and
Mr. Thrapp is one of the most substantial
farmers of the county. He lived on this farm
with his wife the unusually long period of half
a century. To Mr. and Mrs. Thrapp there have been
born five children, viz: Milton, Rachel,
Orville, Earl and Clara. Politically Mr.
Thrapp was a democrat until 1856, when he
voted for Gen. John C. Fremont for president,
and he has been a republican ever since. He
has been honored by his fellow-citizens by
election to the office of township trustee and
as a member of the school board. He was a
strong Union man during the war, and sent
two sons to fight for the government, both of
whom were members of company D, Ninety-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry. They both en
listed at Findlay, Ohio, and were in many
battles. Milton was shot at the battle of
Chickamauga and died in the hospital from
the effects of the wound, a young man about
twenty-four years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Thrapp
are Methodists in religion, and he assisted with
his money to build the church in his township.
In 1889 he removed to Bluffton, and retired
from active life. He had up to that time al
ways been a hard-working man, and has
always been highly respected by all that have

known him for his high and honorable charac
ter. While he has attained to the age of
eighty-four years, yet his faculties are unim
paired and he wears no glasses except for the
purpose of reading. He has a most remark
able memory, and from its storehouse supplied
many of the facts for this sketch. He is a fair
example of what industry can accomplish in
the way of accumulating property, and also of
the benefits of a temperate life. Highly es
teemed by all who know him, he is passing the
evening of his days in that ease combined with
dignity, otium cum dignitate, which the old
Roman philosopher so highly prized.
Orville B. Thrapp, son of Newton B. Thrapp,
is a merchant of Bluffton, and an ex-soldier of
the Civil war, was born February 14, 1844.
He enlisted al Findlay, Ohio, in July, 1862,
in company D, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer
infantry, for three years or during the war, and
served with this regiment, and with the regi
ment after its consolidation with the Fiftieth
Ohio volunteer infantry, until the close of the
war. The principal battles in which he par
ticipated were as follows: Stone River, Chick
amauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge,
Ringgold, the battles of the Atlanta campaign,
Dalton, Pumpkinvine Creek, Taylor's Ridge,
and the second battle of Nashville, beside
numerous smaller engagements and skirmishes.
Throughout the war he was always with his
regiment, was always an active and faithful
soldier, and was never sick, wounded nor
taken prisoner. He was honorably discharged
in July, 1865. After the war was over he re
turned to Putnam county, and on December
25, 1867, married Orpha D. Hall, who was
born July 21, 1840, and is a daughter of Sam
uel and Martha (Wormesley) Hall. To this
marriage there were born the following chil
dren: Daisy, Roy, Alma and Edwin A. The
mother of these children died in March, 1883,
and on November 6, 1887 Mr. Thrapp mar-

518

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ried Amelia McClafferty, a daughter of Thomas
and Amelia (Harding) McClafferty/ Mr. Thrapp
is a member of Gilboa post, No. 75, G. A. R.,
and is a republican in politics. In 1892 he re
moved from Blanchard township to Bluffton,
and here engaged in mercantile business, which
he has since successfully followed. A brother
of his, Milton E. Thrapp, was a soldier in the
same company with himself, and was killed at
Chickamauga September 20, 1863.

IRA M. TOWNSEND, one of the most
substantial citizens of Bluffton, Allen
county, founder and proprietor of the
Townsend mill, sprang from an old
colonial family of English Puritan stock. The
father of the subject, Appleton Townsend,
was a son of a Revolutionary soldier, was a
native of Massachusetts, and was born Sep
tember 4, 1796. When a young man he went
to northern New York, and there worked at his
trades, being a stone mason and a plasterer.
He married, in Franklin county, N. Y. , Miss
Roxie Fields, by whom he had the following
children: Fannie, Charles, Levina, Harriet,
Ira M., Rebecca and William, the last two
being born in Knox county, Ohio, the others
in the state of New York. In 1841 he re
moved to Knox county, Ohio, and lived in
Mount Vernon, and in Centerburg until he
removed to Allen county in 1845, settling in
Richland township on a farm, cultivating his
farm and also working at his trades so long as
he lived, his death occurring August 22, 1858.
He was a most industrious man, honest in his
character, and of well known integrity.
Ira M. Townsend, the subject of this sketch,
was born November 19, 1833, in Franklin
county, N. Y. He received but a limited edu
cation in his youth, what he has learned being
by his own efforts, through careful observation
and private reading. When he was but eight

years old he was brought to Ohio by his par
ents, and here he learned the saddler's trade,
in Knox and in Hardin counties. He worked
at his trade in Bluffton for twelve years, hav
ing located in that city in June, 1852. He
was married at Jamestown, N. Y. , October 29,
1852, to Catherine Thompson, born in the
state of New York, September 15, 1835, and
daughter of Harvey and Laura (Cole) Thomp
son. Mr. and Mrs. Townsend settled in Bluff
ton soon after their marriage and have lived
their ever since. They are the parents of eight
children, as follows: Charles E., Ida M.,
Frank, Hugh, Orrin E., Levantia, Peter and
Carrie. These children are all now deceased,
with the exception of Charles E., who married
Minerva Arbuthnot; Orrin E., married to Jennie
Hall, and Levantia, married to A. E.
Swinehart. In 1853 and 1854 Mr. Townsend engaged
in the milling business in partnership with N.
E. Woodford, carrying a half-interest in the
mill, but not being actively engaged in the
business. In 1856 he took an active part in
the management, and was thus engaged for
one year, and since then he has been in busi
ness either by himself or in partnership with
his sons or son-in-law. In 1881 the mill was
blown up by an explosion, and Mr. Townsend
erected another one in its place. In 1887 the
mill was burned down, and he then erected
his present mill on the same spot. His sons,
Charles and Orrin E. were in partnership with
him for about ten years, and at the present
time his son-in-law, A. E. Swinehart, is his
partner, and the firm does a large business in
hardwood lumber, being large shippers, and
standing high in business circles. Mr. Towns-
end was in the lumber business in Michigan
for two years, 1865 and 1866, but otherwise
he has been in business in Bluffton. In poli
tics he is a republican and has served as a
member of the town council and also as a

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

519

member of the school board, in each position
for a number of years. He is a member of
Bluffton lodge, I. O. O. F., and has filled all
the chairs, including that of noble grand.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Townsend are members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has
always assisted with his means to support the
church, as he did to erect it in the first place.
Beside his mill property and his residence in
Bluffton, Mr. Townsend owns a farm in Ne
braska, and also one in Indiana. He has a
very pleasant home and in all respects is a
worthy and highly esteemed citizen of Allen
county.

EENRY E. TURNER, junior partner
in the favorite mercantile firm of
Lohman & Turner, at West Newton,
Allen county, was born in Hardin
county, Ohio, January 27, 1862, where he re
ceived a very good common-school education
and was reared on his father's farm.
Alexander Turner, great-grandfather of
Henry E. , was a native of Virginia, of German
descent, and married Nancy Phillips, of the
same state, and both passed away their lives
in. the Old Dominion. Their son, John Turner,
grandfather of our subject, was born in Lou
doun county, Va., July 8, 1810, and in 1833
married in Harrison county (now W. Va.),
Lucy Bartlett, who was born in that county
May 30, 181 5. In 1839 he brought his little
family to Ohio and settled among the pioneers,
and in the wilderness of Auglaize township,
Allen county, carved out a farm from the
primitive forest and died, an honored early set
tler, April 15, 1868. Starling B. Turner, son of
John Turner and father of Henry E. Turner,
was born in Allen county, Ohio, was reared to
farming, and in 1861 married Maria Monfort,
daughter of Henry and Catherine (Staley)

Monfort, this union resulting in the birth of
Henry E., our subject. In August, 1862, Mr.
Turner bade farewell to his young wife and
child and volunteered, in defense of the honor
of his country's flag, in company B, Forty-fifth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and met an untimely
death in the rebel prison-stockade at Ander
sonville. His widow subsequently married
William Lohman, to which union have been
born four children, viz: Eva M., John A.,
Earnest M. and Arda R.
Henry E. Turner, the gentleman with
whose name this memoir is opened, dates the
happy event of his marriage from December
20, 1884. The bride, whose maiden name
was Florence A. Williams, was born in Au
glaize township, Allen county, Ohio, Decem
ber 26, 1863, and is a daughter of William and
Mary E. (Morrow) Williams. The father of
this lady was a prominent farmer of the town
ship, was a factor in public affairs, and died
February 22, 1890. His widow, a highly re
spected lady, still resides on the old farm.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Turner resulted
in the birth of two children, only — William
H., deceased, and Starling B. Mr. and Mrs.
Turner are members of the Baptist church,
Mr. Turner being superintendent of the Sab
bath-school. In politics Mr. Turner is a re
publican, and through the favor in which he
stands with his party is now filling the office of
township trustee. He -owns a good farm of
148 acres, and through his industry and ju
dicious management of his capital has placed
himself beyond the reach of the gaunt wolf
that at times howls proverbially at the door of
the less fortunate. In his business as a gen
eral merchant he has met with phenomenal
success through his urbane manners and a
manifest disposition to please his patrons, and
a fair, square, upright method of dealing that
never fails to bring prosperity — the inevitable
result of honesty.

520

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

*w * ENRY P. WAGNER, M. D., one of
l^\ the most eminent physicians and sur-
M tr geons of northwestern Ohio, the old
est practitioner of Delphos, and one
of the most prominent in Allen county, was
born January i, 1824, in Wendelsheim, near
the city of Metz, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany.
His father, Louis Wagner, was a gentleman
of fine literary taste, a highly cultivated mind,
and was in comfortable circumstances. Being
dissatisfied with the monarchical government
of Germany, Louis Wagner decided, at the
age of forty-four years, to find or establish a
new home for himself and family in a free
country. Accordingly, with his wife, Magda
lena, and four sons and four daughters, he
came to the United States, landing at New
York city, and thence came to Columbus, Ohio,
where he founded a home.
After completing a literary and scientific
course of study, Henry P. Wagner began the
study of medicine, at the age of eighteen years,
under the preceptorship of Edwin H. Davis,
A. M., M. D., professor of materia medica
and therapeutics of New York Medical col
lege. After three years of study under the
guidance of this eminent instructor, Mr. Wag
ner went to Europe and pursued his studies
for several years in Germany. On his return
to this country he began the practice of medi
cine at Chillicothe, Ohio, where he remained
until 1847, when he located at section No. 10,
now the city of Delphos, Van Wert county,
where he has since successfully practiced his
profession. In 1863 and 1864 Dr. Wagner
visited New York city and attended private in
structions under Prof. Austin Flint, Sr., M. D.,
in physical diagnoses; Prof. Frank H. Hamil
ton, M. D., in surgery; Prof. Austin Flint, Jr. ,
M. D., in microscopy, and also attended clin
ical lectures in Bellevue Charity hospital, and
other hospitals in the city of New York, as
well as the private practice of distinguished

physicians in the city. He received a diploma
from Bellevue Hospital Medical college, arid
letters of commendation from eminent and
distinguished physicians. Dr. Wagner has
been in active practice in Delphos for forty-
eight years, and is the pioneer physician of the
place. For years he practiced in Allen, Van
Wert and Putnam counties, when the country
was undeveloped and in a state of wilderness.
From the beginning the doctor's success has
been phenomenal. He began the practice with
a mind thoroughly equipped with intellectual
and professional training, and his superior
abilities in due time won for him a prominent
place among the leading physicians and sur
geons of northern Ohio, which place he still
retains. He combines, with a deep knowledge
of the profession, the sympathetic nature and
gentle touch, of the true healer, and afflicted
humanity has found in him a sympathetic and
unselfish benefactor. The doctor has been
most fortunate in his practice financially, hav
ing accumulated thereby a comfortable fortune,
which he liberally dispenses for the welfare of
the city and county where he has for so many
years resided. He is a member of the Amer
ican Medical association, the Ohio State Med
ical society, and of the Northwestern Medical
association of Ohio, in which organizations he
is very prominent. He was formerly a mem-
.ber of the Allen County Medical society, and
for many years was one of the censors of the
Toledo Medical college.
Dr. Wagner is a knight templar Mason and
has filled all the chairs of the local lodge,
chapter and council, being for over twenty
years high priest. He has filled many public
offices of a local nature, such as councilman
and township trustee, and proved true to every
trust reposed in him by his fellow-citizens. He
was vice-president of the Commercial bank of
Delphos, of which he also served as cashier
and director. He was also largely interested

*S£&Mafn*rz^. &

HRhhIf?

Jul . l/f£ ^>LX-a

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

525

in the building of the Pittsburg, Akron & West
ern railroad, also the Clover Leaf, and made
liberal donations to those enterprises. The
doctor subscribes to the Methodist creed and
has been liberal in donations to the church,
contributing $1,000 toward the building of the
present handsome temple of worship of Del
phos, and $500 toward the building of the par
sonage. He also assisted largely in raising the
balance of the money for these two buildings,
and'for many years was president of the church
board of trustees.
Dr Wagner was married on November 8,
1849, at Delphos, to Maggie M. Martin. Mrs.
Wagner was a daughter of the late Rev. Edward
N. and Catherine F. Martin, was born in Day
ton, Ohio, October 30, 1828, and with her
parents, brothers and sisters came to Delphos,
then called Section 10, in 1848, where her
marriage to Dr. H. P. Wagner occurred on
West Third street. Mrs. Wagner graduated
from the female seminary at Springfield, this
event being the completion of an advanced
education given her by her parents. Mrs.
Wagner united with the Methodist Episcopal
church at Piqua, Ohio, in 1844, and was after
ward identified with that church until her
death, which occurred January 29, 1896, her
husband, two brothers and a sister being left
to mourn her loss. The brothers are R. H,
Martin, of Delphos, Ohio, and John S. Martin,
of Converse, Ind., and the sister is Mrs. N. L.
Eggers, who was making her home with Mrs.
Wagner at the time of the latter's decease. The
funeral services took place from her late resi
dence, corner Washington and East Fourth
streets, Saturday morning, February ist, 1896,
at 10 o'clock and were conducted by Rev. M.
Gascoigne, of Delphos, and Rev. J.W.Holland,
of Bowling Green, Ohio, former pastor of the
Delphos Methodist congregation, interment
being made in the West Side cemetery. Suit
able resolutions of condolence were also passed

by the Eastern Star society, of which she had
been an active member, and signed by the
society's officers — G. G. McCoy, Mrs. M. Gas
coigne and Mrs. E. W. Hastings. Mrs. Wagner
was also a very prominent life member of the
Methodist Foreign Missionary society.

«w * OWARD TURNER, of the firm of
Br\ Turner Bros. , manufacturers of drain
A r tile and saw-mill operators, with their
post-office at Ada, Ohio, but having
their plants located in Jackson township, Allen
county, Ohio, was born in Lee township Har
din county, February 20, 1862, and is of En
glish extraction, his great-grandfather having
been the first of the family to come to America.
Isaac Turner, father of Howard Turner, our
subject, was born in Muskingum county, June
17, 1 8 17, and was always a farmer. He mar
ried Miss Elizabeth Wood, a daughter of
Samuel J. Wood, and to this marriage the
following children were born: Jane, wife of
Sylvester Turner; John, Frank, Erastus, Sam
uel, Stephen and Howard, all now married
and the heads of their own families. The
parents removed from Muskingum county to
Hardin county, Ohio, the same year in which
the Pennsylvania railroad was run through the
county last named, and there the father wrought
out from the wilderness a fine farm of 1 30 acres,
as a homestead for himself, and also bought
additional land, which he gave his children,
every inch of which he had earned through his
own toil and good management. In politics he
was a democrat, and in religion was a faithful
Methodist, in which faith his wife died, August
16, 1882, a truly christian woman and mother.
Howard Turner was reared to manhood on
his father's farm, was well educated in the
common schools and married, March 15, 1883,
Miss Dora Tressle, daughter of John and Mary
(McKnight) Tressle — the former a prosperous

526

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

farmer of Liberty township, Hardin county;
he is also a prominent member of the Lutheran
church and an active republican in his politics.
The children that have crowned the blissful
marriage of Howard Turner and wife are three
in number and are named Daniel, Alva and
Paul. After his marriage Mr. Turner resided
for five years on a forty-acre farm which he
owns in Hardin county, but which, although
well cultivated and improved, he has not occu
pied since his coming to Allen county, about
the year of 1888. Since coming to Jackson
township Mr. Turner has filled the office of
township trustee and has received many other
proofs of the confidence which is reposed in
him by his fellow-citizens. He is a class leader
in the Methodist church, of which he is a truly
conscientious member, and by his walk through
life gives every indication that he has taken its
instructions fully to heart, practicing them, on
all occasions, in his social intercourse as'well
as his business transactions. He is a chorister
"in the Methodist Sunday-school, and aids,
pecuniarily and otherwise, in extending the in
fluence of the denomination in which he places
his religious faith. As a busjness man, al
though yet young in years, he has shown re
markable sagacity, and in the transaction of
his successful trade his integrity has never been
impugned.

*jr-» IEUT. SAMUEL B. VIOLET, one of
1 r the leading business men of Beaver
§ ^ Dam, Allen county, Ohio, and an ex-
soldier of the late Civil war, was
born in Pike county, Ohio, July 22, 1837, and
descends from an old colonial family of Vir
ginia, of French Huguenot origin, the family
name, it is thought, being originally spelled
Violette. John Violet, grandfather of our subject,
was a soldier in the American Revolutionary

war and was a substantial farmer of Loudoun
county, Va. He married Miss Constance Phil
lips, the union resulting in the birth of the fol
lowing children: William, Benjamin, Samuel,
Maria, Rebecca and Eva. The father of these,
John Violet, removed from Virginia to Ohio
with his family and was a pioneer of Pike
county, of which he became an influential cit
izen and a successful farmer, although, for the
last fourteen years of his life, he was deprived
of his eyesight. He reached the patriarchal
age of over ninety years and died an honored
and highly respected gentleman.
Samuel Violet, son of John and father of
our subject, was born in Loudoun county, Va. ,
in 1799, was reared a farmer and when a
young man came to Ohio and located in Ad
ams county. He married Eunice Phillips,
who was a native of that county, also born in
1799. After marriage, Mr. Violet removed to
Pike county and located in the wilderness,
about two miles from Piketon, where he re
sided until 1845, when he removed with his
family to Burlington, Iowa, where, thirteen days
later, his death occurred. He and wife were
the parents of ten children, viz: John M.,
James Q., Mary, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Martha,
Harriet, Sarah, Samuel B. and Eunice. The
parents were devout members of the Method
ist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Violet was
a pillar and office holder. In politics Mr. Vio
let was a democrat. He was a substantial farm
er and a citizen who held the respect of the
entire community in which he had lived.
Samuel B. Violet, our subject, was but
eight years of age when taken by his father to
Burlington, Iowa, but still remembers the jour
ney — the trip to Cincinnati, about 100 miles,
and by steamer down the Ohio river and up
the Mississippi to Keokuk,. Iowa, and thence
about fifty miles to Burlington, young Samuel,
although but a child and disabled by a broken
arm, driving the team with one hand — his

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

527

father even then being in a dying condition.
Samuel had received some little education in
the pioneer school of Pike county, and his
mother, after he had attained his ninth year,
lived on a farm nine years, and then removed
to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, for the purpose of
educating her children, but her death took
place eight months later, and thus our subject
lost all opportunities for schooling. At the age
' of seventeen he returned to Ohio and became
a clerk for his brother, John M. Violet, a
merchant and farmer of Scioto county, with
whom he remained until nearly nineteen years
old, when he married, December 20, 1855,
Miss Jennie C. Slattery, a native of Scioto
county, born January 23, 1833, and a daugh
ter of John and Julia (Crull) Slattery. The
father, John Slattery, was a well-to-do farmer
of Irish descent, and he and wife were parents
of the following children: Jennie C. (Mrs.
Violet), Louise, Theodore, Charles, Levina
(who died when eleven years old) and Julia.
Mr. Slattery died at the age of forty-five years,
a much respected citizen. Mrs. Slattery was
next married to Thomas Crull, to whom she
bore one child — Ella. William Slattery,
grandfather of Mrs. Violet, came from Ireland
and married, in America, Atlanta Smoch; he
first located in Maryland, but later became a
pioneer and representative farmer of Scioto
county, Ohio, and here died at the age of
seventy-five years, a member of the Methodist
church and the father of two children, Will
iam and John (father of Mrs. Violet). The
mother of Mrs. Violet was a daughter of
Jndge Samuel Crull, who was born in Loudoun
county, Va. , and was also a pioneer of Scioto
county, Ohio, where he rose to prominence
and for forty years was associate judge of the
county court, also a member of the state legis
lature, and was a highly honored gentleman.
He lived to reach the ripe old age of seventy-
five years.

After marriage, Samuel B. Violet, with his
wife, moved to southern Iowa, where he
farmed for three years and then returned to
Scioto county, Ohio, and followed agriculture
until Juue, 1862, when he enlisted at Ports
mouth, Ohio, for three years or during the
war, and was at once commissioned second
lieutenant and detailed as recruiting officer,
and as such he raised a full company of volun
teers, who were mustered into the United
States service August 22, 1862, as company
F, of the One Hundred and Seventeenth regi
ment, Ohio volunteer infantry. With this
company and regiment Lieut. Violet served
until the spring of 1864, as second lieutenant,
and was then promoted to be first lieutenant
of company A, First Ohio heavy artillery, in
which capacity he served until the close of the
war, when he was honorably discharged, June
30, 1865, at Knoxville, Tenn.
The first active service of Lieut. Violet
was performed in eastern Kentucky, where he
endured much hard marching, especially from
Buffalo Shoals to Peach Orchard, a distance
of forty miles; in this wintry march the troops
greatly suffered from the cold and the struggle
over roads covered with deep mud, slush and
snow. In April, 1864, Lieut. Violet was as
signed, by order of Gen. Schofield, to the staff
of Gen. Tilson, and was detailed as one of the
superintendents of the line of fortifications at
Knoxville, Tenn. ; Gen. Tilson being now
superseded by Gen. Gibson, Lieut. Violet
served on the staff of the latter until the close
of the war. Lieut. Violet was always an active
and efficient officer, was ever prompt in the
discharge of his duty, and served his country
well, truly and gallantly.
After the war, Lieut. Violet returned to
Scioto county, Ohio, and engaged in mercan
tile trade with his brother, John M., at Whee-
lersburg, for three years, and then, for five
years, was engaged in the same business on

528

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the Ohio canal; he then sold his mercantile
interests and bought 205 acres of land in Pike
county, Ohio, where he followed agriculture
for two years, and then again engaged in mer
chandising, this time at Idaho, Pike county,
for several years. In December, 1890, he
moved to Beaver Dam, Richland township,
Allen county (bringing his family the next
spring), and here bought residence property
and a store building, again followed mercan
tile pursuits for two years, and then sold out
to his son-in-law, Branson Holton.
To Lieut. Violet and wife were born two
children — Medora B. and Annie C, of whom
the latter died at the age of twelve years.
Medora B. was married to Branson Holton
and to their union eight children were born in
the following order: Jennie V., June 24,1879;
Lucius B., July 20, 1881; Sallie, August 4,
1883; Olive, February 17, 1885; Earnest A.,
March 9, 1886; Thomas M., born February 4,
1888, died February 13, 1890; Abbie Con
stance, July 29, 1889; Samuel, February 13,
1891, and Esther F., June 13, 1892.
Branson Holton was born in Pike county,
Ohio, May 20, 1851, a son of Thomas and
Sallie (Beekman) Holton. The Holtons are
of English descent, and Thomas Holton was a
pioneer of Pike county. Branson Holton was
well educated, read law, and was probate
judge of Pike county several terms. He mar
ried Miss Medora B. Violet May 29, 1878, the
bride having been born April 25, 1857. He
¦entered into the mercantile business at Beaver
Dam in 1891, and followed it until his sudden
death, from heart trouble, January 13, 1895.
He was a consistent member of the Christian
Union church, in which he was at one time a
class leader, and a man of high moral charac
ter. In politics he was of democratic affilia
tion, but of strong prohibitionist proclivities,
and fraternally was an Odd Fellow. Lieut.
Violet and wife are members of the Methodist

Episcopal church and fraternally he is a Free
mason, being member both of the Blue lodge
and the chapter, and is also an Odd Fellow,
in which order he is a member of the subordi
nate lodge and encampment. He is a sub
stantial citizen and owns some valuable real
estate in Beaver Dam and a farm in Richland
township.

rVX ATHANIEL VORE, a well-known
I m agriculturist and horticulturist of
1 r Bath township, Allen county, Ohio,
is a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth
(Otto) Vore, and was born on his father's farm
in Bedford county, Pa., in the year 1832.
Benjamin Vore, the father of our subject,
was born in York county, Pa., in 1784, where
his early years were passed in the milling busi
ness. While still a young man he removed to
Bedford county, in the same state, erected a
flouring-mill and married Rachael, daughter of
Thomas Blackburn, to which union were born
seven children, viz: Anthony, who was killed
by a falling tree; Benjamin, deceased; Eliza
beth, deceased wife of Ephraim Adams; Mar
garet, deceased; Thomas, deceased; Sarah,
deceased wife of Daniel Hess, and Hannah,
deceased wife of Luther Davis. The mother
of this family having been called away, Mr.
Vore next married Elizabeth Manges, who
died without issue, and for his third helpmate
he selected Elizabeth Otto, and to this happy
union have been born two children — Catherine,
wife of William Hunt, and Nathaniel, our sub
ject. Benjamin Vore, the father, was a very
intelligent man and was closely identified with
the republican party, of whose principles he
was an able and warm advocate, and whom
he represented for a number of years as auditor
for the county of Bedford, in which county his
death took place, in 1861, an attached and
consistent member of the Society of Friends.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

529-

Nathaniel Vore, whose name stands at the
opening of this biography, remained with his
parents until he had attained his twenty-third
year, when he was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth Hull, daughter of Samuel Hull,
of Bedford county, Pa. , and about five years
after this event came to Ohio and purchased a
tract of eighty acres of land in Bath township,
Allen county, which he redeemed from the
woods, improved to the utmost, and on which
he still resides, engaged in general farming and
the growing of fruit, devoting especial atten
tion to strawberries. To the marriage of Mr.
and Mrs. Vore were born six children, viz:
Samuel H. and Gabriel H., still living, and Mary
A., Catherine, Harry W. and Charlie, deceased.
The mother of these children was called to
join the departed ones March 2, 1874, and the
bereaved husband, in 1876, S9ught another
companion in the person of Mrs. Sarah Early,
widow of Jacob Early, of Bath township. This
union has been blessed with two children —
John E. and Jacob A.
Mr. Vore is closely identified with the Ger
man Baptist, or Dunkard church, and takes
an ardent and active interest in its progress,
having filled the offices of deacon and super
intendent of Sunday-school for many years.
As a republican, he has occupied the positions
of township clerk and supervisor, and has
served most acceptably. He is everywhere
recognized as an upright, intelligent and use
ful citizen and as a kind neighbor, who does
not live for himself alone.

>'jIOHN H. WAHMHOFF, one of the
A representative business men and lead-
A J ing citizens of Delphos, Ohio, was born
in the city of Buffalo, Erie county, N.
Y. , on March 11. 1851. His parents were
Stephen and Fredericka (Reuter) Wahmhoff,

both of whom were born in the mother country,
the father in Hanover, and the mother in
Prussia. They came to America when quite-
young, and were married in Erie county, N.
Y. Stephen Wahmhoff served an apprentice
ship at the boiler-making trade, and as
draughtsman, and for many years was master
mechanic of the Erie Central railroad. He
was killed on the railroad December 9, 1858,
leaving a widow and three sons and two
daughters. In 1861 the widow moved her
family to Van Wert county, Ohio, where they
owned farming lands, upon which she located,
the farm being about two miles from Delphos.
Here she resided four years, and then removed
into Delphos, where she resides at the present
time, being now in her sixty-ninth year. Of
the children three are now living, all residing
in Delphos. John H. Wahmhoff was the oldest of the
children. He was educated in the parochial
schools in Buffalo, and in the country schools
of Van Wert county, while living on the farm,
and at night school in Delphos. At the age of
fifteen years he began an apprenticeship of
three years at the drug business in the store of
Hunt & Walsh. After finishing his apprentice
ship he continued right along in the drugstore,.
working his way up from the bottom to a re
sponsible position. After Mr. Walsh retired
from the firm of Hunt & Walsh our subject
managed the business for Mr. Hunt until 1878,
when Mr. Hunt, desiring to retire from the
drug business, sold the establishment to Mr.
Wahmhoff. Of course Mr. Wahmhoff had
not been able as a clerk to accumulate suffi
cient means to purchase so valuable a business,
but tat did not stand in the way of the trade,
as Mr. Hunt had unlimited confidence in the
honesty and integrity of the young man and
faith in his ability to succeed. So Mr. Wahm
hoff became the proprietor of the drug store,
giving his notes unsecured for the entire-

530

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

amount of the purchase money. Subsequently
events proved how well founded was the faith
of Mr. Hunt in his young clerk. Since 1878
Mr. Wahmhoff has continued in the drug
business, meeting with deserved success, and
building up a large business, and his establish
ment is now considered one of the leading
drug houses in the city.
Mr. Wahmhoff has always taken an active
interest in the affairs of Delphos, and for some
time has been quite prominent in a public and
official way. In 1872 he became a member of
the volunteer fire department of Delphos, and
continued a member of that organization for
eighteen years, serving during' that time in
every capacity from private to chief of the de
partment, holding the position of chief three
or four years, during which time he was of
great service to the city. In 1885 he was
elected from the Second ward of Delphos to
the city council, serving two years. In 1888
he was again elected from the Second ward,
serving until 1890. In 1894 he was for the
third time elected to the council. His serv
ices in the council have been of great value
and benefit to the city, as he has always pur
sued a safe, sound and conservative policy.
He served three years on the Delphos board of
health, and is at the present time a member of
the Delphos board of education. Since 1880
he has been a member of the Ohio State
Pharmaceutical association, in which he has
been quite prominent. He was one of five
who drafted the present Ohio state pharmacy
laws. Mr. Wahmhoff is a member of the Saint
John's Roman Catholic church of Delphos, and
has been quite active in the matters pertaining
to the church; also a member of the American
Pharmaceutical association of the United States
and Canada. Mr. Wahmhoff was married, in
1851, to Christina C. Eich, who is American
born and the mother of five children, viz:
Elizabeth, Henrietta, Agnes, John and Anna.

^V^VHILIP WALTHER.— It is always
1 M pleasant and profitable to contem-
I plate the career of a man who has
become distinguished in any honorable
walk of life, whether private or public. Such
a career is that of Philip Walther, auditor of
Allen county. Mr. Walther is a son of George
J. and Eva Marie (Miller) Walther, and was
born February 26, i860, in McKeesport, Pa.
His grandfather, Bernard Walther, was a na
tive of Germany, and lived and died in Hesse
Darmstadt. George J. Walther, father of
Philip, was born in that city August 6, 1830,
and in 1854 emigrated from his native land
and city to the United States of America, set
tling at McKeesport, Allegheny county, Pa.
Here he lived ten years, ' engaged in mining,
and in 1864 he removed to Ohio, and settled
in Monroe township, Allen county, and engaged
in farming the greater part of that year. Re
turning to McKeesport in the fall he remained
there till 1866, when he returned to Ohio,
settled in Lima, and conducted the Central
hotel of that city until 1 890, when he estab
lished himself in the grocery business. He
was thus engaged until his death, which oc
curred November 9, 1892. Politically Mr.
Walther was a democrat, taking an active
interest in the success and good reputation of
everything connected with his party's history
and prosperity. In matters of religion he was
a member and a trustee of the German Reform
church for many years. Mrs. Walther was a
daughter of George Miller, and was a native
of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. She survives
her husband and resides in Lima, enjoying the
society of her children and the respect of all
with whom she is acquainted. To her and her
husband were born the following children:
Catherine, wife of Martin Dibling, of Lima,
Ohio; John', who died in infancy; Philip, the
subject of this memoir; Margaret, wife of John
W. Shnabel, of Lima; Frederick and Leonard,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

531

merchants- of Lima; Mollie, wife of Philip
Runinger, and Phoebe, wife of Jacob P. Huff
man, of Lima.
Philip Walther was born in McKeesport,
Pa., February 26, i860, and came to Lima,
Ohio, with his parents, in 1866, and here he
was reared and received the rudiments of his
edncation in the Lima public schools. This
education was well supplemented by a com
mercial course of instruction, which has been of
great value to him in his business career. Later
he became a furniture finisher and worked at
this trade until 1882, when he became clerk
and book-keeper for his father in the Central
hotel. This position he retained until 1887,
when he was appointed letter-carrier in the
Lima post-office, which position he resigned in
1889 to accept the position of deputy auditor
of the county of Allen under C. D. Crites,
and held this responsible position for six
years, and in 1893 he was elected county
auditor for the term beginning in October,
1894, a position which he has acceptably filled
ever since and still retains.
Politically Mr. Walther has always been a
pronounced democrat and has been and is an
active and prominent worker in the councils of
his party, as is evident from his having been a
member of the county central committee in
1887, and in 1891-92. Fraternally he is a
member of Lima lodge, No. 581, I. O. O. F. ,
of Lima lodge, No. 162, B. P. O. E., of Lima
lodge, No. 91, K. of P., and of Lima lodge,
No. 267, U. O. R. M. Mr. Walther was mar
ried in September, 1884, to Miss Mary Thor-
ing, daughter of Henry and Catherine Thor-
ing, highly respectable residents of Allen county,
and to their marriage there have been born
five children, viz: Charles; Alfred C. , de
ceased; J. William, deceased; Bessie and
Pauline. Such is the record, brief though it
may appear, of the career of Philip Walther.
Much more might have been said of the life of

a worthy citizen, but doubtless enough has
been given to teach again the useful lesson to
all young people whose future is always doubt
ful and uncertain; for it is as true now as it
ever was of old, that those who are faithful
in the small and comparatively unimportant
things of life, shall in due time be intrusted
with the larger and clearly more important
things.

at

ILLIAM A. WAGNER, one of the
well known business men of Del
phos, and proprietor of the Oyster
Bay restaurant and bakery, is a na
tive of Tiffin, Ohio, where he was born August
15, i860. He was reared in Tiffin, where he
attended the public schools, after which he
took a three years' course at Saint Mary's col
lege in Dayton. About 1874 he went west
and spent some ten years in Colorado and New
Mexico, where he was engaged in business,
and was in Leadville, Colo., during the excite
ment of the first gold discovery of that place.
Returning to Tiffin about 1885 he remained
there about six months and then came to Del
phos, and took a position as book-keeper for
John Widmer, with whom he remained for
about one year, engaging in business for himT
self at the end of that time by opening a res
taurant on Main street, four doors north of his
present place. He remained at that location
about five years and then removed one door
south, and three years later removed to his
present location on in-lot No. 15, midway on
the west side of Main, between Second and
Third streets. Beside his restaurant, Mr.
Wagner carries a large and general stock of
notions, toys, candies, cigars and sheet music
and music supplies. He also conducts one of
the leading bakeries in the city, doing a whole
sale and retail business in the line, being the
only wholesale baker in Delphos. He is a

532

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

stockholder in the Commercial bank and the
Citizens' Building & Loan association.
Mr. Wagner was married in 1885 to Leota
Hood, who was born in Delphos, and is the
daughter of John Hood, deceased. To their
union three children have been born, as fol
lows: LeRoy, Edward, and Pearl. Mr. Wag
ner and family are members of Saint John's
Roman Catholic church. The parents of Mr.
Wagner were Martin and Susanna (Arnold)
Wagner, the former a native of Baden, Ger
many, and the latter of Seneca county, Ohio;
they are now residing in Tiffin, Ohio.

• HE WARD FAMILY.— One of the
most distinguished families of Allen
county, Ohio, is that of which the
history is here presented. Abraham
Ward, in 1833, removed from Jackson town
ship, Pickaway county, Ohio, to Allen county,
but was born in what is now West Virginia.
His ancestry were among those who settled
early at Plymouth, Mass., and who came
originally from England; and the descendants
of those early emigrants may now be found in
all parts of the United States. Abraham
Ward was a son of Joseph Ward, a soldier in
the Revolutionary war, who after the close of
that war settled in Norfolk, Va. Later he
removed to Moorefield, in Hardy county, now
in West Virginia, where he died. Abraham,
following the example of his father, became a
soldier in the war of 18 12, in an Ohio regiment.
He married Miss Christiana Johnson, by whom
he had two children, Joseph and John. After
the death of Mrs. Ward, Mr. Ward married
again, but the maiden name of his second wife
is not now known. By this second marriage
he had four children — two sons and two
daughters, and in the fullness of time he died
in Jackson township, Allen county.
Joseph Ward, the elder son of Abraham

Ward and his first wife, was born in Moore
field, Va. , in 1793, and settled in Champaign
county, Ohio, in 18 12, where he lived until
1827, when he removed to Allen county, locat
ing on what is now known as the Felter farm.
He erected the first grist-mill in Allen county,
and upon this farm he died in 1839, leaving a
family of four sons and two daughters.
John Ward, the second son of Abraham
and Christiana Ward, was born in Moorefield,
Va., in 1795, and removed to Champaign
county, Ohio, in 181 2, locating in Union town
ship. In January, 1830, he removed to Allen
county, having in 1828 entered eighty acres of
land in Bath township. Upon arriving in
Allen county and getting settled, he engaged
in teaching a select school in the winter time,
and in farming in the summer season. He
took a very active part in the organization of
Allen county, and was appointed the first clerk
of the county court, under the old constitution,
in which capacity he served until his death,
December 25, 1842. He also filled the office
of recorder several terms. Beside being active
and prominent in these local ways, he was
also prominent in the military affairs of the
state, holding commissions as captain, colonel
and brigadier-general. Politically he was a
democrat and religiously he was a Presbyterian,
assisting to organize the Presbyterian church
at Lima, and serving therein as an elder for
many years.
John Ward married Miss Rosamond Har
per, daughter of Samuel Harper, who was a
member of the family after whom Harper's
Ferry was named. She died June 24, 1873,
at the age of seventy years. She and her
husband were the parents of six children, viz:
Margaret, who died unmarried; Samuel H., of
Paulding county, Ohio; Joseph, of Lima, Ohio;
Rebecca, deceased; Simon, of Toledo, Ohio,
and Elizabeth. Joseph Ward, the second son
of John, was born in Champaign county, Feb-

WILLIAM WATT.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

535

ruary 16, 1829. He was, however, reared and
educated in Lima, and learned the trade of
carpenter. Upon the breaking out of the Re
bellion he felt it his duty to assist in preserving
the Union, and in September, 1861, enlisted
in company D, Fifty-fourth Ohio volunteer
infantry, in which company he served until
July 22, 1862, when he was discharged because
of a gun-shot wound received in the battle of
Shiloh, Miss. The bullet entered the left leg,
passed through the body and came out through
the right hip. From this wound he at length
recovered, and again enlisted in 1864, in com
pany B, One Hundred and Eighty-first regiment,
in which regiment he served one hundred days.
After the war was over he purchased some land
in Latty township, Paulding county, Ohio, and
was there engaged in farming until 1876, when
he removed to Labette county, Kans., where
he remained until 1879, when, owing to the
death of his wife, he returned to Ohio, and
since then has lived a retired life at Lima. He
and his wife were the parents of three children,
viz: Rosie, deceased; Isaac W. , of Van Wert,
and Bruce of Fort Smith, Ark.

at

'ILLIAM WATT is the leading gen
eral merchant of LaFayette, Jack
son township, Allen county, Ohio,
and carries a full line of boots,
shoes, hats, caps, groceries, dry goods, etc.,
and for over thirty years has conducted a
straightforward business in the village, and has
been the trusted agent of the Pennsylvania
railway during twenty-four years of that time,
and in 1893 was appointed postmaster, the
name of the office being Herring — a position
he still holds, to the satisfaction of the public
and with credit to himself.
William Watt was born in Jackson town
ship, Allen county, April 4, 1839, a son of
William and Elizabeth (Hawk) Watt, the
21

father being a pioneer of the county and a
farmer, born in Brown county, Ohio, 1798.
He became quiet prominent in the public
affairs of Allen county, was at one time judge
of the court of common pleas, and died an
honored citizen on October 10, 1838; his wife
was a native of Maysville, Ky. , was born in
1794, and died November 14, 1883, the
mother of ten children, viz: John, Susanna,
Mary, Sarah, Willis, Elspy, Margaret, Samuel,
Eliza J. and William. William Watt, our
subject proper, remained on the home farm
until sixteen years of age, when he entered the
employ of Dr. N. Sager, with whom he re
mained nine years, being an extraordinarily
industrious and faithful young man. He was
next employed by a Mr. Fisher until 1872,
when he formed a partnership in the general
merchandise business with J. W. Umbaugh,
but soon bought the latter's interest, and has
since conducted the business on his sole ac
count, carrying everything needed by a farm
ing community. The better to accommodate
his constantly increasing trade, for his name
as a liberal and square-dealing merchant had
become very popular, he erected, in 1879, a
large two-story frame building, with three
storerooms — having the year previously pro
vided his family with a commodious, handsome
and spacious brick dwelling. He was married,
June 17, i860, to Miss Sarah Cloore, who
was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, January
7, 1838, a daughter of Daniel and Tirzah
(Ewing) Cloore, both now deceased. To the
happy marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Watt have
been born five children, viz: Walter; Lulu,
wife of A. C. Kyle; Arthur, Pert and Harry.
During the late Civil war Mr. Watt was a true
patriot and left behind him his young wife and
family to enlist in company F, Fourth Ohio
volunteer cavalry, in February, 1864, and
served faithfully until the conclusion of the
war, taking part in the campaigns through

536

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia,
and fighting at Chattanooga, Knoxville, and
the engagements about Atlanta and elsewhere.
Mr. Watt has been an ardent member of
the Christian church for many years and in
politics is an unswerving democrat. He has
filled the office of township clerk and township
treasurer, the duties of which offices he per
formed with the strictest fidelity and to the
entire satisfaction of all concerned. Mr. Watt
is also a member of Sager lodge, No. 513, F.
& A. M. His social position and that of his
family are with the best people of Jackson and
adjoining townships, and his business reputa
tion has never been tarnished by the slightest
breath of suspicion as to his violations of any
law of honor or of honest, straightforward and
upright dealing.

*y» EWIS E. WESTCOTT, superintend-
I j ent of the Delphos paper-mills, Allen
1^^ ^ county, Ohio, was born at Maumee,
Ohio, on November 9, 1862. His
father was Thomas Westcott, a native of New
York state, born in 1 82 1 . He came to Maumee,
Ohio, in 1845, where he resided the balance
of his life. He was in the railroad business
for about eighteen years, being connected with
the old Toledo, Wabash & Western, now the
Toledo, Wabash & Saint Louis railroad, which
road he helped to build. From 1853 until
five years prior to his death he was connected
with the Campbell & Claflin paper-mill at
Maumee. His death occurred July 31, 1893.
He served in the war between the United
States and Mexico, being a member of a Penn
sylvania regiment. While a soldier he was
married in Pennsylvania to Hannah Welch, a
native of Pennsylvania, whose death occurred
March 14, 1895. To these parents three boys
and five girls were born, two sons and two
daughters of whom are still living. Both par

ents were members of the Methodist Episco
pal church.
Lewis E. Westcott was reared in Maumee,
and received a common-school education. At
the age of fourteen years he began an appren
ticeship at the paper-making trade in the fac
tory of Campbell & Claflin, at Maumee, and
continued with that company until he was
nineteen years of age. In 1881 he went to
Monroe Mich., and worked in the paper-mill
of Waldorf & Son for about eighteen months.
He was next in the employ of Adams & Terry,
paper manufacturers of Monroe, for about fif
teen months. He then went to Dayton, Ohio,
and for over four years was in the paper-mills
of Diem & Bittinger. He then returned to
Maumee and for between two or three years
was in the employ of the Lake Side paper-
mills, of that place. In February, 1892, he
came to Delphos and took charge of the Del
phos mills as superintendent, and has con
tinued in that capacity. Mr. Westcott was
married May 8, 1882, at Monroe, Mich., to
Miss Libbie Strong, of Monroe, who was born
and reared in that city, and is the daughter of
Alonzo Strong, a marine engineer. To Mr.
and Mrs. Westcott two daughters have been
born: Myrtle M., born June 26, 1887, and
Agnes I., born June 18, 1893. Mr. Westcott
is a member of Maumee lodge, I. O. O. F.,
No. 682, and Toledo (Ohio) encampment, No.
118. Mrs. Westcott is a member of the Ro
man Catholic church.

>y,0SEPH WATKINS, a well-to-do and
A experienced farmer of Sugar Creek
A J township, Allen county, was born at
Paddy's Run, Butler county, Ohio,
March 12, 183 1, and is of sterling Welsh de
scent. Evan Watkins, grandfather of our
subject, was a native of Montgomeryshire,
northern Wales, and by trade was a wheel-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

537

wright and carpenter, an occupation that had
been followed in the family for generations.
He died in Wales about 1821, a member of the
church of England, leaving the following
children: William, John, Watkin, David,
Thomas, Evan, Edward and Margaret. John
Watkins, son of Evan Watkins and the father
of our subject, was also a native of Montgom
eryshire, Wales, and was born in February,
1801; he learned his father's trade, and at the
age of twenty-one years, in June, 1822, landed
in Baltimore, Md., from Liverpool, England,
having made the voyage- in a sailing vessel,
accompanied by his mother and the rest of her
children. He immediately came to Ohio, and
at Delhi, Delaware county, joined his brother
William, who had come to America in 1820.
John Watkins worked at his trade in Delaware
county two years, and in 1824 went to the
Welsh settlement at Paddy's Run, in Butler
county, where, in 1826, he married Jane Grif
fith, daughter of Joseph and Jane Griffith, who
were parents of the following children, beside
Jane, as far as they are remembered — David,
Samuel, Edward, Joseph, Evan, Ebenezer,
Benjamin, Thomas, Abraham, John, Betsey,
Ellen and Mary. Joseph Griffith was one of
the pioneers of Paddy's Run, having come
from Wales, a farmer of wealth, in an early
day. In 1836 he removed to Allen county
and bought a tract of land from the govern
ment a short distance from Gomer, added
largely to his first purchase, and at his death
was able to give to each of his children a farm.
He was a deacon for many years in the Welsh
Congregational church and died in 1854, at
the age of seventy-six years, a wealthy and
highly respected citizen.
After marriage, John Watkins continued to
reside at Paddy's Run until 1834, when he re
moved with his family, which then consisted
of his wife and three children — Even, Eliza
beth and Joseph — to Sugar. Creek township,

Allen county (then Putnam county), and set
tled on the land now occupied by our subject.
He bought 160 acres of government land, at
$1.25 per acre, clearing up a space for a round
log cabin, with a stick chimney, but moved in
before the chimney was finished or the pun
cheon floor laid, and built his first fire in the
middle of the room, but he eventually cleared
up a fine farm from the forest and added to
his possessions until he owned 360 acres,
which subsequently he willed to his children,
of whom several were added to the family
after coming to Allen county, but of whom
two, only, reached manhood, viz: William W.
Watkins, who was the first child born of Welsh
parents in northwest Ohio, and Thomas. Mrs.
John Watkins died September 8, 1850, and
for his second wife Mr. Watkins married Ellen
Evans who bore three children — Margaret,
John and David.
When John Watkins first came to Sugar
Creek township there had but three Welsh
families preceded him, those of David Rob
erts, Thomas Watkins and James Nichols, but
with Mr. Watkins came Evan Jones and his
family. For many years Mr. Watkins and
four of his sons followed carpentering in Sugar
Creek township — the sons being Joseph, Will
iam W., Thomas G., and John E. Three of
the sons were also soldiers in the late Civil
war — our subject, Joseph, and Thomas G.,
who was a sergeant in the Sixth Ohio battery
and served about four years, doing some very
severe duty. John Watkins was a man of
very superior intelligence and was the founder
of one of the first families in the township; he
was withal a very industrious farmer and me
chanic, was respected by the entire commu
nity, and died on his farm, April 26, 1883, at
the patriarchal age of eighty-two years.
Joseph Watkins, whose life this sketch is in
tended most to commemorate, was about three
and a half years old when brought from But-

538

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ler county by his parents to Allen county; he
was reared among the pioneers, 'receiving his
education in the frontier log school-house,
with its greased paper window-panes, and im
provised log furniture. He learned the carpen
ter's trade from his father, and this was the
vocation he principally followed in the earlier
days, although his agricultural education had
not been neglected. September 23, 1854, he
married, in Marion township, Allen county,
Miss Mary Breese, who was born March 22,
1 83 1, in Montgomeryshire, Wales, a daughter
of Richard and Elizabeth (Rowland) Breese
who were the parents of the following children,
born in the order named: Mary, Thomas,
Samuel, Ann, James, Alice, and Richard. In
September, 1848 or 1849, Mr. Breese brought
his family from Paddy's Run to Butler county,
bought a 160-acre tract of land in Allen
county, cleared up a good farm and reared a
respected family, of whom one son, Samuel,
served in the Thirty-third Ohio (zouave) in
fantry during the late Civil war. Richard
Breese was for many years a deacon in the
Welsh Congregational church, of which his
family still are members, and died in this faith
in 1875, aged seventy-two years.
After marriage, Joseph Watkins lived in
Gomer for four years, following his trade, and
then lived in Sugar Creek township, Putnam
county, for eight years, with the exception of
his term of service in the Civil war, and then,
his father being in feeble health, settled on
the home farm, in 1867, which has since been
his place of residence. His enlistment took
place at Gomer, in May, 1864, in company H,
Capt. J. W. Patrick, Thirty-third Ohio volun
teer regiment, for 100 days. He served
chiefly on guard duty near Washington, D. C,
and was always an active and faithful soldier.
On the conclusion of his term of service he
was honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio,
and returned home.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Watkins has been blessed with the following
children, viz: Alice, who died at the age of
thirty -two years; Jennie; Hattie, who died at
nineteen years of age; Edson and Henry. Mr.
Watkins and family are members of the Welsh
Congregational church, of which he has been
a trustee for years; in politics he is a repub
lican, has served as township trustee two terms
and has been a member of the school board
five years. He is the owner of a fine farm of
160 acres, on which he erected, in 1882, a
beautiful and substantial residence, and his
circumstances are altogether comfortable, he
and family enjoying the sincere respect of all
who know them — which is equivalent to say
ing, everybody in the township and county.

HOMAS A. WEGER, one of the
well-known citizens of Delphos, Allen
county, Ohio, and proprietor of the
Washington Stave works, is a native
of Bavaria, Germany, where he was born,
December 20, 1841. He is a son of George
A. and Frances (Schreiber) Weger, both na
tives of Bavaria. In December, 1849, the
family came to America and located in the
city of Baltimore, Md., where for thirty-five
years George A. Weger was engaged in the
cooperage business. He retired from business
about 1883, and then he came to Delphos and
made his home with his son, Frank A., until
his death in 1888. His wife died in Balti
more in 1870. To the parents twelve chil
dren were born, five of whom are now living.
Thomas A. Weger was reared in the city
of Baltimore, and attended the schools of that
city, securing a common-school education.
When about fourteen years of age he went to
work in his father's shop, but attended night-
school until he was- about eighteen years of
age. On January 19, 1864, he was married

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

539

to Theresia Miller, who was born in Hessen,
Germany, and was brought to this country
during her childhood. In 1865 Mr. Weger
located in Pittsburg, Pa., where he was en
gaged in the cooperage business first, and
later in the cigar business. In 1875 he came
to Delphos, aud was connected with the Pitts
burg Keg and Barrel company, which latter
became the Pittsburg Hoop and Stave com
pany, of which he was the superintendent until
the works were destroyed by fire in Septem
ber, 1883. In 1884 he purchased an interest
in the Washington Stave works in Delphos,
and in January, 1890, he purchased the entire
works and is sole proprietor of the same. He
manufactures staves, hoops and lumber, and
his works are about the largest in Allen county,
employing twenty-one hands. He markets his
products all over the United States, shipping
principally to Chicago, Pittsburg, Buffalo, New
York, New Orleans and farther south.
Mr. Weger is secretary and director of the
Delphos Savings & Loan Association company.
He has served as clerk of Marion township,
Allen county, his term of four years expiring
in September, 1894. He is chairman of the
Delphos democratic executive committee, and
takes an active interest in the public questions
of the day. He his a member of the Roman
Catholic church, and a member of the Catho
lic Knights of America, being at present presi
dent of the local uniform rank of that organi
zation. To Mr. and Mrs. Weger eleven chil
dren have been born, six of whom are living,
as follows: Ferdinand A., John A., Therese,
Louisa, Charles F., and Mary.

KON. HENRY WEIBLE, one of the
leading citizens of Delphos, Van Wert
county, Ohio, is a native of the Buck
eye state, having been born in Tusca
rawas county, December 19, 1827, a son of

Jacob and Nancy (Metzger) Weible. Jacob
Weible was a native of Switzerland, born in
1787, and came to America when he was
twelve years of age, coming over with an un
cle, who settled in Westmoreland county, Pa.,
and with him young Weible made his home.
He received a fine German education, and for
a number of years was a German school
teacher. He was married in Pennsylvania,
and in 1824 removed to Tuscarawas county,
Ohio, being one of the early settlers of that
county. He entered land in the above county,
and followed farming there until about 1836,
when he died. His wife was born in West
moreland county, Pa., in about 1790, and was
the daughter of Frederick Metzger, who came
from Germany in an early day. She made
her home for thirty years before her death
with our subject, her death occurring in Del
phos in 1886. Both parents were members
of the United Brethren church, they being
among the early members of that denomina
tion. To them thirteen children were born,
six of whom are now living.
Hon. Henry Weible was reared on the farm
in Tuscarawas county, and secured a fair com
mon-school education. When he was seven
teen years of age he began serving an appren
ticeship at the blacksmith trade with Abraham
Mumaugh. While with Mr. Mumaugh, that
gentleman removed to Hancock county, Ohio,
our subject going with him. After completing
his apprenticeship of three years, which time
expired in April, 1848, he went west to Wells
county, Ind., where a brother and brother-in-
law were living, and there remained from May
until August, and then started on his way
home. He stopped off at Van Wert, Ohio,
where he secured work as a blacksmith in the
shops of Samuel Engleright. He remained
in Van Wert for about one year, and Au
gust 31, 1849, was there united in marriage to
Mary, a daughter of Peter Will. After his

540

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

marriage Mr. Weible returned to Hancock
county, where he had finished his apprentice
ship, and there opened a shop, and continued
there until April, 1851, when he came to Del
phos, and here purchased a lot on the corner
of Second and Jefferson streets, where he built
himself a residence, and also put a shop on
the same lot and engaged in blacksmithing. He
retired from blacksmithing in the fall of 1871.
In 1876 he engaged in the manufacture of
handles, neck-yokes and singletrees, as a mem
ber of the firm of Hartwell Bros. & Weible,
and continued in that business for three years.
He then had charge of the Delphos foundry
and machine shop, which was subsequently
sold and removed to Van Wert, Mr. Weible's
connection with it lasting one year. He then
engaged in the dry-goods business, in which
he continued until 1885, his son being his part
ner. In that year they removed the dry-goods
business to Dupont, in Putnam county, Ohio,
where they were operating a stave factory, and
ran the two together until 1887. They then
removed their plant to the state of Georgia,
where the son is still operating the mill, Mr.
Weible still retaining his interest in the busi
ness. But few enterprises have been inaugu
rated in Delphos but that Mr. Weible has been
connected with. He was one of the organizers
of the Fidelity Insurance company, one of the
incorporators of the Delphos Union Stave
company, one of the incorporators of the Del
phos Woolen mill, and of the Delphos Eagle
Flouring Mill Co. He was also one of the or
ganizers of the Toledo, Saint Louis & Kansas
City, Pittsburg, Akron & Western, and the
Toledo, Chicago & Burlington (now the D. &
M.) railroads, and was a heavy stockholder in
each of them. August, 1854, Mr. Weible was
elected justice of the peace in Washington town
ship, Van Wert county, and March 16, 1855,
entered his first case on the docket. April, 1855,
he resigned his office so as to bring the election

of justice of the peace on the same date of that
of the general election, at which time he was
re-elected, and from that time he has been
continuously re-elected, and upon the comple
tion of his present term he will have served
continuously for forty-one years. In 1863;
he was elected county commissioner of Van
Wert county, and served one term of three
years. In 1871 he was elected to the Ohio.
legislature, and re-elected in 1873, serving four
years altogether. In 1882 he was elected a
member of the Ohio state board of public
works, and held that office for a term of three
years. He has also served a number of years
in the city council of Delphos, and for twenty-
two years as a member of the Delphos city
school board.
To Mr. and Mrs. Weible eight children
have been born, as follows: Nancy J., de
ceased; George C, now in Georgia; AnnE.,
now Mrs. Henry Holdtreve, of Delphos; Henry
J., of Delphos; Martha E., now Mrs. H. J..
Bergfield, of Delphos; Agnes J. and Isaac J.,
twins, both deceased, and Mary J., now Mrs.
Thomas O'Neal, of Delphos. Mr. and Mrs.
Weible are members of the Roman Catholic
church.

^yAAUL WEISENMYER, the subject of
1 m this sketch, belongs to that great race
J/ of people, the German, which, to
gether with the English race, furnishes
the best brawn and the best brain to the
world. While in other races there are individ^
uals, yet in none are there so many individ
uals as in these two great races, that present
to us the ideal condition of a sound mind in a
sound body. It is therefore of itself a piece of
good fortune to be either a German or an En
glishman. Paul Weisenmyer is a son of Fred,
erick and Catherine (Myer) Weisenmyer, whose-
lives will be dealt with further on in this sketch..:

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

541

The grandfather of the subject was George
Weisenmyer, of Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Ger
many, who emigrated from his native land in
1854, settling in Delaware, Delaware county,
Ohio. By trade he was a carpenter, and this
trade he followed during his residence in Dela
ware, but that was all too short, for he died of
cholera in 1856. His wife had died in Ger
many, and the family he brought to the United
States with him consisted only of two sons,
George and Frederick. George subsequently
settled in Amanda township, Allen county,
where he still resides. Frederick, the father
of the subject of this sketch, was born in Stutt
gart, September 5, 1825. Like his father he
was a carpenter, and followed his trade in
Delaware, Ohio, until 1867, when he removed
to Shawnee township, Allen county, purchas
ing 102' acres of land in section No. 19. This
farm he improved, following his trade of car
penter, also, until 1891, when he gave up the
carpenter trade, and has since devoted him
self to farming in Shawnee township. Before
coming to the United States he was married,
and by this marriage he became the father of
the following children: Caroline, wife of John
Lawyer, of Auglaize county, Ohio; Paul, the
subject of this sketch; Charles, of Shawnee
township; Albert, who is living on the old
homestead; Sophia, wife of George Bowsher,
of Lima; and Julius, living on the old home
stead farm. Politically Mr. Weisenmyer is a
pronounced democrat, but for office he does
not care. Religiously he is a member of the
Lutheran church, belonging to the congrega
tion of Cridersville, Ohio.
Paul Weisenmyer was born January 2,
1856, in Delaware, Ohio, and received his
education in the public schools. Arriving at a
suitable age he began to learn the carpenter's
trade, which had been followed by both his
father and his grandfather. This trade he
continued to pursue until 1895, when he pur

chased his present farm, in Shawnee township,
adjoining the old homestead. It consists of
seventy-five acres of excellent land, upon
which he has himself all the improvements.
He is avery enthusiastic and successful farmer,
and by his purchase has doubtless provided
himself with work for the remainder of his life,
for there is always plenty to do on a farm.
Politically Mr. Weisenmyer is a stanch demo
crat and he has always manifested a com
mendable degree of interest in the success of his
party, which, in 1895, honored him by giving
him the office of township trustee, which he is
filling with credit to himself and satisfaction to
his friends and neighbors. Religiously Mr.
Weisenmyer is a member of the German Re
form church, and is living within its precepts.
In 1887 he married Miss Louisa Zimmer
man, daughter of Frederick Zimmerman, de
ceased, of Jackson county, Iowa, and by this
marriage he is the father of one child, Ruth O.
Mr. W'eisenmyer is well-known as one of
the most industrious and progressive young
men of Allen county, always trying to keep
abreast of the advancement that may be made
in everything pertaining to his calling. He is
also one of the public-spirited men of the
county, taking a deep interest in everything
calculated to promote the public good. For
these and many other reasons he fully com
mands the respect of his neighbors and friends.

£>/¦ ETH S. WHEELER, attorney at law
*^^^kT of Lima, and president of the First
ps^_y National bank of that place, was born
in Bedford, Ohio, October 21, 1850,
and is a son of Edwin F. and Mary S. Weeler.
The Wheeler family came, as far as it deemed
worth while to trace their history into the past,
from the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts, and
removed thence to Ontario county, N. Y.,
being among the earliest settlers there. Zenas

542

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Wheeler was one of those thus to leave his
native state of Massachusetts and locate in
New York, and in Ontario county, Edwin F.
Wheeler, his son, was born. Edwin F.Wheeler
removed to Ohio in 1840, was a farmer, and
is now retired and living with his children.
His wife, Mary S., was a native of Fairfield
county, Conn., her ancestry being among the
early pioneers of that part of the so-called
Nutmeg state.
Seth S. Wheeler was reared upon his
father's farm, and obtained the rudiments of
his education in the district schools. After
ward he attended Grand River academy of
Ashtabula county, Ohio, and still later, Ober
lin college, graduating there in 1876. During
the next year he was principal of the high
school at Salem, Ohio, and in 1877 he began
reading law with Marvin, Hart & Squire, of
Cleveland, Ohio, being admitted to the bar at
Cleveland in 1878. It was in that city that
he began the practice cf the law, remaining
there until 1881, when he removed to Lima,
practicing there alone for a short time, and
then associating himself with W. E. Hacke
dorn and G. L. Marble, under the firm name
of Hackedorn, Wheeler & Marble. This firm
was succeeded by that of Hackedorn & Wheeler,
which in its turn, in 1889, gave way to the
firm of Wheeler & Brice, the junior member
of the firm being H. L. Brice.
Politically Mr. Wheeler is a republican,
but takes very little interest in political affairs.
He is a director of the Lima Locomotive &
Machine company, and he is president of the
First National bank of Lima, having been
elected to that position in 1893. Fraternally
he is a member of Lima lodge, No. 205, F. &
A. M. ; of Shawnee commandery; of Lima
council and of Lima chapter. He was married
in August, 1878, to Miss Laura E. Seaver of
Pennsylvania, by whom he has two children —
Esther M. and Ruth I.

^~V AMUEL T. WINEGARDNER, asub-
•v^^T stantial and influential citizen of Au-
K^y glaize township, Allen county, Ohio,
and the present democratic county
commissioner, is a native of Licking county,
Ohio, and was born October 1, 1842.
Henry Winegardner, grandfather of our
subject, was a native of Germany, and soon
after marriage came to America and first lo
cated in Loudoun county, Va., was a soldier
in the war of 1812, and was always engaged
in farming. He later came to Ohio and set
tled in Licking county in the pioneer days of
the state, was ever after connected with the
agricultural interests of the county, and there
died about the year 1833, a member of the
Lutheran church.
John Winegardner, son of Henry and father
of our subject, was born in Loudoun county,
Va. , in 1788, was also reared a farmer, and
after coming to Ohio, first married, in Licking
county, Sarah Jordan, a native of Maryland,
and, after marriage, immediately settled on a
farm of 160 acres, which he brought under an
excellent state of cultivation. On this farm
Mrs. Sarah Winegardner died February 27,
1840, a devout member of the Baptist church,
and the mother pf the following children:
William H., born March 6, 18 16; Malinda,
September 11, 1817; Delilah, July 30, 18 19;
Isaiah, February 12, 1822; Eliza A., Septem
ber 8, 1829. The second marriage of John
Winegardner was with Catherine Bear, a na
tive of Licking county, and this union resulted
in the birth of one child, Samuel T., the sub
ject of this sketch. The second Mrs. Wine
gardner died February 2, 1843, a devout wife
and mother, and a conscientious member of
the Baptist church, and the father survived un
til October 24, 1853. Mr. Winegardner was
very liberal in his aid to church and school en
terprises, and as well to all others having in
view the prosperity of his community, and was

f-.

I 

SAMUEL T. WINEGARDNER. MRS. JUDY WINEGARDNER.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

545

an influential, widely known and universally
respected gentleman.
Samuel T. Winegardner, the gentleman
whose name opens this biographical memoir,
received a very good common-school educa
tion, which he supplemented with a course of
diligent home study. He remained on the
home farm until seventeen years of age, and
shortly afterward enrolled himself in defense
of his country's flag, his enlistment taking
place September 18, 1861, for three years, or
until the close of the war, in company C,
Fifty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry. For
meritorious conduct he was appointed corporal
November 4, 1862, promoted sergeant Sep
tember 8, 1864, and commissioned second
lieutenant August 10, 1865. At Bellefonte,
Ala., he had previously veteranized December
31, 1863, was wounded and captured before
Atlanta, July 22, 1864, and for fifty-seven days
suffered all the horrors of Andersonville
prison. He served through the campaigns of
Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi,
Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, North and
South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and the
District of Columbia, and took an active part
in the battles of Shiloh, Morning Sun, Wolf
Creek Bridge, Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas
Post, Vicksburg, Jackson, Missionary Ridge,
Snake Creek Gap, Resacca, Dallas, Kenesaw
Mountain, Atlanta, Statesboro, Fort McAllis
ter, Fayetteville, Bentonville, and participated
in all the skirmishes and battles in which his
regiment was engaged, excepting that of Jones-
boro, Ga. , which occurred while he was a pris
oner at Andersonville. At Jackson, Miss., he
was struck by a rifle-ball, but not injured, and
was never confined in a hospital any time dur
ing his long term of service.
February 24, 1864, while at home on a
veteran furlough, Mr. Winegardner married
Miss Judy Ridley, who was born in Auglaize
county, Ohio, April 19, 1845, a daughter of

John and Sarah (Myers) Ridley — the union
being blessed with the following children:
Alvin D., born February 10, 1867; Ida V.,
November 18, 1868; Clara E., September 14,
1870; Oliver H., August 22, 1872; Ansel T. ,
May 21, 1875; Josie A., December 15, 1881;
Rosco, June 29, 1888. Of these children
Oliver H. died October 8, 1873; Clara, Sep
tember 19, 187 1 ; Roscoe, July 28, 1888.
John Ridley, the father of Mrs. Wine
gardner, was born in Vermont, May 1, 1794,
served in the war of 1812, and married in
Licking county, Ohio, in 1824, Sarah Myers,
who was born in Virginia September 4, 1800.
Mr. and Mrs. Ridley resided in Licking coun
ty, Ohio, until 1837, when they moved to
Auglaize county. They were the parents of
the following children: Benjamin, Esther,
Barbara, Mary, Sarah, Andrew J. , Matthias,
Abigail, Eliza, Alanson, Amanda and Julia.
The father of these children was an influential
and prosperous farmer, was a democrat in pol
itics, and died March 15, 1849, a member of
the Disciples' church. After seven years of
widowhood, Mrs. Ridley was united in mar
riage with Levi Mix, a farmer of Auglaize coun
ty, who also left her a widow, dying in August,
1875, her own demise occurring October 14,
1884, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Wine
gardner, with whom she had resided for nine
years previous to her death. John Ridley,
father of John above mentioned, and grand
father of Mrs. Winegardner, was born in Ver
mont in 1753. He fought all through the
Revolutionary war, serving eight years, and in
his declining years came to Auglaize county,
Ohio, where he died in 1858, at the extremely
advanced age of 105 years.
Samuel T. Winegardner has made his
mark as a resident of Allen county, and has
become prominent as a member of the demo
cratic party. His record as a soldier com
pares more than favorably with that of any

546

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

man in the county, and as a citizen he has ex
erted an immense influence in promoting the
welfare of Auglaize township, being ever free
in his contributions to all enterprises designed
for the public good, and being especially lib
eral in his aid to church and school. Abroad-
minded man, he never denies to others the
privilege he asks for himself — that of forming
his own opinion on all subjects. Raised a
farmer, he afterward learned wagon-making,
at which he worked for eight years in the east
part of Auglaize county, in Waynesfield; then
engaged in the saw-mill and lumber business
in Allen county, in 1880, at Harrod, and has
carried it on since; also contracting, and has
been connected with the erection of all the
public and private buildings in that town.
He has been a member of the council since the
organization of the town, excepting one year.

t^""\ AVID WHISLER, deceased, was one
i I of the most highly respected pioneers
/A^_J of Hancock county, and the head of a
large family, was born in Pickaway
county, Ohio, on a farm, June 2, 1821. He
was a son of Michael and Rebecca (Van
Grundy) Whisler. The Whisler family is of
sturdy German stock and the Van Grundy
family is of good old Holland-Dutch descent.
Michael Whistler was born in Lancaster
county, Pa., of which county his ancestry
were pioneers, and when twenty-one years of
age he removed to Ohio with his father, set
tling in Pickaway county. His father, Samuel
Whisler, was the head of a large family of
children, and entered a tract of land contain
ing 1,200 acres, settling his children on the
land. His family became well known through
out that part of the state, and was highly
esteemed and widely known. Samuel Whisler
lived to be about eighty-five years old. Of
his children the following are remembered:

Michael, Henry, Jacob, George, Nancy, Bar
bara, Benjamin and Jacob, 2d.
As stated above, Michael Whisler married
Rebecca Van Grundy, and to them were born
seven children that lived to mature years, as
follows: David, Annie, Delilan, Samuel,
Rachel, Amanda and Amos. Mr. Whisler
lived all his life upon his farm, farming and
milling being his occupations. He was a
member of the Evangelical church, of which he
was steward and class leader. He was one of
the most highly respected citizens of his neigh
borhood, and died at the somewhat advanced
age of seventy-five years.
David Whisler, the subject of this sketch,
was reared on the farm and received a good
common-school education, such as boys of his
day and age could acquire. He was married
in Pickaway county February 19, 1846, to-
Mary A. Tobias, who was born October 29,
1830. Her place of nativity was Schuylkill
county, Pa. She was a daughter of Benjamin
and Elizabeth (Roth) Tobias, the former of
whom was a descendant of Dutch ancestors.
He was a son of John and Elizabeth (Kline)
Tobias. Both John Tobias and his father be
fore him were born in Pennsylvania, the family
having in earlier years come to that State
from Germany. John Tobias was in religion
a member of the Evangelical church, and was
a farmer, removing in 1829 or 1830 to Picka
way county, Ohio, and there living on a farm
and rearing his family. His children were as
follows: Abraham, Samuel, Daniel, John,
Peter, Benjamin, David, Henry and Elizabeth.
John Tobias lived to be seventy-eight years-
old and died on his farm in Pickaway county.
He was a man of mild and gentle disposition,
and was as highly esteemed for his integrity
and industry as he was loved by- his family.
He brought up a most excellent family of
children, three of his sons, Samuel, Daniel and
David, being ministers of the gospel.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

547

Benjamin Tobias, the father of Mrs. Whis
ler, was born in Pennsylvania in 1794, and
reared a family of ten children, as follows :
Elizabeth, Catherine, Louis, Franklin, James,
William, Benjamin, Mary A., Susan and
John C. At first he settled near Reading, Pa.,
where he followed his trade, that of black
smith, and moved to Pickaway county, Ohio,
about 1839. There he worked at his trade for
twenty years, and died in 1846 in Circleville.
A member of the Evangelical church, he was
highly respected as such, and as an honest and
industrious man.
After his marriage David Whisler and his
wife settled in Hancock county, in the spring
of 1849, on a farm containing 125 acres of
land. This farm was at the time covered with
timber, which he proceeded to clear and im
prove. By industry and thrift he made for
himself a good home, and also increased his
landed possessions until he owned 1,500 acres,
besides owning a fine residence and other real
estate property in Bluffton. All this shows
that he was a very successful man. He was a
man of excellent habits, and until his last ill
ness was never sick an hour in his life. He
was of great industry, energy and persever
ance, of excellent business qualifications, and
managed all his business until the last days of
his life. To him and his wife there were born
nine children, that lived to mature years, as
follows: George, Cyrus, John, Rebecca,
Elizabeth A., Scott, Susan, Ada and Olive.
To these children he gave the best education
afforded by the schools of the time in which
their youthful days were passed. He was
much interested in the cause of education, and
served for some years as a member of the
township school board. He was a man of
high-toned character and disposition, and it
has often been said of him that he never
wronged any man of a dollar in his life. Hav
ing accumulated by his industry and thrift a

goodly fortune, he was enabled at his death to
leave to his children an estate worth $10,000.
Mrs. Whisler, his widow, is now a lady
sixty-five years of age. She has always been
a woman of most exemplary character and
conduct and ,a fine examplar of the old pioneer
women of Ohio. She is blessed with good
health, sound judgment and an unusually
retentive memory. She and her husband were
the parents of a large family of children, who
married as follows: Rebecca, married Levi
Clymer, a farmer of Hancock county, and has
three children; Eliza A. married Nelson H.
Clymer, and has two children; Scott married
Elizabeth Fenstermaker, and is a farmer with
two children; Susan married David C. Miller,
a farmer of Woodford county, 111. , and has-
three children;' Ada married Franklin F. Tay
lor, a farmer of Woodford county, 111., and has
two children; George married Ellen E. Powell,
and is a farmer of White county, Ind., and has
seven children, and John married Mary Down
ing, by whom he had four children. She
died, and he married for his second wife Madge
Kirkland, by whom he has three children, and
Olfve married Edwin L. Ferrall, of Findlay,
Ohio. Mrs. Whisler has twenty-five grand
children. The Roths, her mother's family,
were of French ancestry, early settlers in
Pennsylvania, of the best citizens of that state..

^V^VHILIP WILCH, of Bluffton, Allen
A W county, Ohio, and one of the veter-
A ans of the Civil war, was born on his
father's farm in Hancock county,
Ohio, January 21, 1841. His father, Philip
Wilch, Sr. , was born in Hesse Darmstadt,
Germany, January 26, 1802, was a farmer and
carpenter, and in 1832 came to America and
first located in Pennsylvania, but a few years
later came to Ohio and bought forty acres of
land in Van Buren township, Hancock county,

¦548

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

which land he cleared up from the woods, and
by thrift and industry added thereto twenty
acres, making a comfortable home of sixty
acres, on which he passed the remainder of his
days, dying at the extreme age of ninety-three
years. Philip Wilch, Sr., was married, in
Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth Bowers, a native
of Germany, the result of the union being
seven children, viz: Wilhelmina, Elizabeth,
Anna, Philip, Christian, Margaret and Peter.
Philip Wilch, the subject of this biograph
ical record, was educated in the district schools
of Hancock county and early began to work
on the home farm, dutifully assisting his father
until old enough to learn a trade, when he
went to Findlay and learned wagon-making.
At the age of twenty years, the war for the
disruption of the Union having been initiated
and hostilities actually begun by the southern
states, the heart of young Wilch was fired with
patriotism, and he enlisted at Findlay, in June,
1 86 1, in company B, Twenty-first regiment,
Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. George
F. Walker, his term of enlistment being for
three years or until the close of the war, should
it terminate before the expiration of that term.
Under the conditions of this enlistment he
served until December, 1863, when, at Chat
tanooga, Tenn., he veteranized in his own
company and served faithfully until the close
of the war, being honorably discharged and
mustered out at Columbus, Ohio, August 1,
1865— more than four years after the date of
his muster in. Among the important battles
in which Mr. Wilch took part may be men
tioned the following: Ivy Mountain, Novem
ber 9, 1 861; Bridgeport, Ala. , April 16, 1862;
La Vergne, Tenn., October 7, 1862; Nash
ville, Tenn., November 5, 1862; Stone River,
Tenn., December 31, 1862, to January 2,
1863; Tullahoma campaign, Tenn., June 23
to 30, 1863; Dug Gap, Ga. , September 11,
1863; Chickamauga, November 25, 1863;

Buzzard's Roost, Ga., May 8, 1864; Resaca,
Ga. , May 13 to 16, 1864; New Hope Church,
Ga., May 28, 1864; Kennesaw Mountain, Ga. ,
June 9, 1864, and (in the general assault) June
27, 1864; Vining's Station, Ga., July 25,
1864; Chattahoochee River,. Ga., July 6 to 10,
1864; Peach Tree Creek, Ga. ; Atlanta, Ga.
(Hood's first sortie); Jonesboro, Ga., Septem
ber 1, 1864; Bentonville, N. C. , March 19 to
21, 1865. During the Atlanta campaign, in
which some of the battles above enumerated
took place, the troops were under constant
fire for nearly four months, Gen. Sherman
having begun his march from Chattanooga,
Tenn., May 4, 1864, and the fall of Atlanta
having taken place September 2, 1864. Mr.
Wilch, as will be seen by the above record of
the battles in which he took part, was with
Sherman in the celebrated march from Atlanta
to the sea, and through to Washington, D. C. ,
where he participated in the grand review,
May 23-24, 1865. Mr. Wilch was a robust
young man when he entered the army, but is
now suffering from acute rheumatism, resulting
from exposure during his four years of active
army life.
After being mustered out of the service
Mr. Wilch returned to Findlay, Ohio, and re
sumed his trade. He there married, January
25, 1866, Miss Annie Fleyge, who was of
German parentage, and to this union have
been, born two children — Ida and Frederick.
In 1872, Mr.Wilch removed to Bluffton, where
he still makes his home. He and wife are
constant members of the German Lutheran
church, of which he has served as a member
of the council four years; he is a member of
Robert Hamilton post, No. 262, G. A. R., in
in which he has held the office of vice-com
mander. He is a man of unflinching integrity
and is greatly honored, not only for his splen
did military record, but for his usefulness as a
citizen.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

54*

BRANCIS H. WINEGARDNER, the
junior partner in the firm of Hesser
& Winegardner, of Harrod, Allen
county, Ohio, of which further de
tails will be found in the sketch of Lucian E.
Hesser, on another page, was born in Marion
county, Iowa, August 23, 1862.
George W. Winegardner, father of our sub
ject, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio,
May 10, 1837, was a farmer, and married Mar
garet Ann Patterson, daughter of Samuel Pat
terson, a farmer of Marion county, Iowa, the
marriage resulting in the birth of the following
children: Emma R., wife of William Davis;
Francis H., our subject; Mary M., wife of J.
B. Andrews; and Clara D., wife of Thomas
Drury. George W. Winegardner was a young
man when he first became identified with the
farming interests of Marion county, Iowa,
where he later married and where he resided a
number of years; there, also, he lost his first
wife, the mother of the above-named children.
In 1872 he married Mary J. Myers, daughter
of David Myers, of Auglaize county, Ohio,
this union being favored by the birth of one
son — John D. In 1875 Mr. Winegardner re
linquished his Iowa interests, returned to Ohio,
and bought a farm of eighty acres in Wayne
township, Auglaize county, on which he made
his home until his death, October 20, 1892.
He had been very popular as a democrat in
Iowa, where for a number of years he held the
office of justice of the peace, and, although
equally popular in Auglaize county, he never
there aspired to political preferment.
Francis H. Winegardner was reared on the
home farm until twenty-two years of age, re
ceiving a good common-school education in
the meanwhile. At the age mentioned he be
came identified with the village of Harrod, his
present place of residence. During the first
eight years after locating here, he was in the
employ of his uncle, S. T. Winegardner, in a

saw-mill and planing-mill, learning, at the
same time, the trade of carpenter under his
relative's instruction. He was careful of his
earnings, and in 1892 bought his half-interest
in his present business, in conjunction with a
wood-working shop and a modern blacksmith-
room, with a buggy-trimming shop above.
They handle buggies, wagons, carts, and all
other kinds of vehicles, and do all kinds of re
pairing pertaining to this line of trade, and
sometimes contract for the building of a special
kind of buggy or other class of vehicle re
quired for some purpose outside of the usual
demand. Their undertaking outfit is of a su
perior order, and they are well prepared to fill
all orders in the line when called upon.
Mr. Winegardner owns and occupies a neat
modern village residence, and all he owns is.
the result of his own industry. He was mar
ried March 6, 1892, to Sydney C. Murray,
daughter of Michael and Catherine Murray —
the former an agriculturist of Hamilton county,
Iowa, and the latter deceased. The marriage
of Mr. and Mrs. Winegardner has been blessed
with two children — Lelah R. and the baby,
deceased. Mrs. Winegarden is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church and is faithful
in her observance of its teachings. In politics.
Mr. Winegardner is a democrat, and fraternally
he is a member of the Sager- lodge, No. 5 1 3,
F. & A. M. , of La Fayette,. Ohio. As a busi-,
ness man Mr. Winegardner is recognized as
one of the brightest of his years in Auglaize
township, and his social standing is with the
best in the community.

QICHAEL J. YOAKIM, a progressive-
farmer of Jackson township,. Allen.
county, Ohio, was born in Knox
county, July 8, 1830, and is of re
mote German extraction. Michael Yoakim,,
grandfather of our subject,, was born in Vir-.

550

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ginia of an old colonial family, was married in
that state and was one of the early pioneers of
Knox county, Ohio, when the county was in
its primitive condition, and the forest filled with
game and Indians. He was commissioned a
captain in the militia, served in several Indian
wars, and his family, on more than one oc
casion, were compelled to desert their cabin
and seek the protection of the block-house for
shelter from the savage foe. He died in Knox
county, Ohio.
Michael Yoakim, Jr., father of our subject,
was born in Virginia in 1803. He was a young
man when he came to Ohio with his parents,
reached his majority among the pioneers, and
there married Sarah Bird, who was born in
Pennsylvania, January 28, 1809, a daughter
of Burtis and Jemima (Fullerton) Bird, to
which union were born the following children:
Jacob (deceased), Michael J. (our subject),
Sarah (deceased), Whitefield, Allen, Charles,
and Millie (deceased). After marriage Mr.
Yoakim lived on his farm of forty acres, in
Knox county, for a few years, and then, in
1839, came to Allen county and settled in
Jackson township, then a land of forests and
swamps, filled with deer, turkeys and a few
bears. He entered a tract of 326 acres, and
eventually became a leading farmer and an in
fluential citizen. He lost his wife in 1872; she
died a member of the Methodist church, a
truly christian and noble woman, who en
deavored to rear her children to become an
honor to the family name; the death of Mr.
Yoakim took place in 1883, a self-made man
and an honored and venerated gentleman.
Michael J. Yoakim, whose name opens this
biography, was reared on his father's farm.
He received his primary schooling in a private
elass before free schools were introduced, and
has lived to see the township transformed from
a wilderness into one broad expanse of waving
grain. When he first came here there were

hardly any roads, the cabins of his neighbors
were widely scattered, and markets at a great
distance from his pioneer home. But he has
done his share in making the township the
prosperous and happy land it now is, and is
duly honored and respected for the immense
amount of labor he has performed and the
many hardships he has undergone. His present
farm comprises ninety acres, is improved with
a good house and barn, and is under a high
state of cultivation, comparing favorably with
any farm of like dimensions in the township.
Mr. Yoakim first married Miss Clarissa
Millican, daughter of Thomas B. and Eliza
beth (Moore) Millican, and to this union was
born one child — Stanton E., who conducts a
hack line in Lima, Ohio. The mother of this
child died a devout Methodist — a sad loss to
her husband and son and a large circle of de
voted friends. The second marriage of Mr.
Yoakim was with Miss Mary E; Bowers, who
was born March 10, 1840, a daughter of Will
iam P. and Amy (McClainj Bowers, and the
children that have blessed the union were born
in the following order: Almond (deceased),
Alford (deceased), Clarissa, Margaret, William,
Arthur, Eve, Lulu and Mabel. William P.
Bowers, the father of Mrs. Yoakim, was born
in Richland county, Ohio, August 29, 18 10,
and his wife was born in the same county,
July 17, 1 814, of Irish descent. They were
married in Richland county, September 11,
1832, came to Allen county in 1841, and set
tled in Monroe township (then in Putnam
county). Their children were born in the fol
lowing order: Annie, William, Henry H. (de
ceased), Sarah, Mary E., Elizbaeth, and Sol
omon F. S. The mother of this family having
died March 28, 1846, Mr. Bowers married
Sarah A. Fuller, November 4, 1846, this union
resulting in the birth of Eliza E. (deceased),
and Abel... The mother died July 12, 1852,
and the father January 4, 1891 — both, worthy

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

551

members of the Methodist church. William
H. H. Bowers was killed on the field of battle
during the late Civil war, and- Lis brother,
Solomon F. S., was mortally wounded dur
ing the same conflict. Jeremiah Bowers,
grandfather of Mrs. Yoakim, was a soldier of
the war of 1812, was an early settler of Rich
land county, Ohio, married a Miss Pool for his
first wife, and for his second Margaret Walker,
both dying in that county, respected and hon
ored by all who knew them. Than the Yoakim
family none ever stood higher in, nor deserved,
the respect of the residents of Jackson town
ship, and the farm of Mr.JYoakim to-day stands
as a monument in commemoration of his early
pioneer labor and more recent industry as a
true husbandman.

HDAM YOUNGPETER, an enterpris
ing farmer, now of Marion township,
Allen county, Ohio, is a native of the
Buckeye state, and was born in
Seneca county July 11, 1847, of sterling old
German parentage.
Hubert Youngpeter, father of our subject,
was born in Belgium, one of the oldest mon
archies of Europe, and there married Anna M.
Peter. To this union were born in the old
country four children — an infant, deceased;
Michael (first); John, who died in our Civil
war, and Nicholas, who was killed by a falling
tree after coming to America. In 1847 Hu
bert, with his small family, sought a home in
the republic of the United States, and after
his arrival here there were born to him and
wife the following children: Annie, Adam,
Susan, Thomas, Michael (second), and Mar
garet — all of whom lived to reach maturity,
but of whom three are only living — Adam,
Thomas and Margaret. Mr. Youngpeter first
settled in Seneca county, Ohio, where he
bought a small farm of twelve acres, on which

he lived until September, 1861, when he came
to Allen county and settled on an eighty-acre
tract in the woods at Landeck, and was one of
the first of the Landeck settlers to clear up a
farm. He became prosperous and reared his
family to respectability, dying at the advanced
age of seventy-two years. Mr. Youngpeter
was an ardent Catholic, was very liberal in his
aid to the church, and was one of the fore
most in contributing to the erection of the
Catholic house of worship at Landeck, and,
indeed, was one of its founders. In politics
he was a democrat, but was loyal to his
adopted country, and yielded to its defense, as
will have been seen, his son John, who died in
hospital after three months of brave and faith
ful military service.
Adam Youngpeter was born eleven days af
ter the arrival of his parents in Seneca county,
Ohio. His educational advantaa.es were lim
ited, but he succeeded in gleaning a fair stock
of information in the frontier school of his na
tive township. He was early inured to the
hard work incident to the clearing up of a
forest farm, and at the age of fifteen years
came with his parents to Marion township,
Allen county, where there was but^ittle cessa
tion of this class of labor until he had reached
his majority, if then.
July 3, 1 87 1, Mr. Youngpeter was joined
in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Louisa
Frend, daughter of Michael and Beatrice
(Lutz) Frend — parents of two children,
Charles and Louisa. Mr. Frend is a pioneer
of Spencer township, Allen county, Ohio,
coming from Elsass, now a province of Ger
many. He owns 160 acres of land in Spencer
township, and, owning such a farm, in so
favorable a locality, is necessarily wealthy.
He and family are devout members of the
Catholic church at Landeck. After marriage
Mr^ and Mrs. Youngpeter settled upon and
went to housekeeping on the old Youngpeter

552

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

estate, and here have been born their nine
children — John, who died at the age of sixteen
years, Hubert, Edward, Annie C, Emma, and
others, who died in infancy. This homestead
he had purchased, being now the sole owner,
and has placed it in a fine state of cultivation,
and so improved that it compares most favor
ably with any other in the township. In ad
dition, Mr. Youngpeter is now in partnership
with Peter Wagner in operating a threshing
machine. In politics Mr. Youngpeter is a
democrat; in religion he and family are Catho
lics, and few stand higher in the respect of the
community, than he.

HMOS YOUNG.— With only limited
experience in any field of activity or
thought, or with considerable expe
rience in a narrow field, it is difficult
to become a man of broad and catholic views;
^ but with much experience in many fields it is
natural to acquire a broad-minded and gener
ous character and disposition. This consum
mation, so devoutly to be desired, it may be
truthfully said has been attained by the subject
of this memoir, Amos Young, at present treas
urer of Allen county. He is a native of Fair
field county, Ohio, was born June 25, 1843,
and is therefore only in the prime of his life.
Under natural conditions of health and fortune
he has many years of usefulness yet to live.
He is a son of John H. and Sarah (Meyers)
Young, the former of whom was a native of
Berks county, Pa., where he attained his
majority, and where he received his educational
training. There, also, he learned the wagon-
maker's trade, which he pursued in that coun
ty until 181 5, when he removed to Fairfield
county, Ohio, locating in Clear Creek town
ship. In his new home he followed his trade
of wagon-maker until his death, which oc
curred December 25, 1843, Just six months

after the birth of our subject. His marriage-
took place, in Berks county, to Miss Sarah
Meyers, who was also a native of the same-
county, and was a daughter of George N.
Meyers, a native of the great state of Pennsyl
vania, and a farmer by occupation. To the-
marriage of Mr. Young and Miss Meyers there
were born twelve children, viz: David, of
Fairfield county, a farmer; John, Elizabeth,
Samuel, Emanuel, Isaac, Lydia, Sarah, the-
last seven having died; Sylvanus, a wagon-
maker and blacksmith of Fairfield county;
Susanna, deceased; Silas, a farmer of Pick
away county, and Amos, the subject of this-
brief sketch. The parents of these twelve-
children were members of the Dutch Reform
church, and Mr. Young was himself a demo
crat. At the time of his death he left an
estate of eighty acres of land, to which his-
widow, by careful management added con
siderable sums of money, until, when she came
to die, which was iri 1878, she had besides the-
eighty acres of land left by her husband at his.
death, $6,000 in money. This is sufficient
evidence of her economy and financial ability.
Her remains were laid to rest in the Fairfield!
county cemetery.
Amos Young was reared to manhood on
the old homestead in Fairfield county. His
education was such as was then afforded by
the common schools of his youth, and he re
mained with his mother until he was twenty-
one years of age, when he married and settled!
in the county named, where he was engaged in
farming until 1867. At this time he removed:
to Allen county, and located' in German town
ship, where he purchased eighty acres of land,
upon which he devoted himself to agriculture
until 1888. In October of that year he became
superintendent of the Allen, county infirmary,
which position he held, four years and a half.
Then, accepting the nomination by the demo
cratic party of the county for treasurer, he was-

Vrf-yiA/

t

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

555

elected by a majority over his republican op
ponent of 833, arid took possession of the
office in November, 1892. He was again
nominated for the same office in 1893, and was
elected, the second time, by a majority of 700.
These two successive elections sufficiently in
dicate the confidence which is reposed in him
by the people of Allen county. Since taking
the office of county treasurer he has also had
charge of the treasury of the city of Lima.
Amos Young was married in April, 1864, in
Allen county, to Miss Rebecca Crites, a native
of that county and a daughter of Charles and
Sophia (Ludwig) Crites, mention of whom is
made at some length elsewhere in this volume.
To their marriage there were born two chil
dren, viz: Aurelia, deceased, and Malinda,
wife of William Roush, a commercial traveler
of Lima, Ohio. After the death of the mother
of these children (in August, 1868,) Mr. Young
married Catherine Pfeifer, November 29, 1874.
This lady is a native of German township,
Allen county, was born March 29, 1843, and
is a daughter of Nicholas and Eve Pfeifer.
Mr. Young, by his second marriage, is the
father of two children, viz: Oscar N., of
Lima, and Lela Mabel, who is living at home.
Mr. Young and his wife are members of the
Lutheran church, and he is one of the trustees
of the church to which they belong. Frater
nally he is a member of lodge No. 9 1 , K. of P. ,
and of uniform rank, Agamemnon division,
No. 11, of Lima. He if also a member of the
society of Elks. Politically he is a democrat,
as has been before intimated by his election to
effice by that party. Mr. Young owns three
lots in West Lima, his residence property, and,
beside, 100 acres of land, all of which he has
acquired by his own industry and good manage
ment. In the office of county treasurer Mr.
Young has for deputy Mr. Henry Blosser, and
for an assistant, Miss Mary Borst. Beside the
office he now fills so acceptably to the general
23

public, Mr. Young served six years as town
ship clerk, previous to his taking the position
of superintendent of the county infirmary. He
was also appraiser of land and realty of Ger
man township in 1880.

%y~\ ATEMAN ZOLL, mayor of Bluffton,
I,**^ and one of the most prominent cit-
JA^J izens of Allen county, was born in
Eagle township, Hancock county,
Ohio, and is of sturdy Pennsylvania-Dutch an
cestry. His grandfather, Jacob Zoll, was born
in Pennsylvania, and was a prominent pioneer
of Hancock county, Ohio, settling there in the
very earliest times. Previously, however, he
had been one of the first settlers of Lancaster,
Fairfield county, Ohio.
Joshua Zoll, the father of the subject, was
born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and removed
to Hancock county, with his father, when a
boy. He married Mary a Cogley, daughter of
Samuel Cogley, a blacksmith and farmer of
Hancock county. Joshua Zoll was a carpen
ter by trade and a farmer. His children by
his first wife were as follows: Bateman, Ma
tilda C, Eli, Amanda J., Sallie J., and John
C. His wife died in 1 869, at the age of forty-
eight years. She was a devout member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, a sincere chris
tian woman, and possessed of many virtues.
Mr. Zoll was next married to Sarah Bartoon
in 1873, and by this marriage he had three
children, viz: Clark, Cora and Lydia. Mr.
Zoll is still living in Hancock county, and is
hale and hearty. He has always been an in
dustrious man and an honored citizen.
Bateman Zoll, the subject of this sketch,
was born October 11, 1845, was reared a
farmer, received a good common-school edu
cation for his day, and also learned the car
penter's trade. He was first married October
11, 1869, to Miss Matilda Christ, who was

556

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

born in Hancock county, and is a daughter of
Simon and Mary E. (Rinehart) Christ. To
Mr. and Mrs. Zoll there were born^ three chil
dren, viz: Minnie E., Lawrence H., and Virtue
E. Mrs.- Zoll died in Hancock county, in
1875, a member of the Evangelical church.
Mr. Zoll married, a second time, September
16, 1877, in Hancock county, Miss Letitia E.
Thompson, who was born in 1851, and was a
daughter of Isaac and Louisa (McKinley)
Thompson. Isaac Thompson was born in
Stark county, Ohio, in 1827, and was the son
of David and Eliza (McCoy) Thompson.
David Thompson, the grandfather of Mrs.
Zoll, was from either Trumbull or Columbiana
county, Ohio, and was the son of one of the
pioneers, also named Isaac Thompson, who
married Miss Lovell. David settled after the
birth of his fourth child, as a pioneer in
Orange township, Hancock county, and was
one of the first three or four there. His death
occurred in 1853, when he was fifty-one years
of age. Politically he was a democrat, and
was one of the most prominent men of his day
in his township. The first election in that
township was held at his house, and he held
the office of township clerk, later of township
treasurer, and most of the other offices in the
township at different times. His children was
as follows: Matilda, Isaac, Alfred, Elizabeth,
Hiram, David, Simon P., Thomas, Mary E.,
and Hawkins L. Two of his sons were in the
Civil war, viz: David and Thomas. The
former enlisted in the Fifty-first Ohio volun
teer infantry for one year, and was taken pris
oner in his first battle. He afterward enlisted
in another regiment. Thomas was in the
Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was
wounded twice, once in the side, and the sec
ond time in the back by a spent ball.
Mr. Thompson, by his own industry and
thrift, cleared his farm from the wilderness,
and accumulated other lands, to the total

acreage of 980 acres, giving to each of his
children a fine farm, and retaining for himself
a farn of 160 acres. Isaac, his son, and the
father of Mrs. Zoll, was born in Stark county,
Ohio, and removed with his father to Han
cock county,, when he was but five years of
age. His calling was that of a farmer, and
he settled on eighty acres of land in the woods,
which he cleared to a sufficient extent to have
plenty of land for cultivation. By his own
industry and good management he prospered,
and at length owned a farm of 280 acres of
fine land, much of which he has given to his
children, but has retained enough for a fine
farm for himself. He married Miss Louisa
McKinley, daughter of David and Elizabeth
(Hull) McKinley. The McKinleys are Ohio
pioneers, and of the same stock came the
recent governor of Ohio, William McKinley.
The grandfather of Mrs. Louisa (McKinley)
Thompson lived to be 104 years old, and the
grandfather of Mr. Isaac Thompson lived to
be 106 years old. When he was ninety years
old he walked from Stark county to Hancock
county, to make a visit to some of his relatives
— a somewhat remarkable feat for a gentleman
of his greatly advanced age.
Isaac Thompson and wife were the parents
of six chidren, all of whom are living, as fol
lows: Letitia E., Mary J., Freeman F., Julia
A., Willie H, and Chester E. Mrs. Thomp
son died December 30, 1887. She was a
member of the Church of Christ, and in every
way a good and worthy woman. Mr. Thomp
son was a democrat, and was a highly esteemed
and honored citizen. He was one of the town
ship officials for years, holding at different
times all the offices. He was a man of high
character and was noted for his excellent judg
ment and general information. He was a
man whom all the people trusted, and he drew
up for them all their legal papers.
Mr. and Mrs. Bateman Zoll removed to

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

557

Findlay, Ohio, where he for a short time fol
lowed his trade as a contractor. In 1892 they
removed to Bluffton, their present residence.
In 1885 Mr. Zoll purchased a farm within
four miles of that city, and in 1892, when he
moved to Bluffton, he purchased a pleasant
home, in which he now resides. Politically
Mr. Zoll is a democrat. He was elected to
the of mayor of Bluffton in 1894 for two
years, and fills the office to the general satis
faction of the people. He had also served the
people in office in Hancock county, having
been elected there to the office of justice of
the peace, and was township trustee and also
assessor four terms by election and two terms
by appointment. He also served as a member
of the board of education. He is now a mem
ber of the Equitable Aid Union, an insurance
society. Mr. Zoll was a soldier in the Civil war,
enlisting in Eagle township, Hancock county,
county, and was sworn into the service at
Lima, Ohio, February 16, 1865, as a member
of company H, One Hundred and Ninety-
second Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve for
one year. He was honorably discharged at
Winchester, Va., in September, 1865. His
services were rendered in the Shenandoah val
ley, and he was in several skirmishes, but not
in any severe battles. His duty was, however,
performed promptly and cheerfully. Mr. and
Mrs. Zollare members of the Disciples' church,
and they are among the most highly respected
members of society. They have many warm
and true friends, who take great pleasure in
associating with them in their pleasant home in
Bluffton. He is a man of most honorable
character as a citizen of true worth, in every
way being a self-made man. He is a member
of Robert Hamilton post, No. 262, G. A. R.,
and has held the office of commander in that
organization, made up of none but true sol
diers, honorably discharged.

>-j*OHN C. CRONLEY.— In the general
A conduct of life, as well as in special
A J professions, such as those of the law,
medicine, etc., intelligence and hon
esty, as is ever apparent to the observing, are
essential to the highest success. The life of
Mr. Cronley, surveyor of Allen county, Ohio,
at the present time is one of the many illustra
tions of this fact, which is a pleasant duty on
the part of the publishers to record.
John C. Cronley is a son of Martin and
Jane (Lingrel) Cronley, both natives of county
Kildare, Ireland. The parents of Martin Cron
ley were Patrick and Elizabeth Cronley, who
emigrated from their native country in 1845,
bringing with them their children, and settling
in West Liberty, Logan county, Ohio. In this
connty they lived until 1850, when they re
moved to Washington township, Union county,
where Mr. Cronley purchased a tract of land
containing 120 acres, which he cleared in part,
cultivated and converted into a farm. His life
upon this farm was that common to the early
pioneer, devoted to the removal of surplus
timber, the erection of farm buildings, build
ing of fences, draining the land, caring for
cattle and other kinds of stock usually found
upon a farm, and in the rearing and education
of his children, to whom, as in common with
his nationality, he was much devoted. His
death- occurred in 1854, when he was sixty
years of age.
Patrick Cronley and his good wife, Eliza
beth, were the parents of three sons — Michael,
at Mount Victory, Ohio; Patrick, now de
ceased; and Martin. Patrick died in 1888 at
Zanesfield, Ohio; his wife is still living on the
old homestead near Zanesfield. Martin Cron
ley, father of the subject of this sketch, was
born in Kildare county, Irelrnd, in 1830, and
came with his parents to Logan county, Ohio,
living with them until he arrived at the age of
twenty-one. For some time afterward he lived

558

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in Union county, Ohio, but later returned to
Logan county. In i860 he purchased a farm
in Union -county of some sixty acres, and in
1893 removed to Kenton, Hardin county, Ohio,
where he now resides, and where he is living
retired from the active cares and duties of life.
Mr. Cronley was married, in 1854, to Jane
Lingrel, by whom he became the father of
four children, viz: John C. , the subject of this
sketch; James, of Columbus, Ohio; Arabella,
widow of Daniel Lynch, and Edward, of Ken
ton, Ohio. At the breaking out of the war of
the Rebellion Mr. Cronley, in common with
many other naturalized citizens of this country,
believing in the union of the states, and de
termined that the union should not be broken
up, enlisted in the service of the government,
and became a member of company B (Myers'
battery), of Bellefontaine, Ohio, and served
therein one year. Later, in 1862, he enlisted
in company F, Forty-first Ohio volunteer in
fantry, and in that organization served until
the battle of Nashville, Tenn., in which he
was wounded, and upon his recovery from
this wound he was discharged. During his
term of service, beside the battle of Nashville,
he participated in the battles at Shiloh,
Franklin and Columbia. Mr. Cronley is now
a member of Taylor post, G. A. R. , at Rich-
wood, Ohio, and in matters of politics he
affiliates with the democratic party, always
assisting to the extent of his ability, means
and time, to its success. In religion Mr. Cron
ley is a Catholic, but accords to all the right
to unite with, or not, as they please, any
christian or other denomination.
John C. Cronley the immediate subject of
this relation, was born March 31, 1858, at
East Liberty, Logan county, Ohio. He was
reared in Union and Hardin counties, and re
ceived the rudiments of his education in the
public schools of those two counties. After
ward he attended the Ohio Normal university

of Ada, Hardin county, graduating therefrom
July 23, 1885. In 1878 he began teaching
school, and taught in the public schools of
Union, Hardin and Allen counties for a num
ber of years, with uniform and gratifying suc
cess, and in 1886 he received a life certificate
from the Ohio state board of school examiners.
In 1887 he removed to Lima, and became
principal of the Grand Avenue public school,
which position he filled until 1891, when he
was elected to his present office, that of sur
veyor of Allen county. Politically Mr. Cron
ley is a pronounced democrat, and though
holding office at the present time he is not an
office seeker. Fraternally he is a member of
Bluffton lodge, No. 371, I. O. O. F., of the
Ohio encampment of Lima, and also of canton
Orion. At one time he was a member of the
Knights of Labor organization. In his relig
ious convictions Mr. Cronley is a Methodist,
and lives a consistent christian life.
The wife of Mr. Cronley, previous to her
marriage, was Miss Nancy Owens, daughter of
James Owens of. Richland township, Allen
county. Mr. and Mrs. Cronley are the parents
of four children, viz: Mary, Van Edward, Sarah
and Florence. Mr. Cronley is a member of the
Ohio society of Surveyors & Civil Engineers,
and takes an active interest in all matters per
taining to civil engineering.

aARL A. JETTINGER, one of Ohio's
accomplished and enterprising jour
nalists, and proprietor of the Delphos
Kleeblatt, is a native of Delphos, and
was born May 4, 1870. His father, Rudolph
Jettinger, was born May 6, 1848, at Zoebingen,
kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, and died
November 9, 1885, at Delphos, Ohio; his
mother, Marie Catharine Jettinger, nee Alt-
staetter, was born December 10, 1846, at
Koenig, grand-dukedom Hessen-Darmstadt,

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

559

Germany, and is yet living. His grandparents
were highly educated people, his father's father
being an apothecary, who had received a col
lege education in Germany; his paternal grand
mother had also attended the high schools in
Germany, and their brothers were mostly
teachers and priests. His maternal grand
father was a school-teacher by profession, but
in this country preached for German Lutheran
congregations for many years, and also taught
music, while his wife was the daughter of a
school-teacher. Carl A. Jettinger is the eldest of five chil
dren, of whom four are yet living. When thir
teen years old he received a position as clerk
in a grocery, and two years later in salesroom
of a woolen-mill; then for a short time was
foreman of the packing department of the
Synvita Co., patent medicine manufacturers;
next for several years was book-keeper in the
Commercial bank, which position he lost on
account of trickery on the part of the cashier,
but one year later was employed by the bank
to examine books of the same cashier, the lat
ter having died and being short in his accounts
$16,000 or $18,000. After leaving the bank
in the spring of 1889, he was for several months
book-keeper in the office of the Natural &
Artificial Gas company, and in the fall of the
same year was persuaded by a friend to estab
lish a German newspaper with him; the
"friend," however, withdrew from the enter
prise before the first number of the paper ap
peared, and our subject (then nineteen years
old) proceeded alone, having, by doing job
printing on a small hand press, saved about
$80. The initial number of the Kleeblatt ap
peared in December, 1889, as a six-column
folio, has since been enlarged several times,
and is at present twice as large, and (at $1 per
year) is probably the cheapest German local
paper in the world. Mr. Jettinger, during the
first two years, was hardly able to make a

living out of the newspaper business, but by
"keeping everlastingly at it," and by close at
tention to business, succeeded in working up
the largest circulation of any paper published
in Delphos, and also has the best equipped job
printing office in the city.

(D

cCULLOUGH FAMILY.— The most
authentic data we have relating to
the McCullough family, of Lima,
Ohio, is their entrance into Ireland
when Oliver Cromwell made his invasion.
They settled at a place called Upper Bally-
sillan, supposed to be in the neighborhood of
Belfast, where they have lived for generations
and from them have sprung the McCulloughs
of America. Two brothers, Samuel and Thomas Mc
Cullough, natives of Ireland, born near Bel
fast, in 1750, came to America about 1772.
They settled in Washington county, Pa.
Thomas entered the army and was killed in
one of the Indian fights in that county, and
was buried upon the battle field. His body
was subsequently taken up by his. brother and
buried in the Presbyterian churchyard, at
Pigeon Creek, Washington county, Pa. He
never married. M. H. McCullough, grandson
of the above Samuel McCullough, has now an
heirloom much prized by him, it being a letter
dated Belfast, Ireland, 1774, written to his
grandfather, Samuel McCullough, and brother,
Thomas McCullough.
Samuel McCullough was the progenitor of
of the Ohio McCulloughs. He took up or en
tered 1 50 acres of land in Amwell township,
Washington county, Pa., May 11, 1785, and
November 16, 1787, fifty-six acres more.
There he cleared a farm and spent the balance
pf his life. He married Margaret Pettigrew,
whose parents were of Scotch-Irish extraction,
and settled in Washington county, Pa., among

560

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the pioneers. By this union the following
children were born: Thomas, Who settled in
Trumbull county, Ohio; John, who settled
in the same county; Elizabeth, who married
Thomas Chambers; Margaret, who married
John Lyne, and died in Guernsey county, Ohio;
Sarah, who married John Chambers, and
died near Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio;
Mary, who married William Vance, and died
in Knox county, Ohio; Samuel and James,
who remained on the homestead, where they
spent their lives until 1835, when James moved
to Allen county, where he resided the remain
der of his life. Mr. McCullough, Sr., died in
1 8 14, his wife dying in 1825; both were buried
in the Presbyterian churchyard, at Pigeon
Creek, Washington county, Pa.
James McCullough, the youngest son and
child of Samuel McCullough, Sr. , was born
May 1, 1793, upon the homestead in Amwell
township, Washington county, Pa., and died
July 29, 1857, aged sixty-four years. He re
ceived such education as could be obtained in
the log school-house of those days, was reared
a farmer, and remained on the home farm un
til June 18, 1835, when he removed his family
to Perry township, Allen county, Ohio, where
he settled upon 300 acres of land which he had
purchased the year previous. And at the same
time he also entered, in Perry township, Allen
-county, 160 acres and eighty acres in Sugar
Creek township. The 300 he purchased and
settled upon are now within the limits of Bath
and Ottawa townships. He cleared 100 acres
of the first 300 entered, built his dwelling,
where he spent the balance of his life and
reared his family. Mr. McCullough was well
known throughout the county as a man who
was deeply interested in its development. In
his political views he was an ardent democrat,
but neither sought nor would hold public of
fice. In his religious convictions he was a
life-long Presbyterian, connecting himself with

the First Presbyterian church, of Lima, after
his coming to Allen county. He was three
times married. His first wife was Margaret,
daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth (Hillis) Dob
bins. Hugh Dobbins, the father, was killed
May 18, 1 81 8, by the falling of a tree on his
farm in Trumbull county, during a storm.
Mrs. McCoilough, wife of James McCol-
lough, died November 19, 1837. By this
union six children were born, as follows:
Mathew H., of Lima, Ohio; Elizabeth, who-
married John Lee, died 1885, the mother of
three children, of whom Homer Lee, of the
Homer Bank Note company, of New York, is-
the only one living; Samuel C. married Sa
mantha Blue; he died in 1888 on the home
stead, near Lima, leaving two daughters —
Mrs. James Fisk and Mrs. Edward Baker, both-
residing on the homestead; Aurilla married
Peter Faze, and died November 25, 1868, the-
mother of two sons and one daughter — Will
iam, Carson and Ella. James McCuUough's
second wife was Jane Milligan, who died Au
gust 9, 1849. His third, was Sarah Cunning
ham, who died November 7, 1893, aged
eighty-three years. By his last two- marriages
he had no issue.
Hon. Mathew H. McCullough, the eldest
son of James McCullough, was born April 29,
1 8 18, in Washington county, Pa. , was educated
in the old log school-house of that day, was
reared upon the McCullough homestead in
Pennsylvania, and came to Allen county,
Ohio, with his parents in 1835. At the age of
twenty-one he began teaching school and
taught in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
In 1853 he returned to Allen county, married
Miss Sarah J., daughter of John McKibben,
who came from Wayne county, Ohio, and set
tled in section No. 30, Bath township, Allen
county, as one of the pioneers. Mr. McKib
ben died in August, 1834, in the thirty-third
year of his age. After Mr. McCuUough's mar-

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

561

riage he settled upon the McKibben farm,' and
later laid out what is known as McCuUough's
addition to Lima, and is living to see the land
the home of many residents, being situated now
in the heart of the city. For many years Mr.
McCullough has been interested in the develop
ment of his real estate, and in connection with
this operates a farm of 120 acres in Bath
township. In 1879, he was elected by the
democratic party, of which he had been a life
long adherent, to represent Allen county in the
state legislature, serving in the sessions of
1880-81-82-83, succeeding the late Judge
Robb. He is a member of the First. Presby
terian church of Lima. Mrs. McCullough
died February 7, 1894, the mother of three
children: One daughter, who died in infancy;
George M., a merchant of Lima, and John C,
civil engineer and a graduate of Columbia
university. The eldest son, George M. Mc
Cullough, has one daughter, whose name is
Hazel; the second son, John C, has one son,
whose name is Hillis K. McCullough. Mr.
McCullough is one of Lima's oldest living citi
zens, has always taken an active interest in
all matters pertaining to its advancement, and
is respected and esteemed, by all who know
him, for his integrity and usefulness as a
citizen.

EON. JAMES MACKENZIE, of Lima,
Allen county, Ohio, was born in
Dundee, Scotland, July 14, 1814.
His father, Hon. William L. Mac
kenzie, a native of the same country, became
a resident of Canada, and later a member of
the parliament of Upper Canada (now On
tario), and in 1837 was a leader in the move
ment, or so called insurrection, which had for
its object the establishment of the independence
of that country, as far as parliamentary or
local representation was concerned. He had

long been a liberal in politics, and was the
first publisher of a newspaper — The Colonial
Advocate — devoted to the advocacy of the
right of the colonists to a liberal form of gov
ernment. James Mackenzie, our subject, received his
early schooling in Toronto, Canada, and in his
father's office learned the printing and publish
ing business.- In 1837 he came to the United
States, in order to take a more active part in
the insurrection in Canada against English
rule, and at Navy island acted as an officer in
a frontier invasion; thence he went to Detroit,
Mich., and became identified with the move
ment of the insurgents at Pointe a Pelee and
Fighting island, whence the discontented
patriots were driven back by the British troops
to the United States. Mr. Mackenzie then
went further east, and, after aiding in several
other ineffectual attempts of the patriots to
overcome the British troops in Canada, estab
lished at Lockport, N. Y. , a journal in the
interest of Canadian freedom of government,
known as the Freeman's Advocate. This
journal was liberally patronized in several
states on the Canadian frontier for about a
year, but when the expedition under Gen.
Birce, in 1S39, failed at Sandwich, the paper
was discontinued, and Mr. Mackenzie, although
doing everything that appeared to be practi
cable in favor of the Canadian cause, no longer
encouraged invasions of that country from
the United States territory. Mr. Mackenzie
next became editor of the Workman's Advocate,
of Rochester, N. Y., published by Vick & Co.
but this paper was soon afterward sold to a
Mr. O'Reilley, who at once established the
Rochester Advertiser, on which Mr. Mackenzie
was for a short time employed as local editor
and reporter. At Lockport, Mr. Mackenzie
had commenced the study of the law with Mr.
Nichols, and on his relinquishment of his posi
tion on the Advertiser, he came to Ohio and

562

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

located at Cleveland, where he resumed' his
legal studies under Bishop Backus, and here he
was admitted to citizenship, as well as to the
bar in 1843. In the same year he removed to
Henry county, Ohio, where for a time he
taught school, and while engaged in this voca
tion was elected a township clerk, and in Octo
ber, 1844, without solicitation on his part,
was nominated by the democratic party as
prosecuting attorney of Henry county, and
elected by a handsome majority. He ably
performed the duties of this office until 1854,
when he resigned and purchased the Kalida
Venture, the democratic organ of Putnam
county, Ohio, but receiving a liberal support
from the people of several surrounding counties
that had at that time established no papers,
and for ten years the Venture was edited in a
most masterly manner. In October, 1846,
Mr. Mackenzie was elected prosecuting attor
ney for Putnam county, and was re-elected in
1848. and again in 1850 — a fact that fully at
tests his ability. In 1853, he was elected to
the state legislature, to represent the counties
of Putnam and Henry, and in 1856 again
elected prosecuting attorney for Putnam
county. In 1858 he removed to Lima, Allen
county, and for two and a half years edited
and published the Allen County Democrat; in
1861-62-63 he was prosecuting attorney for
Allen county, and in the fall of 1S65 was
elected judge of the court of common pleas, to
supply the vacancy caused by the death of
Judge Metcalf; to this position he was re
elected in 1869, and again in 1873,, concluding
his judicial service in February, 1879; — a period
of twelve years — during which period the court
held jurisdiction over twenty counties; after
his retirement from the bench, Mr. Mackenzie
associated himself with T. D. Robb (the pres
ent probate Judge of Allen county), and with
him practiced law five years, when, owing to
failing health and growing years, he retired to

private life. Judge Mackenzie has always been
a warm advocate of public education and has
ever been a strong supporter of the principles
of the democratic party. At the breaking out
of the late Rebellion he identified himself with
the war element of that party, served on the
military committee and strongly advocated a
vigorous prosecution of the war. His reputa
tion as a writer is widespread and highly ap
preciated and has had much to do with the
shaping of his party's policy in local manage
ment. His active mind brooks no curbing,
and even in his retirement, at the age of sev
enty-one, he commenced the study of the
French language, which he now writes and
speaks fluently. During his active life he has
brought to bear a vigor and fidelity unsur
passed to the aid of even.- trust imposed upon
him, and few men have been more implicitly
trusted in than he. Judge Mackenzie was mar
ried in May, 1864, to Miss Lucinda P. Leonard,
of Rochester, N. Y. , and to this union were
born Eugene C. and William L. , the latter an
attorney of Lima, Ohio — the mother being.
now deceased.  —

tV^EV. DOMINIC ZINSMAYER, the
I /^ eloquent, pious and popular pastor of
JL_,r the German Catholic church at Lan
deck, Allen county, Ohio, was bom at
Constance, in the grand duchy of Baden, Ger
many, July 29, 1844, and was educated in the
colleges of Constance and Freiburg, in his lit
erary and theological preparation for the
priesthood; he was ordained, however, in
1869, by Bishop Rappe, of the diocese of
Cleveland, Ohio, who was then on his journey
to Rome to attend a council to be held at the
Vatican. A few weeks after his ordination,
Rev. Mr. Zinsmayer, in February, 1870, came
to America, and for a short time was domi
ciliated in Brooklyn, N. Y. ; he was then given

j

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

565

-charge of the Defiance missions, under the
auspices of the Cleveland (Ohio) diocese, and
after fifteen months in this self-sacrificing
service, became the first resident Catholic
clergyman of Bucyrus, Ohio, which employed
his time and talents for six years. Father
Zinsmayer, beside being an eloquent preacher,
is an excellent educator, and while at Bucyrus
established the parochial schools, and remod
eled the church edifice and the parochial resi
dence. He was then placed in charge of the
Shelby settlement, of Richland county, Ohio,
where for seven years he labored most assidu
ously, succeeding in paying off the church
debt and in putting the congregation on a
sound financial footing. He there also secured
for his choir an elegant pipe organ, at a cost
of $700. Father Zinsmayer was next trans
ferred to the charge at Sheffield, Lorain
county, Ohio, where for eleven years he ex
erted an untiring energy for the improvement
¦of his congregation and the enhancement of
the church property and its glory, resulting in
a vast improvement in the parochial residence,
the construction of new altars and the intro
duction of the two melodious bells for the
church proper, at a cost of about $600.
September 15, 1894, Rev. Mr. Zinsmayer
was assigned £0 the charge of Landeck, Allen
¦county, Ohio, and is at 'present officiating in
his clerical capacity in a most acceptable man
ner, making friends and gaining, admirers as
the days roll on, being a truly pious and faith- ^
ful servant of the church and a' devoted friend
¦of education. He here has under his charge
four schools, supplied with four teachers, with
an attendance of 1 50 children, all under the
most perfect discipline as to study and deport
ment, as well as to morality, and all the
schools in a flourishing condition financially.
• As an educator Rev. Zinsmayer stands without
-a peer, and his honored and eloquent tongue
as a preacher seldom finds an equal. Pious

and sincere, he has made many friends since
his residence in Allen county, and his worth as
a man only augments the growing esteem in
which he is universally held.

BRANKEWING, M. D., of West Cairo,
Allen, county, Ohio, was born in
Trumbull county, May 19, 1843, was
taken by his parents to Hancock
county, when six years old, and there grew to
manhood on a farm. In r862 he entered the
Union army as a private soldier in company D,
Ninety-ninth Ohio votunteer infantry, and
carried his gun during the war. He was in
many battles, the first being that of Stone
River, and was in all the subsequent import
ant battles in which his regiment was engaged.
Wounded in the knee at Kenesaw Mountain,
he was disabled for two months. He was
honorably discharged at Salisbury, N. C, when
the war had come to a close. Having pre
vious to the war secured a good education,
upon his return home he taught school, but
owing to impaired health, went north into the
lumber regions, where he remained eight
months. Afterward he again taught school
and read medicine, and graduated from the
medical department of the university of Mich
igan in 1870. Then he began the practice of
his profession in West Cairo, where he has re
mained ever since. In politics he is a demo
crat, and has filled several minor offices.
Dr. Ewing is a son of John A. and Eliza
beth (Clements) Ewing, who came from Penn
sylvania to Ohio at an early day. Mr. Ewing
was a fanner during his entire life, and was
for some time a local preacher in the Disciples'
church. He was also for many years a justice
of the peace, and died in 1890. .John A. and
wife were the parents of six children, viz:
Sarah J. • A. C. ; Frank, the subject; T. Cor
win, killed at Kenesaw Mountain; M. J.; and

566

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Eliza A. The mother of these children died
in i860, and the father married the second
time and had six children by the second wife.
In 1872 Dr. Frank Ewing married Miss Nancy
B. Downing, a daughter of R. H. Downing,
and by her has had four children, viz: Dolly,
died at the age of two years; Addie, Bessie
and Wava. In politics he has always been a
repuplican, is a Knight Templar, and a mem
ber of the Grand Army. Mrs. Ewing is a
member of the Lutheran church.

>^ONAS KNISELY, of Allen county,
¦ Ohio, born in Tuscarawas county, Oc-
/» j tober S, 1S24, was reared on a farm,
~~ educated in the common schools, and
remained with his parents until he was twenty-
two years of age. He then went to Indiana,
remained there two years, returned to Tuscar
awas county and settled down on a farm, on
which he lived until 1864, when he removed
to Allen county and bought the farm on which
he yet lives. He has always devoted his time
and attention to general farming. During the
war he paid his share toward sending substi
tutes to the front. He is a son of David and
Sarah (Bowers', Knisely, who removed from
Pennsylvania to Ohio at an early date. John
Knisely, the father of David, was also a
Pennsylvanian. who came to Ohio, laid out
town of New Philadelphia, in 1804, and served
as commissioner of the county several terms.
Mrs. Knisely died when eighty-four years old
and David Knisely died in 1877, aged eighty-
five years. He had fourteen children and
seventy-seven grandchildren.
Jonas Knisely has been married three
times — first to Elizabeth Wright; second, to
Anna K. Baltzly, and third, to Eliza Shindler.
By his first wife, who died December 12, 1857,
he had three children, viz: Sarah M., George
William and James E. By the second wife

he had four children, viz: Mary S., David S.,
Peter G. and Ada Z. By his third wife he
has no children. Mr. Knisely is a republican
in politics, has held some of the minor town
ship offices, and is a Methodist in religion.

<^f~\ ANIEL EVERSOLL, of Marion town-
I I ship, Allen county, Ohio, was born
fA^J in Sandusky county, was reared to
farm pursuits, and is a son of Peter
and Rebecca (Snider) Eversoll, both of whom
died when the subject was three years old.
The children of these parents were as follows :
Eliza, Catherine, Francis, Nancy,. Lemuel,.
Rebecca and Daniel.
Daniel Eversoll was reared by an uncle in
Perry county until he was seventeen years old,
from which time he worked at the blacksmith
trade for fifteen years. From 1854 to 1864
he worked at his trade at LaFayette, Madison
county, and then enlisted in the One Hundred
and Fifty-first regiment, Ohio volunteer in
fantry, which was assigned to the District of
Columbia to guard the national capital. He
served four months, during which time he was
in a few skirmishes. After the war he returned
home and engaged in farming and blacksmith
ing, buying the farm on which he now lives,
which is in a good state of cultivation, and is
improved with fine buildings. General farm
ing and the raising of stock, including a fine
flock of sheep, are his preference.
He married, in 1857, Miss Malvina Tomp
kins, a daughter of Abel and Elizabeth Tomp
kins, the former of the state of New York, but
who removed to Allen county at an early day,
arriving on the day of President Jackson's
second inauguration. Mr. and Mrs. Eversoll
are the parents of three children, viz : Will
iam H., F. M. and J. H., the first two being
farmers, the last a blacksmith. Mr. Eversoll
is a public-spirited man, is a republican in

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

56T

politics, and has held some of the- minor
'offices, and he and his wife are members of the
Christian church.

HJ. McFARLAND was born at Sandy-
ville, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, May
31, 1835. Remaining on the farm
until 1859, he was then married.
During 1861 and 1862 he served in the home
guard, and*'in August, 1862, he enlisted for
three years in company E, One Hundred and
Twenty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, which
was assigned to the army of the Potomac. He
was in nineteen regular battles, and by a con
cussion lost the use of one ear. On the morn
ing of May 6, 1864, he was wounded in his
left leg by a piece of shell, lay on the field all
that day and, the following night, and on the
morning of the 7th was captured by the Twen
ty-sixth Georgia Confederate infantry, and,
with 800 others, was taken to Lynchburg, Va.
He was bayonetted by one of the guards, taken
to Danville, and, two weeks later, to Ander
sonville, where he was stripped of clothing
and of everything of value. Six months after
ward he was taken to Florence, S. C. , where
he remained until the close of the war. Return
ing home he remained four months, then went
down to Columbus, where he was honorably
discharged. Generally he was a farmer and a
teacher before the war, and for some time
after. He served as township clerk, and as
postmaster at West Cairo about nine years,
during the administrations of Garfield and Har
rison. Elected councilman, he served in that
capacity for some time, and also as clerk of
the council about twelve years. Since 1881
he has been a notary public.
A. J. McFarland is a son of John and Mar
garet (Shuse) McFarland, respectively of Penn
sylvania-Dutch and Scotch descent, the former
a farmer by occupation, and in politics a Henry

Clay whig and then a republican, dying at
Sandyville in October, 1876. He was married
twice, the subject being the third child by the
first marriage. A. J. McFarland was married
to Miss Sarah Craig, a daughter of John and
Susan Craig, the former dying in 1893, the
latter still living at the age of seventy-seven.
To this marriage there have been born no
children, but Mr. and Mrs. McFarland have
reared three orphans, one boy and two girls.
Mr. McFarland has always been a republican,
and both he and his wife are members of the
Christian church.

HE LUGWIG FAMILY is one of
the most substantial and most highly
respected of Allen county, and among
its members are many of the most
prosperous farmers of this county. The
founder of this family in America came from
Germany, and fought with Washington in the
Revolutionary war. He was the great-grand
father of Jacob Ludwig, an aged and highly
esteemed farmer of Marion township, Allen
county, Ohio, and is still living. One of the
sons of the above-named Revolutionary sol
dier, Jacob by name, married a Miss Reece,
who it is believed came from Germany, and
who bore her husband nine children. The
father of these children survived the mother
many years, and at the time of his death was
nearly ninety years of age, dying on the bank
of the Susquehanna river, near the towns of"
Mifflinsburg and Bloomsburg, Pa.
One of the eight children mentioned above,
Jacob, was the father of Jacob Ludwig, of
Marion township, and was born on the old
farm in Pennsylvania. In 181 1 or 1812 he
married Miss Elizabeth Fink, who lived near
Milton, Pa. She was of Pennsylvania-Dutch
extraction, and reared a family of four chil
dren that lived, viz: Sophia, William, Jacob-

568

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and George W. The Jacob Ludwig now un
der consideration was a soldier in the war of
1 8 12, serving, however, only a few weeks be
fore peace was declared. About 1 8 1 8 here-
moved to Pickaway county, Ohio, taking with
him his family, consisting of himself, wife, and
two children. Upon the farm there located
he lived till his death, which occurred in 1824,
and, as he had married about twelve years pre
viously, it is believed he was about thirty-three
years old when he died.
In due course of time his widow married
George Crites, to whom she bore two children
that lived to mature years — Frederica and
Ozetta, the former of whom married John
Deal, of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and the latter
married Josephus Drum of the same place.
Mr. Crites died in Pickaway county, and his
widow followed him to the grave in 1877, dy
ing at the home of Mrs. Sophia Crites, who
had married Charles Crites, in 1833, in Picka
way county, but who, with her husband, set
tled in Allen county in 1839. Mr. Crites was
one of the moat prominent pioneers of this
-county, and to himself and his wife were born
Daniel, who died when fifty years of age;
Jacob, Catherine, Betsey, Rebecca, who died
when twenty-five years old; Cyrus and Eliza
•(twins), Emanuel, Mary E., Charles, who
died in infancy, and George and Freedo
(twins). All married except George, and all
that married reared families except Freedo.
Mrs. Sophia Crites was born in 181 3, and was
the eldest child of Jacob and Elizabeth (Fink)
Ludwig. Though now eighty-two years of
age, she yet has a most excellent memory.
Jacob Ludwig, of Delphos, one of the
prominent pioneers of Marion township, and a
most highly esteemed citizen, was a son of
Jacob and Elizabeth (Fink) Ludwig, and was
born in Salt Creek township, Pickaway coun
ty, Ohio, December 10, 1818. He was but
six years old when his father died; his mother

was left in somewhat straightened circum
stances and when Jacob was about eight years
old she found it necessary to put him out to
live with Peter Maney, with whom he lived
for a few months, and then with John Pontius,
with whom he lived seven years and by whom
he was treated with great severity. He then
lived with his brother-in-law, Charles Crites,
for two years, and of whom he learned the
blacksmith trade. About two months before
the expiration of his apprenticeship he re
moved to Allen county, having served his em
ployers about fourteen years for his mere liv
ing and nothing more. But little education
fell to his lot, and when he atted school it was
in an old log school-house with the roughest
of benches and desks. Mr. Ludwig was mar
ried when about twenty-two years of age,
March 2, 1841, in Pickaway county, to Miss
Louisa De Long, daughter of Andrew and
Catherine De Long. At this time he was still
in quite humble circumstances, and was com
pelled to borrow the $1 necessary to pay the
clergyman that performed the marriage cere
mony, and even that $1 was in shinplasters, a
sort of device then in use among merchants to
take the place of a better kind of money.
Andrew De Long came as a pioneer from
Pennsylvania to Pickaway county, Ohio, where
he became a very prosperous farmer and died
upon his farm when about sixty-five years old.
He and his wife were the parents of the follow
ing children: Rebecca, John, Isaac, Susan,
Catherine, Louisa, Caroline, Sallie Miller and
Andrew. The De Longs were of a sturdy
Pennsylvania-Dutch stock and were a highly
respected and prominent family. Andrew De
Leng was a great hunter in his day.
After his marriage, Mr. Ludwig settled in
Salt Creek township, Pickaway county, and
there for some time worked at the blacksmith
trade. In May, 1847, he removed with his
family to Allen county, working there for Mr.

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

569'

Charles Crites at the same trade until the suc
ceeding fall. In September, 1849, he removed
to the Auglaize river, having purchased 394
acres of land, upon which he now lives. About
sixteen acres were partly cleared and there
was a log cabin standing on the land. By dint
of hard work he cleared up his land, erected
good substantial buildings, and added other
acres to his already large farm, until at one
time he owned a handsome farm of 507^
acres, all of which he cleared of its timber and
made of it one of the best farms in the county,
by his own hard work and steady industry.
This land he has divided up among his chil
dren, giving each a share, with the exception
of 106 acres, which he still retains, including
the old homestead.
To Jacob Ludwig and his wife there have
been born six children that grew to mature
years, and three that have died, making in all
a family of nine. Isaac was born January 3,
1842; John D., October 14, 1849; Charles C. ,
May 12, 1853; Mary J., February 2, 1856;
Obed A., March 20, 1859, and Jacob L., De
cember 16, 1 86 1. Isaac was born in Salt
Creek township, Pickaway county, and all the
rest on the Allen county farm. Mr. and Mrs.
Ludwig were at first members of the Lutheran
church, but after removing to Allen county,
they joined, first, the Methodist and the Pres
byterian church. They have always been act
ive workers in the various church organizations
to which they have belonged, and are in re
ligious as in other matters among the most
honored members of society. Politically Mr.
Ludwig has been a life-long democrat, and
while he has neither held nor sought office, he
has not been without influence in the councils
in the party. No man stands higher in the es
timation of his fellow-men than does Jacob
Ludwig. For he is a man not only of sterling
character but also of wide reading and deep
and independent thought. With all this he

gladly concedes to all other men the right to-
think and act for themselves, holding them, so
far as his influence goes, only to strict mora!
conduct, by which course he enhances the es
timation in which he is held by all.

>Y» R. MARSHALL, of Allen county,
¦ Ohio, one of the most extensive farm-
A 1 ers of the township in which he lives,,
was born in Mahoning county, Feb
ruary 22, 1 85 1 . He is the eldest of four chil
dren born to Cyrus and Mary ( Reed ), Marshall,
the former of whom was born in Lawrence-
county, Pa., and the latter in Mahoning-
county, Ohio. They removed to Allen county
in the fall of 1851, and settled in Richland'
township, where he spent the remainder of his-
life. Upon settling in this county the land he pur
chased was entirely new and covered with timber.
Mr. Marshall was a member of the Presbyte
rian church, and was of Irish descent. Of the-
Reed family nothing is now remembered ex
cept that they were also of Irish descent. Of
Mr. Marshall's brothers, five located in Allen
county, viz: John, Robert, James, Cyrus and
Joseph. Of Mr. Marshall's children, J. R.,
subject of this memoir,, is the eldest, and of
the others, A. H. is a farmer of Richland
township, and two died while yet young. The
father himself died in October,. 1891, and the-
mother still survives, is sixty-eight years old,
and is living on the old homestead.
J. R. Marshall lived with bis- parents until
of age, but began teaching school when he was-
eighteen years of age, and continued to teach
until he was married,, in 1874, when he be
gan farming for himself on land he still owns..
In 1886 he bought a farm near Rockport, on
which he now lives, this- farm containing 120-
acres of land, and being in a high state of cul
tivation; he raises the usual1 crops — wheat, oats
and corn — but gives- most of his attention to-

570

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

breeding hogs and sheep. He married Miss
Ida Boyer, a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth
Boyer, the former of whom came to Allen
county, Ohio, from Gettysburg, Pa., when
Lima had but a few houses. He was a tailor
by trade, a republican in politics, and a mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr.
and Mrs. Marshall have had seven children,
six of whom are yet living, viz: Earl, Lois,
Mary, Elnora E., John H. and Herbert. Mr.
Marshall is a member of the Royal Arcanum,
and he and his wife are devout members of
the Presbyterian church.

>^OHN MILL, of Allen county, Ohio, a
A son of George and Mary (Carmony)
A 1 Mill, was born in Montgomery county,
May 26, 1823. George and Mary Mill
were both natives of Pennsylvania, and when
young were taken by their parents to the
Shenandoah valley, Va., and thence to Mont
gomery county, Ohio, where they were mar
ried and remained until 1833, when they re
moved to what was then Putnam, but now
Allen county. There Mr. Mill entered a tract
of land, which he afterward sold and made
another purchase, living on this land until his
death in i860. He was a prominent and
successful farmer and in addition to managing
his farm, ran a saw-mill.
His father, John Mill, was born in Scot
land, but was of German descent. He and
two brothers came to America long before the
Revolutionary war, and all entered the colonial
army, and at Braddock's defeat, in the French-
Indian war, two were wounded and one
killed. John Mill moved from Virginia to
to Montgomery county, Ohio, and died there,
as also did his wife. John Carmony, the
maternal grandfather, moved from Pennsyl
vania to the Shenandoah valley, and thence to

Montgomery county, Ohio, where he and his
wife both died.
John, the subject, is one of a family of
five, the others being, William, George, one
that died unnamed, and Hezekiah. The
mother of these children died in 1829, and the
father married, in 1834, Miss Mary Ord, by
whom he had ten children, viz: Richard,
Anna, Jacob, Stephen, May, Thomas, Diana,
Sarah, Ann and George. The mother of these
children, all of whom are now dead, herself
died in April, 1890.
When twenty-three years of age, John Mill
began teaching school, which he followed five
winters, making brick in the summer season.
In 1852 he married and settled down on a
farm, and followed farming until 1893, when
he rented his farm and moved to West Cairo,
where he is now living retired from active life.
He married Catherine Jones, a daughter of
Roland and Margaret Jones, natives of Wales
and both members of the Congregational
church. By this marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mill
have had six children, viz: George R. , Mar
garet M., Sarah Jane, Ann E. , John E., and
Peter T. Mrs. Mill died March 18, 1892, at
the age of sixty-six years, having been a mem
ber of the church for fifty-two years. Mr.
Mill has always been a consistent member of
the Christian church, is independent in politics,
with a leaning toward prohibition, and has
served as justice of the peace twelve years.

kS^M ENJAMIN MILLER, of Beaver
|/^^ Dam, Allen county, was born in
J^_J Highland county, Ohio, about 1825,
and is the eldest of twelve children
born to Christopher and Esther (Fullerton)
Miller, both natives of Ohio. Christopher Mil
ler was a wealthy farmer, who removed from
Madison county, Ohio, to Allen county, in 1833.
Here he entered eighty acres of land, to which

OF ALLEN COUNTY.

571

the following fall he moved his family, and
began clearing and improving. Continuing to
improve and to add to his estate; he at length
came to be worth $75,900, notwithstanding
he began with less than $500. Following are
the names of his children: Benjamin, Alex-
der, Andrew, Peter, Mary S., Elizabeth, Ly
dia, John W. Dichia, Christina, Josiah and
Barbara. Of these only Benjamin, Barbara
and Peter now survive. The father of these
children died in 1875, the mother having died
some years before.
Benjamin Miller has been married twice —
first, to Eliza Tipton, by whom he had six
children, as follows: Freeling H., Mahala,
Commodore D,, Mary E., Eliza E., and Will
iam T. The mother of these children died in
1875, and Mr. Miller married, in 1877, Mrs.
A. Davis, a daughter of Jonathan Lewis, an
early settler of the county. To this second
marriage there were born no children. Mr.
Miller is a republican in politics and a mem
ber of the United Brethren church. His eld
est son and one of his brothers enlisted in the
army of the Union during the Civil war, the
son being killed in battle and the brother dying
of wounds received in defense of his country.

e MANUEL SHINDLER was born in
Allen county, Ohio, April 6, 1844,
and is a son of Jacob and Mary (Por
ter) Shindler, both natives of Penn
sylvania, in which state they were married,
and whence they removed to Ohio in 1834,
locating in Allen county, where Jacob Shind
ler entered land twice — 160 acres each time.
The names of his children are given in the
sketch of Samuel Shindler.
Emanuel was reared on the farm on which
he yet lives, received a good common-school
education, and, imitating the example of his
father, has followed farming all his life. He

is a democrat in politics, takes an active in
terest in public affairs, but does not aspire to
office of any kind. He and his wife are mem
bers of the Lutheran church. He was mar
ried, in 1869, to Margaret W. Pearch, a
daughter of G. W. Pearch, who was born in
Pennsylvania, settled in eastern Ohio, and
later removed to Allen county, where he was
a successful farmer and prominent public man,
dying in February, 1892. By this marriage
Mr. Shindler became the father of two chil
dren — Ida L. , born September 21, 1870, and
Hannah M., born July 2, 1872, both of whom
are living at home.

^~V*AMUEL SHINDLER, a prominent
¦t^^l* farmer of West^Cairo, Allen county,
^ j Ohio, was born in this county March
-7, 1847, the seventh child born to
Jacob and Mary (Porter) Shindler, the former
a native of Germany, the latter of Pennsylva
nia. Jacob Shindler came to America with his
parents, and grew to manhood in Pennsylva
nia, where he married, and after two children
were born removed to Monroe township, Allen
county, entered one half-section of land, and
lived there the rest of his life. He was an
active Lutheran, and built the church which
stands upon his farm. He reared eight chil
dren, seven of whom grew to manhood and
womanhood, and one to be fifteen years of age.
The eight were named as follows: Eliza, Leah,
Henry, Sarah, Emanuel, Jabez, Samuel and
Mary. Jacob Shindler died in 1857 and his
wife in 1873.
Samuel Shindler has always been identified
with farming, obtained his education at the
common schools and at a select school at Ot
tawa, and afterward at Leipsic. When nine
teen years old he began teaching and taught
three terms, then married arid settled down to
farming. He has eighty acres of land in a

572

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

good state of cultivation, and improved with
commodious farm buildings, including a de
sirable home. In 1869 he married Eliza A.
Martz, born in Allen county, July 17, 1849,
and a daughter of Michael Martz, a minister of
the Christian church and the founder of the
church at West Cairo. T6 the marriage of
Mr. and Mrs. Shindler there have been born
five children — one that died in infancy, and
four that yet survive, as follows: Frank,
Zelotus, Forrest and Earl.

w EVI ATMUR, deceased, was a native
1 j of West Virginia born in the year of
1 ^ 1801. In 1826 he was united in
wedlock with Miss Louisa, daughter
of John Marshall, a prominent resident of
Harrison county, W. Va. About 1834 Mr.
Atmur moved to Champaign county, Ohio,
where he lived thirteen years; in 1848 he
came to Allen county, and purchased, in Perry

township, 120. acres of land, on which he re
sided until his death. His first wife, Mrs.
Louisa Atmur, died in 1868, and for his second1
wife he chose Ruth, daughter of S. Spencer.
Mr. Atmur's second marriage took place in
1 87 1 and his wife survived eleven years, dying
in 1882, leaving no children. The children
born to Mr. Atmur's first marriage were named
as follows: Marshall, May, Kevena, Jesse H.,
Elizabeth, Lucy, Matthias, Emma, William,
Eliza, Martha and Harriet.
Marshall Atmur, the eldest son, was born
in West Virginia, in 1828, and is now one of
the prominent and successful farmers of Bath
township, Allen county, Ohio. He married
Elizabeth Hoffman, and to their union have
been born eight children. Marshall Atmur
served in the Civil war, enlisting in company
F, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volunteer
infantry, and from May 4, until the fall of
same year, rendered faithful and gallant
service.

VAN WERT COUNTY.

OHIO.

VAN W§RT GOUNTY.

"^VACOB F. ACKOM, of Harrison town-
A ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
A 1 born in Marion county, Ohio, April 29,
1 84 1. His father, Peter Ackom, was
born near Darmstadt, Germany, was a tailor
by trade, and was a soldier in the German
army, attaining the rank of captain. While
in the army he married Margaret Rudle, who
bore him seven children, six of whom are still
living, viz: Jacob F., Mary, Catherine, Peter,
Margaret and Elizabeth. In 1834 Mr. Ackom
came to America and located in Marion county,
Ohio, on fifty-one acres of land, which he sold
in 1859, and then came to Van Wert county
and bought no acres, of which eighty acres
are in Harrison township and thirty acres in
Pleasant township. This land he improved
and cultivated until his death, which occurred
in 1868, at the age of sixty-seven years.
Mr. and Mrs. Ackom were members of the
German Reform church, in which he was an
elder, and in politics he was a democrat.
Jacob F. Ackom was about eighteen years
of age when he came to Van Wert county
with his father. May 15, 1862, he married
Miss Rebecca Baxter, daughter of Thomas and
Nancy (Suddeth) Baxter, who are both now
deceased. He enlisted, first, in an independent

company, state guards, and was mustered into
the United States service at Camp Cleveland,
Ohio, in May, 1864, for the term of 100 days,
but served until honorably discharged in Sep
tember, 1864, as commissary sergeant. On
his return home he resumed his trade as car
penter, and for four years lived in Van Wert.
He bought his present farm in 1870. It then
comprised sixteen acres only, but he has since
increased it to fifty-four acres, and improved
it with substantial buildings, constructed with
his own hands. In 1869, also, he engaged in
the undertaking business, which he success
fully conducted for sixteen years. He has also
devoted considerable attention to the insurance
business, and for two terms has been a director
in the Farmers' Mutual Aid association of Van
Wert county.
The union of Mr. Ackom with Rebecca
Baxter has been blessed with four children,
viz: Rosecranz S., John J. (who died at the
age of two years), Nettie A. and Dora, wife of
John Snyder, of Harrison township. The eld
est, Rosecranz S. , has been school-teacher for
seven years. He married Eliza Pruden, who
has borne him five children. Mr. and Mrs.
Ackom are members of the Baptist church, and
in politics Mr. Ackom is a republican. He is

o,

/"

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

a member of Capper post, G. A. R. , of Con
voy, and for two terms held the position of
quartermaster, and is also a member of the
grange, of which he has served as master for
four years. He and his devoted wife are
greatly respected by the citizens of Harrison
and adjoining townships, not only for their in
telligence and morality, but for their patriot
ism, which was made manifest by the young
wife when her newly-made husband volunteered
to aid in the suppression of the Rebellion.
The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Ackom —
Elias Suddeth — lived to the remarkable age of
113 years, dying in Harrison county, Ohio, and
his eleven children also attained an extraordi
nary longevity.

>-j* OSEPH AGLER, the subject of this
¦ biography, is an enterprising farmer of
A 1 Liberty township, and one of the sub
stantial citizens of the community in
which he resides, he' is of German descent
paternally, and from his mother he inherits the
characteristics of the English. His great
grandfather came to America from England
in colonial times, and settled in Pennsylvania,
but afterward returned to the old country,
where his death occurred. William Agler,
grandfather of Joseph, was born in England,
but early came to America, settling in one of
the eastern states, where he was living at the
breaking out of the war of the Revolution, in
which struggle he took part, serving seven
years. After remaining in Pennsylvania until
his marriage with Miss Mary Fox, he immi
grated to Stark county, Ohio, being one of the
pioneers that led the van of civilization into
that part of the Buckeye state. William Agler
entered 160 acres of land, made a fine farm,
and was one of the substantial men of the
community which he assisted in founding; he
and wife both died in the county of Stark.

Conrad Agler, son of William Agler and
father of the subject of this biography, was a
Pennsylvanian by birth and a farmer by occu
pation. His wife, whose maiden name was
Margaret Wagner, daughter of Valentine
Wagner, became the mother of the following
children in the order named: Mary, Ann,
Matilda, Katie, Valentine, William, Jane, John,
Charlotte, Sarah; Joseph, Elizabeth, and'
Minerva. After a residence of a few years in
Stark county, Conrad and Margaret Agler,
about the year 1841, moved to the county of
Van Wert, and purchased a farm in Liberty
township. Mr. and Mrs. Agler were devout
members of the Lutheran church and in poli
tics he was an old-line whig.
Joseph Agler was born in Stark county,
Ohio, August 1, 1835. He was reared to agri
culture, has given his attention to the same all
his life, and is now a prominent farmer of the
township of Liberty, Van Wert county. His-
life has been one of great activity, and he has
never known what it was to eat the bread of
idleness. The improvements upon his place,
all of which are in first-class condition, bespeak
for its owner a thorough knowledge of farming,
and he is a true believer in the dignity of his
calling. Mr. Agler, was married October 17,
1856, to Susan Neiford, daughter of George
and Mary (Swank) Neiford, and to this union
the following children in the order named have
been born; Conrad, died at the age of twenty-
two; Charity, wife of George Johnson; Nancy,
wife of Alonzo Smith; Willis, who married
Ida Walters. The sons, Isaac and Frank, are
also married, the former to Louisa Voltz and
the latter to Ida F. Humrickhouse. The par
ents of Mrs. Agler were born and married in
Pennsylvania, and in an early day moved to-
Stark county, Ohio, thence the county of Van
Wert, where they resided until death parted
them from this world for a better place. Mrs.
Agler's parents were believers of the Dunkard

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

church, of which they were members, and Mr.
Neiford died leaving his wife in good surround
ings, although the family of children consisted
of twelve. There are eight of these living and
four dead. The names of the dead sisters and
brothers were Lydia, Samuel, Mahala and
Johnnie; those that are living are James, who
is married to Polly Wagers; Mary, to Jerry
Swigart; Sallie, to Peter Putnam; Susan, to
Joseph Agler, the subject of this sketch;
Nancy, to David King; Elizabeth, to John
Agler; William, to Maria Anders; George, to
Libbie Roberts; Samuel was married to Polly
Rush. In politics George Neiford, the father
of Agler, was a democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Agler
are glad to say they are the father and mother
of seven children and grandparents of fifteen.

"^ 1* ERRY AGLER, a prosperous young
A general merchant at Abanaka post-office,
f§ 1 Van Wert county, Ohio, was born on
his father's farm in Willshire township,
April 8, i860, and comes from a pioneer Buck
eye family, his great-grandfather, Peter Agler,
a native of Pennsylvania, having settled in
Stark county, Ohio, in a very early day. Jere
miah Agler, a son of Peter, was also a native
of the Keystone state, was still a young man
when he came to Ohio with his parents and
located in Stark county, where the later married
Mrs. Mary Putnam, daughter of John and
Betsey Putnam, also natives of Pennsylvania.
In 1837, Jeremiah and his wife came to Van
Wert county, which was then an unbounded
wilderness, with but two or three cabins in
Liberty township, where he settled and hewed
out a farm from the wild woods, and became
a citizen of considerable note and a hunter of
great renown. He was a democrat in politics
and served two terms as township trustee; in
religion he believed with the United Brethren
in Christ, and was a charter member of the

congregation in Liberty township; his death
took place in 1872, and his widow was eighty-
two years old on the 14th day of February,
1895. Timothy Agler, son of Jeremiah and
father of our subject, was born in Stark county,
Ohio, March 3, 1834, and was reared on his
father's farm. In September, 1864, he enlisted
in company A, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer in-.
fantry, and was honorably discharged in June,
1865. His marriage took place February 8,
1855, with Elizabeth Brewer, daughter of
Mathias Brewer, the result of the union being
the following children: Jeremiah, Charles,
Lillie, McCoy and Ira. After his marriage he
settled on the farm now occupied by our sub
ject, and here lost' his wife November 25, 1893.
Jerry Agler, the subject proper of this sketch,
was first married, in 1881, to Ida Moor, daugh
ter of Isaac Moor, to which marriage one child
— Roland — was born; the mother died May
29, 1883, and the second marriage of Mr. Agler
took place September 18, 1885, with Cora
Shaffer, daughter of L. B. and Elizabeth (King)
Shaffer, of Liberty township, and this union
has been blessed with three children, viz:
Robby, Blanche and Carrie M. In 1886 Mr.
Agler began in mercantile business at Abanaka,
where he since carried on a most prosperous
and remunerative trade, his stock, which has
just been invoiced, amounting to over $2,400.
He also owns a neat little farm of twenty-two
acres in the township, and a pleasant village
residence, all made through his own labor and
industry. In politics Mr. Agler is a democrat,
and in religion both he and wife worship with
United Brethren in Christ.

>tjOHN AIKEN, a well-known lumber
A dealer of Scott, Union township, Van
(• 1 Wert county, Ohio, was born in Wash
ington-county, Pa., in 1830, and is a son
of James Aiken, who was also a native of Wash-

6

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ington county, and was born in 1801; the
father of James, George Aiken, was born in
Cork county, Ireland, and was rearefl a farmer;
while still a young man he came to America,
located in Pennsylvania, served in the war of
1812, and probably held a captain's commis
sion. He lived through four score years, and
died in Pennsylvania about the year 1840.
James Aiken was reared ton the home farm
in Pennsylvania, and was also instructed in the
trade of carpentry, following the latter chiefly
for a livelihood.- About the year 1827 he mar
ried Miss Jane Scott, who was born in Wash
ington county, Pa., in 1805, and was a daugh
ter of Robert and Elizabeth (Mullen) Scott,
this marriage resulting in the birth of the fol
lowing children, beside John, our subject:
Elizabeth, deceased wife of Samuel Kilbreth,
of Washington county, Ohio; Martha, deceased
wife of Henry Spence, of Jefferson county;
Jane, wife of John Roberts, of Harrison county;
Robert and James, both farmers of Jefferson
county; Benton, a soldier, deceased; Josiah,
deceased; Alexander, who died from a wound
received in the late war, and Coe, who was
killed in a railroad accident.
Robert Scott, father of Mrs. Jane Aiken,
was also a native of Pennsylvania, of Scotch
ancestry, was a farmer and was an early pio
neer of Carroll county, Ohio, where he died
in 1833. Mrs. Elizabeth (Mullen) Scott was
also of Scottish descent and a native of the
Keystone state. Mrs. Jane Aiken, a strict
member of the Presbyterian church, died in
1863, in Jefferson county, Ohio, whither she
had come with husband shortly after mar
riage. James Aiken was a strong advocate of
the principles of the democratic party, was a
pioneer of Jefferson county, Ohio, where he
became quite prominent, and died in 1883, in
the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which
he had been a life-long member.
John Aiken, our subject, was reared in

Jefferson county, Ohio, and there learned the
trade of wagon-making. In 185 1 he married
Miss Martha J. Trainer, a native of Lancaster
county and born in 1828 — a daughter of John
and Esther (Holmes) Trainer. To this union
were born the following children: Ida, now
Mrs. Edward Shefler, of Rush county, Ind.;
James, a farmer of Allen county, Ind.; Martha
J., wife of Wallace Beard, residing near Fort
Wayne, Ind.; Mary J., married to Erastus
Wilson, of Huntington county, Ind. ; Annie,
wife of Eli Larimer, of Fort Wayne; Edwin,
in the saw-mill and lumber business at Scott,
Ohio, and John H., Jr., an attorney at Fort
Wayne, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Trainer, parents
of Mrs. Aiken, were born near the city of Cork,
Ireland, and came to America in 1823, locat
ing on a farm in Lancaster county, Pa. , whence,
about 1835, they came to Ohio and first located
in Jefferson county, whence they moved to
Allen county, Ind., where the mother died in
1 88 1 and the father in 1884. Their children
were named as follows: William, deceased;
Mary, deceased wife of John McClave, of Indi
ana; John, attorney of Steubenville, Ohio;
Nancy, deceased wife of Abner Kelsey; Rob
ert, deceased, and Mrs Aiken.
At the breaking out of the Civil war, our
subject gave up his trade and purchased a
farm in Allen county, Ind., near Fort Wayne,
and for twenty-eight years was prominently
identified with the agricultural and other inter
ests of that county. In 1890 he disposed of
his property in Indiana and came to Scott,
Van Wert county, Ohio, engaged in the lum
ber business in company with his son Edwin,
and has since been doing an active and pros
perous trade. In religion Mr. Aiken is a pious
and consistent member of the Methodist Epis
copal church, of which he is a trustee and to
the support of which he freely contributes of
his means; he is also a member of the Masonic
fraternity, a.nd is, beside, town treasurer. He

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

is an upright gentleman, whose integrity no
one has ever disputed, and has the entire confi
dence and respect of his neighbors as a suc
cessful and pious man and useful citizen.

VX

'ILLIAM ALBRIGHT, a well-known
and prominent farmer of Pleasant
township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is descended from Dutch
ancestors, his grandfather, Henry Albright,
having emigrated from Holland to the
United States a number of years prior to the
beginning of the present century. Henry
Albright was born in 1758, became a resident
of the new world when a young man, settling
in Pennsylvania, of which state he was a
pioneer; his death occurred in 181 1. John
Albright, son of the above, and father of the
subject, was born in Schuylkill county, Pa., in
1792, grew to manhood in his native state and
at the age of nineteen entered the army and
served with credit in the war of 18 12. He
held a captain's commission while in the army
and for services rendered subsequently re
ceived from the government a land grant,
which he afterward laid in Wells county, Ind.,
and Van Wert county, Ohio.
In 1859 John Albright disposed of his inter
est in Fairfield county, to which part of Ohio
he moved about the year 18 14 in company
with a younger brother and sister, and came
to the county of Van Wert, where he pur
chased a large tract of unimproved land.
Many years previously he had become profi
cient as a veterinary surgeon, and after locat
ing in Van Wert county followed that profes
sion in connection with farming. He was
quite successful in his business enterprises and
accumulated a comfortable competence, the
greater part of which consisted of real estate,
which afterward increased greatly in value.
He married, in 18 18, Hannah, daughter of

Adam Wagoner of Fairfield county, who bore
him the following children in the order named:
Jacob, John, George, Henry, Lena, Daniel,
Isaac and Samuel. Mrs. Albright died in
1836, and later Mr. Albright entered into the
marriage relation with Eliza, daughter of
Daniel and Hannah Gearheart, to which union
were born five children, namely: Eli, Mrs.
Catherine Spencer, William, Mrs. Victorine
Baltzell and Josiah S. Mrs. Hannah Albright
was born about the year 1806, in Fairfield
county, where her parents settled in an early
day, moving there from Maryland. She was-
a member of the German Reform church and
departed this life on the 5th day of March,
1873. Mr. Albright was also a member of the
same denomination and gave liberally of his
means to the support of the church and to all
other causes tending to advance the moral
well-being of the community. A commend
able trait of Mr. Albright was his benevolence,
and no one in need of assistance ever applied
to him in vain. In politics he was an old-line
whig, and later a republican. This excellent
man was accidentally killed by the falling of a
tree in January, 1861.
William Albright, whose name introduces
this sketch, is a native of Ohio, born in the
county of Fairfield in 1840, being the second
son of John and Eliza (Gearheart) Albright,
above mentioned. In his boyhood years he
attended at intervals such schools as the coun
try at that time afforded, and at the age of
seventeen accompanied his parents to Van
Wert county, where he assisted his father in
clearing the farm and fitting the soil for culti
vation. He was reared to agricultural pur
suits, to which he has always given his atten
tion, and in which his success has indeed been
encouraging, he being at this time the owner
of a good farm and a comfortable share of this
world's goods. In 1863, in Van Wert county,
Mr. Albright was united in marriage with

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Martha J. Rowland, daughter of John and Ann
(Marshall) Rowland — the parents early settlers
of this part of the state. To Mr. and Mrs.
Albright have been born the following chil
dren: Magdalene, Irene, deceased; Lovell,
Victorine, deceased; William L. , Ferre, Hat
tie and Charles. Mrs. Albright was born in
Van Wert county, September 2, 1845; ner
father is a native of the county of Harrison,
Ohio, born in the year of 181 1, became a resi
dent of the county of Van Wert in 1837, and
resided here until 1869*7 at which time he emi
grated to Kansas, where he still lives. Mr.
Albright is a practical and successful farmer, a
useful citizen of the community, and enjoys the
respect of his fellow-man. He is a member of
the Masonic fraternity, and stands high in the
local lodge to which he belongs.

£~>f IMEON SWINEFORD.— The record
•\^^fc* of a busy life, a successful life, must
^^ J ever prove fecund in interest and
profit as scanned by the student who
would learn of the intrinsic essence of individu
ality, who would attempt an analysis of
character and trace back to the fountain-head
the widely diverging channels which mark the
onward flow, the constantly augmentive pro
cess, if we may be permitted the phrase, of
such individuality. All human achievements,
all human weal or woe — in short, all things
within the mental ken — are but mirrored back
from the composite individuality of those who
have lived. "The proper study of mankind
is man," said Pope, and aside from this, in its
broader sense, what base of study and inform
ation have we ? In entering a memoir to one
who has played well his part in life and who
has ended his earthly career with a full quota
of honors and tangible rewards does biography
exercise its highest function, and in this con
nection we may well take satisfaction in ad

verting to the life history of this honored
pioneer of the city of Van Wert.
The subject of this -review was one of the
best known and most prominent business men
of Van Wert for a course of many years, hav
ing been intimately concerned in all" that con
cerned the development and material pros
perity of the community and having here con
ducted a mercantile enterprise which was rep
resentative in that line of industry. He was
born in Snyder county, Pa., July 10, 18 19,
securing a common-school education, and in
his youth being apprenticed to learn the trade
of chair-making, to which he devoted his atten
tion for a number of years in his native state. In
1839 he removed to Ashland county, Ohio, and
there engaged in the business of his trade,
continuing in this line of enterprise, at this
point, for five years. He then located at
Ashland, in Crawford county, where he secured
employment as a salesman in a dry-goods store,
retaining this incumbency for seven years.
The year of 1852 represents the date of our
subject's advent in Van Wert, and upon his
arrival here he became associated with the
industrial activities of the place by engaging in
the chair and furniture business, in which he
continued for some time, and then entered the
employ of Judge A. W. Baker, with whom he
remained, in a clerical capacity, until he formed
a partnership with Alonzo Conant, in the mer
cantile business, which association continued
for a number of years, after which Mr. Swine-
ford engaged in business for himelf.. Locating
at the corner of Main and Washington streets,
he there engaged in the grocery business and
continued this enterprise most successfully for
a long period of years and until the time of his
death, securing a representative patronage and
retaining the confidence and good will of the
entire community. He was a man of scrupu
lous honor and integrity, was careful and con
servative in his business methods, and was

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

11

animated by a broad spirit of humanity and
charity. Distinctly individual and with strong
and well defined convictions, he never swerved
from the strict path of that which he consid
ered his duty, but against him there has never
been charged an unkindly deed or a disregard
of the rights of others. When this honored
pioneer was summoned into the life eternal,
on November 30, 1874, the community mourned
the loss of a valuable citizen, and an honest
and noble man. To him came a full measure
of success in the material affairs of life, and
this none could be begrudging. He was one
of the original stockholders of the First Na
tional bank of Van Wert, and for many years
served as a member of its board of directors,
and as vice-president.
In political adherency, Mr. Swineford was
an uncompromising republican, but the extrac
tion of his active business affairs rendered it
inexpedient for him to aspire to political pre
ferment, though it must be said that he ever
manifested a signal reluctance to securing no
toriety in any way, and had no desire to become
a candidate for public office.
December 22, 1840, was solemnized the
marriage of the honored subject to Miss Rach
ael Clayburg, daughter of Isaac Clayburg, of
Ashland, Ohio, he having been a native of
York county, Pa. Mrs. Swineford was born
in that county of the old Keystone state and
accompanied her father on his emigration to
Ashland county, Ohio, where Mr. Clayburg
attained prestige as one of the pioneer settlers
and most honored citizens of that section. Mr.
Mr. and Mrs. Swineford became the parents of
five children, viz: Benjamin C. ; Lawrence R. ;
Mary A. ; wife of Orlando D. Swartout, of Van
Wert, and Charles M., whose death occurred
in infancy, and Henry, deceased. Mrs. Swine
ford survives her husband and lives to hold in
perpetual regard and honor the memory of the
one whose name she bears and who represented

in his domestic life the truest virtues and the
utmost devotion to those who placed depend
ence upon him. High upon the scroll of the
honored pioneers of Van Wert will ever be in
scribed the name of Simeon Swineford.

WOHN C. ALBRIGHT, one of the
¦ wealthiest and most influential farmers
A 1 of Union township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, and a veteran of the late Civil
war, is a son of Solomon and Margaret
(Cramer) Albright, and was born in Marion
county, Ohio, in 1842. Solomon was a na
tive of Schuylkill county, Pa., born in 1809,
and a boy when he came to Ohio with a
brother, on whose farm in Fairfield county
they lived until 1836, when he entered eighty
acres and lived thereon until 1870, then sold
and purchased his present farm, adjoining. ¦
His wife was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
in 181 5, a daughter of Benjamin and Mar
garet Cramer, of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock,
and they were married in 1834, eleven chil
dren being the result, of whom six are still liv
ing, viz: Henry H., of Michigan; John C,
our subject; William and Silas, of Paulding
county, Ohio; Samuel, farmer and stock raiser
of Morrow county, Ohio, and Amanda, wife of
James Wescott, of Marion county, Ohio.
John C. Albright was reared a farmer, and
after four years of farming on his own account
in Marion county came to Union township,
Van Wert county, and purchased eighty acres
of land, to which he has since added eighty
acres, and has also bought eighty acres in
Paulding county, adjoining; his home place is
now one of the finest in the county, having
3,000 rods of tile drainage. December 9,
1 86 1, Mr. Albright enlisted in company D,
Eighty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, under
Capt. John S. Riggs, and was mustered into
service at Kenton, Ohio, December 31, 1861,

12

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

under James Cantwell. They left Kenton
January 25, 1862, and the next day crossed the
Ohio river and camped, on the 27th, at Graf
ton, West Va. ; March 18, they left by rail,
and on the 19th marched to Pittsburg and
Franklin; April 10 they fought the battle of
McDowell, returned to Franklin and skir
mished with the enemy on the 12th. May 25,
they joined Fremont's expedition through the
Shenandoah valley and skirmished with Jack
son's forces near Strasburg; June 1, marched
through the place, thence to Woodstock and to
Mount Jackson, and on the 4th reached Harris
burg; June 8 they went to Cross Keys, on the 9th
fought the battle of Port Republic; on the 10th
reached Harrisburg, and the 1 ith New Market,
thence to Perryville. August 8th they went to
Culpeper and fought under Gen. Sigel; from
7th to 1 2th went by Port Royal and Luray to
¦Robinson's Ferry; 13th and 14th, marched to
Rapahannock Station, where they took part in
that battle; September 19th camped at Arling
ton Heights, and the 25th at Fairfax C. H. ;
November 5th, at Gainsville, and the 18th re
turned to Fairfax C. H. ; thence went to Junc
tion and Leesburg and Edwards' Ferry, and
crossed the Potomac; January 25th, the fol
lowing year, they went to Emmettsburg, Md.,
and July 1 -3 participated in the battle of Get
tysburg; September 29, reached Bridgeport,
Ala.; October 1, reached Wauhatchie; thence
marched to Missionary Ridge, when a battle
was fought. November 29, was at Knoxville,
Tenn. ; thence went to Lookout Mountain; Jan
uary 10, 1864, he started home on a furlough
as a veteran, and reached Columbus, Ohio,
January 21 ; February 26, returned to the field,
reaching Bridgeport, Ala., March 3; from there
went to Chattanooga, where a battle was fought;
thence to Chickamauga, Resaca, Dalton, Peach
Tree Creek, "New Hope, Lost and Kenesaw
Mountains, Atlanta and Savanah; from there
crossed to South Carolina, thence to Benton

ville, N. C, where their last battle was fought.
Mr. Albright was wounded in the foot at the
battle of Bull Run and again in the side at the
battle of Gettysburg. While in Virginia he
was captured, but released by his comrades in
a few minutes. His marches covered a dis
tance of 4,000 miles. He was honorably dis
charged at Columbus, Ohio, August 1, 1865;
and now receives a pension of $6 per month.
The marriage of Mr. Albright took place
in 1872, to Miss Mary E. Shafer, daughter of
Jacob H. and Hester A. (Cupp) Shafer, from
an old Pennsylvania-Dutch family. No chil
dren have come to bless the union of Mr. and
Mrs. Albright, but they have adopted two — J.
W. Holden and Myrtle B. Loffer. In politics
Mr. Albright is a republican, and takes an act
ive part in the success of his party. He is
progressive in every department of citizenship
and renowned for his practical benevolence,
and holds the respect of his fellow-citizens to
the fullest extent.

*Y ** ARRISON L. ALLEN, who has car-
¦''"^¦k ried on a prosperous farm of 120 acres
i F in Liberty township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, since 1880, was born in
Erie county, Ohio, December 27, 1841. His-
grandfather, Samuel Allen, was of Scotch de
scent, was born in Connecticut, was reared a
farmer, and on reaching man's estate settled
near Oriskany Falls, Oneida county, N. Y.,
wnere his son Ransom Allen, the father of our
subject, was born December 17, 1813. Ran
som Allen there married Laura Reynor, moved
to Erie county, Ohio, and was there engaged
in farming until his death, which took place in
January, 1877, his wife dying October 19, the
following year.
Harrison L. Allen was born and reared in
Erie county, Ohio, where he attended Milan
Normal college, after which he taught school

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

13

two years. April 19, 1861, he enlisted in
company E, Seventh Ohio volunteer in
fantry, and saw service in West Virginia, Vir
ginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and
Georgia. At Cedar Mountain he sustained a
severe flesh wound in his nether left limb, and
at Chancellorsville was captured, but was soon
exchanged. In the fight at Ringgold, Ga.,
Mr. Allen, with his regiment, took a most gal
lant part, thirteen out of fourteen of the officers
being killed or wounded, and the slaughter of
privates being in proportion. Mr. Allen was
also in all the main battles of the famous At
lanta campaign, and was honorably discharged
July 6, 1864. Mr. Allen found an opportunity,
however, during the civil struggle, to get mar
ried, which important event took place October
17, 1863, in Erie county, Ohio, to Statira
Quayle, daughter of John and Cordelia (Hol
lister) Quayle. Mr. Quayle was a shoemaker
by trade, had long been identified with the
interests of Erie county, Ohio, and on his farm
his death took place in March, 1876. On this
property, however, his widow still resides. He
was a leading Methodist and in politics was a
republican. The family of John and Cordelia
(Hollister) Quayle consisted of the following
children, named in order of birth: William,
Ashley (deceased) Cecilia, Catherine, Sophronia,
Statira, John, Charles, Francis and James, the
last three deceased.
For the first four years after their marriage
Mr. and Mr. Allen lived in Iroquois county,
111., whence they returned to Erie county, Ohio,
and then, in 1880, came to Van Wert county
and took possession of their present farm,
which has since been improved by a farm dwell
ing and a substantial barn. In politics Mr.
Allen is a stanch republican, and in 1884 was
elected a county commissioner of Van Wert
and gave every satisfaction in the preformance
of the duties of the office; in 1888 he was ap
pointed to fill a vacancy in the same position.

Mr. Allen is an honored member of the G. A. R.
and he and wife are devout members of the
Methodist church. The children born to Mr.
and Mrs. Allen are named Tad E., Earnest
R., Frank and Kittie M. — Earnest R. being a
successful school-teacher.

BRANCIS M. ALLEN, a successful
farmer and well known citizen of
Pleasant township, Van Wert county,
is a son of Joseph and Nancy J.
Allen, natives of Perry county, Ohio. The
father was born May 7, 1823, and was de
scended from an old English family, represent
atives of which settled in Virginia in an early
day, and also in Kentucky, of one or the other
of which states the subject's grandfather was
a -native. Grandfather Allen spent his early
life in Virginia, and about 1820 emigrated to
Ohio, settling in Perry county, where he fol
lowed the occupation of farming, and where
he also spent the remainder of his days. He
married in Virginia and reared a family of six
children, whose names are as follows: George,
James, Joseph, Sarah, Betsy and Eliza.
Joseph Allen, father of Francis M., was
reared and educated in Perry county, where,
early in life, he selected agricultural pursuits
as his occupation. He was united in marriage,
in March, 1844, to Nancy J. Stultz, daughter
of David and Mary (Philson) Stultz, who bore
him the following children: Nathaniel S. of
Portland, Ore. ; Francis M. whose name ap
pears at the head of this sketch; Greenburry
W., an attorney of Portland, Ore.; Lydia A.,
died in childhood; Mary M. and William F.,
who, at this time, lives on the old home farm.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Allen lived
two years in Perry county, and in 1 846 moved
to the county of Allen, locating on a farm
which he had previously purchased. It is a
fact worthy of note that Mr. Allen made his

14

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

first trip to his purchase in Allen county on
foot, and erected a small cabin in a dense for-
est for the reception of his young family, which
came later. Mr. Allen was a man of great in
dustry, developed a good farm, and was iden
tified with the agricultural interests of Allen
county for a period of eighteen years. Desir
ing more territory for his increasing family, Mr.
Allen, in 1863, sold his farm and moved to the
county of Van Wert and purchased a tract of
land in Pleasant township, all but a few acres
-of which was at that time covered with a
native forest. He cleared and improved this
place until it ranked among the best cultivated
farms in Pleasant township, or Van Wert
county, and by successful management suc
ceeded in accumulating a reasonable amount
of this world's goods. He was a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the
success of which he contributed liberally
of his means, and no man in the com
munity stood higher is the estimation of the
people than he. His death, which ' occurred
in December, 1891, was a loss not only to his
family and immediate friends, but to the com
munity in which he resided as well.
Mrs. Nancy J. Allen was born February 10,
1825, of Dutch-English ancestry, her parents
being among the earliest pioneers of Perry
county. She was left an orphan at the age of
ten years, and afterward made her home with
an uncle, George Stultz, until her marriage at
the date above mentioned. She is still living,
having reached the alloted age of three-score
and ten years, possesses, in a reasonable de
gree, her faculties physical and mental, and
makes her home with her son on the old home
stead in Pleasant township. She is also a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church
and has been for many years, and her daily
life exemplifies the religion which she pro
fesses. Francis M. Allen, second son of Joseph

and Nancy J. Allen, is a native of Allen
county, Ohio, and dates his birth from Janu
ary 28, 1848. Like that of the majority of
farmer boys his early life was uneventful, and
he grew to manhood, assisting his father, and
attending in the meantime the common schools
of his neighborhood. On attaining his major
ity, he selected agriculture for his occupation
and has followed the same with success and
financial profit ever since. In October, 1869,
he was united in marriage with Mary L. Troup,
daughter of Philip and Sarah (Balyeat) Troup,
of Van Wert. Mrs. Allen was born September
24, 1 85 1, in Richland county, Ohio, was a true
helpmate to her husband, a consistent member of
the Baptist church, and died in October, 1875.
She was the mother of three children, viz: Ida
V., wife Aaron Smith, of Union township; Har
riet A. , deceased ; and Orlin F. Mr. Allen's second
marriage was solemnized, in 1886, with Eliza
J. Balyeat, daughter of Aaron and Martha
(Larue) Balyeat, the union being blessed with
the birth of four children: Lawrence Russell,
Francis Larue, Harry Earl, and Marietta.
The mother of these children was born in Van
Wert county, May 23, 1851. (See sketch of
Balyeat family.)
In 1876, Mr. Allen purchased his present
beautiful home two miles west of the pity of
Van Wert, where he is living the life of a suc
cessful and progressive farmer. He takes an
active interest in all that pertains to the wel-
* fare of his community, and it is a compliment
well deserved to class him with the represent
ative men of the county of Van Wert. Mrs.
Allen is an active member of the Baptist
church, and with her husband belongs to
Pleasant grange, No. 399.
William F. Allen, also a son of Joseph and
Nancy J. Allen, was born in Allen county,
Ohio, in November, i860, and received his
education in the common schools of the county
of Van Wert, which he attended at intervals

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

15

during the years of his minority. He was
reared to agricultural pursuits, has always
followed the farmer's vocation, and now re
sides on; the old homestead, which he culti
vates, looking after the interest of his
mother in her old age. In March, 1881, he
married Harriet Sidel, daughter of James and
Elizabeth (Juven) Sidel, and his home is
brightened by the presence of three children,
Claud W., Perry J. J. and Margaret J. Mrs.
Allen was born September 24, 1862, in Fair
field county, Ohio.

kJ*^\ ICHARD ALLINGHAM, Jr. , a well-
I /^T known contractor and builder of Van
JL-P Wert, was born in Lancaster, Fair
field county, Ohio, January 26, 1854.
His parents, Richard and Anna (Knight)
Allingham, were born in Kent, England, the
former of May 15, 1808, and the latter in 1812.
They were married in 1830, and came to
America in 1840, locating in Lancaster, Ohio,
and became the parents of twelve children, all
of whom are now deceased, with the exception
of our subject, and Frank, a brickmason of
Van Wert. Richard, the father, was a nur
seryman, and as such was an assistant at Lan
caster until i860, when he moved to Camp
bell county, Ky., where he was employed in
his calling until 1881, when he had the mis
fortune to lose his eyesight, and made his
home with his sons in Van Wert until death,
September 15, 1895. In religion he was a
Presbyterian, and in politics a republican.
Richard Allingham, Jr., was six years old
when the family went to Kentucky, where he
was reared until he reached the age of seven
teen, when he went to Toledo, Ohio, where,
for some time, he worked as a brickmason;
later he worked at his trade in Defiance, Ohio,
and at Portland and at Fort Wayne, Ind. In
June, 1874, he came to Van Wert, and here

he has since been engaged at his trade and in
successfully contracting and building until the
present time. August 3, 1882, he married, in
Van Wert, Miss Sarah O'Day, who was born
in Fayette. county, Ohio, June 4, 1858, and is-
a daughter of James and Nancy (Beatty)
O'Day, also natives of this state. The fruit
of this union has been five children, viz: Will
iam (deceased), Maud, Earl, Richard and
Hugh L. Mr. Allingham has made himself
very popular since his residence in Van Wert,
has built up a good trade, and as a republican
has been elected a member of the city council,
in which office he is now serving his third
term. He is an active member of the Abenaki
tribe, No. 77, Improved Order of Red Men,
and in religion he and wife are consistent and
devoted members of the Lutheran church. He
owns a neat residence at the corner of Walnut
and First streets, and he and family are held
in high regard by their neighbors, as well as-
by the community at large.

m.

*ILLIAM ALSPACH, one of the
well-known citizens and farmers of
Washington township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, living two miles west
from Delphos, in section No. 22, is a native of
Ohio, having been born in Marion township,
Allen county, June 13, 1851. His parents
were Elias and Mary M. (Palmer) Alspach,
both natives of America, the father having
been born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and the
mother in Berkeley county, Virginia. Sebastian
Alspach, the grandfather of our subject, was a
native of Pennsylvania, and was an early set
tler of Ohio. Elias and Mary M. Alspach were
married in Perry county, Ohio, and then came
to Allen county, and located in Marion town
ship, about one mile from Delphos. In Au
gust, 1 85 1, he moved to Washington township,
Van Wert county, where he purchased a

16

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

quarter of a section of land, the same being
the place where our subject now lives, and
here lived and followed farming until his death
which occurred December 24, 1884, in his
sixty -sixth year. His widow is still living, and
makes her home with our subject. To these
parents eight children have been born, all of
whom are now living except next to the
eldest. The children were named as follows:
Sebastian, now a citizen of Lima; Christian,
deceased; Charles, farmer of Washington
township, Van Wert county; Christiana, now
the wife of G. H. Mallon, of Chicago; Se-
repta, now the wife of D. S. Carpenter, a
farmer of Washington township; William;
Mary E., wife of Louis Irick, of Delphos;
Lucy, the wife of A. E. Klinger, of Wood
county, Ohio.
William Alspach was reared on the farm
in Washington township, attended the district
schools, and secured a good education. He
remained on the home farm until about a year
before his father died, and then moved on fifty
acres he had purchased, which adjoined the
old farm. After his father's death the home
stead was sold and our subject bought it in,
and then moved back upon it and has since
resided there and followed farming. He now
owns a fine farm of 157 acres in section No.
22, all under fence and all improved.
Mr. Alspach was first married in 1875 to
Mary Clark, who was born in Fairfield county,
Ohio, and is the daughter of Emanuel Clark.
To this union four children were born, as fol
lows: Valerie, Thomas, Earnest, and Fred-
ick. His first wife died February 26, 1887,
and he next married, November 28, 1888,
Mrs. Ella Seitz, to which union two children
have been born — Marion and Loren. Mr.
Alspach has been a leading citizen of this
township, and has been quite active. He was
for some time engaged in the saw-mill and
stone-quarry business, but has sold out his

interests. He is a member of the democratic
party, and for four years served as trustee of
Washington township, making an able officer.

<-/^V ANIEL ALSPACH, deceased, pa-
I I ternal grandfather of Jeremiah J. and
{A^J Oliver O. Alspach, was born in
Berks county, Pa., May 15, 1792,
and was of German uarentage. At the age of
ten years he was brought to Ohio by his par
ents, who located in Fairfield county, and
there he learned the carpenter's trade. De
cember 20, 1 8 14, he married Miss Elizabeth
Runkle, who was born in Rockingham county,
Va., January 11, 1797, of Virginia parentage,
but of German descent. Elizabeth was also
brought, when young, to Fairfield county,
Ohio, by her parents. To the union of Dan
iel and Elizabeth were born fourteen children
in the following order: Elizabeth, died in in
fancy; Amos, a retired farmer of Wells connty,
Ind.; Jesse, deceased; Abraham B., an old
settler of Van Wert county,' Ohio; Nancy,
widow of Jacob Richmond, of Perry county;
Christine, deceased; Moses, deceased; Jere
miah, farmer, of Licking county; Henry K.,
farmer of Perry county; DeLeslie, who died
in infancy, Samuel, farmer of Perry county;
Joel, Reform minister, of Illinois; Sophia,
wife of John Castanian, farmer of Wyandot
county, and Daniel, who died in infancy.
After his marriage Daniel Alspach settled in
Jefferson township, Fairfield county, where he
followed his trade as carpenter until 1825,
when he bought a farm, which he cleared up
from the woods and resided on for five years;
in 1830 he sold and moved to Perry county,
where he bought another farm, and on this he
made his home until his death, which occurred
April 5, 1839; his widow survived until June
21, 1878, and both were consistent members
of the Reform church.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

17

Abraham B. Alspach, one of the old settlers
of Ridge township, Van Wert county, and a
son of Daniel and Elizabeth Alpach, was born
August 28, 1820, in Bloom township, Fairfield
county, was reared in Perry county, and Jnne
4, 1846, married Eliza Biemer, a native of the
county and of German descent. To this union
were born six children, viz: Mary, who died in
infancy; Arlo, who, died of diphtheria at the
age of six years; Clara E., widow of Edward
Long and now the wife of John McDonald, a
miller of Fairfield county; Viola, wife of William
Neel, of Perry county; Mary Eliza, wife of Henry
McDonald, a miller of Van Wert, and Daniel
H., a farmer of Van Wert county. After his
marriage, Abraham B. Alspach farmed until
1883, when he came to Van Wert county and
bought his present home. Here his wife died
January 6, 1885, and in March of the same
year Mr. Alspach married Mrs. Phebe C. (De-
Camp) Melchi, daughter of John and Lydia
C. (Williams) DeCamp, natives of New Jersey
and of French descent. Mrs. Phebe C. Alspach
was born in Van Wert county December 2,
1844, and became the mother of three children
by her ¦first husband — Frances, Charles and
John; and of two children by Mr. Alspach —
Abraham Guy, now nine years old, and Bessie
Caroline, aged seven years.

«y- * ENRY ALTHOEN, the leading hard-
|^\ ware merchant of Willshire, Van
A .r Wert county, Ohio, was born in
Bavaria, Germany, June 2, 1839, a
son of Philip and Lucetta (Morvilius) Althoen.
Philip Althoen, also a native of Bavaria, was
a tailor by trade, and carried on an extensive
business in his, own country. There were born
to his marriage two children, Henry and
Philipena, of whom the eldest is our subject.
The mother died in her native land, but her
.father, who had previously crossed the ocean

alone for the purpose of selecting a home in
the United States for him and family, was
seized with yellow fever and died near New
Orleans. Both parents were devoved adher
ents of the Lutheran church.
Henry Althoen, subject of this sketch, at
tended school in his native country until seven
teen years of age, when he came to America,
and until 1865 labored as a mechanic and con
ducted an undertaking business for the purpose
of accumulating sufficient money with which
to begin his present extensive enterprise, which
he established in 1873. He now owns a large
brick store-building in Willshire, supplied with
one of the largest and most complete lines of
hardware in the county; in addition to this
store, he has two large warehouses, filled with
wagons and agriculture implements, as diver
sified and complete as his hardware stock.
The marriage of Mr. Althoen took place, June
29, 1866, to Miss Anna E., daughter of Philip
Hill, and to this marriage have been born the
following children: Lucetta, Otto and Carl,
all deceased; Annie, Minnie, Edward (deceased),
Loretta M. and Freddie. In politics Mr.
Althoen is strongly democratic. He is now
filling his second term as township treasurer,
has been a councilman fifteen years, and has
filled a number of minor offices. He is liberal
in his religious views, while his wife is a con
sistent member of the Baptist church, which,
as well as the other churches, is freely aided
by Mr. Althoen in a pecuniary way. Fratern
ally, Mr. Althoen is a member of lodge No. 43,
A. F. & A. M., and also of the Willshire lodge
of the I. O. O. F. His residence is one of the
handsomest two-story brick dwellings in Will
shire, and his surroundings, social and do
mestic,, are all that man can desire. Mr.
Althoen is indeed the ' ' architect of his own
fortune," as he was alone and penniless when
reaching Cincinnati on his first coming to this
-country, and his wealth, now summing up to

18

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

$50,000, has all been gained through the ex
ercises of his own sound judgment, and the
practice of industry and economy. He is pub
lic-spirited and liberal in all things — especially
in his contributions to all projects conceived
and designed for the advancement of the town
ship and connty. As a friend of education he
is earnest and sincere, and has seen to it that
the members of his own family have had the
benefits of all the advantages for instruction
available.

OLIVER O. ALSPACH, manager of
John H. Kauke's extensive hardware
store, on the northeast corner of
Main and Washington streets, Van
Wert, Ohio, is a native of Perry county, Ohio,
was born November 24, 1857, and is a son of
4
Jesse and Eva (Long) Alspach. The father,
Jesse Alspach, son of Daniel Alspach, was also
a -native of Perry county, born in 18 13, was a
farmer, and died in Thorn township, Perry
county, in 1863, the father of five children,
viz: Benjamin, Elizabeth, Jeremiah, Allen
and Oliver O. The mother of these children
died in May, 1874, a member of the German
Reform church, to which her husband also
belonged. Oliver O. Alspach remained on the home
farm and attended the schools of the county
until 1877, and then passed two years in Del
aware college; returning to Perry county, he
was employed as a clerk in a hardware store
in Thornville until June, 1887, when he went
to Lima, Ohio, and clerked . in the hardware
store of W. K. Boone & Co. until February 6,
1888, and then came to Van Wert, and for
one year was manager for the J. H. Kauke
Hardware company; he then served as clerk and
book-keeper until the spring of 1892, when he
resumed the position of manager of the bus
iness, which covers about $40,000 per annum.

The salesroom and warehouse comprise three
floors, and the stock consists chiefly of build
ers' and other heavy hardware, cutlery and
glass, and is handled by four salesmen and
our subject.
The marriage of Mr. Alspach took place in
Perry county, Ohio, October 17, 1882, to Miss-
Sarah C. Rissler, a native of Fairfield county,
Ohio, born September 18, 1864, and a daugh
ter of Thomas J. and Melissa (Martin) Rissler,
the fruit of this union being one child — Jesse
Raymond — born August 12, 1889. Mr. and
Mrs. Alspach are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church. Politically he is a demo
crat, and fraternally is a commandery Mason.
He is also president of the Fraternal Building
& Loan association, has charge of a fine farm
of 120 acres in Ridge township, and also of
the Kauke mansion, and he has in every re
spect shown himself to be worthy of the con
fidence reposed in him.

EON. HIRAM CLARK GLENN.—
Ohio has been especially honored in
her public men. Not only is this
true of the state, but it is a fact
worthy of note that each of her several coun
ties has produced citizens whose names have
added honor to the communities in which they
lived and moved, and given additional luster
to Ohio's reputation among her sister states.
To this rule the county of Van Wert is no ex
ception, and it is doubtful if any of her citizens
have achieved as honorable mention, in public
or private life, as the gentleman, a brief epitome
of whose life is herewith presented.
Judge Hiram Clark Glenn is descended pa
ternally from Irish ancestry and traces the
family history back through several generations
to the old country, from which, in an early
day, his grandparents, Thomas and Nancy
Glenn, emigrated to the United States, settling,

GEORG1ANA C. GLENN.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

23

during the latter part of the seventeenth cen
tury, in Washington county, Pa. Subsequently,
about 1805, the family moved further west,
locating in Jefferson county, Ohio, where
Thomas Glenn purchased land and engaged in
the pursuit of agriculture, which vocation he
followed until his death, which occurred in the
year 1852. He served with distinction in the
war of 18 12, in the capacity of major, and a
son, John Glenn, also participated in the same
struggle, both taking an active part in several
campaigns. Politically, Thomas Glenn was
an ardent whig, and the Presbyterian church
represented his religious creed, with which
denomination his wife was also identified. To
Thomas and Nancy Glenn were born seven
children, whose names are as follows: John,
Alexander, James, William, Clark, Nancy and
Rebecca, only one of whom, Clark, a farmer,
of Knox county, 111., is living at this time.
William Glenn, the judge's father, grew to
manhood in Jefferson county, Ohio, attended
the pioneer schools of the neighborhood at
intervals during his minority, and remained
under the parental roof until his twenty-first
year, assisting his father on the farm in the
meantime. In 183 1, he was united in mar
riage with Priscilla Biddison, daughter of
Philip Biddison, of Ohio, and immediately
thereafter engaged in farming in Jefferson
county, where he continued to reside until his
removal, in 1837, to the county of Tuscarawas,
locating not far from the town of Lockport.
Subsequently, February, 1839, he became a
citizen of Van Wert county, settling first in
Harrison township and later, about 1847,
moved to a place at this time occupied by a
part of the city of Van Wert, where he resided
until becoming a resident of the city in 1850.
William Glenn was a man of excellent rep
utation, possessed, in a marked degree, the
esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens,
and left as a heritage to his family a name
s

against which not the slightest breath of sus
picion was ever uttered. His death occurred
in Van Wert May 18, 1856; his faithful com
panion survived him a number of years, de
parting this life on the 24th day of January,
1892. The following are the names of their
children: Philip B., killed April 6, 1862, in
the battle of Shiloh; Rebecca J., deceased;
Hiram C, and Edith P., who died in 1865.
Hiram Clark Glenn was born in Tuscara
was county, Ohio, October 8, 1838, and when
only four months old was brought by his par
ents to Van Wert county. His early literary
education embraced the branches taught in
the public schools of Van Wert, in which he
made commendable progress, and this supple
mented by subsequent study and wide general
reading, has made him not only a good scholar,
but a broad-minded, intelligent man of affairs.
When twenty years of age he turned his atten
tion to teaching, which profession he followed
in this county several years, a part of the time
in the city of Van Wert, where he earned the
reputation of an efficient and painstaking in
structor. Not being satisfied with the educa
tional field as a life work, Mr. Glenn next en
gaged in journalism, and for about one year
was editor of the Van Wert Bulletin, a local
sheet which gained for him some reputation as
a writer. Later he yielded to a desire of long
standing to enter the legal profession, and, in
1865, began the study of the same under the
efficient instruction of J. H.' Kroh, a promi-
inent lawyer of Van Wert, in whose office he
remained for a period of one year, subsequently
pursuing his reading with Judge O. W. Rose,
with whom he remained until his admission to
the bar in the fall of 1867. Soon after engag
ing in the practice of his profession Mr. Glenn
was elected justice of the peace for Pleasant
township and Van Wert, the duties of which
position he discharged in an eminently satis
factory manner until 1870, in which year he

¦24

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

turned his attention entirely to the law and
soon succeeded in building up a lucrative prac
tice in Van Wert and adjoining counties. In
1879 he effected a co-partnership with Hon.
G. M. Saltzgaber, with whom he was associ
ated for a period of ten years, under the firm
name of Saltzgaber & Glenn, doing a large
business in the meantime, and gaining much
more than a local reputation as a safe coun
selor and successful practitioner.
Upon the dissolution of the above partner
ship. Judge Glenn became associated with W.
S. Johnson, under the firm name of Glenn &
Johnson, which lasted two years, when the
latter ietired, Mr. Glenn continuing the prac
tice alone until 1893, at which time the law
firm of Glenn "& Wolcott was established, H.
K. Wolcott becoming his partner. The part
nership thus formed continued until Mr. Wol-
cott's removal from Van Wert, in 1895, but
in the meantime Mr. Glenn was appointed, by
Governor McKinley, to fill the vacancy as
common pleas judge caused by the resig
nation of Judge Day, of Celina. The
duties of this honorable position he dis
charged in such a satisfactory manner as
to elicit the highest praise from his official as
sociates, and those having business to transact
in his court. As an evidence of the ability
with which he discharged his official functions
the following complimentary notices from the
courts of Mercer and Van Wert counties are
respectively cited:
"In his short career as common pleas
judge, Mr. Gleen has gained an enviable rep
utation. His decisions have been uniformly
just and in compliance with his extensive
knowledge of the law. It is no wonder that
the lawyers honor him. At a meeting of the
Mercer county bar, held on Friday evening,
December 16, 1892, the following was unan
imously adopted and ordered to be recorded
in the minutes of the court as a part of that
day's proceedings:

"Whereas, The Hon. H. C. Glenn, long
an honored member of the bar and now judge
of the common pleas, retires from the bench
thereof, "Resolved, That we cheerfully express
our appreciation of his services, singleness of
purpose, and honest and efficient labor in the
most important tribunal of the state; that dur
ing his official life he has maintained, in an
eminent degree, judicial integrity and upright
character, and on his retirement from the
bench and resumption of the practice of his
profession, we wish him that success which his
learning and gentlemanly qualities entitle him.
' ' Resolved, That copies of the above be
furnished by the clerk of court to the press
of Mercer and Van Wert counties for publi
cation. "
The following worthy tribute is from records
of the Van Wert bar:
' ' This day being the occasion of the end
of the present term of court held by the Hon.
H. C. Glenn, judge, we, the undersigned
members of the bar of Van Wert, practicing in
the court of Judge Glenn, hereby desire to
express our high appreciation of his judicial
services For his continuous urbanity, for his
diligent labors, for his uprightness, intelligence
and ability, and for his impartiality in the dis
charge of his duty while on the bench, he is
deserving the thanks of suitors and the public,
and the attorneys who have been privileged to
practice before him. In whatever sphere of
life duty may call him, we earnestly hope that
Judge Glenn may find it to him useful, honor
able, profitable and pleasant. W. H. Daily,
G. L. Marble, S. S. Burtsfield, H. G. Richey,
W. H. Alexander, Clem V. Hoke, C. M. Sut-
phen, G. M. Saltzgaber, H. Kemper, C. V.
Fromme, H. W. Blachley, John Darnell, H.
K. Wolcott, J. Y. Todd, W. J. Beers."
Addition to his professional career, Judge
Glenn has a business record of which any man
might feel deservedly proud. He was one of
the original stockholders of the Van Wert
Gas Light company, and has served as presi
dent of the same ever since its organization,
being at this time sole owner of the plant.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

25

The city of Van Wert has ever found in him a
warm friend and a liberal patron of every en
terprise having for its object the public good,
and to many of the unfortunate of the com
munity he has proven himself, on more occa
sions than the public is aware, a friend indeed.
Politically the judge is a firm adherent to the
principles of the republican party, and as such
has been a potent factor in a number of cam
paigns, having for years been an active worker,
not only in local politics, but state and national
as well. As already stated, one of the judge's first
official positions was that of justice of the
peace; he also held the office of township
clerk three terms, and from 1870 to 1872 was
mayor of Van Wert, beside holding minor
positions, among which was that of member of
the school board, in which capacity he did
much to advance the educational interests of
the community. In 1884 he was his party's
nominee for congress in what is now the xth
district, but while suffering defeat in the gen
eral landslide of that year, was complimented
by a vote 1,500 in excess of the general ticket,
a fact which speaks much for his popularity
with the masses.
Judge Glenn is prominently identified with
the Odd Fellows' fraternity, in which he has
served as deputy grand master, and is now
chairman of the board of trustees of the State
Orphans' home of the order. He is also a
member of the I. O. R. M. As stated in a
previous paragraph, Judge Glenn is a wide
reader; and that he is acquainted with the
best authors is attested by his library, which is
considered the best collection of standard
works in the city. The judge was married in
Richland county, August 16, 1865, to Georgi-
ana C. Baughman, whose birth occurred in the
town of Plymouth, Ohio, February 3, 1846.
Mrs. Glenn is the daughter of Daniel and
Elizabeth (Armstrong) Baughman, natives of

Pennsylvania, and has proved a most valuable
helpmate and companion, and not a little of
her husband's success in life is directly attribu
table to her wise counsel and encouragement.
The marriage of Judge and Mrs. Glenn resulted
in the birth of three children, all deceased, but
they have since reared an adopted daughter,
who is now the wife of M. B. Evers, Jr., of
Van Wert.
In all his public relations, Judge Glenn is
recognized as possessing a strong sense of truth
and justice, and as endeavoring to shape his
life according to these principles. As a lawyer
he is a methodical and systematic, and dis
tinguished in his profession for his ' .tiring
industry and an ambition to excel. . ba
safe counselor, possesses the rare .alt/ of
being able so to probe questions of lavv as to
command the respect of the court and his pro
fessional associates, and his conduct toward
his adversaries is noted for courtesy and fair
ness, never permitting his zeal to induce him
to seek success by disreputable practice. He
possesses a strong personality and dignified
presence, impresses all with whom he comes
in contact as a gentleman by nature and of
strict integrity, and he enjoys, in full measure,
the confidence of his fellow-citizens. Such,
in brief, are the leading facts and character
istics of one of Van Wert's most honored citi
zens, and it is with pleasure that this tribute
to his worth as a man and citizen is given a
place in this volume.

at

ILI IAM ANDERSON, deceased,
wa born in Ohio June 22, 181 3,
was reared on a farm, and at the
age of twenty-one years embarked
in the mercantile trade near Wooster, Ohio,
where he remained until 1856, when he came
to Van Wert, and resumed his business as a
merchant, continuing in trade until his a. h,

26

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

when impaired health compelled him to retire.
He was a prominent member of the republican
party, and shortly after his retirement from
business he was elected by that party to the
office of county clerk, and it was while he was
filling this position that he died, October 17,
i860. He had married, in New Pittsburg,
Pa., Amelia Goodfellow, a daughter of Judge
Goodfellow, of Wooster, Ohio; by this mar
riage were born two children — Agnes J., de
ceased, and William Goodfellow. After the
death of his first wife, Mr. Anderson, on June
7, 1850, wedded Miss Mary West, who was
born in Wayne county, Ohio, January 16,
1 83 1, a daughter of Clement and Anna (Mc-
Manus) West. Clement West was born in
Pennsylvania and his wife in New Jersey, but
were married in Wayne county, where Mr.
West was employed in farming. In 1839 Mr.
West and his family moved to Richland county,
Ohio, thence to Allen county, Ind., where the
father died, and also the mother, in 1834.
They were the parents of five children, viz:
Abigail and Lydia, deceased; Leisure, of
Kansas; Mary (Mrs. Anderson), and William,
deceased. William Anderson had born to him, by his
marriage to Miss West, three children, named
as follows: William H., deceased; Clara, at
home, and Minnie, deceased. In his religious
views Mr. Anderson was a Presbyterian and
fraternally was an Odd Fellow; in addition to
his position of county clerk, he filled, at the
time of his death the office of justice of the
peace, and he was able to leave his widow and
her children in comfortable circumstances.

HDAM ARMSTRONG, one of the sub
stantial farmers of Washington town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a
son of Thomas and Sarah A. (Saum)
Armstrong, and was born November 4, 1847,

in Delaware county,. descending from one of
the oldest pioneers of the state who was of
Scotch-Irish descent.
The great-grandfather of our subject was
one of the original pioneers of Ross county,
Ohio, and there met his death at the hands of
the blood-thirsty redskins. He was a com
panion of the famous hunters and scouts,
Daniel Boone and Lewis Wetzel.
John Armstrong, grandfather of our subject,
was a native of Virginia, whence he moved to
Kentucky and thence came to Ohio with the
pioneers, and was married in this state to
Malinda Hinton. The Hintons were a quite
wealthy family and owned the first stage line
between Columbus and Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Mr. Armstrong was a gallant soldier in the
war of 18 12; he was also an expert salt-maker
and passed twenty years of his earlier manhood
in the Kenawha salt works, but later made his
home in Knox county, Ohio. To the marriage
of Mr. and Mrs. John Armstrong were born
the following children: Henry, Thomas,
Joshua, George, John, Charles, Mary, Susan
and Rachael. The father of this family died
in Knox county at the age of about eighty-
four years, honored as a pioneer and venerated
and respected as a man.
Thomas Armstrong, father of Adam, our
subject, was born at the Kanawha salt works,
Va. (now W. Va.), January 27, 18 14. He
was reared a farmer, and received the usual
education attainable by farm lads at that
early day. His marriage took place in Knox
county, Ohio, in 1844, with Sarah Saum,
a daughter of Adam and Margaret Saum,
of Virginia, the union resulting in the birth
of nine children, of whom four lived to ma
turity, viz: John, Lafayette, Adam and
Ellen. After marriage Mr. Armstrong resided
one year in Knox county, then for a short
time in Delaware county, Ohio, and 1847
came to Van Wert county, purchasing 1 70,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

27

acres of land in the wftods of Washington
township, on a part of which the city of Mid
dlepoint has since been built; a few years later,
about 185 1 or 1852, he purchased 212 acres
of his present farm, to which he removed at
once. This land was all in the woods, one
small spot only being cleared. He proceeded
to clear away the remainder, with the excep
tion of 120 acres, and continued to add to his
estate until he owned over 300 acres of fine
farming land, of which he has given his chil
dren a goodly portion. Mr. Armstrong is
recognized as one of the pioneers of the county,
there having been but few houses in the city of
Van Wert at that time. He has done a vast
amount of hard labor, and the township is
greatly indebted to him for its development
from the forest into its present agricultural and
civilized condition. Of his children, John is a
substantial farmer and is settled on the home
farm; Lafayette is settled near by; Adam is
the subject of this sketch, and his daughter
Ellen is married to L. D. Moore, a school
teacher and farmer of Ridge township, Van
Wert county. The mother of this family was
laid in her grave some twenty years ago, but
the father still survives to enjoy the love and
esteem of all who know him.
Adam Armstrong, with whose name this
biographical record opens, was but a babe in
arms when brought to Washington township
by his parents in 1847. In this township he
has passed his entire life, attending the dis
trict schools and working on his father's farms
in the woods among the pioneers, and under
going many of the privations of early frontier
life. This life, however, hardened his muscles
and early inured him to toil, and when old
enough he began his business life, for his own
account. April 19, 1882, he married, in
Allen county, Ohio, Miss Mary Reeder, daugh
ter of George and Rebecca (Manning) Reeder.
George Reeder was a farmer, was a volunteer

in a regiment from Ohio in the late Civil war
and died in the service, leaving his widow and
a child, now Mrs. Armstrong, to mourn his
loss. The widow Reeder subsequently mar
ried John Hepfer, a cooper by trade and now
living in Delphos, Ohio, and to this marriage
have been born three children, Eliza, John and
Melvin Hepfer, all of whom, however, are
now deceased. To the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Armstrong have been born six children, viz:
Etta, Chester, Rossie (died at eight and a
half-years of age), Bessie, Otis (died at four
years) and Francis.
After marriage Mr. Armstrong settled on
his present farm, which he had purchased
when it was a vast wilderness. But Mr. Arm
strong had been trained to frontier farming
and soon elevated this farm to a state that
compared favorably with any other in the
township, thoroughly draining, tiling and oth-
wise improving it. His dwelling, out-build
ings, etc, are all any reasonable man could
desire, notwithstanding the fact that he has
been greatly afflicted for the past twelve years
with rheumatism and heart trouble; yet he
bears his affliction with christian resignation
and cheerfulness, and with these exceptions is
as comfortably situated as the majority of
mankind even hope to be. He is a man of
undoubted integrity and stands high in the es
teem of his neighbors, with whom he ranks,
although quite a youngster when he came here,
as among the "old settlers" of Washington
township.

sr

ILLIAM H. AYERS, farmer and
stock raiser of Liberty township,
also trustee of the same, is of Ger
man-Irish descent, both branches
of the family having settled in Pennsylvania
many years ago. His grandfather, James M.
Ayers, a native of Wayne county, Pa., mar-

28

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ried Jane Richie, and a few years later immi
grated to Ohio, settling in Ashland county,
where he was an early pioneer. His son,
Cyrus Ayers, father of William H., was born
June 20, 1826, in the county of Ashland. He
was a farmer, and after his marriage, Septem
ber 5, 1848, with Rachael Butler, settled in
Ashland county, thence in 1850 moved to the
county of Van Wert and entered forty acres
of land in the township of Liberty, which
forms a part of the farm now owned by the
subject of this sketch. Cyrus Ayers was a dem
ocrat in politics and a minister of the regular
Baptist church, to which he was expecting to
devote his life. On the 3rd of April, 1858,
while felling timber, he was caught by a fall
ing tree, and his spinal column broken; he
lived, in great agony, for seventeen days after
the accident, and his death was a great loss,
not only to his immediate family, but to the
community as well. His widow is still living.
Following are the names of the children of
Cyrus and Rachael Ayers, together with the
dates of birth: Martha J., July 9, 1849;
James M., January 2, 1851; William H., Sep
tember 2, 1853; Cyrus S., January 28, 1857,
died October 3, 1862, and Rachael M., whose
birth occurred March 19, 1859. The parents
of Mrs. Ayers were John and Mary (Lindsey)
Butler, the father a native of Bedford county,
Pa., and the mother of Tuscarawas county,
Ohio. William H . Ayers, whose name introduces this
biography, and the date of whose birth is noted
in the preceding paragraph, is one of the lead
ing farmers of the township of Liberty, and
has devoted his attention to agriculture ever
since beginning life for himself. He was mar
ried October 30, 1878, to Alvina VanGundy,
daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth (Exline)
VanGundy, the parents natives, respectively,
of Ross county, Ohio, and Bedford county, Pa.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ayers the

following children have been born: Vernon
M., September 2, 1879; Emery L., October
1, 1 881; Orley, March 21, 1884; Tony G.,
September 12, 1887; Ethel B. E., December
1, 1889, and Agnes E. M., November 7, 1892,
all living. Mr. Ayers has been successful, financially,
and has a well cultivated farm of 240 acres.
He was elected as a democrat to the office of
township clerk, the duties of which position he
discharged satisfactorily for two terms, and for
three years served as treasurer of his township ;
he also held the office of township trustee two
terms and is the present incumbent. Mr.
Ayers was nominated by acclamation for the
office of county commissioner, but went down
with his party, which was defeated that year,
not only in Liberty township, but throughout
the entire county. He was never defeated for
office in his own township, which fact may be
taken as an evidence of the confidence which
the people repose in him. In religion he ac
cords the utmost liberty to all, and fraternally
is a member of Liberty grange, No. 322,
P. of H.

>-j*ESSE W. BAIRD, a well known citi-
A zen of Van Wert, was born in Beaver
A 1 county, Pa., November 11, 1842. His
father was James Baird and died in
1872. His mother, Margaret (Warwick)
Baird, was born in 18 13 and is still living in
Jennings township, Van Wert county. Jesse
Baird, our subject, when but nine years of age
was brought by his father to Jennings town
ship, Van Wert county, where Mr. Baird was
reared by one of the pioneers of that township,
as at that time there were no roads save those
that were blazed through the woods, and not
a school-house nor church was in the town
ship. It was here in the woods that Mr.
Baird secured his early training in industry and

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

29

economy, which has guided his steps to a great
extent through life. He attended the district
schools during the winter seasons, taking the
advantage of the best means at hand, and,
being of a studious disposition and having a
retentive mind, laid by the usual fund of
knowledge it was possible to obtain in those
days. He worked on his father's farm until
June, 1862, when he answered his country's
call for troops and enlisted in the Eighty-first
Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until peace
was declared, taking part in eighteen general
engagements, also the siege of Atlanta, and
marched with Sherman to the sea and from
there through the Carolinas to peace, coming
out with three gun-shot wounds.
After the war was over Mr. Baird returned
to Jennings township and went upon a farm,
and has since purchased a farm near Van
Wert. On October 23, 1872 he married Mary
E. Bush who was born in Fayette county,
Ohio, on June 6, 1855 and had come to Jen
nings township with her parents when she was
quite young. Her father R. E. Bush is still
living in Jennings township; her mother,
Elizabeth (Powell) Bush, died in 1888. After
his marriage Mr. Baird continued on his farm
until 1877, when he gave way to the allure
ments of a political career and entered the
arena, having been nominated for the office of
county recorder on the democratic ticket.
After a lively campaign he was elected by a
majority of 100. In 1890 he was renominated
and elected by the next largest majority ever
given to any candidate on the democratic
ticket in the county. His second term expired
in 1893 an(^ he retired from the arena, but
still retains his interest in politics. He lives
in Van Wert, visiting frequently his fine farm,
which is only two miles from town. His
family consists of four bright aim able children:
Margaret Elizabeth, who is the wife of Frank
P. Edson, who was until recently deputy

county auditor and whose sketch will appear
elsewhere in this volume; Effie Elmira, Wilda
Thurman and James Richard.

HE BALYEAT FAMILY is of French
origin, and the earliest authentic men
tion of the name is traceable as far
back as the year 481, at which time it
appears that one Balliet, as originally pro
nounced, was an officer on the army of King
Ludwig of France. The offspring of this Bal
liet lived in the southern part of France, and
many years later the name appears to have
been closely interwoven with the history of the
Huguenots. Among those who escaped the
massacre of St. Bartholomew was one Jacob
Balliet, who, with his family and others as
unfortunate, but equally as fortunate, was
obliged to travel in a single season over 800
miles until they reached a Protestant village
by the name of Schaltbaugh, province of Salm,
where he found refuge from his relentless per
secutors. Here the family lived nntil the afore
said province again came under the control of
France, when the former massacre was re
peated, a number of the Balliets falling victims,
while others escaped, making their way to dif
ferent countries of Europe and to America.
As early as the year 1738 Paul and Joseph
Balliet, grandsons of the aforesaid Jacob, came
to America from the province of Alsace and
settled in Pennsylvania, the descendants of the
former locating in what was then Whitehall
county, and those of the latter in what has
since been known as the county of Northum
berland. From the most reliable information obtain
able, it appears that the above Josept Balyeat,
as the name was afterward spelled, became
the progenitor of that branch of the family of
the United States to which the families of Van
Wert county belongs. One of the direct de-

30

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

scendants of Joseph, if not his son, was Leon
ard Balyeat, who was born in Pennsylvania
February 27, 1758, and who reared a family
consisting of the following-named children:
John, Stephen, Leonard, Daniel, Eve, Joseph,
George, Henry, Jonas, Jacob and David.
From what can be learned of the Balyeats
during the early history of the family in the
United States, they all appear to have been
men of unusual physical vigor, with strong,
well-knit bodies, while their morality and integ
rity, inherited from a deeply religious and
highly honored ancestry, have been reproduced
in their descendants down to the present time.
Jonas Balyeat, ninth in order of birth of
the above-mentioned children of Leonard Bal
yeat, was born February 27, 1798, in Pennsyl
vania, and came west to Ohio as early as the
year 1820, settling in Richland county, but
seven and a half miles east of Mansfield, where
he became a large land owner. He married
Catherine Hum, and raised a large family,
eighteen children in all, whose names are as
follows: David, died in 1892; Jacob, a resident
of Van Wert county; Abraham, ex-county .
treasurer, died shortly after elected to that
office; Jonathan, a farmer near Middlebury,
Ind. ; Sarah, the deceased wife of Philip Troup;
Aaron, a retired citizen of Van Wert; Eliza,
wife of Aaron Hoover; John, deceased, aged
five years; Moses, a resident of La Grange,
Ind. ; Joseph, deceased; Phoebe, the wife of
Philip Troup; Benjamin, who enlisted in the
ninety-day service in the late war and died at
Point Lookout; Joshua and Caleb, twins, both
deceased; Emanuel, farmer in Harrison town
ship; Reuben; Mary, the wife of John Patter
son, and Marquis De Lafayette, deceased.
The parents of this large family were well
known and highly respected people of Richland
county, and for moral worth and the upbuild
ing of the community, none stood higher. They
were both active members of the Baptist

church from early life and reared their large
family under the influence of the church of
their choice, and they all followed in later
years their early teaching. Mr. and Mrs.
Balyeat lived to an extended longevity, and
died respectively at the ages of eighty-nine
years and eighty years. Mr. Balyeat was a
whig in politics and took an active part in the
same, although not an office seeker; he was
one of the liberal contributors to all public
enterprises, and none took a deeper interest in
matters educational than he and his most
worthy companion.

HBRAHAM BALYEAT, deceased, late
a popular citizen of Van Wert county,
and third son of Jonas and Catherine
Balyeat, was born August 22, 1823,
in the county of Richland. He was reared to
manhood in his native county, attended the
country schools and the Granville academy,
and in 1846 became a resident of Van Wert
county, locating in the township of Harrison,
where he purchased eighty acres of land. To
his original purchase he made additions from
time to time until he became the possessor of
over 400 acres, a part of which he afterward
divided among his children, retaining for him
self a farm of 240 acres which was his home
until the time of his death.
Mr. Balyeat was one of the daring spirits
who went overland, in 1850, to the gold fields
of California, where for two years he sought a
fortune in the mines, meeting with only fair
success in the venture. Returning to Van
Wert county, he resumed the pursuit of agricul
ture, which he followed with most encouraging
results until his death; he also taught school
for a number of years, and his success in
educational work is attested by the fact of his
having been employed for many successive
terms in the same locality.

"•>,..

MRS. SARAH ^BALYEAT.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

35

On the 13th of May, 1852, Mr. Balyeat
and Sarah Slater, who was born November
26, 1829, in Pennsylvania, entered into the
marriage relation, a union that resulted in the
birth of the following children: Oscar A.,
attorney of Van Wert; Mariette, deceased;
Leonidas, who lives on the home place; John
S., of Kansas; Stephen, traveling salesman;
Frank, of Pleasant township; Sherman, busi
ness man of Van Wert, member of the mercan
tile firm of J. F. Sidle & Co. ; Charles, sales
man in the clothing store of H. Davies, of
Van Wert, and Orah, wife of J. A. McCoy.
In the above children have been re-produced
the many noble traits of their parents, and
their lives reflect credit on a family noted so
long for its many virtues.
In many respects Abraham Balyeat was
much more than an ordinary man, honorable
and upright in all his dealings, and as a neigh
bor and citizen none stood higher in the esti
mation of the public than he. From his
youth he endeavored to shape his life accord
ing to the principles of morality, which insure
good citizenship, and his example should
encourage every aspiring youth to feel that
whatever the future has in store, perseverance,
with a conscientious regard for truth, will inevit
ably win a just reward. His life never de
viated from the rigid rule of honor that ought
to govern every true man; in religion he was
a Baptist. Mr. Balyeat was elected to the office of
county commissioner and served for three
years, and was also for three years a director
of the county infirmary, and was further
honored by being elected treasurer of Van
Wert county, which office he was not per
mitted to assume, owing to his death, which
occurred six weeks before the time for taking
charge of the same. He died suddenly on
July 25, 1 881. He also served his country
during the late Rebellion as second lieutenant in

company I of the One Hundred and Thirty-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry.
Since the death of Mr. Balyeat, his widow
has managed the estate, which she divided
among the children in 1893. She is a woman
of most excellent judgment and a devout mem
ber of the Baptist church, and her home at
this time is in the city of Van Wert.

OSCAR ADDISON BALYEAT, attor
ney at law and ex-mayor of Van
Wert, is the son of Abraham and
Sarah Balyeat and was born in the
county of Van Wert April 30, 1853. His early
school experience embraced the studies per
taining to the educational course prescribed
by the common schools, and at the age of
nineteen he began teaching. His success in
educational work is fairly evinced by his fre
quent employment as instructor in the same
locality, and for a period of eleven years he
had charge of schools in his own and neighbor
ing townships. In March, 1882, Mr. Balyeat
became asssitant in the Patrons' warehouse in
Van Wert, and six months later was promoted
superintendent of the same, discharging the
duties of the latter position most efficiently for
one year. In October, 1883, he was chosen
deputy clerk of the Van Wert courts, in which
capacity he continued over six years, or until
the spring of 1890.
In April, 1890, Mr. Balyeat was elected,
on the republican ticket, mayor of Van Wert,
defeating his competitor by the largest major
ity ever received by a candidate for that office
in the city, and so ably did he discharge his
official functions that, at the ensuing election,
he was re-elected to the same position, which
he filled most acceptably to all concerned for
a period of four years. On leaving the mayor
alty, Mr. Balyeat began the study of law in
the office of H. G. Richie, of Van Wert, and

36

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

is now giving his entire attention to the
legal profession, in which he has already made
commendable progress. He has always taken
an active interest in politics and is one of the
republican leaders in Van Wert county. He
is a shrewd politician, and the success of his
party in several hotly contested campaigns has
been largely due to his advice and skillful man
agement, and at this time he holds the re
sponsible position of chairman of the county
central committee.
Personally Mr. Balyeat is quite popular
and he has been solicitous to do everything
within his power to promote the best interests
of the place of his residence; he is regarded as
a useful citizen and esteemed as a clever, ge
nial gentleman. Fraternally he belongs to the
K. of P., in which he has held high official
position; he is also prominently identified with
the I. O. R. M.
Mr. Balyeat was married November 16,
1882, to Lottie E. Redrup, daughter of James
and Ann (Phelps) Redrup, of Richland county,
Ohio. Mrs. Balyeat was born in the county
of Richland, August 20, 1862, is the mother
of three children — Ira G., Eva, and Forest
S. — and is prominent in society work, both in
the church and lodge.

QOSES BALYEAT, a representative
citizen of La Grange, Ind., and the
ninth child of Jonas Balyeat, was
born November 27, 1831, in Rich
land county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood.
He was reared upon his father's farm, and re
ceived his education in the common schools,
remaining under the parental roof until his
majority. Then he began life on his own ac
count as a farmer, having chosen that as his
life-calling. He married, in July, 1852, Miss
Eliza Hershey, daughter of Benjamin and

Mary (Harnly) Hershey, both of German ex
traction. Mr. Balyeat soon after his marriage re
moved to Ashland county, Ohio, remaining
there until the spring of 1865, when he located
in Van Wert county. Late in the fall of the
same year he removed to Elkhart county, Ind.,
purchasing land near Middlebury and there he
resided until the spring of 1870, when he sold
his land and located near LaGrange, where be
followed agricultural life until 1887. Then he
sold his farm and removed to LaGrange, where
for the past six years he has been court bailiff
and janitor of the court house.
Early in life Mr. Balyeat identified himself
with the Baptists, and ever since then has
been a leading member of his church, that is
for more than fifty years. His wife was alsO
a member of the same church for many years,
having joined in 1858. Mr. Balyeat cast his
first presidential vote, and last democratic
vote, for Franklin Pierce, in 1852, having since
that time been a consistent and strong repub
lican. He also voted for Jonn Sherman in
his first race for congress. Thus it may almost
be said that he has been a life-long republican.
Mr. and Mrs. Balyeat became the parents
of six daughters, viz: Lydia R. , wife of Sam
uel B. Smith; Hulda H., deceased wife of D.
D. D. Free; Catherine. G., wife of William
Wert; Mary, wife of J. W. Pownall; Lida;
and Grace M., wife of J. L. Wallace. The
mother of these children died June 27, 1892,
aged sixty years. Mr. Balyeat is a good citi
zen, and a charitable, kind-hearted man, and
has the respect and good will of all that
know him.
Jonathan Balyeat, son of Jonas Balyeat,
was born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1823,
and was reared to manhood on the home farm.
His education was obtained in the schools of
the day, and by private reading and study.
Upon attaining his majority he made the wise

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

37

choice of agriculture as his life work, and while
yet a young man, married Miss Margaret Gates,
of Richland county, to which marriage there
were born eight children, as follows: Alcesta,
John W., Catherine, Marion, Anna, Walter
A., Edmond A. and Frank. Mr. Balyeat re
moved to Van Wert county in 1848, thus be
coming one of the early pioneers of that
county. There he resided until 1865, when
he removed to Elkhart county, Ind., where he
has lived ever since, and where he has long
been known as one of the leading citizens of
his township and county. In politics he has
always been a republican and in religion a
Baptist, being looked upon by his fellow-
churchmen as a pillar in the church.

>rr*ACOB BALYEAT, second son of Jonas
A and Catherine Balyeat, was born in
toy Richland county, Ohio, April 30, 1821,
and there remained until his twenty-
third year, assisting his father on the farm and
attending such schools as the county afforded,
in the meantime leaving the parental fireside ;
he went to the city of Mansfield, where he re
mained two months, and while there learned
the shoemaker's trade. He married, in May,
1844, Frances Thomas, daughter of Michael
and Elizabeth Thomas. Subsequently about
1847, Mr. Balyeat moved his family to Van
Wert county, settling in Pleasant township,
where he opened a farm.
Mr. and Mrs. Balyeat knew not what it
was to -eat the bread of idleness, and the first
few years in their new home were fraught with
hardships and privations, before which many
people of less determination would have shrunk
appalled. Mr. Balyeat states that he was ob
liged to go a long distance in order to obtain
breadstuffs, beside encountering many other
difficulties incident to life in a new country of

which the present generation has no adequate
conception. With an energy born of a deter
mination to succeed, he prosecuted his labors
vigorously and in due season saw the re'ward of
his persistent toil in a beautiful country home,
where he is passing the declining years of a
long and useful life. Mr. Balyeat's integrity
has never been questioned, and his high sense
of honor and fair treatment of his fellow-men
have for years been proverbial in the county.
Mr. and Mrs. Balyeat, have a family consisting
of the following children: Jonas; Philip; Amanda
Ellen, wife of S. M. Gilliland; Melvin; Michael
T. ; Mary L., wife of Greenberry Sommerset;
Anna, wife of Samuel Gilliland; Frances, who
married J. J. Vorp; Luman, and Viola deceased.
The parents of Mrs. Balyeat, Michael and
Elizabeth Thomas, had twelve children namely;
Mrs. Sarah Balyeat, deceased; Jonathan; Eliza
beth, deceased; Philip; Michael; George, de
ceased; Nancy; George; John; Katie, deceased;
Mary; and Isaac, deceased. Both of above
parents died in Ashland county.
Mr. Balyeat is a republican and owns 178
acres of land in Ridge township, where he lo
cated in 1 86 1.

£~V J. BALYEAT, of Pleasant township,
•^^^i* Van Wert county, was born in Ash-
N^y land county, Ohio, in 185 1, a son of
David and Sarah (Thomas) Balyeat,
the former a native of Pennsylvania, and a son
of Jonas Balyeat, whose genealogy is to be
found with that of the Balyeat family, in ad
jacent parts of this volume.
David Balyeat, eldest son of Jonas, was
reared a frontier farmer and was educated in
the schools of Richland county, Ohio. In 1841
he married Sarah Thomas, and to this union
were born the following children: Lavina,
who died in infancy; Elizabeth, wife of N. S.
Allen, of Oregon; Reuben, of Oklahoma; S.

38

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

J., subject of this sketch; Alfred I., on the
home farm; Emma, deceased wife of Mr.
Langthon Wiseman, of Van Wert county,
Ohio; Clinton and Addison, both deceased.
After marriage David Balyeat lived for ten
years on a farm he had purchased in Ashland
¦county, and was esteemed a highly useful citi
zen as well as successful farmer; in 1852 he
sold his place and came to Van Wert county
and purchased a farm in Pleasant township
(on which his son, Alfred I., still makes his
home), on which he lived and labored until his
death, which occurred November 9, 1891, be
ing followed to the grave by his estimable wife
February 17, 1894. In politics Mr. Balyeat
was a vigorous republican, by which party he
was elected to nearly all the local offices within
its gift, and he was ever faithful and upright
in the performance of every duty. In religion,
both Mr. and Mrs. Balyeat were members of
Baptist church, and their lives were consistent
with their professions. Mr. Balyeat was one
of the progressive and enterprising citizens of
his time and had the confidence and esteem of
all who knew him, and his work tells the story
of a well-spent life.
S. J. Balyeat, like his ancestors, was reared
to agricultural pursuits, and began his school
studies in a log school-house, and continuing
his lessons until they were terminated in the
modern frame that replaced the old log struc
ture. His. marriage took place, in 1878, to
Mary Leslie, daughter of George and Nancy
(Henderson) Leslie, and born in Van Wert
county, in 1857; here she became a successful
and popular school-teacher for four years pre
vious to her marriage. To this union have
been born five children, viz: Carl, who died
in infancy; Vernon, Clyde, Georgia Glee and
Doyt. Mr. and Mrs. Balyeat are both devout
members of the Baptist church, in which Mr.
Balyeat is more than ordinarily interested, and
in politics Mr. Balyeat is a stanch republican.

In 1882 Mr. Balyeat purchased his present
home in Pleasant township, where he is a
prominent and successful farmer and where he
and family are regarded as among the best
and most useful and respected residents of the
county. Alfred. I. Balyeat, the third son born to
David and Sarah Balyeat, was born February
18, 1854, was educated in the county schools
and at Ada, Ohio, and for two years was him
self a school-teacher. In 1879 he married
Sivella M. Snyder, who was born in Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, November 19, 1858, a daughter
of Fred and Margaret (Myres) Snyder, and
this union was blessed with two children, Den
nis and Gertrude. Fred Snyder, the father of
Mrs. Balyeat, was a native of Pennsylvania,
and in 1865 brought his family to Van Wert
county and settled in Harrison township, where
he still resides. His daughter Sivella was
reared in strict accordance with the Baptist
faith, and was married to Mr. Balyeat in her
twenty-second year. This lady died February
9, 1888, deeply mourned by her family and
friends, and in 1891 Mr. Balyeat married Sarah
Smith, daughter of Peter and Catherine
(Stucker) Smith, and this union has resulted in
the birth of one child — Viola May. The mother
of the babe was born in Van Wert county,
January 1, 1864, her parents being natives of
Holmes county, Ohio, but early settlers of Van
Wert county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Balyeat are
members of the Baptist church, in which they
take a deep interest and for which they do
much active work. In politics Mr. Balyeat is
a strong republican and works hard for Its suc
cess. He is a member of grange No. 399, and
has all his life been identified with agricultural
interests, and all his life also has been passed
an the old homestead, with the exception of
three years following his marriage. His social
standing is unsurpassed by any other resident
of his township.

AARON BALYEAT.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY,

41

HARON BALYEAT, of Van Wert, son
of Jonas Balyeat, was born March
15, 1827, in Richland county, Ohio,
and grew to man's estate amid the
active duties of farm life. He attended the
common schools until sufficiently advanced in
his studies to teach, when he entered the edu
cational field and acted the role of instructor
for a period of twenty years. In 1850, Mr.
Balyeat became a resident of the county of
Van Wert, locating in Harrison township,
where he cleared and improved a farm and en
gaged in the pursuit of agriculture with suc
cess and financial profit — adding to his original
place until he became the possessor of 160
acres of fine land. Subsequently he exchanged
the farm for real estate in the township of
Pleasant, and from time to time purchased
other land, owning at one time in the county
of Van Wert over 230 acres, the greater part
of which, through his industry and successful
management, became highly improved. Mr.
Balyeat dealt largely in real estate both in Ohio
and the west, principally in Nebraska, to
which latter state he intended at one time to
remove, but was prevented from so doing by
reason of the death of his wife. He then pur
chased property in Van Wert, and for some
years has been an honored resident of the city,
though still giving considerable attention to
his farming interests in Paulding aud Van
Wert counties.
Mr. Balyeat's first marriage was solemnized
October 11, 1849, ^vith Miss Martha LaRue,
who was born in Richland county December
29, 1827; the following children resulted from
the union: Lambert W., of Van Wert; Lu
cretia E., deceased; Orlando B., residing in
Nebraska; Clarence S., of Toledo; Mary J.,
wife of J. Greenamier, of Nebraska; Eliza J.,
wife of Marion Allen, of Pleasant township,
and Marquis, deceased. Mrs. Balyeat de
parted this life on the 5th day of July, 1864,

and in April of the following year, Mr. Bal
yeat wedded Miss Priscilla Brubaker, of Ash
land county, Ohio, daughter of Augustus and
Susan Brubaker-i— a union blessed with six
children, whose births occurred in the follow
ing order: Edgar C, private in the regular
army; Stella J., wife of J. Steiner; Bertha G.,
Effie E., Charles O. and Susan P. The
mother of these children died January 2, 1886.
Mr. Balyeat married his present wife, Mrs.
Amelia Wells, on the 10th day of April, 1891.
Mr. Balyeat has been prominent in the
public affairs of Van Wert and is at this time
a member of the city council, in which body
he is instrumental in promoting many meas
ures for the city's interest; he has also served
as trustee of the township, and while so offi
ciating discharged his functions in a highly
satisfactory and capable manner. Like the
majority of the family, he subscribes to the
Baptist creed, and for a period of forty-five
years has been deacon of the church to which
he belongs; politically he espouses the cause of
the republican party. In every relation of life
Mr. Balyeat is recognized as possessing a
strong sense of truth and justice and he has
discharged every duty of citizenship with en
ergy and. fidelity of irreproachable character,
and, actuated by a sincere desire to make the
world better, he stands to-day among the most
respectable citizens of the city and county of
Van Wert.

WOHN E. BARNARD, chief clerk and
¦ cashier at the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne
A J & Chicago freight depot in Van Wert,
Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state
and was born in Canaan, Wayne county, Au
gust 15, 1846, a son of John W. and Mary M.
(Notestine) Barnard. The father, John W.
Barnard, was born in Lancaster, Pa., January
26, 181 3, a son of Samson Barnard, who was

42

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

also a native of Pennsylvania and by trade a
cooper. Samson Barnard passed his life in
Pennsylvannia until 1850, when he moved
near Wooster, Ohio, where for a year he con
tinued to follow his trade, and then lived in
retirement until his death, which occurred, in
1875. He was a member of the Society of
Friends, and the father of eighteen children,
of whom five still survive. In politics he was
a strong abolitionist, and was actively con
nected with the underground railroad.
John W. Barnard was reared in Lancaster,
Pa., until twenty-three years of age, there
learned coopering and carpentering, and, in
1836, came, to Ohio and located at Seville,
Medina county, followed coopering a year or
two, and then worked at carpentering for fif
teen years; he next purchased a farm in Canaan,
on which he lived until 1865, when he removed
to an adjoining township. For some years he
was a general merchant at Burbank, Wayne
county, Ohio, where he bought and shipped
grain to a large extent. His marriage took
place in Wayne county, in 1835, t0 Mary M.
Notestine, a native of Pennsylvania, by which
union he became the father of six children,
viz: Elizabeth and Eliza, deceased; Amanda,
wife of George W. Naftzger, of Glendale,
Mich. ; Martha, wife of Isaac N. Tally, of
Oriole, Fla. ; John E., the subject of this
sketch, and Simeon, deceased. The father in
politics was first a whig, but on the formation
of the republican party enlisted under its banner.
He died in 1878, a member of the United Breth-
ern church; his wife died in 1848, a member of
the Lutheran church.
John E. Barnard was reared in Wayne
county, Ohio, and remained with his father
until 1867, the year of his marriage, but, before
speaking in full of that event, it is well that
his business career should be mentioned and a
history should be given of his extensive arid
somewhat brilliant railroad experience. In

1868 he went to Dayton, Ohio, and attended
the commercial college one year; the following
winter he taught school in Wayne county, and
in the spring of 1869, went to Brookville,Ohio,
and for three years officiated as book-keeper
for a distilling firm and at the same time had
charge of the Dayton & Western and Dayton
& Union railroad office at that point. In the
spring of 1872 he went to Union city, Ind., as
agent'for the Dayton & Union road, filled the
position one month and then accepted a similar
position with the Big Four, in the same city;
in June, 1872, he went to Greenville, Ohio, as
chief clerk for the Dayton & Union and Pan
handle, remained until September of the same
year, and then went to Dodson Junction,
where he purchased an elevator, and where he
was also appointed joint agent for the Dayton
& Union and the Dayton & Western roads; he
remained there until March 1, 1875, when he
was appointed agent for the Big Four at Sid
ney, Ohio, and there he remained until Oc
tober, 1 88 1, when he was given the agency of
the Big Four, at Litchfield, 111., which posi
tion he filled until June 1, 1884, when he re
tired and went to Georgia, and engaged in
mining in the gold fields of Lumpkin county.
In the fall of 1885 he returned to Dodson
Junction, Ohio, and in company with John
Hiller, carried on the grain business until Jan
uary 1, 1886, when he accepted an offer of the
position of agent and operator for the Cincin
nati, Jackson & Mackinaw company at Ansonia,
Ohio, and filled the place until February 15,
1886, when he was transferred to the agency
at Van Wert, which he held until December
1, 1888, when he went to Saint Paul, Minn.,
and acted as contracting agent for the Inter-
State Despatch Fast Freight line until Octo
ber 1, 1889, when he returned to Van Wert
and engaged as book-keeper for the Oil Well
Supply company, with which he continued
until July 1, 1893, when he accepted a posi-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

43

tion as book-keeper in the wholesale fruit
house establishment of C. C. Gleason's Sons,
and remained with them until January i , 1 894,
when he withdrew and passed his time in travel,
etc., until September 3, 1894, when he entered
upon the duties of his present responsible po
sition of chief clerk and cashier of the freight
department of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne &
Chicago railroad at Van Wert.
November 28, 1867, Mr. Barnard was
united in wedlock at Canaan, Wayne county,
Ohio, with Miss Emma Parmenter, who was
born in Carey, Hancock county, Ohio, March
23, 1846, a daughter of Alfred and Sarah
(Stratton) Parmenter, and this union has been
made happier by the birth of seven children,
viz: A. Bertha, living with her parents; John
A. , a telegraph operator at Memphis, Tenn. ;
Mary A. ; Charles and Eleanor A., at home,
and two children that died in infancy. Mr.
and Mrs. Barnard are members of the Presby
terian church, of which he was elected an elder
February 10, 1895; he stands high in the
Masonic fraternity, having attained the thirty-
second degree, being active in the chapter
council and commandery, and is worshipful
master of Van Wert lodge, No. 218. Socially,
the standing of the family is among the best
of Van Wert's citizens.

aONRAD BAUMGARTE, one of the
pioneer citizens of Van Wert county,
and a leading farmer of Washington
township, was a native of Hanover,
Germany, and was born on August. 15, 1825.
His parents were John Henry and Elizabeth
(Grothouse) Baumgarte. The family came to
America in 1845, leaving Bremen on Septem
ber 1, and reaching New Orleans on October
27. From New Orleans they came up the
river to Cincinnati, Ohio, and from that city
came to Delphos by way of the canal. The

father then purchased forty acres of land where
our subject recently resided. The father died
February 28, 1885, and the mother December
28, 1864, both members of the Roman Cath
olic church. To the parents, two daughters
and one son were born, one of whom, Gertrude,
is now the widow of Herman Wagesin. Our
subject remained on the farm with his parents,
being the only son, and after the death of his
father the homestead came to him by his
father's will. While in the old country he
learned to make wooden shoes, and made
many a pair after he came to Van Wert county.
He also worked some at the carpenter's trade.
When about twenty-six or twenty-seven years
of age he had saved enough money to purchase
forty acres of land, which was adjoining the
home^place. Since then he added by purchase
until he owned 173 acres of fine farm land ly
ing in sections Nos. 26 and 35.
In 1876 Mr. Baumgarte erected a large res
idence, which is one of the best in the town
ship. On May 6, 1857, Mr. Baumgarte was
married to Magdaline Longmier, who was born
in Pennsylvania on July 9, 1839. Her parents
were Christian and Catherine (Culmann) Long
mier, both of whom were natives of Hanover,
Germany. They were married in the old coun
try and came to America in about 1 837. They
settled in Pennsylvania, where they resided
until 1842, and then came to Van Wert county
and purchased a farm near Delphos. The
father assisted in the digging of the canal. He
died on August 18, 1886, aged eighty years,
and his widow died on April 14, 1887, aged
seventy years. To the parents nine children
were born, six of whom are living, three sons
and three daughters. Both parents were
members of the Roman Catholic church. To
Mr. and Mrs. Baumgarte eleven children were
born, as follows: Henry, born, May 4, 1858,
and died June 2, 1865; Mary, born June 28,
i860, married Frank M. Brickner October 9,

44

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

1884; Catherine, born April 14, 1862, married
October 11, 1883, to John Recker; Frank,
born May 7, 1864, and married November 29,
1890, Clara Berkemier; Julia, born June 19,
1868, and died September 18, 1876; Theresia,
born January 7, 1870; J. Henry, born Septem
ber 2, 1 87 1, and died November 1,1873; John,
born November 12, 1874, and died August 19,
1 880 ;Theodore, born September 5 , 1 876 Joseph,
born April 5, 1878, and Anna, born January
22, 1880. Mr. Baumgarte was always one of
the leading citizens of Washington township.
He served as trustee of the township two terms
and was supervisor a number of years. He
and his family are members of the Saint John's
Roman Catholic church, of which church he
served several terms as trustee, and in the
faith of which his death occurred on February
19, 1896, a truly honored and respected citizen.

^g^m OBERT C. BAXTER is one of the
I /^^ prominent business men and farmers
A .f °f Harrison township, Van Wert
county, Ohio. His grandfather, John
Baxter, came from Ireland and settled in Tus
carawas county, Ohio, in pioneer days, cleared
up a farm and reared thirteen children.
James Baxter, son of John and father of
Robert C, was also born in Ireland, and at
twelve years of age came to America with his
father. He was married in Harrison county,
Ohio, to Catherine Browning, reared a family
of six children, and died in Harrison county,
at the age of thirty-eight years.
Robert C. Baxter, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Harrison county, Ohio, January
27, 1834, was reared on the home farm until
sixteen years of age, when, in 1850, he came
with his mother and her children to Van Wert
county and settled on a tract of land in the
woods near Middlebury, which tract he assisted
in clearing up and in putting under a proper

state of cultivation. At the age of twenty-
two he married, in Van Wert county, Miss
Rebecca H., daughter of Benjamin and
Rachael Brittsan, and by this union there
were born six children, viz: Emily, Clara,
Ollie, Horace, Burt, and Isaac. After mar
riage, Mr. Baxter settled on school land, which
he had purchased -in Harrison township, but
subsequently sold this property and lived a
few years on a rented farm; in 1882 he bought
bis present farm of seventy-eight acres, on
which he erected suitable and substantial
buildings, and 1 the same 'year engaged in gen
eral merchandising, putting in a varied and
well selected stock of goods suitable for the
country trade.
In 1874, Mrs. Rebecca H. Baxter was
called to her eternal rest, arid for his second
wife Mr. Baxter married Miss Lizzie Foudra,
who survived six months only after her wed
ding day. December 22, 1878, he married
for the third time, taking for his wife Martha
E. Gideon. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter are mem
bers of the Methodist church, in which Mr.
Baxter has held several offices; and in politics
he is a democrat, and for six years served as-
justice of the peace, for five years as township
assessor, and for thirteen years as postmaster
of Wfolfcale. Of the children born to Robert.
C. and Rebecca Baxter, Emma was married
to Henry Finkhouse, of Harrison township,
and has three children — Clara, married to
John Finkhouse, same township, is the mother
of six children; Ollie was wedded to George
W. Knittle, a farmer of Adams county, Ind.,
and has three children, and Horace married
Emma Crosier, also of Adams county, Ind.
Mrs. Martha E. (Gideon) Baxter is the
daughter of Henry and Lydia (Bevelhimer)
Gideon, the former a native of Pennsylvania,
born in 1 8 1 1 ; he was married in his native-
state, came to Van Wert county in 1855, but
later moved to Adams county, Ind., where he

SAMUEL BAXTER.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

47

died at the age of fifty-eight years, the father
of eight children, viz: Mary, Susan, Louisa
(died when two years old), Martha E., Henry
C, John M., Frank E. and Emma R. Mrs.
Baxter was born June 16, 1842, in Columbus,
Franklin county, Ohio," and is a most amiable
lady. Mr. Baxter is widely known in Van
Wert and surrounding counties, and is recog
nized as a gentleman of the strictest integrity.

£V"AMUEL M. BAXTER, ex-deputy
*^^KT sheriff and city marshal of Van Wert,
K. J Ohio, and an ex-soldier, was born in
Allen county, Ohio, May 26, 1846,
and is a son of Curtis and Emily (Johns)
Baxter, of whom mention is made in detail
elsewhere in these pages. Samuel M. was
reared on the home farm in Allen county and
there attended school until his enlistment at
Lima, November 27, 1863, in company B,
McLaughlin's squadron of cavalry, which was
an independent company until May, 1864,
when it was consolidated with the Fifth cav
alry, and assigned to Sherman's army, then at
Atlanta, Ga. After the fall of that city, Mr.
Baxter participated in the battle of Sweet
water, Ga. fa cavalry charge); the fight at or
near Jonesboro, Ga. , the battles of Lovejoy
station, Louisville, Ga., Waynesboro and
Macon, Ga., and in the hard-fought battles of
Averysboro and Bentonville, N. C, and on
ward to Raleigh, N. C, being present at the
surrender of the rebel general, Joe E. John
ston, April 26, 1865. His only injury was
self-inflicted by his accidentally shooting him
self in one of his feet while on picket duty.
He is now a pensioner, receiving $8 per month.
On his return from the war he lived with his
parents until twenty years of age, when he
married and rented a farm until 1882, when he
came to Van Wert county and bought 100
acres in Jackson township, which he cultivated

until 1 89 1, when he moved to the city and en
gaged in buying live stock and in shipping it to
the eastern markets until January, 1894, when
he was appointed deputy sheriff of the county
under E. R. Conn, which position he still fills.
Mr. Baxter was first married, March 22,.
1865, in Allen county, to Miss Mary J. Miller,,
a native of that county, born October 25,,
1845, and a daughter of Isaac Miller, and by
this marriage became the father of four chil
dren: Lester C, a harness dealer at Grover
Hill; Iva May, at home with her father; Jason
E., of Grover Hill, and Emily V., at home.
Mrs. Baxter was called to her heavenly home
February 23, 1879, dying in the faith of the
Methodist Episcopal church. The second
marriage of Mr. Baxter was also solemnized in
Allen county and took place, March 22, 1880,
to Mrs. Ella M. Cahill, widow of Abraham
Cahill and daughter of Barber Robinson, of
Crawford county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter
are consistent members of the Methodist Epis
copal church; in politics he is a republican,
has always been a zealous and efficient official,
and on the 14th of May, 1895, was, without
solicitation, appointed, by the mayor of Van
Wert, to the position of city marshal, and it
is needless to state the duties of the office,
since his assuming the same, have been most
faithfully and satisfactorily performed. He is
a Mason, a member of the Royal Arcanum,
and of the National Union. He owns a neat
residence on First street, and other valuable
property; is very popular with the community
at large, and is highly esteemed for his honest
manliness of character.

eLIAS BATXER, a highly respected
citizen of Tully township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, is of Irish descent, and
is a son of Thomas Baxter, who came
from Harrison county, Ohio, to Van Wert

48

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

county, in 1848, and cleared up a farm of
ninety-six acres, and here died, December, 9,
1893, at the age of eighty-two years. He and
wife were parents of the following children:
Elias, Rebecca, Robert, Sarah, John, William,
Thomas, Nettie, James, Alonzo, and Nancy J.
(who died when fourteen years old) — all of
whom were born in Van Wert county, with the
exception of Elias, Rebecca, Robert and Will
iam, who were born in Harrison county.
Elias Baxter, whose name introduces this
biography, was born in Harrison county, Ohio,
September 13, 1835, and came with his parents
to Van Wert county when thirteen . years of
age. Here he attended the common schools,
and here, also, learned the shoemaker's trade.
June 25, 1856, he married Mrs. Mary A. Har
vey, daughter of Thomas and Ruth (Harvey)
Harvey. Her father, Thomas Harvey, was a
native of Ireland, who came, when young, to
America and settled in Pennsylvania, where he
was married and had born to him the following
children; Jane, Sarah, and Mary A. Thomas
Harvey came to Van Wert county in 1850, and
died in Harrison township at the age of about
eighty years — a member of the Presbyterian
church. The union of Elias Baxter and his
wife, Mary, was blessed with two children, Ruth,
deceased, and Sarah A. Mrs. Baxter having
died, Mr. Baxter married for his second wife
Mrs. Levonia Mullen, widow of Silas Mullen
and daughter of George Bugsbee, a native of
New England and an early settler of Penn
sylvania, but later a resident of Van Wert
county, Ohio. To this second marriage of Mr.
Baxter have been also born two children — •
Effie and Flossie B.
May 2, 1864, Mr. Baxter enlisted in com
pany I, One Hundred and Thirty- ninth Ohio
volunteer infantry, and served four months.
In 1 872 he located in Convoy, Van Wert county,
where he has a most pleasant and tasteful
dwelling. He is a member of G. A. R. post,

No. 236 of which he has been commander and
adjutant; he is also a member of Convoy lodge,
No. 641, I. O. O. F., in which he has passed
all the chairs. He is an earnest advocate of
the temperance cause, and-has been a member
of the Good Templar and Sons of Temperance
societies. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter are devout
members of the Methodist church. The family
is highly respected by their neighbors, and Mr.
Baxter is a quiet, unobtruding citizen, but is a
very useful member of the community.

>-j*UDGE ALONZO BAKER, deceased,
A was born in Marion, Ohio, December
(• J 31, 1828, and when a child wac
brought by his parents to Lima, Allen
county, Ohio, where he was reared to man
hood, when he returned to Marion and was
married to a Miss Peters. Soon after his mar
riage he came to Van Wert (in 185 1), and here
engaged in the dry-goods business and general
trade until the call for volunteers to subdue
the. late Rebellion, when he entered the service,
on the call for one-hundred day men, as major
of the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Ohio
national guard (One Hundred and Thirty-
second Ohio volunteer infantry). On his re
turn he was appointed collector of internal
revenue, which office he held until it was abol
ished, when he again entered the dry-goods
trade, in which he continued for a few years,
and then bought an interest in the Van Wert
Foundry and Machine works, where he filled
the position of book-keeper. He sold his in
terest in this concern in order to be able to
perform the duties pertaining to the office of
probate judge, to which he was elected in 1872
and re-elected in 1875, and for which position
he was re-nominated some ten days before his
demise — the republican party, of which he was
a most ardent as well as active member, being
convinced, as was the general public, that he

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

49

was the " right man in the right place." The
death of Judge Baker was caused by hemor
rhage of the stomach and took place Septem
ber 9, 1878, at the comparatively early age of
forty-nine years, eight months and nine days.
He left behind, to mourn his loss, a wife and
four daughters, beside an innumerable host of
friends. Judge Baker was a Lutheran in re
ligion, and fraternally was an Odd Fellow.
There was never a whisper of scandal uttered
or breathed as to his social life, and he was
honored by all as a patriotic and useful citi
zen and an upright judge.

^^-t* OSEPH M. BAKER, an energetic and
A successful farmer of Pleasant township,
A 1 Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of
Beaver county, Pa. , and was born Jan-
nary 31, 1846. His parents, Enoch M. and
Mary (Copper) Baker, were of Irish descent,
the father of Enoch M., Robert Baker, having
been born in Ireland in 1770.
Enoch M. Baker was born in Beaver county,
Pa., in 18 1 8, and was reared on the farm of
his father, who died in 1863, at the advanced
age of ninety-three years. Enoch, in his early
days, was a school-teacher, and also learned
marble cutting, but, the latter trade disagree-
ing with his health, he relinquished it and
entered upon the more agreeable pursuit of
farming in Lawrence county, Pa. There he
followed this vocation until 1855, when he
came to Van Wert, Ohio, and purchased 160
acres of land, and here died February 4, 1888.
His marriage took place in Mercer county, Pa. ,
in 1842, and by this union he became the
father of nine children, who were named as
follows: JohnC, deceased; Joseph M., the sub
ject of this sketch; Emmet R., of Indianapolis,
Ind.; Samuel C, of Oregon; Mary J., wife of
Joseph Hook, of Van Wert; Rachael J., de
ceased wife of William Wise, of Missouri;

Sydney R. , wife of Henry Lampe, of Van
Wert; Enoch A., of Decatur county, Ind., and
Wilma, wife of Barton Holland, of Van Wert.
Mrs. Mary Baker was born in Mercer county,
Pa., in 1827, and is still living, a member of
the Society of Friends. Enoch M. Baker was
a true hearted American, and in 1846 responded
to his country's call by enlisting for the war
with Mexico, but, as it happened, was never
called into active service. In politics he was
a democrat, for two terms held the office of in
firmary director, and for many years was a
member of the board of agriculture; he was an
active worker in the cause of temperance, was
a member of the Legion of Honor, and died
a devout adherent of the Society of Friends.
Joseph M. Baker was educated in the com
mon schools of his district and grew to man
hood on his father's farm, which he assisted
in clearing from the woods as the years wore
on. In 1878 he moved to Missouri, and for
ten years engaged in farming in Cedar county,
and then returned to his home in Van Wert
county, Ohio, where he has since been con
tented and happy. In 1872, Mr. Baker was
united in marrage with Miss Margaret Kreider,
daughter of John and Sarah (Harsh) Kreider,
natives of Lancaster county, Pa. To this
union have been born six children, viz: Cora
E., who died in childhood; Jennie F. ; Joseph
M., deceased; Maggie M. ; Edna M. and Jessie
M. The mother of these children was born in
Pennsylvania September 7, 1852, but at the
age of two years was brought to Ohio by her
parents, who located in Ashland county, where
they resided for ten years and then came to
Van Wert county, where her mother is still
living, but where her father died about the
year 1883. Mr. Baker and wife are members
of the Friends' church, and in politics Mr.
Baker is a prohibitionist. He is a member of
the tent of the Knights of Maccabees at Van
Wert and is universally respected as a progress-

50

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ive citizen. His farm of 160 acres is well
drained and improved, and gives every indica
tion of being under the control of an expe
rienced agriculturist.

at

»ILLIAM S. BEALE.— One of the
prominent and respected citizens of
Van Wert, Ohio, and a gentleman
who has made a success of business
enterprises, as-well as in the line of inventions,
is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch
— William S. Beale. He comes from good old
English stock, his paternal grandfather, Albion
Beale, having been born in England, and com
ing to this country early in life. He located
in Butler county, Pa., where he engaged in
farming, and there resided until his death.
Our subject's father, James Beale, was
born May 29; 181 1, in Butler county, Pa., and
there remained until he had reached manhood's
estate. He was united in marriage to Miss
Elizabeth Williams, in Westmoreland county,
Pa., in 1837, and there followed his trade as
carpenter until 1854, when he removed to
Rock Island county, 111., and engaged in farm
ing until 1 881. At this time he removed to
Whiteside county, 111., where he died in the
following year, his wife's death preceding his
by three years. The parents were devout
people, being members of the Baptist church,
and it is recorded of Mr. Beale that he him
self erected a Baptist church edifice in Illinois.
In politics he was a republican, and person
ally was a man of sterling worth of character.
Mr. and Mrs. Beale were the parents of six
children, being named in order of birth as fol
lows: Nancy J., Julia, William S., George W. ,
Sarah A., and Christmas E. Of these only
two are now living — our subject, William S.,
and his sister, Julia, now the wife of J. Cain,
of Hillsdale, 111.
Our subject was born in Westmoreland

county, Pa., January 24, 1845, and was nine
years of age when his parents removed to
Illinois. He grew to manhood in Rock Island
county, 111., and there received his education
in the common schools, and in 1865 supple
mented this with a commercial course of study
in the Eastman Commercial college, of Chi
cago. This being completed, he returned to
Rock Island, 111., and in conjunction with his
brother engaged in buying and shipping live
stock, making their headquarters upon the old
home farm. In this enterprise they continued
until 1870, when they added the dealing in
lumber, coal, etc., to their already prosperous
business. In November, 1883, they moved to
Van Wert, Ohio, and engaged quite exten
sively in the lumbering business, purchasing
timber lands and working up the timber in their
own mills for shipment. In this line they con
tinued until 1893, when they retired from the
lumber trade, and since then our subject's time
has been devoted to the improvement of his
land and the perfecting of his inventions.
He was married in Rock Island county,
111., November 18, 1868, to Miss Mary E. Mc-
Murphy, a lady of earnest christian character,
who proved a worthy helpmate. Mrs. Beale
was born near Hampton, 111., October 21,
1844, where her early life was passed. She
was a faithful member of the Baptist church,
and was a most earnest Sunday-school worker.
This union was blessed with the birth of three
children: Alfred, who died in infancy; Lillie
G., and Carrie E., the wife of Rev. George
W. Taylor, of Bellefontaine, Ohio. Mr.
Taylor is an evangelist of note, whose labors
have been crowned with great results. In his
life work he was notably assisted by his
worthy wife, who is a musician of note, being
a fine cornetist as well as a vocalist. The
mother of these children died June 18, 1894,
and was buried in Hillsdale, Rock Island
county, 111.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

51

Our subject is a republican in politics, and
although not a rabid partisan, still takes a
proper interest in affairs of public import.
Coupled with an acute business judgment, as
is noted in his successful ventures, our subject
is possessed of an inventive turn of mind, and
of late has devoted considerable time and at
tention to perfecting some of his useful ideas.
Among these may be noted a life preserver and
bathing protector, upon which he has secured
letters patent. It is made of vulcanized rub
ber, in the form of a vest, and has been pro
nounced a success wherever tried.

^ J* OHN C. BEAR, an experienced agricul-
A turist and public-spirited citizen of
• 1 Ridge township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a native of Fairfield county, in
the same state, and was born April 27, 1822,
a son of George and Sarah (Cherry) Bear.
George Bear was a native of Rockingham
county, Va., and his wife was born in Penn
sylvania, but both were children when brought
to Ohio by their parents, who settled in Fair
field county, and there they grow to maturity
and were married. George Bear was a farmer,
a millwright, and a carpenter and joiner, and
to his marriage with Miss Cherry were born
seven children, as follows: Eliza and Nancy,
deceased; John C.,- our subject; George, de
ceased; Jacob,. William; and Sarah, deceased.
George Bear brought his family to Anglaize
county, Ohio, in 1836, and there lived on a
farm until both he and wife were called away
by death. While residing in Auglaize county,
John C. Bear was united in marriage, May 29,
1845, with Mary Tyson, and the following
February came to his present farm in Ridge
township — then densely wooded, and abound
ing in game and other wild animals. Here he
set to work and cleared his land, has thriven
and reared a family, although he was com

pelled to go to Fort Wayne and Spencerville
for his milling. His children were born in the
following order: George, who resides in Kan
sas; Smith, in Auglaize county, Ohio; Isaac,
deceased; Lucinda, wife of Charles Clark, of
Van Wert county; John, deceased; Albert, in
Kansas; Margaret, deceased; Samuel, of Van
Wert county, Ohio; Sarah, wife of William
Miller; Eliza Ann, married to Henry Farrer,
of Michigan; Elijah, of Kansas; Thomas, of
Van Wert county, Ohio; William, at home,
and Jacob who also resides on the home farm.
In politics Mr. Bear is a republican, and is
active in his support of the party, although he
has never sought public office. In religion he
and wife are members of the Society of Friends,
and have done their share and more, too, in
securing the erection of a meeting house of
worship for the society, Mr. Bear having been
one of the building committee, and through
his exertions it was that the building was ulti
mately completed. Mr. and Mrs. Bear are
highly respected by their neighbors, and de
servedly so, and their children residing in the
county share the good will that is extended to
the parents.

£VYLVESTER R. BEECHER, practi-
*^^k cal and expert accountant (now with
f^_y Humphreys & Hughes, of Van Wert,
Ohio), was born in Portage county,
Ohio, July, 30, 1 86 1, a son of Frederick and
Cornelia A. (Center) Beecher. The father,
Frederick, was born in Shalersville, Portage
county, April 12, 1835, and died in Mantua,
same county, February 12, 1866; he was very
prominent socially, and as a business man
stood in the foremost rank, having been teller
in the Ravenna branch of the State Bank of
Ohio, and the founder of the extensive mer
cantile firm of Beecher, Rhodes & Co., at
Mantua, Ohio. Mrs. Cornelia A. Beecher was

52

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

a daughter of Reuben Center, of English de
scent, and a native of New York. Both the
Beechers and the Centers are very old names
in the east, and were connected, by blood and
marriages, with such families as those of the
Pratts, the Forts, the Van Rensselaers, the
Van Buskirks, the Ethan Allen family, and
that of Henry Ward Beecher. To the union
of Frederick and Cornelia A. Beecher were
born two children, viz: Sylvester R., who is
the subject of this sketch, and Frederick, now
agent for the American and National Express
companies, at Ashtabula, Ohio. Mr. Beecher
was a republican in politics, and at his un
timely death left his wife and children in
affluent circumstances.
Sylvester R. Beecher was reared and pre
liminarily educated at the academy at Shalers-
ville, Portage county, Ohio. At the age of
seventeen, he entered Mount Uuion college,
where he was finally educated, finishing the
course in 1881. After completing his educa
tion, he traveled extensively through the south
ern and western states, and Old Mexico, for a
year, and then engaged in the grocery and
queensware business in Mantua, where his
father, years before, had been very successful;
continuing in this business about four years,
he sold out to accept a lucrative position at
book-keeping. Mr. Beecher has since remained at this
business, for which he is finely constituted, and
has held various positions of trust and respon
sibility with some of the largest firms and cor
porations in the state, and of late years has
made a specialty of expert accounting, auditing,
and adjusting books of large firms and corpora
tions. In July, 1889, he came to Van Wert
and accepted the position of chief accountant
with the Van Wert Natural Gas company,
opened their books and filled the position until
1892, when he went to Cleveland, Ohio, to
take charge of the office arid books of Flynn,

Able and Froulke, wholesale furniture dealers
and manufacturers, remaining with them from
October until the following January, when he
was called to Van Wert a second time to take
charge of the office and books of the extensive
wholesale grocery firm of Humphreys & Hughes.
Mr. Beecher has been a successful teacher of
book-keeping and penmanship, and is a very
fine musician, being an expert performer on the
cornet. Mr. Beecher has been twice married. Jan
uary 9, 1884, he was united in wedlock with
Miss Metta Maude McClintock, daughter of
John H. McClintock, a prominent jeweler of
Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Two weeks after they
were married, she was taken sick, and after a
lingering illness died the following June. April
30, 1892, in Newport, Ky., Mr. Beecher was
married to Miss Hattie A. May, daughter of
Joseph May, of Van Wert, Ohio, and this
union has been blessed by the birth of two
children — Clovis May, and Nora Cornelia. Mr.
and Mrs. Beecher are consistent members of
the Presbyterian church, and in politics Mr.
Beecher is a republican; he is also a royal
arch, and royal and select master of the
Masonic fraternity, and is regarded as a bril
liant and rising young man.

r y^\ ANIEL S. BECK, a successful farmer,
! I was born in Union township. Van
/Ay^J Wert county, Ohio, October 23,
1848, and here he still makes his
home. He is a son of Michael and Mary A.
(Feighner) Beck, the former of whom was a
native of Pennsylvania, born in the city of
Lancaster January 6, 18 16, a son of Daniel
Beck, who was probably a native of Germany,
but who became a farmer of Pennsylvania,
later came to Ohio, and died in Van Wert
county in February, 1863. Michael Beck,
when a youth, came with his father's family

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

53

to Ohio, making the trip in wagons, and for a
few years resided in Stark county, then moved
with the family to Richland county. There,
January 7, 1841, he was united in marriage
with Miss Mary A. Feighner, daughter of
Jacob Feighner, and in October, 1846, came
with his young wife and family to Van Wert
county, making the journey in an ox-cart, and
here he bought 120 acres of government land,
placed his family for shelter at the house of a
neighbor, O. W. Harvey, cut his way into the
woods, built his log-cabin, and in due course
of time hewed out from the forest a farm that
ranked among the best in the county. To the
marriage of Michael Beck and wife were born
seven children, viz: Jacob H., who died
serving his country at Bowling Green, Ky. ,
January 8, 1863; George W., who also died a
soldier's death in Nashville, Tenn., November
26, 1862; Adam F. , of Van Wert; Daniel S.,
the subject of this sketch; John D., a farmer
of Pleasant township, and Sabina A., wife of
John Roat, and Sarah E., M. D., of Pauld
ing, Ohio. Mrs. Mary A. Beck was born Feb
ruary 25, 1 8 18, in Richland county, Ohio, of
German parentage, and died December 19,
1879, a member of the Lutheran church.
Michael Beck, father of our subject, was a
life-long democrat, and by that party was
elected to nearly all the offices of his town
ship, among them, those of township treasurer
and township trustee, which positions he held
-many years. He was active in the work of
the Lutheran church, in which he was an
office holder, contributing liberally to both
church and Sunday-school, and was noted for
his bountiful charity and christian kindness.
His death, which took place April 15, 1893,
was a sad loss to the community, and was
deeply and sincerely mourned.
Daniel S. Beck, whose name opens this
sketch, grew to manhood on his father's farm,
was educated in the common-schools of Union

township, and in 1873 began the life of a
farmer on his own account on the old home
stead. January 21, 1875, he was united in
marriage with Miss Maggie Rank, daughter of
Samuel and Mary (Koser) Rank, this marriage
resulting in the birth of three children — an
infant that died in infancy, and Zelza G. and
Alba L. Mrs. Maggie Beck was born in
Cumberland county, Pa., November 18, 1848,
and was but six years old when brought to
Van Wert county by her parents, of whom
further particulars may be learned by a perusal
of the sketch of Samuel Rank, to be found on
another page. In politics Mr. Beck is a dem
ocrat, and in 1893 was elected township trus
tee, which office he still holds. In religion he
and wife are both prominent members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally
Mr. Beck is a member of Scott lodge, No.
791, I. O. O. F. He is the administrator of
the large estate left by his father, and is ably
and faithfully doing his duty in this capacity.
As a progressive farmer and public-spirited
citizen he is held in the highest esteem, and
his social position is an enviable one.

>Y*OHN D. BECK, youngest son of Mi-
A chael and Mary A. (Feighner) Beck,
A 1 was born in Union township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, in 1854, and is a brother
of Daniel S. Beck, whose sketch precedes this,
and contains in full the genealogical history of
the Beck family. John D. was educated in
the common schools of his neighborhood and
reared to farming. In 1887 he was united in
marriage with Amanda J. Burtsfield, which
happy and congenial marriage has been blessed
with four children, viz: Catherine M., Alice
A., Stephen G. and George G. The mother
of these children was born in Richland county,
Ohio, in 1858, and was thirteen years of age
when brought to Van Wert county by her par-

54

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ents. After his marriage Mr. Beck began
farming on the old homestead in Union town
ship, which he made his home until 1890,
when he purchased his eighty-acre tract in
Pleasant township, and this farm he has im
proved with every modern convenience and
brought under a high state of cultivation. Mr.
Beck is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and politically is a stanch democrat.
He is a thriving agriculturist, a useful citizen
and an honest man, and fully deserves the
high esteem in which he is held by his fellow-
townsmen.

>^OHN BECKMANN, trustee of Wash-
Jj ington township, Van Wert county,
A ¦ Ohio, and a leading farmer residing two
and a half miles southwest from Del
phos, was born on the farm where he now
lives on July 20, 1852. His father was Will
iam Beckmann, who was a native of Hanover,
Germany, and his mother was Clara Marie
Hobelmann, also a native of Hanover, Ger
many. The parents were married in the old
country, and came to America in 1844, land
ing at New Orleans. From that city they
came up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to
Cincinnati, and from the latter city they came
by way of the canal to Delphos. They settled
in Van Wert county on the farm now owned
by our subject, they purchasing 120 acres of
land. Eight children were born to the par
ents, five of whom are now living. The chil
dren are as follows: Henry, deceased; August,
deceased; William, John, Mary, Catherine,
Frank, deceased; Elizabeth. The father of
these children died November 24, 1885. His
widow still survives, and is in her seventy-
third year. Both parents were members of
the Saint John's Roman Catholic church, of
Delphos, and the father was a member of
Saint Joseph's society.

John Beckmann was reared on the farm,
and attended the district schools. Upon the
death of his father he became the owner of
the old homestead of 120 acres, and since
then he has added by purchase eighty acres.
On November 7, 1879, he was married to
Catherine Schemiller, who was born in Marion
township, Allen county, and is the daughter of
Mathias Schemiller, deceased. To Mr. and
Mrs. Beckmann three children have been born,
as follows: Aloris, August and Joseph. Mr.
and Mrs. Beckmann are also members of Saint
John's Roman Catholic church of Delphos.
In April, 1894, Mr. Beckmann was elected
trustee of Washington township, Van Wert
county, for a term of three years, and holds
that office at the present time. He is a mem
ber of the democratic party, is a good citizen,
as well as an efficient officer.

>!' AMES H. BELL, a respected farmer of
A Tully township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
A J springs from a colonial family of Penn
sylvania, of Irish and German descent.
James Bell, his grandfather, was a pioneer of
Allegheny county, and his son, Thomas Bell,
father of our subject, was born in that county.
Thomas there married Jane Armstrong, had
born to him six children — Israel, Rebecca,
James H., John, Jonathan and Maria — and
died in his native county at the. age of seventy-
nine years. Two of these children served in
the Civil war, viz: James H. and Jonathan,
the latter of whom, disabled in the 100-day
service, in an Ohio regiment, died, a few years
after the close of the war, from the effects of
this injury.
James H. Bell was born in Allegheny
county, Pa., September 24, 1831, was reared
on the home farm, and also learned black
smithing. On coming to Ohio he located at
New Concord, in Muskingum county, and on

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

55

October 30, 1856, married Miss MaryC.Geyer,
daughter of James and Sarah A. (Smith) Geyer.
George Geyer, father of James, was one of the
original pioneers of Muskingum county, and
entered 600 acres of land in the wilderness;
James Geyer was at that time but three years
of age. To James and Sarah A. Geyer were
born the following children: Mary C, Chris
tian A., Martha E., Ruth M. Dorcas S., Nathan
J. and Sarah L. (the latter two were twins, of
whom Sarah died in infancy), Jacob F. .Malinda
J., Rosannah E., George M. and Charles U. G.
(the last named, at the age of twenty-four
years, was called away). James Geyer, the
father of this family, was a substantial farmer,
owning 200 acres of land; in his declining years
he retired to New Concord, where he had
built a handsome residence, and there died at
the age of seventy-nine years, a member, with
his wife, of the Methodist church and an hon
ored citizen. After this marriage, James H.
Bell farmed in Muskingum county until May
2, 1864, when he enlisted at Zanesville, Ohio,
in the 100-day service under Capt. M. R. Trace;
fought in the battle of Maryland Heights and
in two very severe skirmishes in the Shenan
doah valley, and was with his regiment in all
its marches and engagements until his honor
able discharge at Zanesville, September 8,
1864. After being mustered out he returned
to Muskingum county, whence he moved to
Morrow county in the spring of 1865, and in
the spring of 1 868 brought his family to Van
Wert county and settled on the Ridge road,
close to his present location, and in 1869
bought his present farm of forty acres, then in
the deep woods, but which he and his sons
have since cleared up and converted into a
pleasent and profitable home. Mr. and Mrs.
Bell are members of the Methodist church, in
which Mr. Bell has been class leader and
superintendent of the Sunday-school; he has
taken great interest in educational affairs, and

for three years was a member of the school
board. To Mr. and Mrs. Bell have been born seven
children, as follows: John F., Joseph A.,
Thomas J., George W., Laura J., Dorcas M.
and Martha W. Of these, John F. is a farmer
of Tully township, is married to Bernice Baker
and has one child; Joseph A., a farmer of
Paulding county, Ohio, married Margaret J.
Clinger and is the father of two children;
Thomas J., also a farmer of Paulding county,
married Ida M. Spelmore, and has four chil
dren; George W., farmer, married Candace
S. Miller, who has borne three children;
Dorcas M. is the wife of Daniel V. Clenn, a
farmer of Tully township; Martha M. is mar
ried to Ellsworth O'Brien, who is farming the
Bell homestead.
The grandfather of Mrs. Bell was born in
Pennsylvania, of sturdy German stock; James
Geyer, her father, was born in Westmoreland
county, Pa., August 10, 18 10, was married
February 6, 1837, and died in New Concord,
Ohio, May 6, 1893, age eighty-two years,
eight months and twenty-six days. Mr. Bell,
aided by his faithful wife, has made for his
family a most comfortable home, and both are
honored by their neighbors as being among the
most respected residents of Tully township.

^|— * ENRY BEVINGTON, one of the
l^\ oldest and most experienced farmers
A .r of York township, Van Wert county,
is a native of Mercer county, Ohio,
born October 7, 1831, son of John and Eliza
beth (Heath) Bevington, the former a native
of Pennsylvania. Shortly after their marriage
they located in Mercer county, and in 1832
came to Van Wert county, and settled on a
forty-acre tract, on which the mother still re
sides and which had been presented by John
Heath to the mother of our subject, Henry

56

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Bevington; this land was soon converted into
fine fields and to-day is the pride of the neigh
borhood. The children born to John and
Elizabeth Bevington were named as follows:
Margaret, deceased wife of Alexander Brown;
Henry; Nancy Ann, deceased wife of John
Arnold, and was the first white child born in
York township; Rebecca, deceased wife of
Samuel Arnold; James, who attained man's
estate and is now deceased; Mercy, widow of
Enoch Metz; John, who served in the late
war for three years, is also deceased.
John Bevington, father of our subject,
made an additional purchase to his original
forty-acre tract, and passed away when our
subject was but nine years of age. John Bev
ington was in reality a teamster, hauling goods
from Fort Wayne to Piqua, the country at the
time being so broken, that it would require
two days to make the trip from Mercer to
Saint Mary's. The mother of our subject has
now attained the advanced age of eighty-five
years, and has resided on the same farm since
1832. Henry Bevington resided with his
mother until the time of his marriage, May 22,
1852, to Amanda Ries, daughter of Philip and
Mary E. (Schaffer) Ries, both natives of Ger
many. To Philip and Mary E. Ries were
born the following children, viz: Wilhelmina,
deceased; George, who grew to manhood,
married Miss Reese; Mary, the deceased wife
of Enoch Barkdull; Catherine, widow of Peter
Wappner; Lydia, deceased, and Henry, of
York township, all of the above children hav
ing been born in Germany; Amanda, wife of
our subject; William, who died while in the
late war; the latter two having been born in
Richland county, Ohio.
Mrs. Bevington's father was a farmer and
wagon-maker and located in Richland county,
Ohio, when he first came to America; his wife
died in York township at the age of eighty-
three years. The children born to Henry

Bevington and wife were John H., married to
Elizabeth Anna Davis, and is the father of three
children: Ethel, Della and Clifford; Mary,
wife of John Mathias, and mother of one child,
Mertie; Charles, wedded to Laura Grant;
Anderson, who married Lulu Baggs; Frances,
wife of Gill Baltzell. and mother of one son;
Leo T. ; George; Edward and Bessie, at home.
Mrs. Bevington is a member of the Meth
odist Episcopal church, her parents having
also been devout Christians, who worshiped at
the Evangelical Lutheran church. Air. Bev
ington has a brief but effective military history,
having enlisted in company H , One Hundred
and Thirty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and
served from 1864 until honorably discharged
three months later. The subject's present
farm was entirely in the woods, from which he
cleared away the spot on which his splendid
home now stands, and his eighty acres is now
fully under cultivation. Mr. Bevington is rec
ognized as an industrious citizen and thor
oughly upright in all transactions.

^V^V AVID OSWALD BILLMAN, junior
I I partner in the firm of Eyler & Bill-
/A^J mari, jewelers and opticians, on
South Washington street, Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Pleasant Mills, Adams county,
Ind., March 3, 186.8, a son of Frederick Bill-
man, who came to Ohio in 1873. When but five
years of age David Oswald, our subject, was
brought by his parents to Van Wert county,
Ohio, was here educated in the city schools,
and at the age of fifteen years began learning
the trade of a silversmith or jeweler at home,
finishing his lessons in the art at the age of
eighteen, when he entered the store of Mere
dith & Rowland, where he was employed until
1893, when he started business on his own ac
count, with his bench in Kimes' store on South
Washington street — this being a tin and stove

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

57

store. In April, 1894, Mr. Billman united
with John S. Eyler, to whom allusion is made
elsewhere in this connection, and established
the present flourishing business under the firm
name and at the location mentioned above,
where will always be found a select stock of jew
elry, watches, clocks, silverware, and every
thing pertaining to the trade, and where re
pairing of the most workmanlike order is
promptly attended to and satisfaction guaran
teed in every particular, this department be
ing attended to by the practical Mr. Billman
in person. The marriage of David O. Billman was
solemnized May 24, 1892, with Miss Myrtle
Miller, a native of Van Wert, born in 1869,
and a daughter of Samuel Miller. One child
has blessed the union and is named Russell.
The parents are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and in politics Mr. Billman
is a republican. They have their home in
their own pleasant residence, which includes
two acres of land adjoining the west end of
the city, where they enjoy to the full the
agreeable association of their neighbors as
well as their high esteem. Fraternally Mr.
Billman is a member of the National Union,
and in his business relations his reputation
stands without a blemish.

EENRY W. BLACHLY, one of the
well known attorneys of Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Richland county,
Ohio, November 24, 1858, and is a
son of Dr. Henry W.,and Caroline A. (Cracraft)
Blachly. The father was born in Washington
county, Pa., and located in Richland county,
Ohio, in 1856, where he remained until Octo
ber 26, i860, when he removed to Van Wert
county, where his death took place May 6,
1889. Dr. Henry W. Blachly was a graduate
of Jefferson college, Washington county, Pa.,

studied medicine with his brother, Stephen L.
Blachly, a prominent physician of Washington
county, and by him was prepared for entrance
into the Cleveland Ohio Medical college, from
which he graduated in 1854; the following two
years he practiced with his brother, then prac
ticed about four years alone in Richland county,
Ohio, and then came to Van Wert county. He
was married in Washington county, Pa., to
Miss Caroline A. Cracraft, who became the
mother of two children: Mary E. (deceased)
and Henry W. The father was a prominent
member of the Masonic fraternity, in politick
he is a republican, and with his wife was a
communicant of the Methodist Episcopal
church, to which faith the latter still adheres,
having her residence now in Van Wert.
Henry W. Blachly, the subject of this
sketch, was but two years of age when brought
to Van Wert county by his parents. He was
prepared, in the Van Wert city schools, for
study in the scientific branches in the schools
of Valparaiso, Ind., which he entered in 1878
and from which he was graduated in 1879. He
then engaged in teaching in Allen and Van
Wert counties, Ohio, until 1882, when, in con
junction with his vocation, he was employed in
the Van Wert county surveyor's office until 1 884.
He, in that year, began the study of law under
A. L. Sweet, of Van Wert, was admitted to
the bar in 1886, and then formed a partner
ship with- his former preceptor in the practice,
which partnership lasted until May 20, 1893,
when Mr. Sweet retired and was succeeded by
W. H. Daily, the firm assuming the style of
Blachly & Daily, under which it achieved an
enviable reputation and was recognized as one
of the most competent law firms of Van Wert
city and county until June, 1895, when Mr.
Blachly became successor to that firm, being
assured of the success his ability so well merits.
The marriage of Mr. Blachly took place in the
city of his adoption, December 15, 1886, to-

58

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Miss Hattie Saltzgaber, who was born in
Michigan, October 18, 1859, and is a daughter
of Henry and Harriet Saltzgaber, and to the
happy union of Mr. and Mrs. Blachly have
been born two children, Hazel M. and Irma
K. In political affinities Mr. Blachly is a re
publican, and fraternally he is a Knight of
Pythias, while socially he stands very high,
being a gentleman of good address and of un
usual ability. Mrs. Blachly is a most estima
ble lady and also stands deservedly high in the
social circles, being a lady of moral integrity and
possessing many womanly accomplishments.

HDAM BLACK, an enterprising farmer
of Union township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, descends from an old Pennsyl
vania-Dutch family, and is a son of
Matthew and Catherine (Myres) Black. The
father was born in the Keystone state Febru
ary 4, 18 16, was there reared on a farm, and
learned something of mechanics, and when a
young man came to Ohio and located in Rich
land county, where he was first employed in a
saw and grist-mill, and was there married, and
in 1848 came to Van Wert county and entered
an eighty-acre tract of land from the govern
ment, which he at once proceeded to clear up
and cultivate, and on which he erected a log
cabin and suitable out-buildings but which
buildings were in later years superceded
by modern frame structures. He was well
known as a successful farmer and stock
raiser, and owed his success entirely to
his own industry. In politics he was a repub
lican, was a class leader and chorister in the
Lutheran Evangelical church for many years,
was always a warm advocate of the cause of
public education, and died, an honored and
respected citizen, February 16, 1871. His
wife, also a native of Pennsylvania, was born
in 1820, and was but a little child when

brought by her parents to Richland county,
Ohio. She was married to Mr. Black about
the year 1842, and became the mother of six
children, viz: John, who lives on the old home
stead; Adam, our subject; Elizabeth, wife of
Charles Moore, of Hoaglin township, Van Wert
county; George, deceased; Henry W., a farmer,
also of Hoaglin township, and Sarah, married
to Samuel Albright, of Morrow county, Ohio.
The mother of this family is still living.
Adam Black was born in Richland county,
Ohio, January 7, 1846, was reared on his fa
ther's farm in Van Wert county, and was ed
ucated in the little pioneer log school-house.
He came, an infant, to Van Wert county with
his parents, here grew to manhood, and as
sisted in clearing up the farm from the woods
and in cultivating it until his enlistment, Feb
ruary 27, 1864, in company H, Fifteenth Ohio
volunteer infantry, under Capt. Uptergraft,
going at once to the front and taking part in
the hard-fought battle of Resaca, May 14-15,
1864; May 27, 1864, at Pickett's Mill, Ga., he
was shot by a sharp-shooter, the ball passing
through his arm near the shoulder, and was at
once sent to the field hospital, where his
wound was dressed, and then to hospital No.
19, at Nashville, Tenn., where he was con
fined three weeks, when he was sent to New
Albany, Ind., Camp Dennison, Ohio, Camp
Chase, Camp Douglas, 111., and to Cairo, 111.,
successively, and at the latter place honorably
discharged November 16, 1865. As a com
pensation for the wound here spoken of he
now receives a pension of $12 per month. All
his pay as a soldier he had carefully saved and
forwarded to his father, who applied it to the
purchase of the farm on which our subject now
lives, and on which he settled in 1875, being
this year united in marriage with Anna Livens-
parger, daughter of David and Catherine
Livensparger, of Richland county. This lady
was born in Richland county September 20,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

59

1 84 1, bore her husband two children — Ruther
ford E. and Minerva C. J. (deceased) — and
died November 29, 1879. Mr. Black chose
for his second wife Miss Harriet Hynes, daugh
ter of David and Nancy (Linder) Hynes, and
this union has been blessed with two children
— Bertha E. and Laura. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Black are members of the Evangelical church
and in politics Mr. Black is a republican; he is
also a member of the Vance post, G. A. R. ,
at Scott, Ohio, is an Odd Fellow and is a
highly respected and useful citizen.

m

ATHIAS BOCKEY, one of the lead
ing farmers and citizens of Wash
ington township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, residing three miles north
west from Delphos, is a native of Ohio, and
was born in Big Spring township, Seneca
county, on June 4, 1841. His parents were
John and Margaret (Simonis) Bockey, both
natives of Germany. They were married in
Germany, and several of their children were
born before they came to America. They lo
cated first in Seneca county, where they re
mained until 1867, and then came to Delphos,
where they resided for a short time, then re
moved to Landeck, in Marion township, Allen
county, where they resided several years, when
they returned to Delphos. They both died in
Delphos, the mother dying on April 23, 1887,
and the father on April 11, 1889. Both were
members of Saint John's Roman Catholic
church of Delphos. There were eleven chil
dren born to the parents, only the following
four of whom are now living: Elizabeth,
widow of Charles Scheffer, late of Delphos;
Margaret, now the wife of Joseph Meyers, of
Delphos; Adam, a farmer of Marion township,
Allen county, and Mathias.
Our subject was reared on the farm in Sen
eca county, and attended the common schools,

learning both English and German. He re
mained on his father's farm until 1864, marry
ing, in 1863, Anna M. Koch, of Seneca county,
when he came to Spencer township, Allen
county, where he purchased a farm of 120
acres. This land was unimproved and was
chiefly in woods. He erected a log house, into
which, with his wife, he moved, and began at
work clearing up the land. His wife died on
this place March 5, 1870, and October 24,
1 87 1, Mr. Bockey was united in marriage to
Agnes Koch, a sister of his first wife, who was.
born in Seneca county, on January 21, 1850.
The parents of Mrs. Bockey were Adam and
Catherine (Smith) Koch, both natives of
Mendlesheim, Bavaria, Germany, and came
to America in 1834, and were married,
at Tiffin, Ohio, May 9, 1841. The mother
died May 10, i860, leaving six out of eight
children, four of whom are now living:
John C. Koch, who is the attorney of
the Northwestern Railroad company, and a
leading citizen of Eagle Grove, Iowa; Mrs.
Bockey; George W. , a citizen of Bowling-
Green, Ohio, and Mrs. Mary Bohnlein, of
Allen county. From Seneca county, the
father removed to Wood county, Ohio, where
he died on July 10, 1882. He was born Feb
ruary 2, 1818, and his wife was born July 7,
1819. April 22, 1875, Mr. Bockey removed
to Stewart, Adair county, Iowa, where he pur
chased property and engaged in the milling
business; but the milling business not agreeing
with his health he remained there but a short
time, returning to his farm in Allen county,
Ohio. There he remained until 1885, when
he purchased 268 acres in sections Nos. 1 5 and
16, Washington township, upon which he re
moved. Of the farm there are 142 acres
cleared and under cultivation. At the time he
moved on, the front part of his present large
two-story residence was built, since when he
has added the balance. In 1891 he built his

60

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

barn, which is the largest in Van Wert county,
and one of the finest to be found anywhere.
It is an L building, dimensions* as follows:
Front L, 76x40 feet; the other L is 112x40
and is what is known as a bank barn. The
height of the sides is twenty feet, and from the
ventilators to the ground is forty-nine feet.
In 1 890 Mr. Bockey sold forty acres of his
unimproved land in Allen county, to the Stand
ard Oil company. This land he purchased in
1864 for $17 per acre, and sold it for $100 per
acre. When Mr. Bockey came to Allen county
he was possessor of but small capital, his
assets amounting then to about $500. What
he now has he has earned himself, relying en
tirely on his own energy and ability. The
principal crops of Mr. Bockey are wheat and
corn. In 1894 he produced over 4, 200 bush
els of grain beside other crops. He also raised
large quantities of peaches, he having about
300 peach trees; he also grows all kinds of
other fruit and berries. He grows large herds
of beef cattle, and in 1894 raised the finest
cattle ever shipped from Delphos. Four of
his beef cattle were shipped to Europe, the
four weighing 6,340, receiving $238 for them.
He keeps on an average of forty head.
The children of Mr. Bockey are as follows:
Margaret, Catherine, Mary, Adam Raphael,
Annie I., Lucy S., John Edward, Arthur M. Mr.
Bockey and family are members of the Saint
John's Roman Catholic church. In politics he
is a democrat. He is a self-made man and has
accumulated his property by his own exertions.
He has endured many privations and hard
ships, and now, at his time of life, is entitled
to enjoy the comfort of his fine home and sur
roundings. Mr. Bockey has for years run a
threshing machine and clover huller in his
home vicinity, and no man that has served the
public has given better service or better satis
faction than he. He is an affable gentleman
to meet and one who inspires confidence at

every turn. Mr. Bockey is known as one of
the progressive and benevolent men of his
neighborhood and county, and is also greatly
respected wherever known.

%S~\ AVID R. BONEWITZ, the leading
| I dry-goods merchant of Van Wert,
/\J Ohio, is a native of Fayette county,
Pa., and was born January 9, 1831,
a son of Jacob and Catherine (Franks) Bone-
witz, the former of whom was born in Maryland,
May 5, 1787, and a son of Jacob and Sarah
(Spiker) Bonewitz, the last named Jacob also
born in Maryland, and a son of Jacob who was
born in Baden, Germany, and was one of three
brothers — -John, George and Jacob — who came
to America together. Of these, John wentnorth,
while George and Jacob located in Maryland,
where, it is supposed, they passed the re
mainder of their lives. Jacob Bonewitz, the
grandfather of David R., our subject, settled
in Fayette county, Pa. , in 1 800, where he was
engaged in farming until his decease. The
eight children born to himself and wife Sarah
were named Jacob, John, Joseph, Solomon,
Rosanna, Ann Marie, Catherine and Elizabeth,
all now deceased. Jacob Bonewitz, the eldest
of the above family and the father of our sub
ject, was reared in Fayette county, Pa., lived
with his parents until twenty-one years of age,
learned shoemaking, was foreman of a shop
in Pittsburg in 18 10, and went thence to Mount
Vernon, Ohio, where he was foreman for the
John Shaw Boot and Shoe factory until his
father's death, when he returned to Pennsyl
vania and acted as administrator of the estate.
He was there married, in 1820, to Catherine
Franks, who was born in Pennsylvania, in
1802, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah Franks,
also natives of the Keystone state. After his
marriage, Mr. Bonewitz resided on the old
homestead until 1833, when he moved to East

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

61

Union township, Wayne county, Ohio, and
passed the remainder of his life. He was the
fother of nine children, viz: F. J., H. W.,
Sarah J., David R., Julia G., M. V., Eliza
beth, Martha and Joseph A.
David R. Bonewitz was reared from three
years of age to maturity in Wayne county,
Ohio, and in 1854 came to Van Wert county,
located in Tully township, and engaged in
farming until he was drafted in October, 1862,
for nine months, and was assigned to company
G, Twentieth regiment, Ohio volunteer in
fantry, Seventeenth army corps; at the ex
piration of his time, on his return home, with
$600 given him by his father, he engaged in
general merchandising in partnership with his
brother-in-law, A. Eyman, at Convoy, in Tully
township, which trade was successfully con
ducted for eight years, when he sold his inter
est and resumed farming for two years in
Ridge township, when he returned to Convoy,
farmed until 1876, and in 1877 located in Van
Wert city, formed the firm of Bonewitz,
Schumm & Co., and dealt in dry goods, car
pets, notions, etc., until 1879, when the firm
name was changed to Bonewitz & Schumm,
and so remained until 1884, when Mr. Bone
witz became sole proprietor, since when he
has kept the most popular and fashionable
establishment in its line in Van Wert, his
stock, in all departments, being unsurpassed
in the city.
Mr. Bonewitz was married in Van Wert,
January 9, 1866, to Catherine Richie, a sister
of H. G. Richie, of whom mention is made
elsewhere, and to this happy union have been
born four children, viz: Lee, Van and Horace,
assistants in their father's store, and Mary, at
bome. The family are members of the Pres
byterian church and are very highly respected
in the community. Mr. Bonewitz is the owner
of the imposing three-story building in which
he carries on his business, the salesroom of

which measures 22x132 feet, and is filled with
the most select stock to be found in north
west Ohio.

>V OSIAH BOWERS, a well and widely
A known citizen of Harrison township,
/• 1 Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in
Whetstone township, Crawford county,
Ohio, July 9, 1830, of Scotch lineage. His
father, Benjamin Bowers, was born in 1805,
near Hagerstown, Md., and was a small boy
when brought to Ohio by his father, who set
tled in Stark county. Benjamin there grew
up among the frontiersman, and there married
Rebecca Lichtenwalter, and later moved to
Crawford county, Ohio, where he developed
from the wilderness a farm of 320 acres, and
owned, beside, a large amount of land in other
parts of the country.
Josiah Bowers was reared to manhood on
his father's homestead, and April 10, 1851,
married Henriette Bare, daughter of John
Bare, and to this union were born three chil
dren who died young, and one, Rebecca, who
is now the wife of Amos Hawkins, a farmer of
Nebraska. In 1852 Mr. Bowers came to Van
Wert county and settled on eighty acres of land
in Harrison township, where he made a good
home. He lost his wife in 1853, when he
went to Van Wert village and engaged in the
clothing business, and later moved to Celina,
Ohio, where he engaged in the same, trade un
til May 14, 1 86 1, when he enlisted in company
D, Third Ohio battery, state troops, for three
years, but at the end of six months received
his discharged and enlisted again for three
years or during the war in the Third independ
ent Ohio battery, which was mustered into the
United States service, and in this he served
until honorably discharged, on account of dis
ability, at Saint Louis, Mo., in 1863. He next
served about six months in the One Hundred

62

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and Sixty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, then
a year, or during war, in the One Hundred
and Sixteenth regiment, and was finally dis
charged, in 1 86 5, with the rank of first sergeant.
February 22, 1866, the second marriage of
Mr. Bowers took place to Margaret Jane Miller,
and to this union have been born six children,
viz: Henriette, married to Jasper Lyons, of
Harrison township; Lulu, wife of Enos Britt
son, now deceased; Vinta, married to Sherman
Albright, of Harrison township; Jesse W. Fre
mont, Jasper and Harlan. After marriage,
Mr. Bowers settled on a farm of 105 acres in
Harrison township, and in 1882 opened a gen
eral store at Middlebury, where he is still doing
a successful business, also superintends his
farm of forty acres adjoining the town. Mr.
and Mrs. Bowers are members of the Baptist
church, and in politics Mr. Bowers is a repub
lican. He is a gentleman who has always had
a steady purpose in life, has worked hard and
acquired a competence, and it may well be
said that this family is one of the most highly
respected in Van Wert county.

^/^\ EV. JOHN T. BOW7ER, deceased,
1/^ was born in Blair county, Pa., De-
j^ > cember 27, 1834. His parents,
Daniel and Rosanna Bower, were
natives of Germany, and early in 1834 came
to America, making their first home in Blair
county, Pa., but shortly afterward came to
Ohio, located in Perry county, and in 1840
removed to Marion county, where the father,
after a useful life as a farmer died in 1868,
and the mother in 1872. Their thirteen chil
dren were named, as follows: Frederick, Ro
sanna, Caroline, Theophilus, Louisa, Charles,
Augustus, Lewis, Hannah, John T., Samuel,
Elizabeth and Daniel. Of this family seven
are deceased, viz: Caroline, Theophilus,

Charles, Augustus, Elizabeth, Hannah and
JohnT. '
John T. Bower was reared on the farm in
Marion county, attended the common schools
until nineteen years of age, then passed a year
in the Delaware university, of Ohio, and in
1854 received a license to preach, receiving,
also the same year, a local preacher's license
in the Methodist Episcopal church. At the
annual conference ensuing he was received on
trial and appointed as junior preacher in the
Mount Victory circuit, with William H Taylor
as preacher in charge and Henry Pilcher as
presiding elder. After filling this position one
year, Mr. Bower was called to Zanesville,
Ohio, where he remained two years, following
which he had charges in Ohio as follows: Ver
sailles, two years; Greenville, one year; Fort
Seneca, one year; Antwerp, two years; Airs-
ville, two years; Saint John, two years; Mc
Comb,' two years; Cairey, one year; Arcanum,
three years; again at McComb, three years;
Lakeside, one year; Airsville, again, one year;
thence he came, in 1875, to Van Wert, where
he officiated until 18 80; hence to William
Centre, two years; Hardin, two years, and
Center, one year. From Ohio he was trans
ferred to Athens, Tenn., where he remained
three years and then, in 1892, returned to
Van Wert, Ohio, and here served as a faithful
servant in the Master's vineyard until February
14, 1893, when he was called from labor to
eternal rest.
On June 26, 1861, Rev. John T. Bower
was united in the holy bonds of matrimony, in
at Paulding, Ohio, with Miss Rachel W. .
Wiyans, who was born in Troy, Ohio, Novem
ber 24, 1 841, a daughter of John C. and Mary
N. (Clark) Wiyans, of Holland descent, and
the parents of six children, born in the follow
ing order: Delilah Ann (deceased), Mary J.
(deceased), Josephine H., Charles, John (de
ceased), and Rachel W. (Mrs. Bower). To

WILLIAM J. BIEBER,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

67

the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bower were born
three children, viz; Frank W., a painter; Inez
G., a clerk, and Harry C, at home with his
mother. Mrs. Bower has a comfortable com
petency left her by her lamented husband.
She is a devout member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, is highly respected in society,
and is much admired for her amiability and
lady-like demeanor.

ST

'ILLIAM BIEBER, a highly respected
business man of Van Wert, was
born in Van Wert, Ohio, a son of
Charles Bieber, mentioned in full
below. When but a child he went with his
mother to Toledo, where, with her, he resided
until 1873, there receiving his education. He
first moved to Philadelphia, Pa., where he
learned the cigar maker's trade, which he fol
lowed there until 1890, when he and his mother
came to Van Wert, and here he took charge
of his inheritence, which amounted to about
$4,000, mostly in realty, and continued to
support his mother until her death in 1893,
since when subject and sister have made their
home together. He is a democrat in politics
and a Methodist in religion. He is an ener
getic business man and a whole-souled gentle
man, who has made hosts of friends and enjoys
the respect of them all, as well as that of the
public in general.
Charles Bieber, late of Van Wert, was born
in Sweibrecken, Germany, and descended from
noble ancestry, yet at an early age learned the
business of a baker, at which he worked for a
number of years. He emigrated to this coun
try when he was twenty-one years of age,
landing in New York, and going thence to
New Orleans. He then went to Philadelphia,
where he was married, and returned to New
York, in the meantime continuing to work at
his trade in each place, in order to secure

money with which to pay his expenses. Still
later he spent five or six years in traveling
through southern states. In 1854 he finally
settled down in Van Wert, where he lived
until his death, which occurred, April 15, 1889.
For some time after locating in Van Wert he
worked at his trade and then established him
self as a merchant, meeting with success, and
retiring from active life in 1875, on account of
old age. He was a member of Saint Peter's.
Evangelical church, and was always charitably
disposed, giving his means in aid of all worthy
enterprises that appealed to him. Mr. Bieber
and his wife were the parents of five children,
viz: Louisa, widow of Andrew Richter, whose
sketch appears on a following page, Mary,
Emma, Elizabeth, and William, only two of
whom are now living, Louisa and William,
both residents of Van Wert.

Wl

ILLIAM BOWER, one of the pio
neers of Harrison township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, and whose la
mented death occurred June 25,
1895, descended from an old Pennsylvania
family of German extraction. John Bower,
his father, was a native of York county, Pa.,
was reared on a farm, and married Elizabeth
Warner; to this marriage were born the fol
lowing children: William, Jacob, John, Levi,
David (who died young), Catherine, Elizabeth,
Sarah A. and Lydia A. John Bower, early in
1825, came to Ohio and located in Harrison
county, and in 1839 came to Van Wert county,
and settled on 160 acres in Tully township.
He was a shoemaker by trade, as well as
farmer, a highly respected citizen, and a mem
ber of the Lutheran church.
William Bower, whose name opens this
mention, was born in York county, Pa., May
3, 18 1 3, and was twelve years of age when
brought to Ohio. He grew up a farmer, and

68

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in 1836 married Sarah Tenner, daughter of
John and Mary (Tipton) Tenner, of Harrison
county. Three years after his marriage Mr.
Bower, in October, 1839, came to Van Wert
county and entered 160 acres in the wild woods
of Harrison township, before the Indians had
left the country and when the forest was abound
ing in wild game. In due course of time he
succeeded in clearing up his farm and in mak
ing a good home. He became a represent
ative citizen, and a popular democrat, and
served as township clerk, assessor, trustee;
was twice a member of the school board and
a supervisor several times, and, indeed, filled
all the offices of the township, with the excep
tion of justice of the peace. He was a mem
ber of the Lutheran church, was one of the
organizers of the first Lutheran congregation
in Harrison township, and filled the offices of
elder and Sunday-school superintendent. To
Mr. and Mrs. William Bower were born eight
children, viz: John T., Emanuel, Mary, Kate,
Andrew, Daniel, Rachael and Clara. Two of
the above-named sons served in the late Civil
war. Emanuel was in the Forty-sixth Ohio
infantry and served nearly four years; Andrew
was in the Fifty-second regiment, Ohio infan
try, and was killed in the trenches before
Atlanta. John T. Bower, the eldest child of the
above named family, and was born in Harrison
county, Ohio, February 15, 1837, and was
about two years of age when brought to Har
rison township, Van Wert county. He re
ceived the ordinary education given to pioneer
farmers' lads, was reared to farm life, and in
early life married Clara A. Pomeroy. To this
union were born eight children, viz: Sarah
A., Lucy, William, Bert, Bertha, Charles,
Delia and John W. Mr. Bower is a democrat
in politics and has served as township clerk,
as assessor, and as clerk of the school board.
He lost his wife April 10, 1893, and has never

ceased to mourn his deprivation. William
Pomeroy, father of the late Mrs. Bower, came
from the state of New York, was of New Eng
land descent, and died in Michigan, aged
more than seventy years.

>-tjAMES BRADLEY, one of the older
A farmers of Hoaglintownship, Van Wert
/• 1 county, Ohio, and mill-owner, is of
^"^ Scotch-English descent. John Bradley,
his grandfather, on coming from England, lived
in Pennsylvania for a considerable time, but in
1820 came to Ohio and entered eighty acres of
land in Richland county, on which he made
his permanent home. He married a Miss
Powell, reared a family and died on his farm,
a member of the Presbyterian church. Will
iam Bradley, son of John, above mentioned,
and father of our subject, was born in Penn
sylvania, and was eighteen years of age when
he first came to Ohio, prior to the coming of
his father, and selected a farm on which he
made the first improvement; subsequently
wrought out an eighty-acre farm for himself.
He married Miss Priscilla Hoy, who bore him
the following children: Jane (deceased), Mar
garet, John (deceased), Richard (deceased),
Mary, Elizabeth, Thomas and Priscilla, beside
our subject; the parents both died in Richland
county, members of the United Presbyterian
church. James Bradley, whose name opens this
biography, was born in Richland county, Ohio,
March 25, 1838, and has been engaged in
farming and milling and mechanical work ever
since boyhood. On reaching his majority, he
he married Miss Catherine Light, daughter of
Michael and Catherine (Hinkst) Light. The
marriage took place in Crawford county, Ohio,
but house-keeping began in Richland county,
whence, three years later, the young couple
moved to Allen county, where Mr. Bradley

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

69

farmed for seventeen years, and then came to
Van Wert county, where he has resided twelve
years. The result of the marriage of Mr. and
Mrs. Bradley is the following family: William
M., Cora E. (deceased), Lydia J., Homer,
Hattie M., Mary C. and George F.
Michael Light, the father of Mrs. Bradley,
was born in Dauphin county, Pa., March 25,
1809, and his wife, Catherine Hinkst, was a
native of York county, Pa., born December 4,
1 82 1 . They were married in Richland county,
Ohio, where the parents of each had long
before settled. The children born to Mr. and
Mrs. Light were nine in number, and were
born in the following order: Mary (deceased),
Daniel, Samuel, John (deceased), Catherine
and Lydia (twins), George, Michael (deceased)
and Margaret. The grandparents of Mrs.
Bradley, John and Nancy (Landis) Light, came
from Dauphin county, Pa., to Richland county,
Ohio, in the pioneer days, entered a tract of
sixty acres, and were among the first to give
tone to the respectability of their township.
The farm now owned and occupied by
James Bradley, our subject, comprises 119
acres, and is unexcelled in its arable character
by any other in the township. It has been
brought to its present state of productiveness
wholly by the labor and skill of Mr. Bradley
himself, who is an adept in agricultural affairs.
But his ingenuity and skill are not confined
solely to farming. He also owns and operates
a saw-mill, threshing machine, shingle ma
chine, and a feed-mill connected with his saw
mill. In all his worldly or temporal affairs
Mr. Bradley has evidenced wonderful sagacity
and exercised a prodigious amount of energy,
both mental and physical. His moral senti
ment is intensly developed, and is manifested
in his every act. He is a trustee in the United
Brethren' church, and was active in promoting
the erection of the house of worship now owned
by that denomination in Hoaglin township,

and was extremely liberal in his pecuniary aid
for the purpose. In politics Mr. Bradley is an
ardent prohibitionist, and socially he and fam
ily rank among the best of Van Wert county.

BRANK M. BRICKNER, one of the
well known farmers of Washington
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
and trustee of the township, is a
native of Ohio, having been born at Tiffin,
Seneca county, on April 22, 1861. He is a
son of John and Caroline (Shull) Brickner.
The father is a native of Ausbach, Bavaria,
Germany, born December 11, 1831, and the
mother -was born in Tiffin, Seneca county,
Ohio, October 7, 1838. The father came to
America in 1839, when a boy of eight years,
his father, Michael Brickner, settled in Seneca
county, Ohio. In 1863, John Brickner re
moved to Van Wert county and purchased the
land where he now resides in Washington
township, three miles northwest of Delphos,
and here he has since resided.
Our subject is the eldest of nine children
born to his parents, seven of whom are living.
He was reared on the farm in Washington
township and secured his education in the pub
lic schools. When about nineteen years of
age he left home and worked on the farms in
the neighborhood of Delphos, and for three
months at Tiffin. On October 7, 1884, he
was united in marriage to Mary Elizabeth
Baumgarte, who was born in Washington
township, Van Wert county, Ohio, on June
28, i860, and is the daughter of Conrad
Baumgarte, one of the well known farmers of
Van Wert county and Washington township.
To Mr. and Mrs. Brickner four children have
been born as follows: Ida C, born August 16,
1885; Edward J., born August 19, 1887;
Lucy C, born March 29, 1890; Theodore H.,
born June 26, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Brickner

70

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

are members of the Saint John's Roman Cath
olic church of Delphos.
Mr. Brickner has always been a democrat
in politics, and has always taken an active in
terest in political and public matters. In
April, 1895, he was thecandidate of the demo
cratic party for trustee of Washington town
ship, and was elected by the usual majority,
going into office on the tenth day of April.
Mr. Brickner is one of the best known of the
younger farmers of Washington township. He
is a good business man, and will .no doubt
give general satisfaction in the discharge of his
official duties. He is enterprising and ener
getic, and is public spirited in every way. For
nine years Mr. Brickner was engaged in the
manufacture of tile upon his farm and made
quite a success of the business. He sold out
that business in 1891.

t*f\ ENJAMIN BRITTSON, a substantial
|(^^ farmer of Harrison township, Van
JAi^J Wert county, Ohio, is a son of one of
Van Wert's pioneers, and is of ante-
Revolutionary descent. His grandfather,"
Isaac Brittson, came from Beaver county, Pa.,
to the far west in 1830 and settled in Adams
county, Ind. , where he was killed at a barn
raising at the age of fifty-six years. Isaac
Brittson, Jr., son of the Isaac aboved named
and the father of Benjamin, our subject, was
born September 27, 1818, in Beaver county,
Pa., was reared from the age of twelve years
on his father's farm in Adams county, Ind.,
came to Van Wert county in early manhood
and first married Elizabeth Pring, daughter of
Richard Pring, a pioneer of Van Wert county,
and the father of ten children. After marriage,
Isaac Brittson, Jr., settled on wild land in the
central part of Harrison township. To his
first marriage were born nine children — Mary,
Daniel, Jeremiah, Martha, Benjamin, John,

Jenny, Lucina and William. The second wife
of Mr. Brittson bore the maiden name of Sarah
J. Pomeroy and became the mother of nine
children— Enos, Walter, Eliza, Bert, Willis,
Lizzie, Frank, Chauncey and Charles. The
second Mrs. Brittson died, and for his third
wife Mr. Brittson married Mrs. Mary M.
Hillard, who bore him three children — James,
Catherine and Bessie. Mr. Brittson was first
a Lutheran, but later became a Methodist, in
which faith he died March 23, 1891. In poli
tics he was a democrat.
Benjamin Brittson was born March 12,
1850, on his father's farm in Harrison town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, received a good
common-school education, and was reared to
farming and also learned the carpenter's trade.
February 18, 1877, he was united in wedlock
with Eliza E. Capper, daughter of Stephen
and Ellen (Stewart) Capper — the former born
June 1, 18 18, and the latter February 15,
1 82 1. Stephen Capper, in 1841, settled on
the farm now occupied by our subject, the
place containing 160 acres in the woods. His
wife was a daughter of Mahlon Stewart, who
was born in Maryland, of Scotch descent, and
settled in Ohio in 1822. Mr. and Mrs. Cap
per were the parents of seven children, viz:
Elizabeth, David (killed in the battle at Dal
ton, Ga.), Mahlon, James, Thomas, Welling
ton and Eliza E. After marriage, Mr. Britt
son settled on the Capper homestead, and
here he has since lived. To his union with
Miss Capper were born three children — Charles,
Hattie and an infant that died unnamed. Mrs..
Eliza E. Brittson died April 7, 1883, and
March 23, 1884, Mr. Brittson married Miss-
Alice L. Harr, daughter of John H. Harr,
whose biography is to be found on another
page, and to this union have been born two-
children, Florence and Mary. Mr. Brittson
has been a church elder for five years, and in
politics he is a democrat; he is also a member

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

71

of the Hiawatha tribe, No. 116, I. O. R. M.,
of Convoy, and is recognized throughout the
communtity as an upright, straightforward
gentleman and citizen.

>-j* OSEPH BRODNIX.— Among the old
A and well known citizens of Van Wart
/• 1 county, Ohio, deserving mention with
its representative citizens, the name of
Joseph Brodnix, of Van Wert, is worthy of
extended notice. He was born in Bucks
county, Pa., August 3, 1827, son of Thomas
and Anna (Boyd) Brodnix. Thomas Brodnix,
also a native of the aforesaid county and state,
was born February 2, 1799, and his father,
also named Thomas, was born in 1758, in
France. Thomas Brodnix, Sr., received a
military education in his native country, and
when a young man came to America in time
to take part in the Revolutionary war, at the
close of which he settled in Bucks county, Pa.,
where he followed the farmer's vocation. He
also served in the war of 1812. He married
Sarah Barrico, who bore him five children:
Sarah, Nancy, William, Thomas, and Hannah,
all deceased. The father of the above-named
children died in 1836 and the mother in 1839.
Thomas Brodnix, Jr., the date of whose
birth is given in the preceding paragraph, was
born and reared to manhood in Bucks county,
Pa. , and was there educated in a Quaker school,
his parents having been birthright members of
the Society of Friends. While still young he
learned carpet-weaving, and followed the same
for some years in the city of Philadelphia, and
about 1832 engaged in boating on the Dela
ware river for two or three years. He then
followed carpet-weaving in Dayton, Ohio, and
about 1840 came to Van Wert county, locat
ing in York township, where he made his home
till 1865, moving at that time to Defiance,
where his death occurred February 1, 1892.

Thomas Brodnix, Jr., was twice married; the
first time, to Anna Boyd, by whom he had six
children: Joseph, subject of this biography;
Sarah, widow of A. M. Corgan, resident of
Defiance, Ohio; John, a resident of Napoleon,
Ohio; Anna, wife of James Boyd, of Paulding
coumty; Isabella, and Edward H., deceased.
Mr. Brodnix's second marriage was with Janett
Bronson, who is also deceased.
Joseph Brodnix, the leading everwte of whose
life are herewith set forth, was thirteen years
old when his parents came to Van Wert county,
but previous to that time he worked at carpet-
weaving, with his father, in the city of Dayton.
He remainad under the parental roof until
reaching manhood's estate, and about 1848
accepted a clerkship in a general store, in
which capacity he continued four years, and
for two years was engaged as salesman in a dry-
goods house. His next employment was in a
hotel at Saint Mary's, where he remained for
a short time and then taught school, for less
than one year, in the town of Mendon, Mercer
county. Returning to Van Wert county, Mr. Brod-
bix, on the 3rd day of July, 185 1, was united
in marriage to Lydia A. Cook, daughter of
Daniel Cook, of Virginia, and immediately
thereafter engaged in agricultural pursuits in
Pleasant township, renting land for three years,
and then purchased a farm consisting of 160
acres in the township of Pleasant; he sold this
place in 1864, then bought 160 acres in Liberty
township, eighty acres of he gave to his son,
B. B. He followed the farmer's vocation with
fair success, until 1865, at which time he dis
posed of his place and moved to the city of
Van Wert, where for some time he engaged in
the boot and shoe trade. Severing his con
nection with the mercantile business, Mr.
Brodnix next turned his attention to house-
painting and later engaged in house-decorating
and paper-hanging, which he still follows. In

72

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the various enterprises in which he has been
engaged, he has been successful and now has
a comfortable competency, including a residence
in the city and a good farm, also owning, in
partnership with his brother, 102 acres of land
in the county of Defiance.
By his first marriage, alluded to in the pre
ceding paragraph, Mr. Brodnix became the
father of eight children, whose names, in order
of birth, are as follows: Anna, Emma, Ella,
Julia, Frank, Ida, Perry and Bennie, all de
ceased but the last named. Mrs. Brodnix was
born in Richland county, Ohio, and departed
this life July 17, 1892. On the second day of
February, 1893, Mr. Brodnix married his
present wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Shanor, widow
of the late Dr. Shanor of Allegheny, Pa.
Mr. Brodnix is a member of the I. O. O.
F., a republican in politics, and with his wife
belongs to the Presbyterian church. In all the
essentials of true manhood, and good citizen
ship, he is not wanting, and during his long
residence in Van Wert he has won a warm and
abiding place in the affections of the people; he
is kindhearted, his integrity has never been
questioned, and throughout a long and useful
life, he has kept on the best of terms with his
fellow-men. Bennie B. Brodnix is the only living child
of Joseph and Lydia Brodnix. Mr. Brodnix
was born in Van Wert county, Ohio, April 16,
1872, and passed his youthful years in the city
of Van Wert, in the schools of which he ac
quired a good English education. On the 22d
of November, 1 89 5, he was united in marriage
with Miss Leona V., daughter of Franklin and
Mary J. (Weber) Yant, and immediately there
after began farming his present place, consist
ing of eighty acres of fine land in Liberty town
ship. Mr. Brodnix has made many substantial
improvements on this place, developing its
natural resources, erecting buildings, etc., and
has the satisfaction of knowing that under his

successful management it has been made one
of the finest farms of its size in Liberty. B.
B. Brodnix is republican in politics, and also
a member of North Liberty Methodist church.
Mrs. Brodnix's father, Franklin Yant, was
born in Stark county, Ohio, December 28,
1 83 1, and her mother first saw the light of day
in the county of Columbiana on the 30th day
of August, 1835. They were marrried in
Mercer county, Ohio, thence moved to the
county of Van Wert, settling in Liberty town
ship; he served in the late war in company K,
Eighty-eighth Ohio infantry, was a republican
in politics, a member of the Methodist church,
in which he held the office of trustee and stew
ard, and died March 27, 1894. His father,
Philip Yant, a native of Pennsylvania, married
Nancy Nicholas, and in an early day immi
grated to Stark county, Ohio, thence, later,
became a resident of Van Wert county, being
among its well known pioneers.

%*/^% ENJAMIN BROWN, one of the most
I^C substantial and experienced of the
JA^A farmers of Willshire township, Van
Wert county, was born in Morrow
county, Ohio, December 24, 1835, was fairly
well educated and has always ben prominent
as an agriculturist. Payne T. Brown, father
of our subject, was born near Steubenville, N.
Y., in 1802, and when he attained his major
ity came to Ohio, in company with his mother,
his father having previously died in the Empire
state. Payne T. and his mother located in
Richland county, where Payne T. was mar
ried to Elizabeth Vanator. The young couple
then entered eighty acres of land in what is
now Morrow county, and also purchased eighty
additional acres, thus making a good farm.
In later life they removed to Van Wert county
and purchased in Whillshire township the farm
of 230 acres on which our subject now resides,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

73

and where Payne T. died in August, 1872,
leaving a widow and the following children:
Mary; Mrs. Sarah A. Stane; Thomas, de
ceased; Benjamin, our subject; Emeline; Henry;
Susan, deceased, and Thomas. The mother
of these children now makes her home on the
old homestead, which, when settled, was six
miles away from the nearest neighbor.
Benjamin Brown was married, September
15, 1859, to Lucinda Majors, daughter of
Joshua and Harriet (Julick) Majors, who were
very early settlers in Adams county, Ind. —
the former being a famous hunter and fisher
man, who paid for his Adams county farm
with deer-skins. He eventually moved to
Henry county, Mo., where he died in 1890,
and where his widow still resides. Just five
years after marriage Benjamin Brown enlisted,
September 15, 1864, in company D, Forty-
first Ohio volunteer infantry, was detailed as
a post guard in the army of Gen. George H.
Thomas, saw much active duty in the cam
paigns in Kentucky, Tennessee and in Ala
bama, and was honorably discharged June 15,
1865. The family born to Mr. and Mrs. Ben
jamin Brown was comprised of the following
accomplished sons and daughters: Rosa, de
ceased wife of Alfred Ayers; George W., who
lives in Athens, Tenn. ; Benjamin, who was an
operator for seven years for the Chicago &
Erie Railway company, never made a mistake
of one cent in his accounts, and saved the
money necessary to defray the expenses of his
education, and will soon graduate from Beth
any college, W. Va. ; Ellsworth, principal of
the Ohio City schools and a member of the
county board of teachers' examiners; Maud,
who has secured her license and began teach
ing in the summer of 1895 ; Harry and Nellie —
the last two mentioned being also prepared for
the vocation of teaching. On the day of their
marriage Benjamin Brown and wife settled on
the present farm of 230 acres, and here their

interesting family have been born and reared.
The farm was then entirely new, but Mr. Brown
has converted it into one of the finest pieces of
property in the county, and has improved it
with a modern brick dwelling and other sub
stantial buildings. His cattle are full-blooded
short-horns,- and his other stock is equally as
choice, and he is one of the most progressive,
as well as one of the wealthiest farmers of the
county. Mr and Mrs. Brown are consistent
members of the Disciples' church, and in pol
itics Mr. Brown is a strong prohibitionist. The
social standing of the family is of course with
the best in the county.

5>^V ROF. ELLSWORTH BROWN, prin-
II m cipal of the high school of Ohio City,
I and son of Benjamin and Lucinda
Brown, was born near Willshire, Van
Wert count}', Ohio, June 4, 1866. The father
was born in what is now Morrow county, then
a part of the county of Richland, December
25, 1837, being the son of Payne T Brown, a
native of New York, who immigrated to Ohio
about 1830, settling in Richland county.
Payne T. Brown was of Scotch descent, a re
publican in politics, and for many years an
active member of the Christian church. He
married Elizabeth Vanator, and reared the
following children: Henry; Benjamin; Mary
Emeline, wife of Henry Trimby; Sarah, widow
of Thomas Stone; George W. , Rebecca, widow
of George Dettmer; Martin; Payne T. ; Susan,
and Thomas. The mother of these children
is still living, at a ripe old age ; the father de
parted this life in 1872.
Benjamin Brown, father of the subject,
was reared a farmer, and in 1859 married
Lucinda Major, daughter of Joshua and Harriet
(Gulick) Major, a union blessed with the birth
of the following children: Rosa, deceased wife
of A. A. Ayres; George W., a farmer, residing

74

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in Tennessee; Benjamin, professor of elocution
and oratory at Bethany college, Va. ; Ellsworth,
the subject of this sketch; Inez, a teacher in
Willshire and Maud, who is also engaged in
school work. Benjamin Brown and wife are
well known residents near the town of Will
shire, where they are highly respected. Mr.
Brown served in the late war, in the Forty-
second Ohio infantry, until the close of the
same, his period of enlistment having extended
from 1S63 to the latter part of 1865. In poli
tics he was originally a republican, but of late
years has been a supporter of the prohibition
party. He and wife are members of the
Christian church.
Joshua Major, father of Mrs. Benjamin
Brown, settled in Adams county, Ind., when
a young man, and lived there until 1874, when
he emigrated to Henry county, Mo., where his
death occurred in 1886; his wife, Harriet
Gulick, daughter of John Gulick, was born in
Romney, Va., and became the mother of the
following children: JohnE., Lucinda, Melissa,
Charles, Mrs. Eliza Kilmer, Mrs. Belle Curtis,
Daton, Henry, Davis W. and Mrs. Emma
Alfter. The immediate subject of this sketch laid
the foundation of his literary education in the
common schools of Willshire township, and at
tended two years at the Van Wert high school,
and at the early age of sixteen began teaching,
his first term being in district No. 4, Willshire
township. Subsequently, he taught in Pleas
ant township and Ohio City, three years in the
latter place, and then, actuated by a laudable
desire to increase his literary knowledge, en
tered the Western Ohio Normal school, from
which he was graduated at the end of two
years. On completing his course, Prof.
Brown was chosen a member of the faculty of
the aforesaid institution, but continued in that
capacity for only a limited period, resigning in
1889, in order to engage in educational work

in the south. He accepted a professorship in
an academy at Oak Grove, Ga., and taught
successfully for less than a year, and then re
signed to accept the superintendency of the
public schools of Flovilla, Ga., which position
he retained for four consecutive terms.
On the 7th day of August, 1890, Prof.
Brown entered into the marriage relation with
Miss Calla Hoffman, daughter of Christian and
Margaret Hoffman. (For sketch of Mrs.
Brown's parents, see biography of Christian
Hoffman.) Mrs. Brown was born December
26, 1868, in Van Wert county, attended the
country schools, and later graduated from the
Western Ohio normal at Middlepoint, Ohio,
completing her course in 1891, after her mar
riage. Mrs. Brown taught in the Ohio City
schools before her marriage and for two years
was assistant to her husband in the high
school in Flovilla. .Prof. Brown and Mrs.
Brown have three children — Minnie Lea,
Fawn and Allen DeWitt. Mr. Brown was
elected superintendent of the Ohio City schools
in September, 1892, and has discharged the
duties of this position in a capable and most
satisfactory manner ever since. In August,
1894, he was appointed member of the county
board of school examiners for three years, and
since that time has done much toward supply
ing the schools of the county with a superior
class of teachers. He is an enthusiast in his
profession, keeps fully abreast of the times,
and has before him a most promising future.
He is a member of the Methodist church, in
which he holds the office of trustee, and in
politics is a republican.

(D

T.

ARTIN BROWN, of the firm of
Brown & Barrick, Van Wert, Ohio,
is the eighth child of Payne T. and
Elizabeth (Vanator) Brown. Payne
Brown was born in the state of New York.

HENRY BUTLER.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

77

Upon reaching his majority he followed the
tide of emigration and came west, settling in
Morrow county, Ohio. Here he entered a
tract of eighty acres of land, made a clearing,
and sowed and reaped, and by frugality ac
quired a competency and reared his family. In
politics he was an old-line whig, and died,
honored and respected, in October, 1872. His
widow is a native of Ohio, a daughter of
James Vanator, one of the early pioneers of
Morrow county, and still resides upon the ^ld
homestead, loved and respected by all who
know her, at the advanced age of eighty-
seven years. To the union of this worthy
couple were born twelve children, as follows:
Mary; Sarah A. , wife of Thomas Stone; Henry,
deceased; Benjamin; Emeline, wife of Henry
Trimby; Rebecca, widow of George Doltmer;
George W. ; Martin; Payne; Susannah;
Marion, deceased, and Thomas, deceased.
Martin Brown the subject of this biogra
phy, was born on his father's farm in Morrow
county, Ohio, June 19, 1844. He received
such education as could be obtained in a dis
trict school in the early pioneer days. While
still in his teens, he left the paternal roof and
sought a change in Van Wert county. Here
he worked for a time on a farm owned by his
father, near Willshire. On reaching his ma
jority, he was employed as clerk for some ye^rs
in Willshire, and later he located near Rock-
ford, on a farm.
In the year 1875 he settled in Van Wert
and established himself in the livery business,
which he carried on successfully until 1881.
In 1883 he located in Willshire. where he es
tablished and conducted a general store for a
considerable time, when he disposed of his
business, and engaged in the agricultural im
plement trade until 1892. In this year he
established his present livery business. Mr.
Brown has been three times married. His first
wife was Miss Frank Work, who died in 1873.

Two children were born of this union, and
both died in infancy. His second marriage
occurred, in 1877, with Miss Maud Graham.
She died in 1882. For his third wife Mr.
Brown espoused Miss Hattie Parks. To this
marriage have been born the following family:
Carl, Maude, Ora, one who died in infancy
and Coil. In his political views Mr. Brown is
a republican. He is also a member in good
standing of Van Wert lodge, No. 218, F.
and A. M.

*-w •* ENRY BUTLER, one of the most
1^% enterprising citizens of Van Wert,
A .r Ohio, is a native of England, was
born February 12, 1839, near New
ark, Nottinghamshire, and is a son of John
and Elizabeth (Kirk) Butler, both natives of
the same shire, where they were married.
John Butler, from 1845 until his death, was a
dealer at Manchester in grain, flour, produce,
etc., and was a well educated gentleman. He
was a Methodist in his religion and in politics
was a liberal, and took great interest in all
public affairs. They were the parents of nine
children, named as follows: John; George,
deceased; Henry, the subject of this sketch;
Edwin, Elizabeth, William, Thomas and two
that died young®
Henry Butler was but ten years of age
when he left his native land in company with
an uncle, William Clay worth, and July 3,
1849, landed in New York, but shortly after
ward came to Ohio, and until October resided
in Zanesville, when the two came to Van
Wert and remained together until our subject
reached the age of eighteen years, although
during this interval our subject had passed a
year or two with a cousin in Huntington
county, Ind. On his final settlement in Van
Wert, Henry Butler was employed in railroading
until the breaking out of the late Civil war, when

78

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

he enlisted, April 17, 1861, in company E, Fif
teenth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months,
and after the expiration of his term returned
to Van Wert and engaged in handling coop
erage until 1863, when he enlisted in company
K, Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteers, under -*~ a
W. T. Davis, for the term of three yean,-, or
during the war. He was assigned to guard
duty at Camp Chase, where he remained until
his honorable discharge in August, 1865, and
again returned to Van Wert, where he became
connected with Senator Meredith in the manu
facture of staves and heading, though in a
short time J. S. Brumback bought out the
interest of Mr. Meredith, and the firm became
H. Butler & Co., and from August, 1865, until
1869, there was an interchange of several
partners. In the last-named year the business
was closed at Van Wert, and in 1890 Mr.
Butler trasferred the factory to Celina, Mercer
county, Ohio, where, in partnership with A.
L. Doran, he turns out from 6,000,000 to
8,000,000 staves per annum and heading in
proportionate quantities. Mr. Butler owns
much valuable real estate in the city of Van
Wert, and also property in Ohio City, which
town was laid out by himself and }. S. Brum
back, the banker, and Lester Patterson.
Mr. Butler is a republican in politics and
cast his first presidential vote for Abraham
Lincoln. He has served his fellow-citizens of
Van Wert as councilman for two years, was
one of the water-works trustees, and has been
a member of the park commissioners since the
organization of the board; he was also ap
pointed city treasurer in January, 1895. He
was one of the promoters of the Cincinnati,
Jackson & Mackinaw railroad, and with J. S.
Brumback, J. M. C. Marble and Lester Pat
terson, took the contract for building the first
ten miles of the road, of which he became the
president in 1879, and retained the position
three years. Mr. Butler is also secretary at

Van Wert for the Manitou Beach association,
on Devil's Lake, Mich.
Devil's Lake is a body of the purest water,
five miles in length by two in breadth. It has
"M average depth of twenty-five feet; its greatest
¦s about ninety feet. At Manitou Beach
thV increase in depth is very gradual, so that
— and more especially as the bottom of the
lake here is of clear white sand — the Beach is
a favorite bathing place. Even children may
bathe with safety, and boat to their hearts'
content. The water of the lake is supplied,
not by surface drainage, but by a number of
springs, some of them very large, in the bot
tom of the lake. There is an outlet but no
inlet. It is, in fact, a genuine "spring lake "
of such pure and clear water, that the fisher
man sees the white sand gleaming fifteen feet
below his canoe, as it rises and falls with the
waves. The lake abounds in fish, such as
black bass, perch and pickerel; and in both
spring and fall is frequented by large numbers
of wild duekD. Wild' geese also are to be
found on it in season; and quail and pheasants
are common in the surrounding country.
MANITOU BEACH is at the southwestern
end of Devil's Lake, at the point where the
main line of the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mack
inaw railroad touches the lake, and lies be
tween the railroad and the famous grove at
Manitou Beach. Its obvious advantages led
to its being selected as the site for a summer

village in 1887. In 1888 sufficient land for
the purposes was obtained and this new vil
lage was laid out carefully. No special effort
has been made to sell the lots, the syndicate
preferring to wait, for a short time, the effect
of the growing popularity of Devil's Lake.
In June of 1889 the village contained but
three houses and now about forty, of which
twenty-five are taseful cottages, built by those
whom the local reputation of Devil's Lake at
once attracted when the most desirable part of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

79

it became easily accessible. The streets of the
town, already graded, are sixty -six and ioo
feet in width, and are lined with shade trees.
The land rolls slightly, affording easy, natural
drainage, and a number of charming s'ites t°'
cottages. The railway depot, telegraph
express offices are within easy walk of aiIr'uTe
cottages. Of this delightful village, as has
been intimated, Mr. Butler is the founder, A.
L. Doran, of Celina, holding a half interest. -
Mr. Butler was first married, March i,
1866, at Van Wert, to Elizabeth Fouty, a na
tive of Marion county, Ohio, and a daughter
of Isaac and Grace Fouty, and the fruits of
this union were two children — Edwin V. and
Emma M. Mrs. Butler was called to her
heavenly home in March, 1882. For his sec
ond mate Mr. Butler chose Mrs. Eva M.
Clark, daughter of Dr. William Smith. Mr.
Butler is a Mason of the thirty-second degree
and socially he is the center of an extended
circle of acquaintances. In 1872 he made a
trip to England on a visit to his :'d home, but
soon returned more favorably impressed with
his home in the new world than ever before.

HJ. BROWN, a prominent citizen of
Van Wert, and an ex-soldier of the
Union army, was born June 8, 1845.
He is a son of John Brown, who was
born in 18 10, near Wheeling, Va. (now W.
Va.), and at an early age learned the black
smith trade, at which he worked for several
years. He was a soldier in the war with
Mexico. In 1830 he was married to Miss
Jerusha Symcox, of Ohio. In this same
year he settled in Medina county, Ohio, where
he still followed his trade, that of a black
smith, with most gratifying success. He and
his wife were the parents of the following chil
dren: Peter, Louisa J., George W., Jefferson,
Rauslina, Benjamin, Nelson, A. J., R. R. , and

Harrison — six of whom are dead. All were
married but three. Those that are living are
as follows: Peter, Louisa J., A. J., R. R., and
Harrison. John Brown was a democrat in
clitics, and he was a member of the Christian
He was a hard-working, honest and
succ.^sful man, and at the time of his death, in
1855, he left his family in comfortabe circum
stances. His wife survived until 1886.
A. J. Brown, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Medina county, Ohio, and during
his earlier life worked at general labor of vari
ous kinds. He was a patriot when the war of
the Rebellion broke out, and enlisted, October
15, 1 86 1, in company G, Ninth Michigan vol-
unter infantry. His fate was to see much
hard fighting, and to suffer wounds at the
hands of the enemy several different times.
He fought in the battle of Pittsburg Landing,
April 3-7, 1862; of Murfreesboro, Tenn., July
13, 1862; Lavergne, Tenn., December 27,
1862; -Stone River, December 29-31, 1862;
Chickamauga, September 17-20, 1863; Mis
sionary Ridge, November 2 '5, 1863; Rocky
Faced Ridge, May 8, 1864; Resaca, May 14,
1864; Dallas, Ga., May 27, 1864; Chattahoo
chee river, July 5-6, 1864; siege of- Atlanta,
July 22, and August 25, 1864, and Jonesboro,
Ga., September 1, 1864. At Pittsburg Land
ing he was wounded by a musket ball, which
he still carries in his body, and on August 25,
before Atlanta, he was wounded in the thigh.
On July 26, 1864, he was wounded in the
breast, and on August 1 3 he was sent to the
hospital, where he remained seven months.
He was discharged at Jackson, Mich., Decem
ber 19, 1865, and is now receiving a pension
of $10 per month.
After the war was over he located in Van
Wert county, where he learned the carpenter's
trade, which he has followed ever since with
unusual success. He was married in December,
1866, to Miss Mary Brenner, of Van Wert,

80

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Ohio, by whom he has had the following chil
dren: William, Frank, Stella, Frederick, Kate,
Eddie, Harry, Ordie, Sylvia, Thomas. All of
this family are living but William, and all are
single but Stella, who married J. Edwards.J-C.
Mr. Brown is a republican in politics and.j.
Presbyterian in religion. He is a man of great ¦'
liberality in his views, and is charitable with
his means. He is livinrg in a beautiful home
in Van Wert, surrounded by many warm
hearted friends.
Mary A. Brenner, wife of Mr. Brown, was
born July 10, 1845. Her father, George Bren
ner, was born in Pennsylvania, and at an early
age learned the cooper trade, which trade he
followed during his entire life. He married
Elizabeth Snyder, of Pennsylvania, by whom

Mary (Baum) Brown. William Brown, father
of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania Feb
ruary 14, 1 8 10, of German descent; he was
reared a farmer and also learned the saddler's
about 1833 he became a boatman on

he had the following children: Amanda, who
married and is now dead; Sarah, Kittie, Eman
uel, deceased; Lydia, and Mary A, The latter
two are married and have families. Mr.
Brenner died April 9, 1870, and Mrs. Brenner
died in 1877. She was a member of the Lu
theran church, and was a most excellent woman
in every way. Mr. Brenner was also a member
-of the Lutheran church, was a republican in
politics, and was a very liberal and charitable
man. Mary A. Brenner was born in Holmes
county, Ohio, but was living in Wayne county
when she met and married Mr. Brown. She
is a member of the Lutheran church, and is a
most excellent woman, wife and mother. Mr.
Erown is a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, of the Grand Army of the
Republic, and of the Patriotic Order Sons of
America.

>Y»OHN B. BROWN, one of the most en-
A terprising farmers of Pleasant township,
m 1 Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in
Miamisburg, Montgomery count}', De
cember 7, 1849, and is a son of William and

•1 aver ",,J^"'' *°33
- -huylkill river, and four years later came
to waw, located in Montgomery county, where
he worked by the month in a distillery, and
about 1838 married Mary Baum, who was
born in the county named October 26, 1821,
of Pennsylvania-Dutch parentage. Her parents
settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, about
the year 1820, where the father bought and
cleared up a farm, and later ran a distillery
until his death, in 1849, a member of the
Lutheran church and in politics a democrat.
He had served in the war of 18 12 under Gen.
Anthony Wayne, and was in every sense a use
ful citizen. John Baum, maternal grandfather of our
subject, was born in Maryland in 1792, a son
of Jacob and Margaret (Carsley) Baum, also
natives of Maryland and parents of the follow
ing children: Martin, who ran the first steam
boat on the Ohio river; Jacob, John, Joseph,
George, Betsey, Mrs. Polly Roberts, Mrs.
Barbara Smith, and Mrs. Susan Smith — all
now deceased. Jacob Baum, father of sub
ject's mother, came to Ohio in 1800, located
in Hamilton county, but made several re
movals, and finally settled in Montgomery
county, 1806, and entered 530 acres of land,
receiving the deed from President Monroe in
1813. His death took place in 1832, a mem
ber of the Reform church. John Baum was
but six years of age when brought to Ohio,
was reared a farmer, and married Rebecca
Elzer, daughter of Andrew and Margaret
(Kimmel) Elzer, and a native of Pennsylvania,
and to this union were born five children, viz:
Mrs. Catherine Hoff, deceased; Mary, mother
of subject; Mrs. Sarah McDowell, deceased;
George, of Pleasant township, and Ellen, wife

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

81

of Henry Hoffman, farmer of Montgomery
county, Ohio. John Baum had also been a
soldier under Gen. Wayne at Greenville and
Fort Recovery. After his marriage he passed
the remainder of his life on his farm near
Miamisburg, dying in 1849; his widow died
in 1865. The children born to the marriage
of William Brown and Mary Baum were six in
number and were named as followss: Catherine,
wife of E. Summers, of Montgomery county,
Ohio; Martin, in Van Wert; Sarah, deceased;
John B., subject of this sketch; Mrs. Amos
Dilts, of Van Wert, and George, of Montgom
ery county. William Brown died in Brook-
ville, Ohio, in November, 1886, a member of
the Lutheran church, an Odd Fellow, and in
politics a democrat.
John B. Brown, the subject of this sketch,
was educated in the common schools of Mont
gomery county and reared to farming. June
1, 1 88 1, he married Henrietta Eckfeld, daugh
ter of John and Catherine (Gehres) Eckfeld,
the former of whom was born in Germany in
1823, learned the carpenter's trade, was mar
ried in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, about 185 1;
Catherine Gehres was born in Germany No
vember 19, 1828, came to Wayne county,
Ohio, when eight years old, arriving with her
parents, after having passed ninety-eight days
on the ocean, and is now the mother of six
children, viz: Elizabeth, wife of Martin
Brown; Abraham, of Fostoria; Lewis, de
ceased at seven years of age; Henrietta, wife
of our subject; Esther, wife of M. H. Stand-
ish, and John. Henrietta Eckfeld was born
in Harrison township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
and was educated in the union school. She
has borne her husband five children, as follows:
Catherine, in 1883; William, January 13,1886;
Elizabeth, June 1, 1889; Leah, March 2,1891,
and Carl (deceased), August 7, 1894. John
Eckfeld was a soldier in the Civil war; he was
a Freemason, and died June 6, 1889. John

B. Brown, at the time of his marriage, re
turned to Montgomery county, remained until
the following fall, then moved to Marion, Ind.,.
where he farmed until February, 1883, when
he purchased his present home, which is now
one of the finest farms in the township.
Mr. Brown is very prominent as an Odd Fel
low, in politics is a democrat, and is highly re
spected as a citizen and neighbor.

aARL H. BROWN, deputy postmaster
of Van Wert, Ohio, is a son of Nor
man K. and Jennie (Sims) Brown,
and was born in the town of Van
Wert, Ohio, June 17, 1864. Maj. Norman K.
Brown was born in Pennsylvania, but early in
life was brought to Van Wert, by his parents,
Samuel S. and Eleanor (Smith) Brown, who
engaged in the keeping of the Pioneer hotel;
Norman assisted in the post-office and was
also interested in the mercantile business for
years; he entered the army as a private and
was promoted to the rank of major, before
discharged, and after the Civil war was closed
became one of the editorial staff of the Van
Wert Times, a position which he held at the
time of his death, in October, 1881. His mar
riage to Jennie Sims tooks place in Van Wert
and by this union he became the father of five
children. The mother of these children died
in 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Brown were quite
prominent in the social circles of Van Wert,
and Mr. Brown was well known among the
leading business men. He was a gentleman
of more than ordinary intelligence and infor
mation, and was an honored member of the
Masonic fraternity, the I. O. R. M. and
the I. O. O. F.
Carl H. Brown, our subject, was but six
years of age when he lost his mother, when he
was placed under the fostering care of his-

82

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

maternal grandmother until he was twelve
years old; he then went to live .with T. B.
Barrick, at Daisy, a small county post-office
in Van Wert county, and while with this gen
tleman acted as his assistant in the post-office
from 1878 to 1883, when he returned to Van
Wert and here was employed as clerk for a
year; for another year he was engaged in
teaching school; then clerked for Mr. Barrick,
next acted as deputy postmaster under John
Shaw for three years; then went into the
grocery business and at the end of two years
sold his interest and accepted a position as
traveling salesman for the Central School
Supply house of Chicago, with whom he re
mained -until 1 894, in the meantime having
been rapidly promoted to the front as one of
the firm's most expert salesman; he then again
became deputy postmaster of Van Wert, with
J. E. Montgomery. The public has seldom
met with a more obliging and careful official,
and as such he enjoys the confidence of all
with whom he is brought in contact.
The marriage of Mr. Brown took place in
Van Wert, in August, 1885, to Miss Emma G.
Longfellow, daughter of Rev. J. M. Longfel
low, two children being the result of the union
— Donald V. and Naomi Blanche. The par
ents are consistent members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and in politics the father is
a democrat. They reside in their neat resi
dence on Middle street and are surrounded by
a pleasant circle of friends and acquaintances,
by whom they are held in the highest esteem.
Mr. Brown is a pleasant gentlemen and an
obliging official, well qualified by experience
for the duties of the important position he
holds, in which he has given entire satisfaction
to the public since his incumbency, through
familiarity with all its intricacies and details.
As a citizen and official, Mr. Brown stands at
the head of Van Wert's most honored
residents.

HBRAHAM BURCAW, an old settler
and a successful farmer of Ridge
township, Van Wert county, is a na
tive of Millville, Butler county, Ohio,
born March 21, 1825, and one of the nine chil
dren of William and Hannah (Kitchen) Burcaw,
viz: Margaret, wife of William Bealer; Ellen,
deceased wife of the late William Johnson;
George, who was a soldier in the Mexican war
and also in the war of the Rebellion, and who
died of lung fever after the close of the latter
war; Abraham, the subject of this sketch;
Sarah, wife of James Smith, of Butler county;
Hannah, married to Scott Inlow; John, of
Butler county, and two that died in infancy.
The parents both ended their days in Butler
county. Abraham Burcaw began working out while
yet a lad, receiving as compensation his board
and clothing. He had been able to save a
little money, however, by the time he was
married, September 18, 1852, to Miss Sarah
Ann Smelser, who was born October 15, 1831,
a daughter of Abraham and Julia (Howard)
Smelser, natives of Virginia, who came to Ohio
and located in Butler county after the birth
of their third child, but died in Tippecanoe
county, Ind., whither they had removed rather
late in life. Their family comprised the fol
lowing-named children: Caroline, wife of Adam
Kissinger; Louis; Robert, deceased; Sarah
Ann, now Mrs. Burcaw; Jessie, killed by a
falling tree at the age of nine years; Elizabeth,
wife of William Dill; Abraham, of Mercer
county, Ohio; Pleasant, married, and Jemima,
twin sister of Pleasant and widow of George
Johnson; Nancy Jane, wife of Aaron Sellen-
berger; Joseph, of Topeka, Kans.; John, of
Kansas, and Hannah, wife of William Good
win. In 1856 Abraham Burcaw, with his wife
and two children, came to Van Wert county
and located on a farm across the line from
Delphos, Allen county, on which he resided

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

83

for eight years, and then moved to York town
ship, Van Wert county, where he lived until
1874, when he bought his present farm, part
of which is situate in Ridge township and part
in York township. He has sub-divided much
of his land, distributing several fine farms
among his children, and still owns a farm in
Ridge township and sixty acres in York town
ship. His children were born and named in
the following order: Robert; Sarah Elizabeth,
wife of Sylvester Palmer; William Lewis;
Mary Jane, wife of William Walters; Delilah,
who died in childhood; Amy Caroline, who
died an infant; Martha Ellen, wife of William
Mager; Abraham Lincoln; Amos Allen and
Cary Franklin — ten in all. Mrs. Burcaw has
been a consistent member of the Lutheran
church since girlhood, and has trained her
children well in morality; Mr. Burcaw has
made a success of agriculture, and has won
many sincere and warm friends since his res
idence in Ridge township.

EENRY BRUNNI, a prosperous and
energetic farmer of York township,
Van Wert county, was born in
Holmes county, Ohio, September 29,
1855, a son of John B. and Regina Brunni,
natives of Germany, who came to Ohio in the
year 1850, and reared a family of six children,
as follows: Ricca, wife of Jesse Paulin, of
Anderson, Ind. ; Charles Christian, of Van
Wert county, Ohio, who wedded Sarah Wal-
cott; John, deceased, who married Lucinda A.
Shaffstall; Mary, wife of Dr. D. D. Samuel;
Wallon, editor of the Lisbon Herald, at Lis
bon, Iowa; Henry, our subject, and Amelia,
of Anderson, Ind. John B. Brunni, father
of our subject, died while in the service of his
adopted country, and his wife died in the
year 1882.
Henry Brunni, our subject, spent his early

life on the home farm, in care of his widowed
mother, until her death. March 26, 1885, Mr.
Brunni met and married Miss Lydia Harp, of
whose family a full biography will be found on
another page of this volume. Two daughters
have been the result of this happy union, and
are named Mary Regina and Ethel May. Mr.
Brunni is the owner of a fine farm, well tiled
and adorned with a modern residence built in
1893. He and wife are members of the
Methodist church and in politics he is a stanch
democrat. Few farmers of the age of Mr.
Brunni have attained the success with which
he has been favored, and few citizens of the
township stand in greater favor of the sur
rounding community, his example being well
worthy of the emulation of those still younger
than himself.

WOHN IKIRT CABLE, of Van Wert,
A Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state,
A 1 was born in Columbiana county, June
21, 1835, and is a son of Joseph and
Susannah (Stallcup) Cable. The Hon. Joseph
Cable, father of our subject, was probably one
of the most remarkable men ever produced
within the territorial limits of the present great
state of Ohio. His birth took place April 17,
1 80 1, on Ohio soil, before the territory was
admitted to the Union as a state, and October
25, 1827, in Columbiana county, he married
Miss Sussannah Stallcup, who was born in
Pennsylvania May 1 , 1 8 1 1 . Ignoring the events
which occurred during the early life of Joseph
Cable, we must content ourselves with a brief
narrative of his varied and phenomenal expe
rience after marriage. Just after that event he
located at New Lisbon and engaged in editing
the Ohio Patriot until 1837, giving tangible
evidence of his ability as a political and general
writer; thence he went to Steubenville, and
there published the Gazette until . 1 839, when

S4

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

he moved to Carrollton and published the
Jeffersonian until 1842, when he sold the plant,
and, for the nonce, relinquished editorial work
and devoted his attention and talents to poli
tics, which latter led to his election to the
United States house of representatives from
the Seventeenth Ohio congressional district for
two successive terms; he next located in San
dusky city, and for two years edited the Bay
City Mirror; thence he went to Paulding, and
for two years held the position of collector at
the junction of the Wabash & Erie canals, and
when that office was vacated, or abolished, on
account of the abandoning of the Wabash exten
sion of the Miami & Erie canal, he came to
Van Wert, and the influence of his trenchant
pen was felt though his editorship of the Ameri
can from the spring of 1857 until i860, at
which time the Bulletin was established, which
journal, in conjunction with Capt. Scott, he
edited until 1862, in the spring of which year
he engaged in the work of securing pensions
for the three-month soldiers, at which task he
assiduously labored for about twelve months;
he then went to Wauseon, Ohio, where he
edited the Wauseon Republican four years, and
next returned to Paulding, where, in partner
ship with his son Fielding, he founded the Ga
zette, which they controlled until 1870; he also
for a short time managed a newspaper at Ant
werp, in the same county, but finally returned
to Paulding City, retired from active life, and
passed the remainder of his days in peace until
his death, which occurred May 1, 1880, honored
by the citizens of the state and lamented by
hosts of admiring friends. His wife, Mrs.
Susannah (Stallcup) Cable, was called away
November 1, 1842, having borne her husband
five children, viz: Fielding and Elizabeth, de
ceased; John I., our subject, and two infants
that died unnamed. Mr. Cable's second mar
riage took place in Carrollton, Ohio, November
16, 1843, to Jane Watt, who was born in Mer

cer county, Pa., March 22, 1811, and who
died August 7, 1887, the mother of two chil
dren — Mary, deceased, and Martha A., wife of
Homer Meacham, superintendent of the Miami
extension of the Erie. The names of the chil
dren of Joseph Cable are thus grouped together,
that the progeny of this great man may be
found at a glance. In religion Mr. Cable was
a Presbyterian and fraternally he was a Mason,
having been grand master of Ohio in 1840.
John Ikirt Cable, whose name opens this
biographical record, was reared in Carroll
county, Ohio, but learned the art of printing
in the office of the Ohio Picayune and that of
the Bay City Mirror, at Sandusky; he then en
tered the office of the Paulding Gazette, which
his father and brother had established for
Judge Latta, and of which he had charge until
1855; then went to Steubenville, worked in a
job office for a short time, then returned to
Paulding and for a year acted as deputy sheriff
under John Crawson; in 1857 he came to Van
Wert and worked for Col. Alexander on the
American for three months, then, in partner
ship with Lewis Evers, bought the office in the
fall and operated the same until the spring of
1859, when he married and moved to a farm
in Willshire township and located on a piece of
lanrbpwned by his wife, of whom further men-
tionJPwill be made below. Here he resided
until August 4, 1862, when he enlisted in
company E, Fifty-second Ohio volunteer in
fantry, for three years, and was assigned to
the army of the Cumberland ; he reached Lex
ington August 22, 1862., was made wagon-
master, and filled the position fourteen months,
when, in front of Chattanooga, he was placed
in the ranks and served with his company
until the fall of Atlanta, July 22, 1864, when
he was withdrawn from the ranks and detailed
to duty in the quartermaster's department,
where he remained until December, 1864,
when he rejoined his company, with which he

FRANKLIN CARLO.

MRS. FRANKLIN CARLO.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

89

did duty until after the grand review at Wash
ington, D. C, where he was honorably dis
charged June 3, 1865. On his return home
he engaged in teaming for a year, then for a
year and a half worked in the Bulletin office;
next he farmed a short time, and then again
returned to Van Wert, where he now owns a
delivery line.
The marriage of Mr. Cable took place
July 7, 1858, to Miss Anges P. Johnson, who
was born in Harrison township, Van Wert
county, October 31, 1839, a daughter of
Davis Johnson, of whom a sketch is given on
another page. To this happy union have
been born six children, viz: Davis J., an at
torney of Lima, Ohio; Minnie G., wife of
Charles S. Hough, of Van Wert; Anna Pearl,
at home; Maj. Doyal C, deceased, and two
deceased infants. Mr. and Mrs. Cable are
Methodists in religion, and in politics he is a
republican, having cast his first presidential
vote for John C. Fremont; he has served as
trustee of Pleasant township for six years, and
as assessor for four years, and took the enu
meration of the township in 1890; fraternally
he is a member of the G. A. R., of. which he
is present commander, and he is also master of
exchequer of the K. of P. lodge of Van Wert.

BRANKLIN CARLO is a native of Ohio
and was born in Champaign county,
October 5, 1842. His father, Dr.
Morris Carlo, was born December 18,
1 801, in the city of Dresden, Saxony. At the
age of twenty-nine years he came to America,
landing in New York city, whence he came to
Ohio and engaged in the practice of his pro
fession, that of physician, in the city of Cin
cinnati. He had a fine education and was able
to converse fluently in six different languages.
He was married in Cincinnati, in 1832, to Anna

B. Sutter, who was born in Philadelphia, Pa.,
October 5, 1813. Shortly after their marriage
they located in Saint Paris, Champaign county,
Ohio, where they were among the pioneer set
tlers of the place. In a few years they moved
on a farm near by. To them were born fifteen
children, of whom ten reached the years of
maturity, viz: Louisa, widow of A. Walborn,
of Van Wert county, Ohio; Edwin, of Cham
paign county, Ohio; Frances, wife of F.
Fromme, of Saint Paris, Ohio; Franklin, he
subject of this sketch; Anna, widow of J. N.
Richison, of Yellow Springs, Ohio; Mattie,.
wife of H. B. Davis, of Denver, Colo.; Morris
V., of Jay county, Ind. ; John A., deceased;
Ella, wife af J. B. Leonard, of Bucyrus, Ohio,
and Charles R., of Illinois. Dr. Carlo died
August 4, 1864, and the mother died in Sep
tember, 1878, at the home of her daughter,
Anna Richison, in DeGraff, Ohio, and was,
laid to rest beside her husband in Spring Grove
cemetery, near Saint Paris, Ohio. They were
both faithful members of the Lutheran church.
Franklin Carlo, the subject proper of this
biography, was reared on the farm in Cham
paign county, Ohio, and when he had attained
his majority he enlisted as a soldier in com
pany I, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth regi
ment Ohio volunteer infantry, served out the
brief term of his enlistment and then re-
enlisted in company E, One Hundred and
Eighty-fifth regiment Ohio volunteer infan
try, and did his duty as a gallant soldier
until the close of the war, when he was
honorably discharged at Lexington, Ky.
His description then was: Five feet, eleven
and a half inches high, light complexion, blue
eyes, light hair, and weight 180 pounds. In
the spring of 1866, in company with his.
brother Edwin, he crossed the plains overland
to Colorado and Montana in search of gold;.
the search was a failure and he returned, via
Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, on a small

90

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mackinaw rowboat, to Omaha, Neb., thence
by stage to Des Moines, Iowa, thence by rail
to his old home in Champaign county, Ohio,
where he engaged in farming till his removal
to Hoaglin township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
in September, 1869, where he had sometime
previously purchased a farm, on which he has
since made his home and increased it to 210
acres. With the exception of $750 of the
capital necessary to make the first payment on
and to improve this farm, he has earned the
money with which to pay for it by his individ
ual exertions, thus showing himself to be
practical in his vocation and well deserving
the success which has attended him throughout
his life. On May 20, 1869, he was married to M.
A. Hattery, who was born in Van Wert
county February 2, 1847, a daughter of
Edward and Mary Ann Hattery, of whom
mention is made elsewhere in these pages as
being among the prominent pioneer settlers of
the county. This union has been blessed by
the birth of seven children, viz: Edward F.,
present deputy county treasurer; Bertha L.,
wife of Delbert McMillen; Jennie Lind; Bessie;
Chester Arthur; Earnest Rutherford and
Gladys Ruth; the latter two are twins, born
September 23, 1892. In religion Franklin
Carlo and wife are Lutherans, and in politics
he is a republican, under the auspices of which
party he has served as township clerk one
year, county commissioner three years, and is
now occupying the office of county treasurer,
to which he was first elected in November,
1893. In 1895, Mr- Carlo, having filled the
office to the great satisfaction of the public,
was re-elected county treasurer in one of the
hottest contests that the republicans ever
entered upon in the county, but he was carried
through by a handsome majority, and this fact
alone speaks volumes as to Mr. Carlo's im
mense popularity.

HBRAHAM CALHOUN, a retired farm
er and patriotic citizen, of Van
Wert, was born September 8, 1839.
He is a son of Adley Calhoun, who
was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 18 14.
Adley Calhoun was reared on the farm, but
received an excellent education in the com
mon schools, and afterward attended the high
in Steubenville, Ohio. In 1835 he was mar
ried, in Jefferson county, to Miss Rebecca
Bartholomew, by whom he had the following
children: William, Abraham, Margaret, Jane,
Mary and Amanda. Three of these six chil
dren are living, three dead. Of those who
have died William was killed at the battle of
Pittsburg Landing in 1862, and Mary died in
1868. In 1854 Adley Calhoun sold his farm in
Jefferson county, and removed to Van Wert
county, where he purchased a tract of land,
and of this land he later gave to each of his
children 160 acres. Up to the time of the
breaking out of the war of the Rebellion Mr.
Calhoun was a democrat, but by the fact of the
war being brought on and by its results, he be
came a republican, and remained a republican
the remainder of his life. He was a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church and died in
1870. His wife was a Lutheran, and died in
1895. Abraham Calhoun was born in Jefferson
county, was reared on his father's farm, and
with him came to Van Wert county, contin
uing to work with him until he was twenty-one
years of age, and then enlisted in company K,
Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, in
which he served until his term of enlistment
expired, but was never in a battle. He now
receives from the government a pension of
$10 per month. In politics he is a republican
and in religion a Methodist. In every way he
is a liberal-minded and charitable man, with
his means as with his opinions, and he is pop-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

91

ular with all. After the war was over he set
tled down upon his farm, where he lived for a
.series of years, when he removed to Van
Wert, living retired from active care and en
joying the fruits of earlier labors. On Jan
uary 30, 1868, he was married to Miss Edith
Hoagland, of Van Wert county, by whom he
became the father of the following children:
Albert, who died in 1870; Tirza G., and
Bardon, who died in 1888. Tirza G. Calhoun
is a highly accomplished and a most excellent
young lady. She has received a superior
musical education, is a music teacher, is single
and is living with her mother.
Miss Edith Hoagland was born March 3,
185 1 . Her father, Enoch Hoagland, was born
in Virginia in 1804, and received a superior
college education, and after graduating taught
school for some time. Later he became a
dealer in real estate and was elected justice of
the peace, serving in Richland county for
eighteen years. In politics he was a democrat
and served in the army of the Union all
through the war of the Rebellion. He located
in Van Wert county at an early day, and was
one of the first settlers in Hoagland township,
that township having been named after him.
He was married in Richland county to Miss
Cynthia Foller, who was formerly of Virginia,
and died in 1856. By her he had the follow
ing children: Melissa, deceased; Wilson, de
ceased; Mary; Aaron, deceased; Sarah, de
ceased; Enoch; Emma, deceased; Samuel,
Edith and Clara.
' Edith Hoagland, the wife of Mr. Calhoun,
was born in 1851, as before stated. Her
mother 'died when she was -five years old, and
she was then taken by a sister to Iowa, and
lived with that sister until she was sixteen
years of age. In 1865 she returned to Van
Wert county, in which county she taught
school for some years, and was then married to
Mr. Calhoun. She is a member of the Meth

odist Episcopal church,- and is a woman highly
regarded and esteemed by a large circle of
friends and acquaintances.

©EORGE CARMEAN, of Jackson
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born in Old Chillicothe, Ohio,
February 20, 1819, and in 1835 be
came a pioneer of Allen county, Ohio, being
then but sixteen years of age. His father,
William Carmean, was a native of Delaware,
and when a young man came to Ohio and
settled in Ross county, near Chillicothe, on
Buckskin creek, and there married Margaret
Miller, a native of Pennsylvania and a daugh
ter of George Miller, of Dutch descent, to
which marriage were born ten children,
viz: George, Frederick, Sarah, William,
Mary, Jacob, Elizabeth, Rachael, Joseph and
Edward. William Carmean came to Auglaize
county after marriage and was accidently
drowned in the Big Auglaize river, while at
tempting ford the stream on horseback.
George Carmean, our subject, located in
Allen county, Ohio, in 1835, and worked as a
farm hand until his marriage, in October,
1840, to Elizabeth Carr, a daughter of Solo
mon and Mary Carr, the former of whom
came from Ross county and an early settler on
the Big Auglaize river in Auglaize county.
After marriage George Carmean and wife set
tled in Allen county, where they lived until
1872, when they came to Van Wert county,
and located in the woods of Jackson township,
where he has cleared up a farm of eighty acres,
and met with a course of prosperity seldom
equaled. To his marriage with Miss Carr,
there have been born the following children:
Margaret, Isaac, William, MelissaJ., Abraham
Solomon and Jesse. Mr. and Mrs. Carmean are
sincere members of the Methodist Episcopal

92

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

church, and in politics, he was first an old-line
whig, and afterward a republican.
The patriotism of the Carmean family was
well represented, during the late Civil war, by
four of the sons, who enlisted in the following
order: Joseph, in Allen county, in August,
1 86 1, in company B, Eighty-first Ohio volun
teer infantry, veteranized in January, 1864,
was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., July 13,
1865,' and died in Van Wert county July 3,
1867; William enlisted in Allen county, in
August, 1862, in company A, One Hundred
and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, was
promoted to sergeant, and detailed for duty at
Nashville, Tenn. ; Edward enlisted in Allen
county, February 29, 1864, in company D,
Eighty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, was con
fined four months in hospital, and was mus
tered out at Louisville, Ky. , July 13, 1865;
Jacob D. enlisted at Lima, Allen county, Sep
tember 24, 1864, in company G, One Hundred
and Eightieth Ohio volunteer infantry, was in
hospital at Washington, D. C, then at Nash
ville, Tenn. , for two months, and was dis
charged for disability April 13, 1865. This is
a fine military record for one family.
Mr. Carmean is a typical American pioneer.
At the age of sixteen years he walked through
the woods from Chillicothe to Wapakoneta, a
distance of 200 miles, and at the latter place
found but one building — a log tavern; he met
but one white man, but there were numerous
groups of Indians scattered along in wigwams;
he inquired his way to his uncle's place on
Hogg creek in Marion township, Allen county,
and thus, with the assistance of a settler,
found his uncle's home in the woods. At that
time there were few houses in Lima, and Del
phos had not been settled at all. Game was
plentiful in Allen and Van Wert counties, and
many were the deer and wild turkeys killed by
Mr. Carmean, and not a few bears. After set
tling on his land in Jackson township, Van

Wert county, Mr. Carmean underwent all the
hardships, or nearly all, that he had endured
on his first settlement in Allen county, but his
toil was considerably mitigated, in clearing up
his farm from the woods,, through the presence
of a larger number of neighbors, and the readi
ness through which help and more improved
implements were attainable. He has devel
oped a fine and fertile farm, improved in every
respect, has reared a highly respected family,
and is now passing away his years in compara
tive ease, enjoying the harvest consequent upon
his long and arduous labors, and recognized
by his neighbors as one of the most experi
enced farmer in the county, and honored as an
upright gentleman who has never been known
to commit an act of injustice nor ever to have
violated his word.

IRA CAVETT, a prosperous farmer of
Ridge township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, and in days gone by, and yet, a
famous hunter, was born in Licking
county, Ohio, September 28, 1829, and is a
son of William and Elizabeth Sibyl (Barnes)
Cavett. The father, William Cavett, was
born in Pennsylvania and was but a lad when
brought by his parents to Ohio; his wife, Eliza
beth S. Barnes, was born in the state of New
York. They were the parents of two children
only — our subject and Lucy, the wife of John
Gilliland. In the winter of 1838, William
Cavett, with his wife, son and daughter, left
Licking county in a wagon and went to-
Williams county, but were there disappointed
in the purchase of land, and in the spring fol
lowing came to Van Wert county and entered
160 acres two and a half miles south of the
city, in Ridge township, where he followed
farming until his death in 1861; his widow
still resides on this farm, in her eighty-sixtb

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

93

year, although the property has been divided
between the children.
Ira Cavett, the subject of this sketch, was
but nine years of age when brought to Van
Wert county. He assisted as much as pos
sible in clearing the homestead, but had a
small predilection for hunting, and through his
-skill as a marksman not only furnished meat
for the family, but derived a handsome rev
enue from the pelts of the animals that fell
¦under the accurate and deadly aim of his
rifle, and even now, though past middle life,
his passion for the chase has not expired, and
he frequently makes trips to Missouri and
Michigan on the hunt for game, and on a re
cent occasion brought home six fine deer as the
result of his remarkable skill as a marksman.
Although his opportunities for securing an
education were somewhat meager, he was
shrewd and apt in his younger days and ac
quired through self-instruction sufficient knowl
edge to carry him safely through life's business
affairs. •
October 21, 1852, Mr. Cavett was married
to Miss Martha Gilliland, a member of one of
the most prominent pioneer families of Van
Wert county, and to this union have been born
four children, viz: William Thomas, who died
at four years of age, from the kick of a horse ;
Eva May, who died in early childhood; Ed
ward Maxwell, who died when sixteen months
¦old, and John, who is married to Lucy Sidle,
and is the father of three children — Ethel May,
James Ira and Nellie Marie. Mrs. Cavett is a
Catholic in her religion, while Mr. Cavett is a
Methodist. In politics Mr. Cavett is a demo
crat, and for six years held the office of di
rector of the infirmary; he was also township
trustee for two terms, and assessor, by appoint
ment, one term. His present farm of ninety
acres he bought in 1865, and it now compares
favorably with any farm of its size in the
county. In 1890 Mr. Cavett was appointed

to the position of guard at the Ohio peniten
tiary for forty days, when he had to leave on
account of ill health. John Cavett was born
September 4, 1871, and was educated in the
common schools. He remained at home until
twenty-one years of age, when, in 1890, he
engaged, in partnership with W. R. Kime, of
Van Wert, in the stove and tinware trade, in
which he continued one year; then, a short
time later, engaged in buying and shipping
poultry and eggs until August, 1894, since
when he has lived at home with his parents.
He is a democrat in politics, and in religion a
member of the Methodist church. Ira Cavett
and wife and son have all won the respect and
good will of all their neighbors, and but very
few stand as high as they in the esteem of the
citizens of Ridge township.

lS~\ R- SAMUEL KENNEDY CHRISTY,
H I the leading physician and surgeon of
/A^f Willshire, Van Wert county, Ohio,
is of sterling Scotch-Irish descent,
and is of the fourth generation of the family to
make a home in America. His great-grand
father, John Christy, the founder of the family
in the United States, passed his days in eastern
Pennsylvania, where John Christy, grandfather
of the doctor, was born and reared, but later
became identified with the early settlement of
Butler county, Pa. , where he was for many
years engaged in farming. He also performed
gallant service on Lake Erie during the war of
1812. He married a Miss Moore, and both
he and she passed away their lives in Butler
county, dying devoted members of the Presby
terian church.
William M. Christy, son of John and father
of Dr. Samuel K. , was born in Butler county,
Pa., in March, 1812, was reared to farming,
and on reaching manhood married Margaret
Kennedy, daughter of Samuel and Margaret

94

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

(Gillespie) Kennedy. The father of Samuel
Kennedy came from Ireland, settled in Pitts
burg, Pa. , and in a small way was engaged in
the manufacture of linens, a business he had
carried on in the old country. The marriage
of William M. Christy was blessed with the
following children: Mrs. Ellen Peoples, Mrs.
Elizabeth Sullivan (deceased); Mary A. ; Achsa
M., deceased, Samuel K. , our subject; Mrs.
Isabella M. Myers, and John C. The parents
of this family were married in Allegheny county,
Pa., where they were engaged in farming a
number of years, but in 1853 moved to Adams
county, Ind., where they purchased a fertile
farm of eighty acres, and there the father died
in 1873 and the mother in 1884 — both devout
adherents of the Presbyterian church.
Dr. Samuel K. Christy was born in Alle
gheny county, Pa., June 8, 1852, and was
reared to health-giving toil on the home farm.
He was educated in his literary course at the
Normal university of Lebanon, Ohio, which he
attended several terms, and after finishing his
studies in that institution employed himself in
teaching school four years, making a fine repu
tation in this profession; he then, in 1877,
entered the Medical college of Ohio, at Cin
cinnati, from which he graduated, in 1880,
with the largest class that was ever granted
diplomas by that famous institution. The
doctor immediately located for practice in
Willshire, Ohio, his present abode, where his
abilities were at once recognized, and here he
has had a remunerative practice ever since,
with the exception of two years that were
passed in Howard, Miner county, S. Dak.,
and two years in Decatur, Ind.
The marriage cf Dr. Christy took place
April 2, 1884, to Mrs. Calinda J. Johnson,
widow of Wilson Johnson and daughter of
Halsted and Mary B. (Pierson) Mills, of Will
shire township. The doctor and wife are con
sistent members of the Methodist church,

which they liberally aid, and in politics the
doctor is a republican. Fraternally he is a
member of the K. of P. lodge, No. 49, of
Howard, S. Dak. ; and is also a member of the
Northwestern Ohio State Medical association.
He owns an attractive new two-story frame
dwelling in the village of Willshire, eighty
acres of farm land in Adams county, Ind., and
also some valuable property in South Dakota.
Socially, the doctor and wife. stand high in the
esteem of their fellow-townsmen, and the pro
fessional reputation of the doctor extends all
through Willshire and the adjoining townships.

aHARLES W. CARPENTER, of Van
Wert, Ohio, a retired farmer and ex-
soldier, was born in Fairfield county,
Ohio, November 17, 1844, a son of
James W. and Susanna (Ream) Carpenter,
who have long been residents of Washington
township, Van Wert county. Charles W. was
but eight years of age when his parents settled
here, and here he was educated in the old-
fashioned log school-house, and reared until
eighteen years of age, when he enlisted Au
gust 11, 1862, in company A, Ninety-ninth
Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years, and
was assigned to the army of the Cumberland,
with William T. Scott as his captain. He
took an active and gallant part in the hard-
fought battles of Perryville, Ky., and Stone
River, Tenn. ; was in the Tullahoma campaign
in Tennessee up to Chattanooga and on to
Chickamauga, where he was capturned by the
enemy and taken to Libby prison, at Rich
mond, Va., and there confined from October,
1863, until February, 1864, and was then
transferred to Andersonville; here he was held
from February 22, 1864, until September fol
lowing; was then confined at Millen, Ga., un
til Novemrjer 1; at Charleston, S. C, one
month; at Florence, S. C, until February,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

95

1865, and then in the pen near Wilmington,
N. C, from which he and about 300 others
made their escape and reached the city of
Wilmington, which, in the meantime, had
been captured by the Union army. He re
ceived his discharge at Camp Dennison, Cin
cinnati, Ohio, July 18, 1865, and is now
drawing a pension of $12 per month, as a
recompense for his sufferings while in the serv
ice and for duty well performed. He returned
to Van Wert county July 20, 1865, and re
mained at home until his marriage, April 12,
1866, in Washington township, to Miss Mary
E. Mann, a daughter of James and Caroline
Mann, and born in Hocking county, Ohio,
April 6, 1 840, the union resulting in the birth
of two children, viz: Jessie, now the wife of
James E. Wade, of Van Wert, and Birdsey M.
After his marriage Mr. Carpenter farmed
in Washington township on rented land until
1869, when he bought forty acres, but shortly
afterward sold and purchased 160 acres in
Kansas; this land he also sold in due course of
time, and in 1880 returned to Washington
township and purchased a fifty-acre farm, on
which he lived until 1894, when he sold out
again and came to the city and for a few
months was with David J. Hale in the agri
culture implement business, but soon retired
to a life of ease and rest and the enjoyment of
the society of his family and many friends.
Mr. Carpenter is a republican in politics, and
fraternally is a member of the I. O. O. F.,
the Royal Arcanum, and the G. A, R., and is
held in the warmest friendship by all who
know him.

Sr-» ANDY JEFFERSON CLIFTON, an
I r energetic farmer of Willshire, Van
1^^^ Wert county, Ohio, is a native of the
county in which he still makes his
home. The father of the subject of this sketch

was Daniel Clifton, a son of Job Clifton, who
spent his life in Pickaway county, Ohio, dying
there in the early 'forties. Daniel Clifton was
born in Pickaway county in 1826, received a
limited education, and when quite young be
gan working for himself and became self-
supporting. In early manhood he married
Elizabeth Burk, daughter of one of the pioneer
settlers of eastern Ohio, and later came to the
county of Van Wert, locating in the township
of Liberty. Actuated by a spirit of patriotism
Mr. Clifton, in 1864, entered the army, enlist
ing in company H, Fifteenth Ohio infantry,
with which he did valiant service in defense of
the nation's honor until honorably discharged
January 1, 1865; he died in prime of life, be
ing but thirty -eight years of age when called
from the scenes of his early labors; his wife
died March 28, 1863.
LandyJ. Clifton was born in Van Wert
county, Ohio, October 18, 1854. When quite
young he suffered the loss of both his parents,
and never knew a father's guidance or a
mother's tender care. In consequence of this
sad deprivation his advantages for acquiring
an education was, of necessity, considerably
circumscribed, and when a lad of tender years
he was obliged to turn his hand to various
kinds of manual labor in order to obtain a
livelihood. He was reared to farm life, with
which he early became familiar, and on attain
ing his majority began the pursuit of agri
culture upon his own responsibility.
Mr. Clifton and Laura Bell Sheets, daugh
ter of Frederick and Mrs. Nancy (Eustler)
Sheets, were made man and wife on the 18th
day of October, 1883, and their home has been
gladdened by the birth of the following chil
dren: Davis L., Lambert, deceased; Ben
jamin, Sherman C. and Oliver V
Mr. Clifton is a wide-awake man and first-
class citizen; he owns a small farm, well im
proved, and in connection with tilling the soil,

96

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

has for some time been engaged in the man
ufacture of drain-tile, in which his success is
most encouraging. Politically he is a repub
lican and in religion a member of the United
Brethren church, belonging to the Radical
congregation, in which he holds the position
of trustee and steward; Mrs. Clifton is also a
member of the same society, in which she is a
most valued member and active worker.

\S~*\ EV. JOSEPH J. CLARKE, the pious
| /^ and scholarly pastor of Saint Mary's
| 9 Catholic church at Van Wert, Ohio,
was born in Utica, N. Y., December
22, 1853, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth
(Ohara) Clarke. Father Joseph Clarke re
ceived his preliminary education in the Assump
tion academy in Utica, and after leaving this
school was employed in the same city for four
and a half years in a dry-goods store, he then,
in 1872, entered Saint Charles college, near
Baltimore, Md., whence he went, in 1877, to
Mount Saint Mary's, Emmetsburg, Md., where
he took a three-year course in theology under
Bishop Watterson; he then came to Ohio,
entered the diocese of Cleveland, and was
ordained November 11, 1883. He was, first,
assistant priest at Cleveland; then at Hudson,
Ohio; then at Elmore, near Cleveland; then
at South Thompson, Ohio; then came to Van
Wert, Ohio, in March, 1891, and here he has
since remained, in charge of Saint Mary's par
ish. The congregation was organized in 1868,
and the first mass was celebrated in an old
frame residence; the church edifice was erected
by father Hoeffel in 1874; the first pastor was
Rev. James Leddy, who had charge until 1878,
when he was succeeded by Rev. John T.
Cahill; in 1879, Rev. P. Barty followed Father
Cahill and remained until December, 1881,
when he was succeeded by Rev. T. J. O'Neil,
who performed the functions of a pastor until

March, 1886; he was followed by Rev. E. F.
Rohan, and in November, 1887, Father Rohan
was relieved by Rev. M. J. Clear; in March,
1 89 1, Father Clear was withdrawn, and our
subject, Rev. Joseph J. Clarke, was placed in
charge of the flock, who hold him in the most
reverential admiration for the unfaltering
faithfulness with which he has filled every
function pertaining to his sacred office. The
present church building is of brick, is 54x36
feet in the ground plan, and was erected at a
cost of $3,200. Father Clarke has also a mis
sion at Convoy, Van Wert county, also at
Spencerville, Allen county, Ohio, both of which
receive his most tender care.

?""NfAMUEL COLLINS, a retired busi-
•y^^feT ness man and prominent citizen of
ps^J Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Hock
ing county, Ohio, October 2, 1822, a
son of Samuel and Sarah (Davis) Collins — the
former a native and farmer of New York state,
and the latter a native of Ohio. Samuel and
Sarah were the parents of four children beside
our subject, viz: Eli, Nancy, Joseph and Sarah,
all deceased. Mrs. Sarah Collins having died,
Samuel married his deceased wife's sister,
Nancy, who became the mother of two chil
dren: John, residing in Van Wert, and Perlina,
widow of Reuben Everett, of Hocking county.
Samuel Collins, our subject, was but two
years of age when his mother died, but he re
mained on the home farm until he reached his
third year, when he made his home with his
grandmother, Davis, with whom he resided until
his majority, when he learned the milling and
cording business with George Dunkel, at what
is now Laurelville, Hocking county, Ohio, and
subsequently for seven years had the manage
ment of Mr. Dunkel's milling business. In
1846, Mr. Collins was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth Featherolf, daughter of Benj a-

qjOinnyt^ai^^^^v^

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' s '"'¦

WmL

fr

 ±r.-^ _•..

i-EOI

MRS. ELIZABETH COLLINS,
DECEASED.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

101

min and Hannah (Fink) Featherolf, of Hock
ing county. To this union have been born
eight children, as follows: An infant, deceased;
Lewis, who. became a lawyer at Van Wert,
• Ohio, and now resides in New Mexico; Martin,
now in South Dakota; Jennie, wife of E. B.
Gilliland, of Van Wert; Peter, a farmer of
Van Wert; Emily, who died in early child
hood; Samuel, who died at the age of thirteen
years; Hannah, who superintends her father's
home. In 1851, Mr. Collins came to Van
Wert county, and settled on a farm of sixty
acres which he had purchased in 1845, to
which he has since added until he now owns
380 acres, all of which has been thoroughly
tile-drained, well fenced and improved with
first-class buildings. Beside this splendid
farm, Mr. Collins is the owner of an eighty-
six acre tract of land, on which there are three
producing oil wells. He is also the owner of
valuable city property, including a desireable
residence on South Washington street, Van
Wert, which he makes his home. Mr. Collins
holds to the Baptist church, and in this faith
his loving and aimable wife died November 12,
1886. In his politics Mr. Collins is a prohi
bitionist, of which he has been an adherent
for seven years. The only society with which
he has ever associated himself, outside of his
¦church, is that of the Patrons of Husbandry,
of which he was made master of the Pleasant
township grange on its organization. He is
highly respected as an upright and useful citi
zen, and his aid is never lacking toward any
enterprise that bears the impress of usefulness
to the public at large.

(D

AJ. ISRAEL DILLE CLARK, -de
ceased. — Such a work as the one
in hand exercises its most impor
tant function when it enters a mem
oir to one who has passed as long and useful

a life as did the honored subject whose name
initiates this review. The story of his career
is one that tells of long identification with the
history of Ohio, of unstinted and loyal service
to his country in the crucial hour of civil war
fare, and of high position in professional ranks
and as a man among men. Probably the name
of no one man in the city of Van Wert recalls
to those who knew him such mingled feelings
of pride and sorrow as that of Maj. Israel D.
Clark — pride for his sterling character and his
exalted ability, and sorrow for the deprivation
which came when he was summoned into
eternal rest. He was prominently identified
with the interests of the city and county, and
this compilation would be inconsistent with
itself were there failure to revert in detail to
the history of the career of this noble man.
Israel D. Clark was a native son of the
Buckeye state, having been born at Shelby,
Richland county, on the 22d of April, 1S20,
the son of Thomas and Nancy (Dille) Clark,
both of whom were natives of the same county,
of which their respective parents figured as
among the earliest pioneer settlers. They
were identified with agricultural pursuits and
were people of sterling integrity. The father
was one of the successful and influential farm
ers of the pioneer locality and his life was
characterized by that ceaseless toil and en
deavor which insure success in temporal affairs.
He was a republican in his political adherency,
and both he and his wife were Presbyterians
in their religious faith. They became the par
ents of six daughters and two sons, all of
whom are now deceased.
The subject of this review was the fourth
child in order of birth, and he was reared
under the sturdy and invigorating discipline of
the parental farmstead, receiving his prelimi
nary educational discipline in the common
schools. On the 24th of September, 1840, he
was united in marriage, in his native county,

102

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

to Abbie Cook, whose death occurred on the
3d day of January of the succeeding year.
September 26, 1841, at Mansfield, Ohio, was
consummated his marriage to Miss Rachel
Scott, whose demise occurred April 15, 1875.
She left three children: John Willis Clark and
Rilla Clark, deceased, and Mrs. C. M. Sut-
phen, whose death occurred in 1894. To the
third marriage of our subject due reference
will be made in succeeding paragraphs.
Major Clark removed from Mansfield to
Van Wert county in the year 1842, and in
1 848 he received the appointment as post
master of the city of Van Wert, proving a most
capable and discriminating executive. He
had devoted his attention to a careful course
of reading in the law, and in 1854 he secured
admission to the bar. His personal popularity
and integrity, as taken in connection with his
marked professional ability, secured to him
within the succeeding year the election to the
office of probate judge of the county, in which
important and exacting position he served
with signal fidelity for a term of three years.
After his military career (which will be con
sidered later on) was terminated, he was
accorded still further public recognition, having
been prosecuting attorney of the county from
1864 until 1868; justice of trie peace from
1870 to 1 87 3 ; and having served the munici
pality of Van Wert both as a member of the
common council and in the highest office in
the gift of the city, that of mayor, his adminis
tration as chief executive of the city's affairs
having been one of marked honesty and one
in which the best interests of the community
were carefully conserved. In 1858 he was
associated with other representative men of
the city in the publication of the Ohio Weekly
Bulletin, which was edited by the late Capt.
W. C. Scott and which wielded an unmistak
able and beneficial influence in this section of
the state.

The thundering of rebel cannon on Fort
Sumter raised a responsive protest in the
nature of our subject, who was thoroughly
patriotic and loyal to the cause of the Union,
and whose patriotism was one of decision and
action. He was one of the first to respond to
President Lincoln's call for troops to assist in
suppressing the Rebellion, and he immedi
ately organized and enlisted a company, which
was assigned to the Fifteenth Ohio volunteer
infantry and became company E. He was
commissioned captain of his company and
proceeded with his command into Virginia.
They were engaged with the enemy at Philippi
and Laurel Hill, and in the conflict at the
latter place the Confederates lost their first
general, Garnett, who was killed in action.
At the close of their three-month term of en
listment, the regiment returned home, and
upon the subsequent call for 300,000 more
men for a three-years enlistment, Capt. Clark
forthwith proceeded to raise another company,
his efforts meeting with ready response and
the organization becoming company A of the
Fifty-second regiment, which was assigned to
the army of the Cumberland. Their initial
engagement was at Perryville, Ky., where the
regiment lost many of its brave men, and
where Capt. Clark rendered such valiant serv
ice as to secure to him a commission as major
of the regiment. His efforts in behalf of the
union were zealous and indefatigable, and he
endured the dangers and vicissitudes of mili
tary life with that fortitude which is begotten
of a full sympathy with and determination to
defend a righteous cause. Finally the hard
ships and exposures of the service made such
serious inroads upon his health that he was
compelled to resign his commission and to bid
a reluctant farewell to his comrades in arms,
realizing that his usefulness on the field of
battle was thus ended by untoward circum
stance. He returned to his home, with shat-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

103

tered health, and he never regained his consti
tutional vigor, but suffered from heart disease
and other incidental ills during the residue of
his days, bearing the sequelae of his milatary
service with as great patience as had he val
iantly borne arms on the field where grim-
visaged war reared its horrid front. Such
were the defenders of our nation's honor, and
to their memory should there be granted a
perpetual reverence and homage. Though
thus afflicted by disease and attendant suffer
ing, Maj. Clark continued in the practice of
his profession, though the organic disorder of
his heart compelled him to abandon all active
duty at irregular intervals. For a year prior
to his demise he was confined almost entirely
to his home, but was an heroic sufferer, and
uncomplainingly awaited that denouement
which could alone bring him relief. He
entered into eternal rest on the 9th of January,
1884, aged sixty-three years, eight months and
seventeen days, and the community mourned
the loss of an honored veteran of the late war
and a man of innate nobility of character.
In his political adherency he was a stal
wart supporter of the republican party and its
principles, and in addition to the various other
official positions he had held he also served as
United States marshal for some time after his
return from the war. He was prominently
identified, in a fraternal way, with the Masonic
order, being one of the oldest members of the
same in Van Wert, as is shown in the fact that
the records bear evidence that he was the first
man initiated into the mysteries of the order
in this city, the date of this ceremonial having
been October, 1852. He became a member
of the First Presbyterian chnrch at the time
of its organization, and continued to be a de
voted adherent until the time of his death.
He was also one of the honored members of
Scott post, No. 100, Grand Army of the
Republic.

In conclusion we revert to the domestic
chapter in the life history of Maj. Clark, find
ing that, on the 14th of August, 1877, was
consummated his marriage to Sarah M. Pearce,
of Willshire, this county. She was born in
Champaign county, Ohio, June 5, 1840, the
daughter of Lorenzo and Catherine (Bishop)
Pearce. Her father came to Van Wert county
and settled in Willshire in 1847, and was there
engaged in agricultural operatioris until the
time of his death, which occurred June 25,
1882. His wife was born in Champaign county,
Ohio, June 29, 18 16, and as the result of their
union were born the following-named children:
Anna E., wife of Dr. N. Croninger, of Kan
sas City, Mo. ; Cinderella, deceased; Sarah M.,
widow of our subject; Mary C, deceased; Af-
falander S., deceased; Thomas, deceased;
John M., of Elwood, Ind. They were all
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The mother died December 14, 1854. Major
and Sarah M. Clark became the parents of
two children: Roscoe Dille, who died at the
age of eight months, and Fred P., who re
mains as a comfort and solace to his mother.
Mrs. Clark and her son are members of the
Presbyterian church, with which the honored
husband and father was so prominently iden
tified. Maj. Clark left to his widow and son
a comfortable competency, Mrs. Clark being
the owner of valuable property on South Wash
ington street.

>Y»AMES H. CLIME, the popular and
¦ efficient county auditor of Van Wert
(t 1 county, Ohio, was born in Mahoning
~" county, this state, March 20, 1840,
and is of German descent. _ His father,
Amassa Clime, was- a native of Lancaster
county, Pa., born in November, 1808, and
was a son of Daniel Clime, a native of Phila
delphia, Pa. The father of Daniel came from

104

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Germany in 1753 and settled in the City of
Brotherly Love, spelling the famiby name, at
that time, Gleim, and this emigrant, or im
mediate descendant, became prominent during
the Revolutionary war, was a paymaster and
took part in the battle of Yorktown. Daniel
Clime was a miller, was the father of a large
family, and settled in Lancaster county, Pa. ,
where he died, a well-to-do citizen: His son
Amassa was married in Lancaster, in 1830, to
Mary Strunk, and in 1832 came to Ohio and
engaged in farming in Mahoning county until
185 1, when he came to Van Wert county,
farmed here until 1857, when he moved across
the line to Allen county, where he died on his
farm in 1863, his widow surviving until 1873,
"when she was accidentally burned to death,
having been stricken, it is surmised, with apo
plexy, while smoking, and thus setting her
clothes on fire.
James H. Clime is the fifth in a family of
twelve children and was but eleven years of
age when brought by his parents to Van Wert
county, where he was educated and lived until
twenty-one years old. In September, 1861,
he enlisted in company A, Thirty-second Ohio
volunteer infantry, for three years, but at the
end of three months was honorably discharged
-on account of disability. But his heart had
been fired with patriotic ardor, and he soon
again enlisted, this time in the 100-day service,
company A, Twenty-third Ohio volunteer in
fantry, and served out the term on guard- duty
at Washington, D. C. He next went to the
front as a substitute, and was assigned to a
•company in the Twenty-third Ohio volunteer
infantry, and was on. provost and transporta
tion duty until after the close of the war, and
was one of those who stood guard over the
corpse of President Lincoln. After his final
discharge at Columbus, Ohio, in May, 1865,
Mr. Clime returned to Van Wert county and
farmed for a year, and then began carpenter

ing, which he followed until 1880 in Allen and
Van Wert counties, in connection with con
tracting. In 1880 he made his home in Del
phos and began handling lumber in addition to
contracting and building, and has been thus
engaged ever since, doing a most prosperous
business. In 1893 Mr. Clime was elected
county auditor of Van Wert, and- took posses
sion of this office in October, 1894; he is also
a councilman of Delphos, is vice-president of
one building and loan association and a direct
or. The marriage of Mr. Clime took place
in Piqua, Ohio, March 20, 1873, to Miss
Anna E. Merriman, a native of Dayton, Ohio,
born August 6, 1845, and this union has been
blessed by the birth of two children, viz:
Mate DeFrees, now the wife of Charles E.
Ward, deputy county- auditor; the younger
child died at the age of five years, without a
name, but fondly called Babe. Mrs. Clime
is a devout member of the Presbyterian
church and is greatly respected for her many
amiabilities.

(D

ICHAEL CLOUSE.— Among the
successful farmers and stock dealers
of Liberty township. Van Wert
county, Ohio, the name of Michael
Clouse is deserving of special mention. As the
name indicates, Mr. Clouse is of German de
scent, and traces his family history back to the
fatherland, from which his grandparents on
the father's side immigrated to America a great
many years ago, settling in Pennsylvania.
The family afterward located in Wayne county,
Ohio, on a farm of 160 acres, which Grand
father Clouse pruchased by the proceeds of his
trade of tailoring. George Clouse, father of
Michael, was born in the county of Wayne,
and there married Elizabeth Kesler, daughter
of Jacob Kesler, a native of Pennsylvania.
Shortly after their marriage George Clouse and

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

105.

wife came to Van Wert county, and his was
the third family in the township of Liberty.
On their arrival they began housekeeping in
the shade of three large oak trees, and lived
thus until a small cabin could be erected.
George Clouse began the battle of life with
little, if any, assistance, but by energy, and
long years of constant toil, succeeded in ac
cumulating a goodly amount of property, in-
cludinga farm of 160 acres, the greater part of
which he cleared and brought to a high state
of cultivation. The following are the names
of the children of George and Elizabeth Clouse:
Jacob, Solomon (deceased), Michael, William,
George W., MaryJ.,Esli, Elizabeth (deceased),
Hughey (deceased).
Michael Clouse was born in the township
where he now lives March 10, 1841. He at
tended the pioneer log school-house at inter
vals during his minority, and remained with
his parents until the latter part of the war,
at which time he left wife and home in order
to do battle for his country. He enlisted Oc
tober 7, 1864, and participated in a number of
campaigns in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama
and Georgia, and was with his command in
many of the bloodiest battles of the war, in
one of which, the engagement at Nashville,
he lost the second finger of his right hand.
He was also knocked senseless by being struck
with a missile on the head, and was reported
as dead. After doing service as a brave and
gallant soldier, Mr. Clouse was honorably dis
charged in April, 1865, and immediately there
after returned to his home in Liberty township
and resumed the pursuit of agriculture, which
he has since successfully carried on. He owns
a beautiful farm of 256 acres, well improved
and supplied with good buildings, and also has
other lands in different parts of the county and
three acres within the limits ot Ohio City.
With the exception of about $1,000, Mr.
Clouse earned his. property with his own hands,

and is, in the true sense of the word, one of
the successful self-made men of his commu
nity. In politics he supports the democratic
party and in religion is a member of the
United Brethren church. Mr. Clouse was
married October 28, 1862, to Mary, daughter
of Simon and Sarah (Newcomber) Clouse, a
union blessed with the birth of the following
children: Sarah E., George F., William,
John W., Oscar A., Dora B., Alice May (de
ceased), and an infant, deceased.

<*/^\ R- S. B. COLLETT, retired physi-
1 I cian of Van Wert, was born in Clin-
S*^_J ton county, Ohio, September 24,
1833, a son of Judge Daniel and'
Sarah (Kyle) Collett. Judge Daniel Collett
was a native of Stanton, Va., and was born
October 15, 1809, a son of Isaac Collett, who
at one time was also judge of the court of
Clinton county, Ohio, for several years, and
there owned over 400 acres of fine land. He
was the father of ten children, named as fol
lows: Daniel, the father of our subject; John,
who was an attorney for forty years in Lima,
Ohio, and for several years filled the office of
judge; Isaac, Frederick, Joshua, Moses, Jacob,
Mildred, Mary and Catherine, all deceased.
The father of this family was ' in religion a
Presbyterian and in politics a whig, while in
worldly affairs he was quite successful. Judge
Daniel Collett was reared and educated in
Clinton county, and at eighteen years of age
began the study of law in Wilmington, Ohio;
he was admitted to the bar at Lebanon, Ohio,
in 1 83 1, and began practice at Wilmington,
where he resided until the breaking out of the
late war, when he went out as a nurse and
general assistant in hospitals, and remained
out three years, although not a participant in
any battle. He returned to Ohio, and pur
chased 125 acres of land in Greene county, on

106

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

which he resided until his death, which took
place in 1866. The marriage of Judge Collett
took place in Xenia, Ohio, in 1830, to Sarah
Kyle, who was born in that town February
24, 1808, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah
(Smith) Kyle, the result of the union being
eleven children, viz: James I., deceased; Sam
uel B., the subject proper of this sketch; John,
deceased; William, of Van Wert; Seth, of
Greene county; Daniel, who commanded a
company in the Union army, and died after
returning from the war; Joshua, Frank and
Mildred, all three deceased; Julia, wife of J.
O. Stout, justice of the peace and attorney at
Lima, Ohio, and Ella, deceased. Mrs. Col
lett, the mother of this family passed away at
her late residence on East Main street, Van
Wert, June 4, 1895, in her eighty-eighth year.
She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, as was her husband. Daniel Collett
was a republican in politics, and under the
auspices of his party served as judge of Clinton
county, Ohio, for several years.
Samuel B. Collett was reared to manhood
in Clinton county, and remained with his par
ents until twenty-four years of age. He re
ceived his preparatory education in his native
county, and at the age of twenty-two entered
the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati, from
which he graduated in 1857, and at once be
gan practice in Walkerton, Ind., where he had
a most successful career for fourteen years;
he then removed to Huntertown, Ind., where
equal success attended him for ten. years, and
then, in 1881, came to Van Wert, where he
achieved a fine reputation and continued to
practice until 1887, when he retired.
The first marriage of Dr. Collett took place
in Jamestown, Ohio, May 20, 1857, to Miss
Susie Alexander, who was born in Jamestown
in 1843, a daughter of Matthew Alexander.
This lady, after a life of connubial bliss of
nearly a quarter of a century, died at Hunter-

town, Ind., leaving one child, Blanche, now
postmistress at Jamestown. The second mar
riage of Dr. Collett took place in Van Wert,
April 11, 1885, to Mrs. Elizabeth Fox, widow
of Simon Fox and daughter of John Zimmer
man. The present Mrs. Collett was born in
Washingtonville, Ohio, September 11, 1828,
and comes of a very prominent family. Dr.
and Mrs. Collett are consistent members of
the Methodist Episcopal church and are highly
esteemed by the public at large. The doctor,
in politics, is a republican, and is a Freemason
fraternally. He is passing his declining years
at his home on the corner of Fulton and Car
oline streets, Van Wert.

OREN J. COMER, proprietor of the
popular cigar and tobacco establish
ment on Main street, opposite the
court house, Van Wert, was born in
Muskingum county, Ohio, May 4, 1838, a son
of Joshua and Leticia (Bryant) Comer. The
father, Joshua Comer, was born in the Shen
andoah valley, Va. , and after reaching his ma
jority came to Ohio, and engaged in the
grocery business in Dresden, Muskingum
county, and also kept a hotel until his death
in 1850. He was also married in Dresden,
about 1834, and to his marriage were born
four children, viz: Martha, Oren J., Louisa
and John. The mother of this family survived
until 1872, when she expired in Dresden, a
devout member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Oren J. Comer was but twelve years of
age at the death of his father, and remained
at home, aiding his widowed mother, until his
marriage, in February, 1861, of which impor
tant event mention will be made further along,
but it must not be surmised that he neglected
his maternal parent after the happy event
occurred. Four years after his marriage he

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

107

went to Roscoe, Coshocton county, Ohio,
where for four years he was general superin
tendent of a woolen-mill; he then went to
Bucyrus, and was there employed in a similar
position until 1869, when he came to Van
Wert and assumed the superintendency of
the Buckeye woolen-mills, and retained this
responsible position until the plant was de
stroyed by fire two years later; then, in
company with others, he erected the Van
Wert woolen mill, which Mr. Corner conducted
for one year, when he was appointed deputy
sheriff for four years under Fred Billman, and
also acted as coroner a part of the time. In
1878 he began handling tobacco and cigars
with a very limited capital, but he was a good
business man and was affable and obliging to
his customers, and his trade steadily increased.
In 1883 he began a tobacco jobbing business
throughout the surrounding counties, handling
about eighty different brands of tobacco and
selling some 30,000 pounds per annum.
The marriage of Mr. Comer, before alluded
to, took place in Dresden, Ohio, February 6,
1 86 1, to Miss Annette Chamberlin, who was
born in New York, November 18, 1838, and
to this union was born one child — Norma C,
wife of William A. Bickford; Mr. Comer also
adopted, in 1874, his brother's son, Oren J.,
Jr., who has- been with him ever since. Mr.
Comer is a thirty-second degree Mason, and in
politics is a republican, and during 1894 was a
cemetery trustee, his term of appointment be
ing for three years, but he resigned in the
spring of 1895. His stock in trade is exten
sive and choice and his business is constantly
on the increase. In religion Mrs. Comer is a
member of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Comer is a " mighty hunter, " and since
1880 has explored the north and south woods
in search of game and has a large collection of
birds and beasts of his own catch, including
eight bears, and he has preserved the antlers

of most of the deer he has killed. In 1894 he
captured in Washington county, Miss., an alli
gator gar that measures six feet, nine inches,
and this ichthyological specimen of his powers
he has had nicely conserved, or mounted.
William A. Bickford is a native of Ohio,
was born August 10, i860, and is a son of
Frank C. Bickford, of Van Wert. He was
educated in the city schools and here learned
the printer's trade, becoming an accomplished
journalist. February 23, 1887, he married
Miss Norma C. Comer, who was born October
22, 1 861, a daughter of Oren J. Comer, whose
biography is given above. To Mr. and Mrs.
Bickford has been born one child, Annette,
September 2, 1889. In religion he is a Lu
theran and in politics a democrat, and is in all
respects a useful and highly esteemed citizen.

t^~\ OBERT CONN, deceased, was born
I ^T in Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio,
\ W July 19, 1828, and was a son of An
drew and Margaret (Patterson) Conn,
well known residents of Mansfield and highly
respected throughout Richland county.
Robert Conn, our subject, was reared to
manhood in his native county, was educated
in the public schools, and at the age of twenty-
one left the parental roof and came to Van
Wert. Here he became quite well known as
a dry-goods merchant and also as a handler
of grain. He was married, in Van Wert,
May 12, 1 86 1, to Miss Catherine Slater, who
was born in Fayette county, Pa., April 10,
1 83 1, and is a sister of Mrs. O. W. Rose,
whose biography appears on another page —
the fruit of the union being one child, Andrew
P., now an insurance agent of Van Wert.
November 7, 1864, Robert Conn was untimely
called away, dying in the faith of the Presby
terian church. He was a democrat in politics,
and had accumulated considerable property.

108

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mrs. Catherine (Slater) Conn, after her hus
band's death, engaged, in 1866, in the millinery
business, which she followed with rare success
until 1890, when she sold, but in 1894 resumed
the business, and being a lady of most engaging
manners and of exquisite taste, has as many
patrons as formerly. She owns her own sales
room on Washington street, beside three resi
dence properties, all of which she has secured
through her own tact and enterprise in the
millinery business, in which she carries a stock
valued at $2,000. Mrs. Conn was a teacher
for nineteen terms in the schools of Van Wert
county, in which profession she was also phe
nomenally successful. In religion she is a
Christian spiritualist.

WOHN COLLINS, a pioneer of Ridge
A township, Van Wert county, Ohio, and
A 1 a thriving farmer, is a son of Sam-
""" uel Collins and was born in Hocking
county, Ohio, September 24, 1824. Samuel
Collins owned no land, and he and his son John
made their living by working out by the day or
month until the latter reached his majority. John
then started out on his own account, and until
twenty-three years of age worked principally
for three men — Samuel Strous, John Strous
and Solomon Riegle — in the meantime work
ing hard and faithfully and living economically.
As fast as he earned twenty-five or fifty dollars
he would place the sum at interest in the hands
of some good farmer. His first earnings, how
ever, he had invested as part payment on a
forty-acre farm, and this money he made by
cutting corn for Hiram Flanagin, who married
Polly Strous. Corn-cutting was the harvest
of Mr. Collins, the season lasting about three
weeks, during which period he made as much
money as he otherwise could in two months.
To use his own expression he "would make
his ties and cut the inside round after night,

ready for a big day's work on the morrow."
This was his course of life until his marriage.
To again quote Mr. Collins: "Seeing it was
not good for one man to be alone, John Collins,
aged twenty-three years, five months and
twenty-five days, and Sophia Stebelton, aged
sixteen years, one month and two days, were
united in the holy bonds of matrimony at the
residence of Jesse Stebelton, Fairfield county,
Ohio, on the nineteenth day of March, in the
year of our Lord i848,comformably to the or
dinance of God, and the laws of the state."
After marriage he continued to reside in Fair
field, Hocking county, four years, and then in
October, 1851, he came to Van Wert county,
and purchased forty acres of land ; he then
returned to Hocking county, where he
passed the winter, and on the 12th of
Mrarch, 1852, he started west again with
his family, consisting of himself, his wife
and three babies, a nephew, his mother
and one dog, and a hired man by the name of
Hayne. They reached Van Wert on March
21, rested in town awhile, and on the 27th
arrived safely on his forty acres. On the
twenty-first day of August following, he pur
chased forty-acres, of which twenty were
deadened, just across the road from his first
forty, and paid for it in full, with the excep
tion of $100, which was to be- paid in nine
months. The same day on which he made
this purchase he was seized with inflammatory
rheumatism, and for about six months was
compelled to use crutches and was unable to
do any work, and in the meantime his mother
died — and thus his misfortunes were aug
mented; but his determination and will were
strong, and his arms sinewy, and as soon
as he recovered from his rheumatic attack
he took a job of wood-chopping for Robert
Conn at thirty-seven and a half cents a cord,
and averaged four cords a day in the win
ter. He walked a mile night and morning to-

JOHN COLLINS.

MRS. SOPHIA COLLINS.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

113

and from his work', and when his job was com
pleted he was ready to make the last payment
on this part of his farm, and his eighty acres
are now free of debt. To clear this land up,
however, he worked from four o'clock in the
morning until twelve at night, but now he has
something to be proud of. In 1857 he bought
sixty additional acres of John Hire, adding to
the old farm on the east, making in all 140
acres in Ridge township, of which over 100
are under a state of cultivation, are thoroughly
underdrained, and improved with buildings
costing over $7,000.
Mr. Collins has had born to him seven
sons and seven daughters, of whom eleven
still survive — all married and themselves heads
of families. The names of these children are
as follows: Mary E., I. N., Andrew J., Martha
E., Daniel W., Anna, Franklin, Lucinda,
Jasper, Lovina, Dora, Ida, John and Perry.
The integrity, industry and morality of Mr.
Collins are well recognized in his community,
and none stand higher in the esteem of the
people of Ridge township than he and his fam
ily. As Mr. Collins naively quotes, ' ' My life
has been checkered with darkness and light,
but the sweet star of hope was always in sight;
though oft I have erred — I confess it with
tears— sustained by God's grace, I have reached
seventy years."

'l ¦* IRAM R. CONN, one of the promi-
j^k inent citizens of Van Wert and an
Jl ,F ex-soldier of the Union army, who
served his country well in its hour of
need, was born May 10, 1833. He is a son of
John Conn, who was born in Scott county,
Va., in 1790.
John Conn was of German and French an
cestry, was reared on a farm, and was married,
in 1807, to Miss Elsley Carter, of Scott county,
Va. She was a member of the Methodist Epis-
6

copal church, and died in 185 1. By her Mr.
Conn had the following children: Lucinda,
John, William, Jessie, Benjamin, Melvin, Mary,
Louisa, Hiram and Joseph. Five of these nine
children are dead, viz: Jessie, Mary, Louisa,
Melvin and Lucinda. All were married but
Melvin, who was killed in the late Civil war at
the battle of Richmond. John Conn married
for his second wife Miss Melissa Bryant, of
Tennessee. She was and is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and is still living
in Jackson county, Ohio. By his second mar
riage Mr. Conn became the father of five chil
dren, viz: Levi, Martin, Lydia, Daniel and
Lavinda. One of these five, Martin, is dead,
having been killed in a coal mine. He was
married ; all the rest are living and are all mar
ried. John Conn was a whig in the early day,
was a; patriot and volunteered to fight for his
country in the war of 1812-1 5. He was a mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, was a
good-hearted and liberal man, and was highly
esteemed as a man and as a citizen by all who
knew him.
Hiram R. Conn was born in Scott county,
Va. , and when twelve years of age began driv
ing stock for a living. This business he fol
lowed for about eight years, driving sometimes
a distance of 420 miles in one direction. When
he was twenty years of age his mother died
and then he removed to Greene county, Ohio,
where he remained for twelve years. He was
engaged in Greene county in farming until the
breaking out of the war, when he enlisted, at
Grape Grove, in company E, Ninety-fourth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and went direct from
camp at Piqua to the battle of Richmond,
where, the third day after leaving camp, a ball
passed so close to his lips as to make them
bleed a little. He went then to the battle of
Perryville, Ky., which took place October 8,
1862. Here he suffered a bad rupture, but
remained in the army until December 8, 1862.

114

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

At a bridge across the Cumberland river, near
Edgeville, Tenn., he had his left leg broken
and ankle dislocated and right arm and hand ¦
partially paralyzed. He was first taken to the
Masonic temple at Nashville, Tenn. , and thence
transferred to hospital No. 13, Louisville, Ky.,
and then to the Marine hospital, Cincinnati,
Ohio, where he received his discharge in Feb
ruary, 1863. He is now receiving a pension
of $17 per month in compensation for his in
juries. Having been discharged from the army,
Mr. Conn went to Greene county, Ohio, but
later, in the same year (1863) removed to Van
Wert, where he has since lived.
Mr. Conn was married February 18, 1852,
to Miss Lucinda Shigley, of Greene county,
Ohio. To this marriage there were born
seven cdildren, viz: Virginia O., Ersley R.,
Flora L., Franklin L., Cornelia N., Ulysses
E. and Elmer N. Of these seven children
three are dead, viz: Virginia O., Franklin L.
and Flora L. All of the seven married and
reared families of their own. Mr. Conn is a
true and strong republican, and is now retired
from active business and living a quiet, retired
life, in Van Wert, with his wife.
Miss Lucinda Shigley, his wife, was born
June 12, 1828. Her father, George Shigley,
was born in Pennsylvania in 1802. He was
reared on his father's farm, followed the occu
pation of a farmer during his entire life, and
died in Greene county, Ohio, in 1880. He
was married when he was eighteen years of
age to Miss Olive Franklin, who was a distant
relative of the great Benjamin Franklin, and
by her became the father of eleven children,
viz: Polly, Nancy, James, Betsy, Joseph,
George, Lucinda, Rhoda, Nelson, Benjamin
F. and Adeline. Of these eleven the follow
ing are dead: Polly, Betsy, Nancy, Joseph,
James, Rhoda, Adeline, and all the family
married except Rhoda. George Shigley was a
volunteer in the army of the Union during the

war of 1 812-15, and served' three months. In
politics he was a whig, but in later life became
a republican. In religion he was a Methodist,
and a consistent member of his church. He
was a very conscientious man, and a liberal
and a charitable christian gentleman in every
way. Mrs. Conn was born in Greene county,
Ohio, and resided at home with her parents
until she was married to Mr. Conn. She is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and a most exemplary christian lady.

**S~\ ANIEL M. CONROY, of Washington
¦ I township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
/A^_J is a native of Ireland, was born De
cember 4, 1840, and is a son of
Michael and Ann (Delaney) Conroy. The
father, Michael, brought his family, to America
in 1849, and this family at that time consisted
Qf himself and wife and children, named
James, Mary, Elizabeth and Daniel M. The
father was a farmer in the old country, but in
America worked on a railroad until his death
in Delphos, at the age of about fifty- seven
years. He was a devout Catholic and a much
respected citizen, and gave his two sons to the
defense of the Union, viz: James, who served
throughout the struggle in company F, Twenty-
fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, was in many
severe battles — among them Gettysburg — was
more than once wounded, and for a long time
a prisoner in the Libby den in Richmond; he
died some years later in Paulding, Ohio, from
the effects of his wounds; Daniel M., the
younger son and the subject of this mention,
enlisted at Delphos, Ohio, in the Dennison
guards, in 1862, for a term of three years or
during the war. He served at Camp Denni
son and in Kentucky on guard duty until
seized with a complication of the lung fever
and measles, and was confined in hospital over
two months, his weight being reduced from

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

115

140 to 105 pounds, and the result being nearly
fatal. On partial recovery he was found unfit
for a soldier's duty, being almost totally deaf
as well as emaciated, and he was therefore
honorably discharged at Camp Dennison,
Ohio, in January, 1863, after six months of
army life.
Daniel M. Conroy, our subject, was between
eight and nine years of age when he came with
his parents to America, received a common-
school education at Delphos and Van Wert,
and learned the stone-mason's trade, and up
to the date of his enlistment his life was
uneventful, or, at least, was not marked by any
special incident. After his army experience
he at once returned to Delphos, but it was
some time before he was capable of doing any
work. In due course of time, however, he
resumed his trade of stone-cutting, and March
4, 1867, married Miss Sarah Ann Gilliland,
who was born in Ridge township, Van Wert
county, June 8, 1836, a daughter of Thomas
and Catherine Gilliland. Thomas .Gilliland
was a pioneer of Ridge township, coming, in
November, 1835, bom Fredericksburg, Md.
He had married, in Maryland, October 29,
1 83 1. Catherine McCann, a native of Fred
ericksburg, born December 7, 181 1, and to
this union were born seven children, who grew
to 'maturity, viz: Robert, Edward, Maxwell,
Mary, Martha, Henrietta and Sarah. Thomas
Gilliland cleared up a farm of 170 acres,
became an influential citizen and a justice of
the peace, and died on his farm at the age of
about fifty-one years, a member of the Pres
byterian church. For further information
regarding this prominent pioneer family the
reader is referred to the biographies of E. B.
Gilliland and others to be found elsewhere in
this volume.
After marriage Mr. Conroy continued to
work at his trade in Delphos until 1873, when
he removed to Van Wert, and in 1882 came to

his present farm in Washington township,
where he owns twenty-nine and one-half acres,
and has a pleasant home. He has been quite
successful as an agriculturist — drawing from
his early experience — and makes the pursuit
profitable, and to the income derived from his
farm he has been remembered by the govern
ment with a pension of $22 per month. The
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Conroy has been
blessed by the birth of five children — Cath
erine, Mattie, Mary, John, and one who died
young. The Conroy family are all devout
members of the Catholic church, and in politics
Mr. Conroy is a republican. He has been a
very industrious man, and has always been an
upright and respected citizen, but is now
unable to any longer labor, and his deafness
has become almost total. One of his daugh
ters is now the wife of John Fawcett of Mid
dlepoint, and has one child.

^yV ILLIAM H. CORBET, manager
a A I and superintendent of the People's
mJL^ mill, Van Wert, was born in Guern
sey county, Ohio, March 12, 1856,
a son of Rev. Thomas W. and Elizabeth A.
(Robins) Corbet, now residents of Lafayette,
Allen county, Ohio, and of whom a more de
tailed account is given in the Allen couuty de
partment of this volume. William H. Corbet
was but five years of age when brought by his
parents to Allen county, where he attended the
public schools until the death of his mother
when he was fourteen years old, when he came
to Middlepoint, Washington township, Van
Wert county, and engaged as a general assist
ant in the stave factory for a year, and for
another year was employed in cutting stave
timber; he then studied at the Ada (Ohio) nor
mal school for six months, when he again re
turned to Middlepoint and served as clerk in a
general store until 1879, when he was. em-

116

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ployed in buying and shipping grain, cattle,
sheep and swine until 1883, when he was elect
ed county treasurer by the democracy, and
entered upon the duties of his office in Septem
ber, 1884. To this office he was elected two
consecutive terms, was the youngest man who
ever held the position, was the only democrat
on the ticket elected the second year, and can
boast of being the only treasurer to go out of
office without being compelled to correct an
error the first year. At the close of his second
term he engaged in buying and shipping grain
for eighteen months, then moved to his farm
of 160 acres in Washington township, where
he still resides. In June, 1894, he accepted
the position of manager of the People's mill, in
which position he fulfills the function of pur
chasing agent and salesman of grain, etc. ; he
is also engaged quite extensively in feeding
sheep during the winter season, and is likewise
the owner of some very fine Jersey cattle.
Mr. Corbet was united in matrimony at
Middlepoint, Ohio, December 27,1876, to Miss
Mandane Calhoun, born in Van Wert county
April 29, 1857, and a descendant of the cele
brated statesman, John C. Calhoun. To the
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Corbet have been
two children — Zenan. attending the Chicago
university, and Verna, at home. The parents
are members of the Lutheran church, and frar
ternally Mr. Corbet is a knight templar Mason;
he has served, also, on the school board and
as a member of the town council several terms.

^/^V AVID COUNSELLER, an influen-
I I tial citizen of Union township, and
/A^M representative farmer of Van Wert
county, is a native of Ohio, born in
the county of Auglaize, February 23, 1843.
His father, William Counseller, was born in
New Jersey September 9, 1809, and married
in that state, May 17, 1832, Temperance

Girtin, also a native of New Jersey, where her
birth occurred on the 18th day of September,
181 3. William Counseller followed farming
in New Jersey until his removal, in 1835, to-
Auglaize county, Ohio, where he remained
until 1 877, in which year he became a resident of
the county of Van Wert, locating in Ridge town
ship, where both he and wife died in May, 1.89 1.
William and Temperance Counseller reared a
family consisting of the following children:
Elias; Rebecca, deceased; Benjamin, killed in
the battle of Nashville, Tenn.; Mariah E. ;.
Isabella, deceased; David, the subject of this
memoir; William H., killed at Culpeper Court
House, Va. ; Levi, Emily A., Josiah, Charles,
Jennie and Temperance. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Counseller were devout members of the Meth
odist Episcopal church, in which he held the
position of class leader, and for many years
was a local preacher.
David Counseller remained with his parents-
until eighteen years of age, and received from
them valuable lessons of industry and morals,
factors which have contributed much to his
subsequent success in life. At the age above
named, he went to Allen county, where he
remained with his brother until the breaking
out of the war, at which time he responded to'
the country's call for volunteers, enlisting in
September, 1862, in company E, Ninety-ninth
Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years' serv
ice, his regiment forming a part of the Fourth
army corps, western division. He was with
his command through all its varied experiences
and took part in a number of the bloodiest
battles of the war, including Perryville,
Stone River, Chickamauga, Peach Tree
Creek, Buzzard's Roost and other engagements
of the Atlanta campaign. While with Sher
man in his operations around that city, Mr.
Counseller was taken quite sick, which neces
sitated his being sent to the hospital at Nash
ville, where he remained until sufficiently re-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

117

•cuperated, when he was removed to Jefferson-
.ville, Ind.,. remaining in the latter place for a
period of three months. Subsequently he re
joined his regiment at Willmington, N. C. , and
•continued at the front until honorably dis
charged at the expiration of his term of service,
•after which he returned to Allen county, Ohio,
and resumed his chosen calling of farming. In
1867 Mr. Counseller changed his residence to
the county of Van Wert, purchasing a small
place consisting of forty acres in Union town
ship, to which he has from time to time made
additions, until he is now the owner of a fine
tract of 200 acres, all well underdrained and
in an excellent state of cultivation. In addi
tion to general farming he pays considerable
attention to the raising of fine stock, being a
large breeder of thoroughbred China hogs, and
also deals extensively in hay, handling upon
an average from 1 50 to 200 car-loads per year.
Mr. Counseller is a thoroughgoing man of
the times, keeps pace with all modern improve
ments pertaining to agriculture, and possesses
rare business acumen. He is a man of fine
address, exceptional personal appearance, and
in the community few people stand as high in
the estimation of the public. On the 25th
day of July, 1865, was solemnized the mar
riage of Mr. Counseller and Elizabeth Shockey,
who was born March 24, 1843, the daughter
of Abraham and Rachael (Smith) Shockey,
natives of Ohio, of Irish and German descent,
respectively. The family of Mr. and Mrs.
Counseller consists of eight children, viz:
Franklin C, William H., Josephine L.,
Thomas A., Ada, Eva B., Rufus H. and Ora B.

@EORGE COVER, a substantial farm
er and respected citizen of Washing
ton township, Van Wert county, is
of sturdy Pennsylvania-German de
scent and was born in Perry county, Ohio,

February 11, 1845. His father, Henry Cover,.
also a native of Perry county, was born March
12, 1 8 19, a son of Jacob Cover, who was born
in Fayette county, Pa., but was one of the
original pioneers of Perry county, Ohio.
Henry Cover was a farmer, and married, in
Perry county, Mary M. Foster, daughter of
George Foster, to which union were born three
children who grew to maturity, viz: George,
Francis and Christian.
In August or September, 1849, Henry
Cover came from Perry county to Van Wert
county, Ohio, and located on 160 acres of land
in Ridge township, of which he had become
possessor through his wife, and which was
situated deep in the forest. This land he im
proved in every respect necessary to make a
first-class homestead, and by the exercise of
well directed energy and industry became the
owner of 657 acres of good farm land, all in
Van Wert county, with the exception of 160
acres, which lay in Grant county, Ind. Of
this property he has donated to his children
about 300 acres, retaining the remainder for
himself, and so shaping up his home place
that it now comprises 200 acres. He is a good
farmer and an intelligent manager, and conse
quently has been very successful in his under
takings. In politics he is a republican, and in
religion is a Lutheran, of which church he has
been a trustee, and is likewise an influential
and highly respected citizen.
George Cover, the gentleman whose name
opens this sketch, was about five years of age,
it will be noticed, when brought to Van Wert
county by his parents. Here he received such
educational advantages as were afforded by the
pioneer schools, and here, also, he was trained
to the vocation of farming. At the age of
about twenty-four years, December 27, 1868,
he married, in Van Wert county, Elizabeth A.
Crooks, who was born in Tuscarawas county,
Ohio, June 5, 1848, a daughter of Robert E.

118

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and Mary A. (Foster) Crooks. The father of
this lady was born in America, but was the
son of a native of county Donegal, Ireland.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cover
settled on ioo acres of land in Washington
township, on which they still reside, and which
Mr. Cover has cleared up, improved with a
substantial dwelling and out- buildings, and
thoroughly drained — making one of the neat
est and most profitable farms of its dimensions
in the township. Here have been born to Mr.
and Mrs. Cover five children, viz : Mary E. , Law
rence A., Marion F., George L. and Nettie L.
In politics Mr. Cover is a republican ; in religion,
he, wife and two elder children are members of
the Lutheran church, of which Mr. Cover has
been a trustee and treasurer, and from the
members of which he has received many other
evidences of the high esteem in which he is
held. For nearly half a century Mr. Cover
has been an eye-witness of the thousand and
one metamorphoses that have taken place in
Washington township and Van Wert county,
and has, indeed, been himself an important
factor in bringing about many of these changes,
thus earning the high position in which he
stands in the estimation of" his fellow-citizens.

¦jV^V OAH CRAWFORD, an old resident
1 K and prosperous farmer of Ridge town-
1 r ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born in Walnut township, Fairfield
county, Ohio, November, 5, 1833, a son of
John H. and Margaret (Buriff) Crawford, who
were natives of Pennsylvania, but who were
married in Fairfield county, Ohio, whither they
had come when still young, and to whose union
were born the following children: Thomas,
who died after attaining manhood; Sarah, who
died in girlhood; John, who owns and resides on
the Fairfield county homestead, which comprises
109 acres; Adam, who was a soldier in the war

of the Rebellion and was killed in the battle of
Bull Run; Sophia Jane, who died in girlhood; ,
Noah, the subject of this sketch, and Peter
Monroe, who was also killed at Bull Run.
Noah Crawford remained on the home farm
until his marriage, March 26, 1857, to Chris
tiana Alspach, daughter of David and Mary A.
(Stouder) Alspach, who were the parents of
three children, beside Mrs. Crawford — Frank,
Sylvester and Alpheus. In 1857, also, David
Alspach came with his family to Van Wert
county from Perry county, and settled near
the county line of Allen county, a short dis
tance from Delphos, and there improved a fine
farm, now the property of his son Frank, with
whom Mrs. Alspach now makes her home.
Noah Crawford, who came to Van Wert county
in the same year with Mr. Alspach, rented what
was then known as the Pat Sheeley farm, in
Washington township, on which he made his
home for four years, and then rented the Bink-
ley farm in the same township, and here
farmed for two years. The following spring,
at the earnest solicitation of an old friend of
bis boyhood days, named Charles Denman, he
purchased a tract of forty acres in Ridge town
ship — the tract being then a dense forest.
through which not even a pathway had been
hewn out. Here Mr. Crawford toiled assidu
ously until he had wrought out a charming
home, to which he has added thirty acres, the
whole improved with every modern conveni
ence and underdrained with over 1,700 rods of
tiling. His dwelling is notably neat and at
tractive, and the farm phenomenally product
ive under its owner's skillful management. To
Mr. and Mrs. Crawford have been born three
children, viz: Ida, who is the wife of William
Spridgeon; Charles Ellsworth, who married
Mary Neiswitz, and Francis Marion, who mar
ried Dora Whers — and no more respected
family than that of Mr. Crawford exists within
the limits of Ridge township.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

119

>^OHN CREMEAN, of Washington town-
A ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
A 1 born in German township, Allen county,
December 24, 1841, and is one of the
oldest soldiers of the late Civil war, in which
he served over three years, and is now a pros
perous farmer of his present county.
Smith Cremean, the grandfather of our
subject, was a native of Maryland, married a
lady of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent, and
came to Ohio at a very early date, eventually
settling in Allen county. Edward Cremean,
son of Smith and father of John, our subject,
married, in Allen county, Mary Povenmire,
daughter of John Povenmire, who was also of
Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and after marriage
settled on 104.^- acres in Greensburg township,
and cleared up a good farm from the woods.
He was a volunteer in the Mexican war, but
although he was willing to fight, saw no active
service. To Mr. and Mrs. Cremean were
born thirteen children, named as follows:
James, Maggie, Mary J., Martin Van Buren,
John, Elizabeth, Henry, Daniel, Ellen, Sarah
A., Lucetta, Abraham and Lavina. Mr*
Cremean sent five of his sons to the Civil war,
viz: James, Martin, John, Henry and Daniel,
of whom three — Martin, Henry and John —
were in company K, Sixty-sixth Illinois volun
teer infantry, while James and Daniel served
in an Ohio regiment. The father of this
family was a democrat in politics and died on
his farm in Allen county about 1868, at the
age of forty-seven years, a member of the
United Brethren church.
John Cremean, our subject, received the
usual common-school education granted to
farmer lads and enlisted, before he was twenty-
one years of age, March 31, 1862, at Lima,
Allen county, for three years, in the first Ohio
sharpshooters, under Capt. S. A. Taylor,
served out his term of enlistment, veteranized
in the same organization, and served until the

close of the war, receiving an honorable dis
charge at Springfield, 111., April 26, 1865.
He fought at Corinth, Iuka, Lookout Mount
ain, Pea Ridge, Cedar Bluff, Sandy Point,
Duck Diver, Ostenado River, and at other
points, and he was on the famous Atlanta
campaign, in which he was under fire continu
ously for nearly four months, and fought at
Dalton, Resaca, Pumpkinvine Creek, Buzzard
Roost, Kenesaw Mountain and other points;
also at the battles of Atlanta, where, being
close at hand, he saw Gen. McPherson fall.
Mr. Cremean was also at Jonesboro, as well
as on the renowned march with Gen. W. T.
Sherman to the sea; took part in the fall of
Columbia, and in skirmishes unnumbered,
marching through to Goldsboro, N. C. Mr.
Cremean passed all through the war without a
wound, and during all his services was confined
to hospital only one week.
After his return from the army, Mr. Cre
mean married, September 28, 1865, Miss Lu
cinda Brand, who was born January 31, 1843,
in Allen county, Ohio, a daughter of John and
Harriet (Creger) Brand, and after marriage
lived on the Brand homestead for two years,
and then, in 1867, came to Van Wert county
and located in York township on a tract of
forty acres, which he cleared of the heavy
timber and developed a farm that any man
might be proud of — all well drained and fenced.
To Mr. and Mrs. Cremean have been born the
following children, all still living to bless the
household: Dora, Alpha, Charles, Daisy, Min
nie, Thomas, Jessie, Molly and Myrtle. In
politics Mr. Cremean is a democrat and has
served as school director. He is a man who
advocates the cause of education and moral
progress and public improvements, and has won
the esteem of the public for the interest he
takes in the public welfare, and for his per
sonal character as an upright and conscientious
citizen and kind-hearted neighbor.

120

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

HLONZO CONANT, president of the
First National Bank of Van Wert,
Ohio, and one of the most enter
prising business men in the state,
descends from one of the oldest families in the
country, of whom any record is extant. The
Conant family appears to be, primarily,
of Celtic descent, for the name Conan, or
Conon, from which the name is derived, is
found at every early period among various
races of Celtic origin, including the Britons,
Welsh, Irish, Gaels and Bretons. Nobody
knows when the Celts first settled in Britain,
for at the beginning of authentic history the
island was inhabited by them. When Britain
was invaded by the Anglo-Saxons, these Celtic
inhabitants retreated before them into Corn
wall and Wales, where they retained their
language and customs for a long time. Some
crossed the English channel southward and
joined their kinsmen in Armoric Brittany, and
others found hordes elsewhere.
Whether the family was of the Britain, or
Cornish, branch of the Celtic race it is impos
sible to say; as the name is somewhat Gallic
in form, it is possible the family is descended
from some Breton follower of William the
Conqueror. At all events, members settled in
Devonshire as early as the beginning of the
fourteenth century. Three hundred years later,
in the very vanguard of English emigration to
America, two brothers of the name left Devon
shire for the new world, from the youngest
of whom nearly all the Conants in America
are descended. The Conants almost invaria
bly married into families of English descent,
and moreover, into families long settled here,
so that the branch of the family on this side
of the ocean may be regarded as typically
American. Records remain to show that the name
Conant, in very nearly its present form, has
existed in England for over six hundred years,

and a more extended search would doubtless
reveal its earlier existence. This is, however,
a very respectable antiquity for the name,
when the difficulty of tracing any particular
name, and the fact that surnames, which
have been in use for only eight hundred
years, are considered.
Roger Conant, the emigrant and ancestor
of most of those bearing the name in America,
was baptized at All Saints church, in the par
ish of East Budleigh, Devonshire, England,
April 9, 1592. He was the youngest of the
eight children of Richard and Agnes (Clarke)
Conant, who were esteemed for their exemplary
piety. He was married in London, in Novem
ber, 161 8, and remained in London until he
emigrated to New England in 1623. The
name of the vessel in which he came is not
certainly known, but it is extremely probable
that it was the Ann, which arrived at Plymouth
about July, 1623. He did not, however,
remain long at Plymouth, owing to a differ
ence of religious belief between himself and
the Pilgrim fathers. They were Separatists,
and he a non-Conformist or Puritan. The
ship Charity arrived in March, 1624, bringing
supplies to the colonists, and also bringing
the Rev. John Lyford, a Puritan minister, who
was sent at the company's expense. Soon
Rev. Lyford and the leaders of the colony
began an intrigue against the colonists, which
ended in their expulsion in July, 1624. Roger
Conant was not expelled with them, but joined
them soon after at Nantasket, where they had
settled from a dislike of the principles of rigid
separation which prevailed at Plymouth. It
was probable, while at Nantasket, that he
made use of the island in Boston Harbor, now
called Governor's Island — but then, and some
time after, was known as Conant's island.
During the winter of 1624-5, Rev- John
White of Dorchester, and his associates, hear
ing of the settlement at Nantasket, and of

ALONZO CONANT.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

123

Roger Conant, chose him to manage, or govern
their affairs at Cape Ann.
Although he is not universally recognized
as the first governor of Massachusetts, Roger
Conant is fairly entitled to that honor, for the
colony of which he was the head made the
first permanent settlement in the Massachu
setts territory, which settlement was the germ
from which the Massachusetts Bay colony
sprung. His influence in calling the attention
of prominent persons in England to the ad
vantages of Massachusetts for purposes of
colonization was greater than had been pre
viously recognized, and we have seen that, but
for him, the colony would have soon been
abandoned. Upon good authority it is stated
that Roger Conant was made governor of
Salem, Mass., in 1625, and in 1628 was super
seded by John Endicott; he also built the first
frame house, in Salem.
Benjamin, the grandfather of Alonzo Co
nant, our subject, was born August 29, 1756,
in Bridgewater, Mass. In April, 1775, he was
one of Capt. Nathan Mitchell's company that
marched to Cambridge on the Lexington alarm.
About 1795, he removed from Bridgewater,
Mass., to Turner, Me., where he died. His
son Benjamin, father of our subject, was born
September 24, 1794, in Bridgewater, Mass.,
moved to Turner, Me., with his parents, where
he received his education and engaged in farm
ing, and there married, October 30, 18 16,
Althea Staples, who was born in Massachusetts
July 8, 1793; there they lived the remainder of
their lives — his death occurring in 1868 — his
wife having died October 8, 1848. They were
the parents of nine children, of whom but two
are now living, viz: Louis and Alonzo (our
subject). The parents were Universalists in
religious belief, while in politics the father was
a democrat. Alonzo Conant was born March 17, 181 7,
was reared on the farm in Maine, and received

his education in the common schools of that
day, which he attended until his twenty-first
year, when he spent several months as a mem
ber of a militia company in his native state,
and then engaged in various pursuits of busi
ness until 1839, when, in company with sev
eral companions, he came to Ohio, stopping
near Columbus, and there engaged as a laborer
in a stone quarry, where he was employed six
months; the succeeding winter he taught
school in the same neighborhood. For five
years following be was engaged in clerking in
and about Columbus; then went to Sunbury,
Delaware county, Ohio, in company with
David Heyden, and engaged in the grocery
business for one and a half years; then, in
1852, our subject came to Van Wert, and in
company with Simon Swineford engaged in the
grocery business, in which he continued until
1868. At this time a stock company was
formed by the business men of Van Wert for
the purpose of manufacturing staves, of which
he was elected principal manager, and held
this position for three years; he then becarhe
interested in the First National bank, in 1871,
and acted as a director of the same until its
reorganization in 1878, when he was made its
president, which position he has since held.
Mr. Conant was married, November 22, 1849,
in Delaware county, Ohio, to Miss Esther A.
Clark, who was born in Zanesville, Ohio, Sep
tember 13, 1825, and by this union four chil
dren have been born, viz: Mary E. (deceased),
Myrtle A., lone E. (deceased) and Lida E.
Mr. Conant is one of the oldest members of
the I. O. O. F. lodge in this city; in politics
he is a stanch republican, and has served as
common councilman, and also on the board of
education, and is interested in many of the
more important enterprises of the city and
county. The business career of Mr. Conant
has been marked throughout by the purest in
tegrity, and his name is a synonym of all that

124

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

is honorable in mercantile or other transac
tions, and that he enjoys the highest regard
and most implicit confidence of his fellow-citi
zens "goes without saying."

^/^ OBERT L. CROOKS, M. D., of Con-
| s£^ voy, Tully township, Wan Wert coun-
|j F ty, Ohio, is one of the leading prac
titioners of the county, and with one
exception the oldest in practice in Convoy, his
experience having extended through a period
of eighteen years. He was born in Carroll
county, Ohio, January 17, 1853, a son of
Josiah F and Catherine (Walters) Crooks,
pioneers of Pennsylvania. The grandfather of
Mrs. Crooks, Lancaster S. Walters, was a
soldier in the war of the Revolution; the pater
nal grandfather of the doctor was Robert E.
Crooks, who was a pioneer of Tuscarawas
county, Ohio.
Rev. Josiah F. Crooks, father of the doc
tor, was born near New Philadelphia, in that
county, in 1831, was highly educated, an,d was
chaplain of the Ninety-eighth Ohio infantry,
having been promoted from the ranks of com
pany H, in which he had enlisted to serve dur
ing the Civil war. After his return he entered
the ministry of the Methodist church, moved
to Van Wert county with his family, and was
first placed on the Coldwater circuit and after
ward on the St. John circuit, and in these
groups of adjoining counties preached for the
remainder of his life, dying in Elida, Allen
county, at the age of sixty-two years. He and
his wife were parents of five children — Annie,
Laura, Louise, William and Robert L. He
was very patriotic and was in constant demand
at G. A. R. camp-fires, -and on decoration
days, as orator.
Dr. Robert L. Crooks received a liberal
education; he attended the Normal college at
Lebanon, Ohio, and graduated from the Eclec

tic Medical institute at Cincinnati, March 13,
1872; from the Fort Wlayne Medical college in
February, 1878, and from the Chicago Poly
clinic, February 1 1, 1889. He began practice
at Gilbert's Mills, Paulding county, Ohio, in
1872, and four years later came to Convoy,
Van Wert county, where he has met with phe
nomenal success down to the present time.
He is a member of the Northwest Ohio Medical
society and the Van Wert County Medical
society, and is the advisory surgeon of the
leading life insurance companies doing business
in Van Wert and adjoining counties. He is a
patron of the leading medical periodicals of the
United States and Europe and is a frequent
contributor to several of the more important of
them; is still a hard student and keeps well
abreast with the progress made in medical and
surgical science and practice; he has a fine
library of medical and other works, and is well
read in scientific as well as lay literature and
history. When the doctor began practice in
Van Wert county the primeval forest reached
the very streets of. Convoy, and he was forced
to make his visits on horseback to the pioneer
cabins through dense woods, occasional clear
ings, andover the most ill-conditioned roads, in
winter and in summer, and in daytime and at
night, to attend his meager clientage, but his
practice now extends through Allen county,
Ind., and Mercer, Allen, Paulding and Van
Wert counties, Ohio, and his mode of convey
ance is more convenient than of old. The
doctor has been an extensive traveler and has
visited every state in the Union. He is a
member of the I. O. O. F. of Convoy, in
which he has held all the offices, and is a mem
ber also of the I. O. R. M., in which he has
been chief of records. In politics he is a re
publican and has been a member of the town
council of Convoy four years, and he served on
the United States pension board during the
administration of President Harrison. The

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

125

marriage of Dr. Crooks took place November
n, 1872, to Rachael I. Little, to which union
were born three daughters — Hiley M., Cleo
and Leo — all now dead, Mrs. Crooks having
died August 19, 1875.

iHEODORE CULP, an enterprising
farmer of Hoaglin township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier,
was born in Salt Creek township,
Pickaway county, Ohio, October 27, 1843.
His great-grandfather, Boyleston Culp, was a
native of Pennsylvania, but early entered land
in Salt Creek township, Pickaway county, Ohio,
where he ended his days. Peter Culp, subject's
grandfather, also born in the Keystone state,
settled with his father in Pickaway county,
Ohio, and there also died, a prominent church
member. James A. Culp, son of Peter and
father of Theodore, our subject, was born in
Pickaway county, August 12, 1822, married
Ann Crouse, of Ross county, and had born to
him the following children: Jerome, Theo
dore, George, John, Maria (deceased), Henry,
Mary (deceased), Jacob and Jane. The par
ents remained on the home farm, in Pickaway
county, until 1848, when they removed to
Auglaize county, where he is now a wealthy
land owner, but lost his wife March 3, 1894.
Fraternally he is a Freemason and politically
a republican. Theodore Culp was reared a farmer, and in
February, 1865, enlisted in company C,
One Hundred and Ninety-second Ohio vol
unteer infantry, did gallant duty in the cam
paigns of Virginia and Maryland, and was hon
orably discharged September 5, 1865. The
marriage of Mr. Culp took place in Allen
county, Ohio, September 16, 1866, to Miss
Marimna Long, daughter of Jacob and Re
becca A. (Westerfield) Long, the former of
whom was born in Clermont county, Ohio,

December 1, 1821, and the latter, in the same
county, February 14, 1826, and whose mar
riage took place December 22, 1844. Mrs.
Long died in Allen county, Ohio, January 6,
1890, where Mr. Long died July 31, 1895, the
owner of a fine farm of ninety-six acres, where
he had his residence for over forty-two years.
He was quite prominent in the Methodist
church and in politics was a republican. In
1875 Mr. and Mrs. Culp settled on their farm
in Hoaglin township, Van Wert county. This
farm comprises eighty acres of excellent land,
is finely tilled and is adorned with a neat and
tasty cottage residence. The children born to
Mr. and Mrs. Culp are three in number, viz:
Effie L., Ollie A. and Daisy O. Of these,
Effie L. is in Toledo, taking lessons in music,
and the other two are at home. Mr. and
Mrs. Culp are both members of the Methodist
church and highly respected members of so
ciety. In politics Mr. Culp is a republican,
and is a member of Zeller Hamilton post, No.
260, G. A. R., and few men stand higher in
the esteem of the citizens of Hoaglin township
than he.

HMOS T. DAILEY, ex-probate judge
of Van Wert county, Ohio, was born
in Athens county, in the same state,
March 16, 1832, a son of Esaias and
Mary Ann (Thompson) Dailey. The father,
Esaias, was born in Harrison county, Va. , now
W. Va., December 6, 1805, and was a son of
Thomas and Mary (Majors) Dailey. Thomas
Dailey was born in Delaware about 1775, and
his parents, who were natives of Ireland, were-
married in that country. Thomas was reared
in Virginia by his aged mother, was married in
1798, and lived in Virginia until 1820, when
he moved to Meigs county, Ohio, where he
farmed until his death in i860, his wife sur
viving until 1864. Thomas and Mary (Majors)

126

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Dailey were the parents of ten children, viz:
Nimrod, Robert, Mary, Matilda, Eliza, Esaias,
William, Julia, David and James. Their son,
Esaias, the father of Amos T. Dailey, was
reared in Meigs county, Ohio, but was married
in Athens county, May 20, 1831, to Mary Ann
Thompson, who was born in Virginia in Octo
ber, 18 10, a daughter of Amos and. Jane
(McBain) Thompson, also natives of Virginia
and of Irish and Scotch extraction, and to this
marriage were born the following children:
Amos T. , whose name opens this paragraph;
Jane, now Mrs. John Smith; Nimrod, deceased;
Esaias, of Kankakee, 111. ; Albert William, of
Walkerton, Ind. ; Victoria, wife of Joseph Fos
ter, of Adams county, Ind. ; "Clayton, of Deca
tur, Ind., and Mary Ann, wife of D. Foor.
After his marriage Esaias Dailey remained in
Athens county for a year, engaged in farming;
in 1833 he moved to Auglaize county and
stopped a year at Saint Mary's; thence moved
to Willshire, Van Wert county, in 1834, and
a short time afterward entered land two miles
west, just across the Indiana line, and farmed
until his death, October 14, 1869, having lost
his wife from cholera July 22, 1854. Mr.
Dailey was a republican in politics, and was a
successful business man, and, in connection
with farming, kept an old-fashioned country
tavern from 1837 to 1850.
Amos T. Dailey enjoyed the advantages of
private schools, and at the age of twenty-four
years engaged in buying and driving stock,
taking several droves of horses and cattle to
Chicago in 1853. July 14, 1856, he married,
in Van Wert, Miss Eliza Jane Ainsworth, who
•was born in Madison, Ohio, January 1, 1831,
a daughter of William and Susan Ainsworth —
this marriage resulting in the birth of the fol
lowing children: Orsini and Susan, deceased;
Laura B., Sara G. , William H., and Esaias.
Immediately after marriage, Mr. Dailey lo
cated in Adams county, Ind., where he en

gaged in farming until 1864, when he em
barked in general merchandising at Pleasant
Mills, Ind., and did a successful business until
1870, when he located in Willshire township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, and re-engaged in
farming until 1882, when he assumed the of
fice of probate judge, and filled that respon
sible position until 1888, then, until 1889, he
employed himself in buying and shipping stock,
when, in the latter year, he was appointed
postmaster in Van Wert, and for four years
faithfully and satisfactorily performed the du
ties of the arduous position, and then retired
from the active business affairs of life. In
politics Mr. Dailey is a stanch republican, and
fraternally he is a chapter Mason, and is
highly respected by the citizens pf,,Van Wert
county, in which he still owns a fertile farm of
1 50 acres.

^-VACOB DANNER, one of the oldest and
A wealthiest agriculturists of Ridge town-
(• 1 ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born
**"" in Shenandoah county, Va. , October 9,
1824, a son of Jacob and Catherine (Cullers)
Danner, both also natives of the Old Domin
ion. In 1829 the parents came to Ohio and
settled in Licking county, bringing with them
their children — John, who became, later, a
Union soldier, and died of disease contracted
in the army — his brother Jacob, our subject,
having brought him from Camp Dennison to
his, Jacob's, own home in Ridge township,
where John expired; Mary, the second in the
family, was married to Basil Tracy and is now
deceased; Nancy, married David Tracy, and is
also deceased; Susan was married to Lanty
Shannon, and both are now deceased; Sarah,
married to John Hann, is also deceased; Eliza
beth died as the wife of Abraham Inlow;
Jacob, our subject, and Isaac, the youngest of
the family, who died in infancy. The father

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

127"

of this family was a shoemaker by trade and
both he and wife died in Licking county.
Jacob Danner was but eleven years of age
when he lost his father, and, his mother being
in cramped circumstances, he hired out to work
at $6 per month, and continued to work out
until his marriage, October 27, 1846, to Miss
Hannah Ships, daughter of John and Eliza
beth (McCague) Ships, natives, respectively,
of Virginia, and Washington county, Ohio,
and both of whom were brought to Licking
county in childhood. To the marriage of Mr.
Shipps, who was a farmer, were born six chil
dren, all now deceased, with the exception of
Mrs. Danner. In 1848, Mrs. Danner's parents
came to Van Wert county, buying lands in
York towr :bip, and in the following spring
bought in both York and Jennings townships,
and there lived for six years, then bought, in
1857, what is known as the Griffin farm,
where they lived until their retirement to Van
Wert, where Mr. Ships died October 2, 1872,
and Mrs. Ships, November 9, : 373. Sep
tember 10, 1848, Mr. Danner settled in Allen
county, where he lived until 1849, when he
came to Van Wert county, in the spring, and
here purchased a farm on Jennings prairie,
which farm he later sold and bought eighty
acres, in 1 861, in Ridge township, all in the
woods, but now a well improved and elegant
farm; added to which, also, is a portion of a
100-acre tract that had been purchased some
years ago by Mrs. Danner's fathet. The
family born to Mr. and Mrs. Danner comprise
the following children: Elizabeth Catherine,
deceased wife of John Parent; Mary Ann, wife
of J. F. Anschutz, of Van Wert; Sarah Emily,
who died in infancy; J. S., of Harrod, Allen
county; Nathan Ira, of Van Wert; David
Marion, who died in infancy, and Milton As-
bury, still at home. The political affiliations
of Mr. Danner are with the democratic party,
but he never excites himself over party affairs.

He is an excellent farmer, however, and is, in
every sense in which the term is used, a self-
made man, and stands most deservedly high
in the esteem of his fellow-citizens.

sr

ILLIAM DAVIS, a substantial farmer
of Washington township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of
the late Civil war, was born in the-
south of Wales, June 5, 1837, and is a son of
Thomas Davis, who, by his first wife, was the
father of four children, who grew to maturity
and were named Ann, Thomas, Elizabeth and
Margaret; by a second marriage, to Elizabeth-
Williams, he became the father of two chil
dren — William and John; this wife died in
America*, and by his third marriage, to Sarab
J. Gloss, a widow, there were born one child.
— Celissa. Thomas Davis came to America in 1842,
bought land in New York state and cleared up>
a farm; later he sold his place and came to-
Ohio and located in Darke county, and still
later, in 1863, came to Van Wert county andi
purchased land in Washington township, on
which he resided a number of years, but again-
sold out and settled in Ridge township, where
his life terminated at the advanced age of
eighty-two years. He was a substantial farmer
and a respected citizen, a pious member of the
Congregational church, a democrat in politics,
and furnished to the defense of the flag of his,
adopted country two sons — Thomas and Will
iam, the former of whom served under the 100-
day service, in an Ohio regiment.
William Davis, the subject proper of this.
memoir, was but five years of age when he
came to America with his parents, and after
the death of his mother came with his father
to Ohio. In Butler county, Ohio, he enlisted,
October 3, 1861, in company I, Fourth Ohio'
cavalry, to serve three years or until the con-

128

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

elusion of the war. Serving out the full term
of his enlistment and receiving his honorable
discharge, at Columbia, Tenn., October 20,
1864, he re-enlisted, entering company K,
Thirteenth Ohio cavalry, February 27, 1865,
and serving about six months, when he was
again discharged in Virginia, August 10, 1865,
the war having been triumphantly ended. A
partial enumeration of the terrific contests in
which he took an active part comprises only
Stone River, Chickamauga, the Atlanta cam
paign and Kenesaw Mountain, but he was
never off duty in any skirmish or engagement
in which his regiment was called to serve, save
when confined in hospital. As a cavalryman
he was always in the advance and much
exposed, and at Huntsville, Ala. , was shot
through the right thigh, but after recovery
rejoined his regiment and followed its fortune
with fortitude and genuine courage.
After the war Mr. Davis returned to But
ler county, and was there married to Amanda
Addison, who was born in Butler county, May
11, 1845, a daughter of Timothy and Sarah
(Gallaway) Addison. The father of this lady,
Timothy Addison, was born on the island of
Nantucket, Mass., September 20, 18 16, and
was a son of Archibald Addison, a seamen of
Baltimore, Md., but whose shipping point was
Nantucket. The protection papers of Arch
ibald were issued by Daniel Coffin and dated
September 2, 1806, and were granted for his
safety, as an American citizen and seaman,
from impressment by the British — the outrage
ous conduct of Britain in this particular being
the prime and detestable cause of the war of
181 2. Archibald, however, was an English
man by birth, and while on a voyage to South
America was seized, with three others, im
pressed into the British service, but after three
years of the degrading servitude, he escaped
with a comrade and succeeded in reaching the
United States. Although he had at the time

about 500 doubloons to his credit in the Bank
of England, he so keenly felt the indignity that
had been placed upon him, and was so imbued
with the spirit of American independence, that
he never condescended to apply for it. Arch
ibald Addison married, in Nantucket, Mary
Meeder, the union resulting in the birth of six
children, viz: William, Sarah, Timothy, Lewis,
John and Lucy. Archibald Addison, in course
of time, came to Ohio and was a settler in
Cincinnati in its primitive days, but afterward
removed to Butler county, Ohio, and settled
in the wilderness, where he cleared up a farm
of eighty acris, on which he passed the re
mainder of his life, dying about the year of 1 847.
Timothy Addison was a boy of twelve years
of age when he reached Cincinnati with his
father, there learned the cooper s trade, and
in Butler county married Miss Sarah Gallaway,
daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Montgom
ery) Gallaway — the Gallaway and Montgomery
families being of Scotch-Irish descent; to this
union six children were born — Jane, Amanda,
Lewis, John, Franklin, and Susan — all born in
Butler county. About 1872 Mr. Addison came
to Van Wert county, and lived in retirement
at Middlepoint until his death, at the age of
seventy-two years, in the Presbyterian faith.
In politics he was a democrat, and for eighteen
years was a constable in Butler county and
was once mayor of Middlepoint.
Mrs. Elizabeth Montgomery, the maternal
grandrnother of Mrs. Davis, came from Penn
sylvania, was a cousin of the late president of
the United States, James K. Polk, and had five
brothers in the Revolutionary war, one of
whom was shot seventeen times, but neverthe
less recovered; she had, also, two brothers in
the old French-Indian war. Henry Gallaway,
the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Davis, was
also from the Keystone state and an old pio
neer and Indian fighter. The Montgomerys,
indeed, were a fighting family. Some of them

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

129

were with Brady, the famous Indian scout;
others were captured and killed by Indians,
while others made terrible retaliation. The
female members of the family were nowise
lacking in those grand qualities which charcter-
ized the early matrons of the colonies and the
infant republic, and would often resist Indian
attacks on their cabins in the absence of their
husbands and brothers, already at war, until
compelled to flee, with their children in their
arms, to forts or block houses for protection —
as did the grandmother of Mrs. Davis, on one
occasion at night while at another time the
great-grandmother of Mrs. Davis in a similar
attack, brained an Indian with a slop bucket.
" The mothers of our forest land —
Stout-hearted dames were they,
With nerve to wield the battle-ax
And join the border fray.'

<V^V AVID O. DAVIS, one of the old set-
I I tiers and substantial farmers of
/A^J Washington township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, was born in Wales,
November 29, 1833, and is a son of Evan O.
and Mary (Jenkins) Davis. The father, Evan
O. Davis, was born in southern Wales in
1807 and was a blacksmith and farmer. He
and wife were the parents of seven children,
viz: Thomas, David O., Ann, Elizabeth,
Thomas, Mary .and Jenkins. In 1841 the
family came to America in a sailing vessel,
landing in Philadelphia after a voyage of
seven weeks. Coming to Ohio, they settled
in Jackson county on 100 acres of partly
cleared land, which the father later cleared in
full and on which he passed the remainder of
his life, dying in 1 867 at the age of sixty years,
a member of the Calvinistic Methodist church
and in politics a republican.
David O. Davis, as will have been seen,
was but eight years of age when brought to

America by his parents in 1841, but yet re
members the voyage and the home he left in
Wales. He received his education in the dis
trict schools of Jackson county, Ohio, was
there reared to farming, and there married,
March 31, 1862, Miss Ann Alban, who was
born in Jackson county, Ohio, September 12,
1835, daughter of Thomas and Annie (Mor
gan) Alban, the union resulting in the birth of
six children, viz: Thomas, Evan, John (died
at twenty-four years of age), Mary, Alban and
David. The father of Mrs. Davis, Thomas
Alban, came from Wales to America about the
year 1834, was a farmer, and settled on a
partly cleared farm in Jackson county, to which
he gradually added, through his skill and well
directed industry, until he owned about 300
acres, all well improved and cultivated. He
and wife were parents of eight children, who
were named as follows: David, Thomas, John,
Evan, Ann, Sarah, Mary and Elizabeth. Mr.
Alban was one of the pioneers of Madison
township, Jackson county, Ohio, and was an
honored member of the Calvinistic Methodist
church, of which he was an elder for many
years, and in the faith of which he died, leav
ing his property to be divided equally among
his children. For three years after their marriage Mr.
and Mrs. David O. Davis resided in Jackson
county, and in April, 1865, come to Van Wert
county and bought 175 acres of their present
farm in Washington township. Mr. Davis has
finished clearing up the heavy timber from
this land and transformed it into a productive
farm, which he has increased to 225 acres,
and improved with a tasty and substantial
dwelling and good out-buildings, fenced off the
fields, and placed them all under a good state
of cultivation. Both Mr. and Mrs. Davis are
active and devoted members of the Calvinistic
Methodist church, of which Mr. Davis has been
an elder for several years; he also assisted in

130

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the building of the first church of that denomi
nation in the neighborhood and* always aids it
liberally with his means. In politics Mr.
Davis is a strong prohibitionist and is a stanch
advocate of the cause of temperance. He
takes an active interest in the cause of educa
tion, and was for many years a school director
in his district. He is one of the most re
spected Welsh residents of Washington town
ship, and, assisted by his faithful wife, has
reared a most excellent family. He is a self-
made man, and, guided by a keen perception
and a well developed intelligence, has made a
competence that in the near future will fructify
in ease and comfort for the remainder of a
peaceful and happy life.

'^rj'AMES S. DAVIS (deceased) was a pros-
¦ perous young farmer of Union township,
/% 1 Van Wert county, Ohio, born in Jackson
county, in the same state, in 1852. His
father, James Y. Davis, was a farmer and coal
miner of Jackson county and was born in 18 18.
While working in a field he received an injury
which resulted in the loss of a limb, but he is
still living. The mother of our subject died
when the latter was an infant of eighteen
months, and until five years of age he was
taken care of by relatives; he then went to live
with Mr. Hugh Anderson, of Allen county,
Ind., with whom he remained eleven years; he
next started out as a farm hand, working in
Allen county, Ind., Van Wert county, Ohio,
and in Michigan. In 1880 he was united in
marriage with Minerva J. Hoaglin, born March
31, 1859, a daughter of David E. and Eliza
beth (Snyder) Hoaglin, to which union three
children were born, viz: Orel J., Lota M.
(deceased) and Anna G. After his marriage
Mr. Davis lived on a rented farm until 1892,
when he bought his home. He was essentialy
a self-made man, in the sense in which that

term is usually used, never knew parental
care or training, and was compelled to rely
upon his own energies and industry and native-
born intelligence and sagacity to attain a posi
tion among men and to become the prosperous
and respected farmer that he was. Mr. Davis
was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in politics was a democrat; he
was liberal in his support of church and school,
and took a lively interest in whatever tended
to promote the general welfare of the town
ship and county, and, indeed, of the whole
country. His untimely death took place Jan
uary 23, 1896, and his loss was a most severe
blow to his afflicted widow and children, as
well as to a wide circle of sincere friends. His
widow is also a devout member of the Method
ist Episcopal church, and is a highly respected
lady.

"^T^ESSE K. COOPER, deceased citizen of
A Pleasant township, Van Wert county,
A 1 Ohio, was a son of Archibald and Mar
garet A. (Kilgore) Cooper, and was
born July 21, 1827, in Fairfield county. The
father, Archibald, was born in Maryland Oc
tober 29, 1 80 1, of sterling English ancestry,
and when he had reached the age of four years,
or in 1805, the family moved to Virginia,
where he was educated in the common schools.
On the death of his mother, in 18 19, he moved
to Fairfield county, Ohio, and settled on a
farm; October 5, 1826, he married Miss Kil
gore, the union resulting in the birth of four
children. In 1875 Mrs. Cooper was called
away, and the following year Mr. Cooper mar
ried a Mrs. Powers. Mr. Cooper was a mem
ber of the Presbyterian church, in which he
served as a ruling elder for thirty-five years,
and died in that faith December 8, 1881, an
honored and respected gentleman.
Jesse K. Cooper was educated in his na-

JESSIE K. COOPER,
DECEASED.

MRS. HESTER A. COOPER.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

135

tive county and distinguished himself, also, at
the high school of Reynoldsburg, Franklin
county. ' In the days of his youth he learned
the carpenter's trade and also that of mill
wright; became an inventor of more than
ordinary pretensions and patented the first suc
cessful grain-drill in the state. In 1856 he
began the manufacture of this agricultural
implement at Lancaster, Ohio, which he suc
cessfully conducted until 1864, when he came
to Van Wert county and settled on a farm in
Pleasant township, which farm his father had
entered in 1836. He became one of the most
prosperous agriculturists and largest land own
ers in the county, being the possessor, at one
time, of over 700 acres, of which he gave to
each one of his sons a fair-sized farm, which
he himself had assisted in clearing and im
proving. He was systematic and progressive
in all his business transactions, and Van Wert
county owes much of its business prosperity to
his thoroughly practical efforts. Fraternally
he was a knight templar Mason, and was also
a charter member of Van Wert grange, No. 82,
P. of H., which was organized in 1873, and
was held in high esteem by the members of
both orders. Politically he was a republican
and was ardently interested in the success of
his party, but was by no means an office
seeker — having espoused the republican cause
simply from conscientious conviction of the
justness and beneficence of its principles. He
was a true patriot, and with others passed a
week in Fairfield county in search of Morgan
raiders during the last war. He was noted for
his generosity and benevolence, and died July
26, 1 89 1, a sincere and pious member of the
Presbyterian church.
Hester A. (Kistler) Cooper, relict of Jesse
K., was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, March
25, 1831, a daughter of Samuel and Eliabeth
(King) Kistler. Samuel Kistler, the father,
was born near Reading, Pa., about the year
7

1805, his father, Henry Kistler, being of good
old Dutch stock and an early settler of the
Keystone state and also a pioneer of Fairfield
county, Ohio. Samuel Kistler was a prominent
farmer and a saw-mill operater, and was
united in marriage, in 1825, to Elizabeth King,
daughter of Philip and Mary (Wright) King, to
which union were born eleven children, as
follows: Caroline, deceased wife of Henry
Weisley, of Cass county, Ind.; Matilda, de
ceased wife of James Holmes, of Fairfield
county, Ohio; Aaron B., deceased; Hester. A.
Cooper, the subject of this paragraph; George
W., deceased; Samuel A., of Lancaster, Ohio;
Oliver P., of Danville, 111; Elijah, of Fairfield
county, Ohio; John W., of Clinton, Mo.;
William, who died in childhood, and Elizabeth,
now Mrs. Newkirk, of Fairfield county, Ohio.
The mother of this family, Mrs. Elizabeth
(King; Kistler, was an ardent and active mem
ber of the Lutheran church, and always con
tributed liberally to its support. Mr. Kistler
was a prominent member of the Masonic fra
ternity, was a Captain in the state militia, and
was honored and respected as one of that class
which played so prominent a part in the de
velopment of Fairfield county. His wife died
in 1870, and he about 1879.
Mrs. Hester A. (Kistler) Cooper was reared
in the country home of her parents in Fair
field county, and there received her education.
She was married to Jesse K. Cooper, October
14, 1852, and to this happy union were born
the following children: Darius O., of Pleasant
township; Cyrus D., deceased; George W.,
of Hoaglin township; Samuel A., deceased;
infant daughter, deceased; Jesse K., deceased;
Hiram V., of Pleasant township; Alva A., de
ceased; Nora E., and an infant daughter, de
ceased. Of these, Norah E., married to Sam
uel Grunewald, a successful farmer, who was
born in Ashland county, Ohio, in 1861, a son
of Henry and Anna K. (Trull) Grunewald.

136

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Henry Grunewald was born in Germany
about the year 1829, and in 1850 married Miss
Trull, who bore him eleven children, as fol
lows: Ellen L., deceased; Adam, a farmer of
Liberty township, Van Wert county, Ohio;
Harmon, of Cleveland, Ohio; John H., of
Ashland county, Ohio; Jacob, deceased; an
infant that died unnamed; Samuel, who mar
ried Miss Cooper; Christian, of Ashland
county, Ohio; George G., a teacher, of Pleas
ant township, Van Wert county; Lydia, wife
of Milton Shambarger, of Ashland county,
and Anna L., wife of William Milligan, also of
Ashland county. With his young wife Henry
Grunewald came to America soon after mar
riage and settled in Ashland county, Ohio,
with the agricultural interests of which he has
since been thoroughly identified. He and wife
are both members of the Presbyterian church,
and in politics he is independent. Samuel
Grunewald was educated in Ashland county
and grew to manhood on his father's farm.
When a young man he learned the carpenter's
trade, having a natural aptitude in the use of
tools, and followed this calling until his mar
riage to Miss Nora E. Cooper, October 9,
1885, to which filicitous union have been born
the following children: Anna M., Amy F.,
Henry R. and Jesse K. After marriage Mr.
Grunewald relinquished his trade and under
took the cultivation of the old Cooper home
stead, in which occupation he has made a
complete success, being both practical and
progressive in his ideas. Mr. and Mrs.
Grunewald are members of no church, but
are liberal in their contributions to that and
every other good cause, and both are mem
bers of the Van Wert grange.
George W. Cooper, son of Jesse K. and Hes
ter Ann Cooper, was born September 4, 1857,
in Lancaster, Fairfield county. Spent his boy
hood at home and attended the public schools.
He came to Van Wert with his parents, lived

at home until married, March 10, 1881, to
Adeline H. Custer, a daughter of Joseph and
Sarah Jane (Smith) Custer, old residents of
Van Wert county. Mrs. Cooper was born Feb
ruary 28, i860. After marriage, Mr. Cooper
took sixty acres of his father's land south of
Van Wert and farmed it successfully until
Aplil 17, 1885, when he bought 160 acres in
section No. 20, Hoaglin township, where he now
lives. He has a comfortable home, new and
modern out-buildings, and 100 acres cleared,
and in all has a model farm. He also owns
forty acres in section No. 17, Union township.
Of his 160 acres, only thirty acres were under
cultivation when he came into possession of it.
His hard work has made it the farm it is.
Mr. Cooper is a member of Hoaglin grange,
No. 400. In religious belief , while not a mem
ber of any church, he inclines to and attends
the Methodist and Presbyterian churches. In
politics he is a republican, but always takes
into consideration the man he is voting for.
Nine children have been born to this marriage:
Norah Lillian, Anna Sarah (deceased), infant
(deceased), Florence Ellen (deceased), Mabel
Victoria, Bessie Marie, Earl Cecil, Edna
Blanche and Hazel.
Hiram V. Cooper, one of the most suc
cessful young farmers of Pleasant township,
Van Wert county, was born in Van Wert July
3, 1864. He was well educated in the com
mon schools and grew to manhood on the old
homestead, receiving a first-class training in
agricultural pursuits. September 6, 1888, he
was united in marriage with Miss Ella Gilli
land, daughter of John and Lucy (Cavett) Gil
liland, of Ridge township — one of the oldest
families of Van Wert county, and whose
name meets with frequent and honorable re
currence on the pages of this volume. To the
happy union of Hiram V. and Ella Cooper
have been born two children — Velma A. and
Doit — both bright and promising iittle ones.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

137

Mrs. Ella Cooper was born May 25, 1867,
and interesting details of her parental history
may be found in the elaborate sketch of the
Gilliland family on another page, to which the
reader is respectfully referred. After his mar
riage, Hiram V. Cooper was presented with
160 acres of good farming land, by his father,
and to this tract he has since added forty
acres by purchase, making a most excellent
farm of 200 acres, all well improved and un
der a high state of cultivation. Mr. and Mrs.
Cooper are not members of any religious de
nomination, but are liberal contributors to all,
and both take a deep interest in the welfare
and prosperity of the community, and Mr.
Cooper is an active member of the Van Wert
grange. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are high
ly esteemed throughout the township and
county, coming, as they do from the oldest
and most respected families, and living well
up to the esthetics and morality that so well
become good citizens, here or elsewhere.

eERRIN DePUY, deceased, was born
in Stark county, Ohio, April 23, 18 14,
and was a son of John and Julia
DePuy, who were farmers of that
county until 1855, when they retired to Can
ton and there passed their lives in quietude un
til their death in the faith of the Methodist
Episcopal church. They were the parents of
the following-named children: Perrin, the
subject of this sketch; William, Lucette and
Charles, deceased; John, a well-known citizen
of the city of Wabash, Ind., and George,
of Chicago. In politics the father was a
republican. Perrin DePuy, the deceased subject of this
memoir, was reared to manhood on the home
farm in Stark county, Ohio, and received his
education in the pioneer schools of his early
boyhood. He early began the study of the

law, and was admitted to the bar in Stark
county, where he successfully followed the
profession, making a fine reputation, until
about 1849, when he came to the city of Van
Wert and was here soon at the head of his
profession, which, with repute and lucrative
prosperity, he followed until his death, which
occurred February 4, 1871, in the faith of the
Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he
was a democrat, and filled several of the
minor city offices, not for the emolument at
tached to them, but from a sense of duty as a
good citizen. At his death he left $40,000 in
trust with the school board for educational
purposes — a munificent sum at that period.
His marriage took place in Mansfield, Ohio,
October 25, 1859, to Miss Maria L. Barr, who
was born in Richland county, Ohio, January
28, 1836, a daughter of Col. Jacob and Eliza
beth (Rice) Barr, natives of Hagerstown, Md.,
and members of the Dunkard society.
Col. Jacob Barr was a gallant soldier and
patriot in the war of 18 12, having raised a
company for the defense of American rights,
and entering the United States service as cap
tain. For conspicuous bravery on the field
and other meritorious conduct, he was ad
vanced to the rank of colonel, and held this
position on being retired from the service at
the close of hostilities. He was a whig in his
politics, was a phenomenally successful bus
iness man and was highly respected wherever
known. To Col. Jacob Barr and his wife,
were born a family of seven children, as fol
lows: Samuel W. , of Mansfield, Ohio, in
ventor of a cash carrier, now in general use;
Susan A., wife of R. M. Coulter, of Richland
county, Ohio; Maria L., widow of Perrin De
Puy, our subject; Amanda, wife of M. H.
Bonner, a contractor of Van Wert; Jacob H.,
of Mansfield, Ohio; Frances J., wife of Dr. J.
A. Jones, of Mansfield, and Elizabeth, de
ceased. Mrs. Maria L. DePuy is now living

138

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in retirement in her pleasant home at the cor
ner of Main and Cherry streets, Van Wert,
honored and respected by the entire commu
nity, of which she has so long been a member.
She is a faithful adherent of the Presbyterian
church, is very benevolent, and is a member
of the Home and Foreign Missionary society.

at

•ILLIAM WILSON DePUY, M. D.,
deceased, formerly one of the most
distinguished physicians ofVanWert,
was born May 13, 1824, in Stark
county, Ohio, and was a son of John DePuy,
who was of German ancestry, and was born in
Pennsylvania October 22, 1787.
John DePuy was a farmer by occupation
during his entire life, and followed that occu
pation both in Pennsylvania and Ohio, remov
ing to the latter state in 1821, and locating in
Stark county. Politically Mr. DePuy was an
old-line whig until the organization of the re
publican party, and he then became a repub
lican, as he was strongly opposed to slavery
and was equally as strongly in favor of the
preservation of the Union. In matters of re
ligion he was a member of the Methodist Epis
copal church and was a very liberal-minded
and charitable man, both in matters of money
and in matters of opinion. Straightforward
and upright in his character, he was respected
by all as a good citizen, a good neighbor and a
patriotic man. He was married to Miss Julia
Housel, of Pennsylvania, who was born No
vember 15, 1792, and who died in November
1857. By her he had the following children:
Lucetta, Perrin, John H., Charles, William W. ,
Elizabeth, George and Jacob. George and
John H. are the only ones now living, but all
were married and became heads of families.
John DePuy remained in Stark county from the
time he removed from Pennsylvania, in 1821,
to his death, which occurred July 10, 1863,

and left his family comfortably situated so far
as this world's goods are concerned.
William Wilson DePuy was born in Stark
county, Ohio, and was reared upon his father's
farm. His early education was obtained in the
common schools, and later he had the ad
vantages of a college training; graduating in
1846 from school, he located in Stark county,
Ohio. Almost immediately afterward he re
moved to Van Wert county, and there began
the practice of his profession, continuing thus
engaged for two years, when he removed to
Whitley county, Ind. ; there he remained
two years, going from there to Wabash
county, Ind. ; and later returning to Van
Wert county. This was in 1868, and the
city of Van Wert was thenceforth the scene of
his labors until his death, January 14, 1891.
Of his qualifications as a physician too much
can not be said. In his youth he was a
thorough student and he was devoted to his
profession, which he ever looked upon as a
means of doing good, rather than as a means of
livelihood. To the poor he was as atttentive
as to the rich, because he realized that besides
medicine they needed sympathy and a kind
word often as much or more than the medi
cine itself. He was always liberal and
was always charitable, and always kind.
No man feared him, all men loved him,
and none felt his loss when he died more
than those who had felt in kindness the touch
of his hand. The government of the United
States, in its great struggle for existence with
the rebels of the south, from 1861 to 1865,
knew that his services as a surgeon were con
stantly at its command, but those services
were not called for. In politics he was a re
publican, in religion a Methodist, and he was
true to both his party and his church.
While practicing in Whitley county, Ind.,
he married Miss Sarah Ellen Bonner, by whom
he had the following children: Viola, Ida and

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

139

Frank C. Ida died August 18, 1881; the
others are living. Frank Conner DePuy was
born November 23, 1865, was educated pri
marily in the schools of Van Wert; later
attended the Cincinnati college of pharmacy
from 1883 until 1887, in the interval being
employed in a Van Wert drug house. April
15, 1890, he was united in marriage with Miss
Belle P. Brookes, daughter of W. C. Brookes,
and this union has, been blessed with, two chil
dren — William Donald, born February 10,
1 89 1, and Martha Catherine, born January 3,
1896. In politics Mr. DePuy is a republican;
fraternally he is a Mason and a Knight of
Pythias, and he is also a member of Hiestand's
band. Frank is a well known and popular
young man of most excellent character and
qualities, and is now clerking in Pennel's drug
store in Van Wert. Viola is married to T. M.
Glenn, who is living in Chicago, and is now
superintendent of the Union depot in that city.
Sarah Ellen Bonner, who married Dr.
DePuy, was born January 26, 1832. Her
father, Joseph Bonner, was born in Maryland,
in 1793, and was of German ancestry. In
•early life he learned the blacksmith's trade,
and continued to work at that trade until his
age compelled him to retire to a farm. Upon
coming to Ohio he at first located in Mont
gomery county, then went to Preble county,
and from there to Whitley county, Ind., in
this latter county purchasing a farm, upon
which he lived till his family were all scattered
abroad to homes of their own, when he
returned to Ohio, and lived in Troy, Miami
county, until his death, which occurred Decem
ber 6, 1873. He was one of the patriotic
men of his country, serving in the war of 18 12,
and gave liberally of his means to all in need.
He married Miss Jane Conner of New York
state, by whom he had the following children:
John, Michael, Elizabeth, William, Martin,
George, Jennie, Charles, Joseph and Sarah.

Of these ten children five are yet living — all
of them married except Charles, who left
home and has not been heard of since. Sarah
Ellen Bonner was born in Montgomery county,
Ohio, and went with her parents to Whitley
county, Ind. This was in 1845, when she
was fourteen years old. At the age of eighteen
she was married to Dr. DePuy, and is now
living quietly in Van Wert, surrounded by a
a large circle of friends. She is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, which she
joined in 1874. She and her husband adopted
a daughter, Miss Cora, who is now the wife of
G. L. Marble, one of the rising young lawyers
of Van Wert. Mrs. Depuy is a highly re
spected lady, kind and charitable in disposi
tion, and always ready to assist her church in
its work for the good of humanity, and to aid
the poor in their need.

aHARLES E. DETTER, book and
job printer, on Washington street, near
the city building, Van Wert, Ohio,
was born in Mercer county, Ohio,
February 4, 1859, a son of John and Marie
(Frock) Detter. The father, John Detter, was
a native of Baltimore, Md., was born in 1824,
and there learned stone-masonry, and, later,
the trade of millwright. In 1849, he came to
Clarke County, Ohio, and engaged in farming
until 1855, and then moved to Black Creek
township, Mercer county, and re-engaged in
farming until 1863, when he removed to Van
Wert county and located in Willshire township,
where he remained four years, and then moved
into the town of Willshire, and operated a
saw-mill until his death, in October, 1873.
His marriage took place in Baltimore, and
there were born to him eleven children, viz. :
Alice, deceased; William H. ; John T. and
Anna, twins; James P., of Willshire; George
G., of Van Wert; Ella, of Willshire; Thomas

140

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

T. , deceased; Charles E., our subject; Clara,
of Mercer county, and Clinton, deceased. The
mother of this family died in 1864, a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which
church her husband had been a class leader for
many years. In politics Mr. Detter was a
republican, and fraternally was a Mason.
Charles E. Detter was but four years of
age when brought to Van Wert county. He
received his preliminary education in Willshire
and at the age of fifteen years went to live with
his grandfather, Frock, at Springfield, Ohio,
where he attained school until twenty-one
years old, and then for two years attended the
Ada Normal university. Returning to Will
shire, he became editor of a local newspaper,
of which he was part owner, but a year and a
half later came to the city of Van Wert, and
for one year read law under the prosecuting-
attorney, A. L. Sweet; then, for six moths, he
acted asted as local editor of the Republican;
he then went to Los Angeles, Cal., and was
on the staff of the Valley Echo and the Mon
day Morning News until May, 1885, when he
returned to Van Wert county and published
the Willshire Gazette until 1887, when he sold
out, came to Van Wert city and purchased the
Daily Gazette, which, a year later, was ab
sorbed by the Daily News. Mr. Detter was
then for a year a general correspondent, and
in the interval attended the Tri-State Business
college at Toledo and took a full course in
stenography; he then returned to Van Wert
and bought the job printing office, established
by Dannecker & Baker, taking possession in
1893, and now doing a very prosperous busi
ness, although he still continues his duties as
correspondent for several prominent daily
newspapers at different points.
The marriage of Mr. Detter took place in
Van Wert, Ohio, in 1889, with Miss Anna
Hartzog, who was born in this county in April,
1870, and his daughter of Banjamin Hartzog.

The children resulting from this union were
three in number, and named Lulu V., Correl
V. (deceased) and Hazel K. Mr. and Mrs.
Detter are members of the Methodist Episco
pal church, and in politics he is a republican;
fraternally he is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias
and a Red Man.

eLI DOWNING, a prosperous farmer
of Pleasant township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of
the Union army, was born August 4,
1 84 1. He is a son of William and Catherine
(Coonfare) Downing, natives of Delaware,
county, Ohio, and respectively of Scotch-Irish
and German descent. By occupation William
Downing was both a carpenter and a farmer,
and followed these pursuits until he retired ab
together from active life. He still lives on the
old farm in Delaware county at the age of
seventy-eight, his wife having died in Septem
ber, 1893, when she was seventy-seven years
of age. In religious belief she was, and Mr.
Downing is, a Presbyterian, and in politics he
is one of the old-time democrats.
Eli Downing, the subject of this sketch, is
the eldest of seven children born to his parents;
He spent his early boyhood on the farm, at
tending school as opportunity offered and cir
cumstances permitted, a few weeks at a time
in the winter season, but not every winter;
After he reached the age of seventeen his serv
ices were demanded on the farm, and he.mariT
aged the home place until he was nineteen
years of age. In 1861 he removed to Van
Wert and entered into contract to cut a quan
tity of wood, and returned to Delaware county
in the succeeding fall. In the fall of 1861 he
again came to Van Wert, and remained this
time until December 6, 1861, when he went
to Lima, Ohio, and enlisted in company D,
Fifty-fourth Ohio zouaves, for three years:

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

141

His regiment having been ordered to Camp
Dennison, remained there until February 17,
1862, when it was ordered to the front, going
first' to Paducah, Ky., and after remaining
there thirty days being ordered up the Ten
nessee river, where it participated in the battle
of Pittsburg Landing both days of the fight.
From Pittsburg Landing they went to Corinth,
Miss., remaining until that place was evacuated
by the rebels, when they went to Chewalla,
Tenn., destroying railroad bridges, etc. While
at this latter place Mr. Downing was taken
sick with jaundice, which terminated in or was
followed by typhoid fever, and he was placed
in the regimental hospital. From Chewalla
he was taken in an ambulance to Memphis,
Tenn., and there he remained until November,
1862. In October, however, Mr. Downing
was taken ill with spinal trouble, and remained
in the hospital until February, 1863, barely
alive. In this last-named month all the con
valescents were sent up the Mississippi river to
Saint Louis, and placed in Jefferson barracks,
Mr. Downing being one of the number. He
was getting along nicely until April 9,
1863, when he was taken down by small
pox and was sent to Duncan's island small
pox hospital, where he remained until June 24,
losing through this disease the sight of one eye
and having the sight of the other much im
paired, and was physically enfeebled for life.
After being out of bed four days Mr. Downing
started to rejoin his regiment, then at Vicks
burg, and arrived there just after the surrender
of that rebel stronghold. He went then with
his regiment to Jackson, Miss., where Gen.
Johnston was routed, and thence to Black
river, Miss., where they rested until Novem
ber, 1863, and then returned to Memphis,
thence to Corinth, Iuka, and Cherry Run
station, at the latter place having a battle with
the enemy. At this time, Mr. Downing's eye
becoming troublesome, he was sent for by the

surgeon, who placed him on board a steam
boat and sent him to Paducah, Ky., where he
entered an improvised hospital, in which he
remained until January 1, 1864, when he was
so far recovered as to be sent back to his reg
iment, then at Larkinsville, Ala. In the mean
time his regiment had veteranized; but, when
Mr. Downing made application for permission
to veteranize also, he was refused on account
of physical disability, and was furloughed home,
and arrived in Delaware county February 7,
1864. He remained at home forty days, and
then met his regiment at Camp Dennison,
when he found out that without his knowledge
he had been transferred to the invalid corps.
He was thus obliged to remain in Camp Den
nison while his regiment returned to active
duty in the field. In April he was sent to
Cincinnati, where he remained twenty days;
was then sent to Washington, D. C, and
thence, on May 4, to Alexandria, Va., where
he was made a member of company B, Second
regiment of the First battalion, with which he
served three months, when an abscess on his
side and hip, a result of small-pox, becoming
troublesome, he was sent to Lincoln hospital,
at Washington, D. C, where he remained
until honorably discharged, January 7, 1865.
At that time, however, he could not walk,
and his father had to go to Washington to
bring him home. He reached Delaware county
January 21, 1865, and was compelled to walk
with two crutches for two years, and then for
one year with a crutch and cane. Thus ter
minated Mr. Downing's army service, and for
the most part his sufferings, but he still feels
the results of the trials and hardships expe
rienced in army life.
While at home on furlough, in 1864, Mr.
Downing was married, February 25, to Miss
Martha E. Miller, in Van Wert. She is a
daughter of John and Samantha (Harris) Mil
ler, both residents of Van Wert county. His

142

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

wife went to Delaware county just after her
marriage, where she remained until his return
from the army. As soon as he was sufficiently
recovered to do any kind of work, Mr. Down
ing engaged in huckstering and followed this
business four years. In 1870 he removed to
Van Wert county, and has resided here ever
since. Most of the time he has been engaged
in farming in Pleasant township, but he was
six years thus engaged in Middlepoint. Upon
the organization, several years since, of the
Soldiers' relief commission of Van Wert county.
Mr. Downing was made a member thereof, and
is still a member. In 1893 he was nominated
by his democratic friends for county recorder,
but notwithstanding he made a strong fight for
election, he was defeated, with the rest of the
ticket, by a small majority — the majority
against Mr. Downing being the smallest but
one on the entire ticket. Mr. Downing lives
with his wife and two children, that still
remain unmarried, in a new and comfortable
home, just completed, one mile west of Van
Wert. He and his wife are the parents of
seven children, as follows: Will W. , of Van
Wert; Addie Louella Nance, of Van Wert;
Sarah Ellen Foster, of Middlepoint; Alvin Rus
sell, Lemuel Eli, Date and Bessie, the last
four of Van Wert.

sr

'ILLIAM CRIST, an ex-soldier and
one of the respected citizens of Con
voy, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born on a farm in Mahoning county,
Ohio, April 28, 1841, and is a son of Benjamin
and Mary A. (Settger) Crist. Benjamin was
also born in Mahoning county, a son of Ger
man pioneers, and to him and his wife, Mary
A. , were born the following children : Martin,
William, Brownson, Samuel, Amelia, Anna,
Susanna and Henrietta. The last two were
born in Crawford county, Pa., whither Mr.

Crist moved in 1850, and the others claim
Mahoning county, Ohio, as their birthplace.
Benjamin was a wagon-maker by trade, was a
democrat in politics, but was a strong Union
man and had two sons in the late war — Mar
tin, who served about three years, first in a
Pennsylvania regiment and then in an Ohio
regiment — and William, whose war record will
be found later on. Benjamin and his wife were
members of the Methodist church, and in this
faith he died in Crawford county, Pa., at the
age of seventy-three years.
William Crist received a limited education
in Crawford county, Pa., whither he was
taken by his parents in 1850, and there reared
until his enlistment, in July, 1861, in company
I, Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania infantry, for
three years. April 1, 1864, he veteranized in
the same regiment and served until he lost his
left leg in the battle of Petersboro, June 16,
1864, receiving an honorable discharge from
the hospital in September of the same year.
He had served at Patrick, Yorktown, Chicka-
hominy, Cold Harbor, Fair Oaks (or Seven
Pines), in front of Richmond, Charles City
Cross Roads, in McClellan's retreat, Malvern
Hill, second Bull Run, Chantilly, Antietam,
first battle of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg
(where he was slighty wounded), the Wilder
ness, Spottsylvania, and in many skirmishes.
At the battle of Petersboro he was finally
struck by a shell, and twenty-four hours later
his left leg was amputated seven inches below
the knee. He lay in field hospital fifteen days,
and was then taken to the Christian Soldiers'
hospital at Philadelphia, where he received his
final discharge. He was a brave, active young
soldier, weighed 200 when he entered the army,
and was ever prompt in attendance at roll-
call, but his shattered limb has seriously inter
fered with his life prospects. On his return
home he was compelled to resort to hard work
for a livelihood, and in 1866 found employment

WILLIAM CRIST.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

147

in a saw-mill; in 1867 he came to Ohio and
worked at wood chopping in Van Wert county.
October I, 1867, Mr. Crist married, in
Tully township, Miss Miranda Cook, daughter
of Levi and Nancy (Detzler). Cook, who were
the parents of ten children — Rebecca, Eman
uel, William, Levi, Isaiah, Sylvester, Eliza
beth, Emma, Ella, and Miranda. Of these,
William, Levi and Isaiah were soldiers for
three years, each in an Ohio regiment, during
the late war, and alb escaped without being
wounded. The father of this family lived to
be seventy-two years of age, and died in Van
Wert county. To the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Crist three children have been born, of whom
one died in infancy and the other two were
named Thomas and Blanche. For many years
Mr. Crist made his residence at Dixon, Ohio,
but in 1 894 made Convoy his permanent home,
purchasing a comfortable residence and two
lots. He receives a pension of $30 per month
from the government, is a member of the
Capper post. No. 236, G. A. R. , and with his
wife is a member of the Methodist church.
The family is very highly thought of in the
community and Mr. Crist has one of the best
soldier records in this or any other county.

HLMER W. COX, member of the well
known insurance firm of Cox & Law
rence, Van Wert, Ohio, is a native of
Jeffersonville, Fayette county, was
born in September 19, and is a son of Wesley
and Mary C. (Porter) Cox.
Wesley Cox was a man of that dauntless
spirit which quails not before adversity; of
that ambition and energy which make fortunes
for their possessors, and which raised him
high in the estimation of his fellow-men.
Until he reached his thirteenth year he was
reared to agricultural pursuits upon his father's
farm, in the meantime,, however, obtaining a

much better education than was then, or is
now, common to boys at that age. He was a
son of John and Isabella (Arlington) Cox, both
natives of Maryland, and the former a farmer
by occupation. Removing to the west, they
located in Madison county, Ohio, and lived
there the rest of their days. They were the
parents of ten children, eight of whom reached
mature years. Wesley was the eighth in
order of birth. Both, were members of and
earnest workers in the Methodist Episcopal
church, and died about 1846.
Wesley Cox, upon the death of his parents,
began working at farm labor on his own ac
count and was so industrious, economical and
endued with such a manly spirit, that, with a
little assistance, by the time he had attained
his majority he had acquired a comfortable
competence. So well supplied was he with
this world's goods, that he married, at the age
of twenty-three, November 13, 1858, Miss
Mary C. Porter, of Madison county, who was
born June 4, 1839, and was a daughter of
Robert and Mary H. Porter. They lived in
Madison county until 1870, when they removed
to Jeffersonville, Ohio, having up to this time
followed agricultural pursuits. At Jefferson
ville Mr. Cox embarked in the coal and lum
ber business, and continued thus engaged until
the death of his wife. May 29, 1893, when he
disposed of his coal and lumber business in
Jeffersonville, and removed to Van Wert,
where he is now living with his son. Mr. Cox
in the time of the war was one of the strongest
of the patriots, enlisting in company D, One
Hundred and Sixty-eighth Ohio volunteer
infantry, a hundred-day regiment, and serving
until the expiration of his term. He then
desired to re-enlist, but was rejected on account
of defective hearing, which defect appears to
have been overlooked when he first presented
himself for enlistment. He is a member of
Scott post, No. 100, G. A. R. In politics Mr.

148

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Cox has always besn independent. He is a
patriot rather than an intense partisan, and
has always supported those whom he has con
sidered the best qualified for the office, whether
republicans or democrats. Mrs. Cox was a
member of the Methodist Protestant church
and of the S. A. Gilbert relief corps of Jeffer
sonville. The children born to the marriage
of Wesley Cox and wife were three in num
ber, as follows: An infant that died Septem
ber 16, 1858; Lucina, born September 8, 1859,
and died March 27, 1864, and Aimer W., the
subject of this sketch.
Aimer W. Cox was reared to manhood in
Fayette county, Ohio, and received an excel
lent education in the common schools. He was
married March 6, 1889, to Miss Gertrude F.
Carnes, who was born in Des Moines, Iowa,
August 19, 1868, and is a daughter of William
and Lucie (Fewell) Carnes. To this marriage
there have been born four daughters, as fol
lows: Clara B., born March 6, 1890, and died
June 4, 1 891 ; Ruth Agnes, born March 3, 1892;
Mabel, March 1 1 , 1 894, and Hazel, born March
18, 1896.
After locating in Van Wert Mr. Cox pur
chased the interest of J. Q. Augustine in the
insurance business, December 1, 1892, which
he thereafter conducted on his sole account
until May 1, 1894, when he associated with
himself W. C. Lawrence, and has since con
ducted the business under the firm name of
Cox & Lawrence, who are now doing the lar
gest business in the line in the city of Van
Wert, being the agent for the following sub
stantial companies; Royal Insurance company,
of Liverpool, Eng. ; Insurance company of
North America, Philadelphia; National, of
Hartford, Conn. ; Commercial Union Assurance
company of London, Eng. ; Northern As
surance company, of the same place; North
British and Mercantile Insurance company, of
the same place; Home Insurance company and

Continental Insurance company, of New York;
Aetna Insurance company and Phcenix Insur
ance company, of Hartford, Conn. ; Hartford
Insurance company, of same place; Dayton
Insurance company, of Dayton, Ohio; Con
cordia, Milwaukee; Mechanics and North West
ern National Insurance companies, of Milwau
kee, Wis. ; Hanover Insurance company, of
New York, and the Western Underwriters
Insurance company, of Chicago. The firm of
Cox & Lawrence undoubtedly do the largest
business in the line in Van Wert, their premiums
in 1894 alone amounting from $22,000 to
$24,000, and the solidity of the companies they
represent is a sufficient guarantee of the respon
sibility of themselves individually. Both part
ners as genial and agreeable gentlemen, and
well deserve the popularity they have achieved
both in business and social circles. Fraternally,
Mr. Cox is a Mason, Knight of Pythias, and a
Knight of Maccabees.

a APT. DAVID P. DUNATHAN, one of
the most prominent business men of
Van Wert, Ohio, and ex-postmaster,
was born in Mercer county, Ohio,
April 17, 1840, a son of Robert H. and Mary
E. (Protzman) Dunathan. Robert H. Duna-
than was a native of Franklin county, Pa.,
born March 7, 18 10, to John and Sarah (Mc-
Quown) Dunathan, of whom the former was
born in Scotland, early came to the United
States and settled in Franklin county, Pa., on
a farm, where Mrs. Sarah Dunathan died in
1 812, after which all trace was lost of her hus
band, but it was supposed that he was killed by
the Indians while boating on the Mississippi
river. They were the parents of Jwo children
— Robert H., and an infant, deceased. Robert
H. Dunathan was reared by an uncle, Jacob
B. McQuown, until twenty years of age, when
he left his native state, came to Ohio and lo-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

149

cated in Montgomery county, where, in 1835,
he married Miss Protzman, who was also a
native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of John
and Frances Protzman. Soon after marriage,
Robert H. and wife moved to Sidney, Shelby
county, Ohio, where he followed his trade of
weaving until 1839, and then moved to Mercer
county, Ohio. By his marriage with Miss
Protzman there were born nine children, who
were named J. H., Sarah F., David P (our
subject), James M., Jacob B., Robert L. , Ed
ward P., Johnson L., and Harmon. The
mother of this family was called to her final
rest in 1855, and in 1856, in Mercer county,
Ohio, the father married Nancy Moore, to
which union were born two children — George
M. and Mary. The father died in Mercer
county in 1872, a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church and in politics a democrat,
while his widow, also a Methodist, still resides
in Mendon, Mercer county.
David P. Dunathan, the subject proper of
this biography, was reared to manhood in
Mercer county, was there educated, and on
September 10, 1861, enlisted in company A,
Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three
years, and was assigned to the Fifteenth army
corps, under Gen. Logan, and first fought
at the battle of Shiloh; was then actively en
gaged in the siege of Corinth, the siege of
Vicksburg, and at Jackson, Miss. ; was then
on a forced march to Knoxville, and also
fought at Chickamauga; in February, 1864, he
veteranized at Huntsville, Ala., and served as
sergeant of his company until August, 1864,
when he was commissioned first lieutenant,
for meritorious conduct on the field; February
2, 1865, he was promoted to the captaincy of
company A, Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infan
try. His original company veteranized, and
served in the hundred days' fight from Chatta
nooga to Atlanta, and thence marched with
Sherman to the sea, and onward to Washing

ton, D. C, witnessing and participating in all
the historical episodes of the triumphal march
of the victorious troops until they culminated
in the grand review at the national capital,
May 23-24, 1865, when he was honorably
discharged. Returning to Mercer county,
Ohio, Mr. Dunathan employed himself in
farming until 1869, when he removed to Van
Wert and formed a partnership with Lester
Patterson, and for seven years was engaged in
the manufacture of burlaps, and in 1870 added
to the business an interest in a drug store, in
partnership with Dr. C. B. Stemen, which in
terest he retained two years; he also formed a
connection with J. J. Humphreys in the retail
grocery trade, which lasted until 1883, when,
under the presidential administration of Presi
dent Garfield, he was appointed postmaster of
Van Wert for the usual term of four years,
but before the expiration of his term united
with Dayton Hard, under the firm name of
Dunathan & Hard, in the handling of agricul
tural implements, in which business he is still
prosperously engaged. The marriage of Mr.
Dunathan was celebrated in Van Wert, in
August, 1865, with Amanda Gilliland, a native
of the city, born April 9, 1843, of whom men
tion will be found in the sketch of the Gilliland
family. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Duna
than there have been born three children, of
whom Charles W. is deceased and Laura R.
and Jessie are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Duna
than are consistent members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and fraternally Mr. Duna
than is a knight templar Mason. He is pro
gressive and public spirited in his im
pulses, and has been president of the school
board for eight years. He has, beside his in
terest in his city business, a neat little farm of
eighty-five acres in the county, and is univers
ally honored for solid citizenship, excellent
business qualifications and his brilliant military
career.

150

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

t^\ UFUS DUPREY, who has been a res-
I ^Z ident of Ridge township, Van Wert
f r> county, Ohio, since 1857, and has
been successfully engaged in farming,
beginning as a pioneer at the woodlands, was
born in Gallia county, Ohio, March 28, 1830.
His father, Abraham Duprey, was born on the
island of Jersey, an English possession, to
which place his ancestors had sought refuge
¦from the religious and political persecutions of
France, their native country. From the age
of seventeen until thirty-three Abraham Du
prey passed his life as a seaman, but during
this interval married, on his native island, Miss
Mary DeMarrick, and on this island were born
to the marriage the following-named children:
Abraham, Mary, Nancy and Jane. In 18 17
he brought his family to America and located
in Chillicothe, Ross county, Ohio, and for
seven years was a river man, freighting flour,
corn, pork, whisky and other products down
the Scioto, Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New
Orleans, whence he returned by steamer to
Louisville, Ky., and thence walked the way
home. About seven years later he became
the owner of 160 acres in Gallia county,
where he resided until his death, March 4,
1869 — his wife having preceded him to the
grave in July, 1852. The eleven children
born to these parents were named Abraham,
Mary, Nancy, Jane, Eliza, Susan, Ellen,
Philip, Rufus (our subject), Elizabeth and one
that died on Jersey island in infancy. The
survivors of this family are Jane, Rufus and
Elizabeth. Rufus Duprey, our subject, has passed his
entire life in agricultural pursuits. He was
married in Gallia county, when a young man,
to Miss Rebecca Neal, daughter of Vance and
Nancy (Daniels) Neal. On coming to Van
Wert county, in the fall of 1857, Mr. Duprey
purchased 120 acres of land in the woods and
at once erected a log cabin for the protection

of his family, which consisted of himself, his
wife and three children, born in Gallia
county. Mr. Duprey set dilligently to
work to clear his farm. That he succeeded is
proven by a glance at his present estate of
160 acres, of which 130 are well tiled and well
tilled, and adorned with a magnificent dwelling
and improved with fine barns and all modern
conveniences. The children born to Rufus
and Rebecca Duprey were named as follows,
in order of birth: Nancy Jane, who married
George Morris and became the mother of six
children — Blanch Altha, Pearl, Perry, Gale,
Agnes and James; Mary Ellen died in child
hood; Francis Marion, an inmate of his father's
house; Emma, wife of Thomas J. Owens and
a mother of two children^Arthur and Oscar;
Lavina, wife of Richard T. Owens and the
mother of a deceased son; William F., who
married Sarah Montgomery, and is the father
of one daughter — Fay; George W. , who is
married to Carrie Johantgen; Ellsworth G.
John G. deceased, and Almira Alice and Oscar,
both deceased. Mr. Duprey is an out-and-out
woman's rights man, and is a strong prohibi
tionist, frequently attending the state conven
tions of these parties. In his religious affilia
tions he and his children, with the exception
of William, are Methodists, while Mrs.
Duprey and her son William worship with the
Presbyterians. Mr. Duprey is a useful citizen,
is popular with his neighbors, and is greatly
respected throughout the community, of which
he has been so long a member.

@EORGE FOX EDSON, deceased,
was born July 28, 1827, in New York,
a son of Hon. Charles P. and Caro
line Edson, and when a mere child in
arms was brought by his parents to Portage
county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood and
learned the trade of a tinner. In 1846, he

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

151

accompanied his parents to Van Wert, where
he followed his trade as an assistant until
1855, when he united with G. W. Day in the
tinware and stove trade, the partnership last
ing until 1 86 1, when Mr. Edson withdrew from
the firm and engaged in the livery business,
and subsequently in various other vocations
and lines of trade, being an energetic and en
terprising man in all respects. He was very
popular as a citizen and equally popular as a
democrat. He served as deputy sheriff under
Sheriff — :  and also under Sheriff
Stith, in all four years; he was next route
mail agent on the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne &
Chicago railroad, from Crestline, Ohio, to
Chicago, 111., for a year; was next deputy
postmaster at Van Wert under Samuel Neel
for two years. He was an investigator of
Spiritualism, and with his wife attended the
services of the Spiritualists at their hall. The
marriage of Mr. Edsbn took place in Van
Wert, Ohio, March 29, 1857, to Miss Eliza
beth Slater, who was born in Liberty township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, February 7, 1840,
and who is a sister of Mrs. O.W. Rose, whose
genealogy on another page will show that of
Mrs. Edson, and to this union were born two
children — Frank P. and Emma C. Mrs.
Elizabeth (Slater) Edson is a firm believer in
Christian Spiritualism, is being developed in
one of the many phases of mediumship, and
takes an active part in the building up of the
church and in the demonstration of the truth
of its doctrines. She enjoys the esteem of the
community and has a pleasant home, compris
ing four acres, at the corner of Main and Burt
streets. Hon. Charles P. Edson, father of the late
George F. Edson, was born in Vermont, in
1809, and lived there until he was nineteen
years of age, when he went to New York state
and shortly after came to this state. After
the usual course of reading, he was admitted

to the bar in 1843. After 1846 his permanent
residence was in Van Wert. He represented
Van Wert and Mercer counties in the state
assembly two terms, was appointed by Gov.
Bishop to fill the probate judgeship of Van
Wert county made vacant by the death of A.
W. Baker, and filled other positions of honor
and responsibility with honor to himself and
satisfaction to his constituents. Aggressive in
politics and firm in his convictions, he took an'
active interest in the democratic party, whose
cause and principles he warmly espoused to
his latest day. His death occurred February
22, 1885, at the age of seventy-six years, one
month and twenty days, and his remains were
interred in Woodland cemetery. Resolutions
of respect and honor to his memory were
passed by the members of the Bar association
of Van Wert on his demise, and his loss was
deeply deplored by the entire community.

BRANK P. EDSON, eminent as an at
torney of Van Wert, was born in the
city, April 22, 1858, and is a son of
George F. and Elizabeth (Slater)
Edson, of whom a biographical sketch imme
diately precedes this notice. Frank P. Edson
attended the schools of his native city until he
had attained the age of eighteen years, when
he entered the Cincinnati Law school, from'
which he graduated with honors in 1881. He
immediately entered upon the practice of his
profession in his native city, and assiduously
followed it until 1888, making a decided mark
through his abilities as a lawyer. He then
accepted the position of deputy county auditor
under L. A. Harvey, the duties of which posi
tion he performed in a most satisfactory man
ner for six years, when he resumed the prac
tice of law, having his office with H. G. Richie.
While in the auditor's office Mr. Edson went
to Columbus and represented Van Wert

152

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

county, before the state board of equalization,
and succeeded in having the county'assessment
largely reduced. In 1892 he secured the pass
age of a bill through the state legislature, by
which the money collected on the bonds of
the county was transferred to the tax inquis
itor, and thus saved the people of the county
$32,000. So efficient and diligent was he in
the performance of his duties as deputy county
auditor, that he received the nomination by
the democrats for county auditor, in 1893, but
the republican party was too powerful, and he
met the general fate of his own party.
Mr. Edson was happily married, in Van
Wert, February 22, 1893, to Miss Elizabeth
Baird, who was born in Jennings township,
Van Wert county, July 26, 1873, a daughter
of Jesse Baird, a sketch of whose life will be
found elsewhere in this volume; one child,
Helen B., has blessed this union. Mr. Edson
is a knight templar Mason, and as a citizen is
considered as progressive and useful, while his
reputation as a lawyer is widespread and solid;
his merit as a statesman is universally recog
nized, and there can be no doubt that, he will
frequently be charged with the best interests
of his fellow-citizens in offices of the highest
responsibility.

ST

'ILLIAM G. EDWARDS, an enter
prising and popular young grocer of
Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Upper
Canada, February 13, 1845, and is
a son of Henry and Elizabeth (George) Ed
wards, natives of England. Henry Edwards,
son of James and Elizabeth (Bray) Edwards,
was born in Cornwall, England, and was there
killed in amine disaster; his widow then came
to America and died in Wisconsin, in 1870, at
the remarkable age of ninety years, the mother
of the following children: Henry, father of the
subject of this sketch; William, killed in a mine

accident; John, a miner of Wisconsin; Joseph,
of Wisconsin; Thomas, of the same state;
Elizabeth and Mary, deceased, and Nanie,
also of Wisconsin. The father of our subject,
Henry Edwards, came to America 1843 and
located in Canada, where he engaged in con
tracting and building until his death in 1870;
his widow, whom he had married in Redruth,
Cornwall county, England, survived till No
vember 16, 1879, a member of the Episcopal
church, of which her husband had also been a
communicant. The children of these parents,
numbered nine, and were named as follows:
James, a butcher of Detroit, Mich. ; William
G. , our subject; Britannia, deceased; Mary,
wife of W. R. Wilson, of Canada; Bray, a
baker of Canada; Albion, wife of John Reid, a
carpenter of Canada; Patty, wife of James
Rogers, a baker of Hamilton, Canada, and
Arthur, with our subject.
William G. Edwards was reared in Water-
down, Wentworth county, Canada, and at
thirteen years of age began clerking, following
this vocation until 1 869, when he came to Van
Wert, Ohio, and succeeded George Hull in
occupancy of a grocery store on West Main
street, where he remained two years, when he
removed to the west side and carried on busb
ness in Clarke's building until 1889, when he
erected a store building of two stories, 24x80
feet, which he now occupies, having both
floors well filled with a choice stock of goods,
valued at $5,000, and doing a trade of $20,000
per annum. His business card read as follows:
"W. G. Edwards, grocer, No. 33 West Main
street, dealer in staple and fancy groceries and
provisions, and teas and pure spices."
Mr. Edwards was united in wedlock, in
Grimsby, Canada, September 16, 1867, with
Miss Anna M. Shepard, who was born in
Toronto, Canada, November 16, 1850, a
daughter of Daniel and Kate (McNamara)
Shepard, natives of Canada, the later being of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

153

Irish extraction. In religion Mr. and Mrs.
Edwards are Presbyterian. In politics Mr.
Edwards is a republican, and is serving his third
term as councilman for the Second ward, and
has also been a member of the board of health.
He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and a char
ter member of the Van Wert lodge, I. O. R. M.
He is a genial, whole-souled gentleman, and
he and family enjoy the respect of all who
know them.

HRTHUR R. EDWARDS, the affable
and popular clerk in the grocery store
of William G. Edwards, Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Waterdown, Can
ada, January 25, 1865. His genealogy will be
found in the sketch of his brother, William G. ,
which precedes this notice. He came to Van
Wert in 1880, attended school one year, then
entered his brother's store as clerk, and has
made himself almost indispensable to his rela
tive. He is polite and accommodating to cus
tomers, intuitively comprehends their needs
and supplies them with celerity. He is a re
publican in politics, but is hardly active as a
partisan, being satisfied with the simple exer
cise of his franchise. He is a member of the
Knights of- Pythias, and since his coming to
Van Wert has won friends on every side, who
admire him for his intrinsically sterling merits
as a man and gentleman. He married in Van
Wert, April 17, 1895, Mary M. Coleman, who
was born in Delphos, Ohio, May 28, 1870, a
daughter of L. O. Coleman, of Van Wert.
Subject and wife reside on West Main street.

SI

10,

ALTER EMERSON, of Pleasant
township, Van Wert county, is a
native of Union county, Ohio,
where his . birth occurred February
1837. His father, Francis Emerson, was

born in Kentucky, about the year 18 12, and
was a son of one of the sturdy pioneers of that
state. When eight years of age Francis
Emerson was brought by his parents to Picka
way county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood,
and at an early age, owing to the death of his
father, was obliged to assume almost the en
tire responsibility of supporting the family.
He acquired a limited education in the indif
ferent schools of that, period, and in 1830 en
tered into the marriage relation with Alletha
Smith, who bore him eleven children, viz:
Jacob, William, Francis, Isaac, Walter,
Thomas, John, James, Nancy, Sarah J. and
Mary A.
After his marriage Francis Emerson en
gaged in farming in Union county, where he
remained a few years, thence moved to the
county of Logan, later to Champaign county,
and in 1858 became a resident of the county
of Van Wert, purchasing a tract of woodland
in Pleasant township. Here he cleared a farm
upon which he lived until his death, in 1872.
Politically he was a stanch democrat, from
early youth belonged to the Methodist Episco
pal church, and is remembered as a public-
spirited and highly respected citizen. His
wife was born in Licking county, in 18 14, and
is still living, having reached the ripe old age
of eighty years. Like her husband she early
united with the Methodist church, of which
she is still a devout member.
Walter Emerson, under whose name this
sketch is written, was reared on a farm in his
native county, laid the foundation for his edu
cation in the common schools, and was early
taught the lessons of industry by which his
subsequent life has been characterized. He
accompanied his parents to Van Wert county
in 1858, and began life for himself as a farm
laborer, working early and late, and husband
ing his means for the purpose of procuring a
home of his own, which, in time, he sue-

154

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ceeded in doing. In 1875 he purchased the
land on which he now resides and began life
upon his own responsibility, erecting a log
house, and clearing around the same a field, to
which additional acres of cultivated land were
added in due time. He married, June 12,
1870, Paulina E. Drake, daughter of Oliver F.
and Nancy (Mosier) Drake, and became the
father of four children — William H., Oscar,
Francis M. and Moses. Mrs. Emerson was
born in Miami county, Ohio, grew to woman
hood at the country home of her parents, who
were natives respectively of New Jersey and
Maryland and early settlers of the county of
Miami, Ohio. She came to the county of Van
Wert in i860, and has resided here ever since;
she is a woman of many excellent qualities, a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and wields an influence for great good in the
community. Mr. Emerson is also a Methodist
in his religious belief, and in politics supports
the democratic party. He has made a success
of his chosen calling, owns a good farm with
substantial buildings, and ranks among the en
terprising citizens of Pleasant township.

WOHN CRAMER, of Van Wert, Ohio,
A was born in York county, Pa., October
/• 1 9, 1822. His father, John Cramer, Sr.,
also a native of York county, Pa., was
born in 1792, a son of Helfar Cramer, who
came from Germany and who took an active
part in the American Revolution, and after
the war settled in York county, where he died,
leaving seven children. John Cramer, Sr. ,
was married in York county, Pa., in 18 16, to
Catherine Schlote, by whom he had nine
children, viz: Daniel, of Fostoria, Ohio;
Henry, also of Fostoria, Ohio; John, our sub
ject; Mary, deceased; Emanuel, of Ionia,
Mich; Adam, of Fostoria, Ohio; Sophia, wife
of P. Wickerham, of Seneca county, Ohio;

Sarah, wife of Augustus Elliott, of Ionia, Mich. ;
and Levi, deceased. John Cramer, Sr. , came
to Ohio in 1840 and settled on a farm in Sen
eca county, where he died June 29, 1856, his
wife having departed September 16, 1854.
They were members of the German Lutheran
church, and in politics Mr. Cramer was a
democrat. He had served in the war of 1812
as a captain, and was an honored man in his
community, where he left a fair fortune.
John Cramer, whose name introduces this
biography, was eighteen years of age when he
accompanied his parents to Seneca county,
Ohio, and had then finished his education,
Until twenty-one years of age he remained on
the home farm, and then engaged as a laborer
in a saw-mill in Seneca county for two years,
and then, in 1847, he married, and bought
eighty acres of land, on which he at once
located and cultivated until 1864, when he
came to Van Wert and bought 120 acres in
Pleasant township, where he now resides and
still owns seventy-five acres of finely improved
land. His marriage, alluded to above, took
place in Seneca county, Ohio, December 29,
1847, to Ann E. Shaffner, who was born in
Crawford county, Ohio, September 17, 1830,
a daughter of Martin and Ann E. (Wert) Shaff
ner. Martin Shaffner was born in Lebanon
county, Pa., February 27, 1795. His father,
Martin Shaffner, Sr. , married Frances Haider-
man, who was born September 30, 1762;
Martin, Sr. , and his wife resided for some
years in Lebanon county and then moved to
Dauphin county, where they both died; they
were the parents of nine children, viz: Jacob,
Nancy, Martin (father of Mrs. Cramer), Henry,
Frederick, John, Christian, Frances and Eliza
beth. Their son, Martin; Jr., was married in
Dauphin county, Pa., to Anne E. Wert, and
to this union were born three children, viz:
Levi, deceased; John F., of Willshire, Ohio,
an Ann E., wife of Mr. Cramer. The parents

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(2//^-*— - 2>S £ U-Jl^c^^^jzSI

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

159

of the above settled in Crawford county, Ohio,
in 1829, where the mother died September 22,
1 83 1, and the father, September 17, 1870,
both members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. To the marriage of our subject and
his wife have been born nine children, viz:
John W. and William J., both deceased; Sarah
C, wife of John W. Balyeat, nurseryman of
Ionia county, Mich. ; Frank A. and Ralph W. ,
of Van Wert; Irene H., wife of J. W. Kens-
ler, of Ridge township, Van Wert county;
Anna E., at home; Martin S., M. D., of Ohio
City, and Charles B., a minister of the
Methodist Episcopal church at Celina, Ohio.
The family all worship in the Methodist Epis
copal faith, and in politics Mr. Cramer is a pro
hibitionist; he is also a member of grange No.
82, of which he was treasurer fourteen years.

«>^V AVID J. EDWARDS, deceased, an
I I enterprising and substantial farmer
*M^_J of York township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, was a native of Wales, was
born in 1840, and was a son of Josiah and
Margaret (Jones) Edwards. Mr. Edwards
was an infant when brought to this country,
and came to Ohio with his mother in 1859,
who brought with her, beside our subject, a
daughter, Ellen. She was the mother of three
sons and one daughter, viz: Josiah, who pre
ceded his mother to America five years, and
is now a farmer in Putnam county, Ohio; John,
who died in 1880; David J., our subject, who
worked out by the day until the breaking out
of the late war, when he enlisted in company
H, Fifth Ohio cavalry; he was mustered in
August 14, 1 86 1, and served until October,
1865; fought at Shiloh, was wounded in the
left knee at Corinth, and sustained a saber scalp
wound, from which he never fully recovered.
He was at Chattanooga and Resaca and in all
the engagements to the sea-board; in 1864 he
8

received a veteran furlough and married Jane
C. Jones, returning again to his regiment, and
serving until the time mentioned above. Af
ter the war was over he returned to Ohio and
lived on rented land in Allen county until
1875, when he moved to Jennings township,
Van Wert county; here he lived on rented land
for ten years, when he came to York township
and bought a farm of 120 acres. Mr. Ed
wards and wife had born to them the follow
ing children: W. Charles, who married May
Miller — later dying in the fall of 1894; Richard,
who married Mary Thomas, of Allen county;
Maggie Jane, married to Moses George; John
S. ; Martha Ann, married to Robert Morgan;
Mary Elizabeth, Katie, Ela, Edna, Ruth G.
and Bessie. Mr. Edwards was in sympathy
with the Welsh Congregational church, and in
politics was a stanch republican ; although very
popular in his township, he was by no means
an office seeker. The home farm is one of the
best cultivated in the township, and the social
standing of the family of Mr. Edwards is all
that can be desired. His lamented death took
place December 26, 1895.

%^\ EV. THOMAS ELCOCK, A. M., one
I ^Z of the most eminent and worthy citi-
M .f zens of the city and county of Van
Wert, is a native of Pennsylvania,
was born October 16, 181 1, and is a son
Richard Elcock, a native of Ireland, and a
weaver by trade, who came to the United States
at an early day, landing in Philadelphia, Pa.,
but soon removing to York county, that state,
where he followed his trade for some years,
and then purchased and settled down upon a
farm. He was a man liberal in his views, and
identified himself with the whig party, a thing
very unusual in those of his nationality. Miss
Mary Wagoner, whom he married in York
county, Pa., was a native of Pennsylvania of

160

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

German parentage, and a most worthy woman.
To their marriage were born seven children,
viz: William, John, Elizabeth, David, Jane,
Thomas and Joseph, all of whom are dead,
with the exception of the latter two, Thomas
and Joseph, the former of whom is the subject
of this narrative, and Joseph the head of a
family and living in Pennsylvania.
Thomas Elcock was born in York county,
Pa. , on his father's farm, upon which he labored
until he was twenty-three years of age. A
part of his time he attended the district school
three months in the winter season of each
year, the other nine months being devoted to
clearing land, plowing, putting in the crops
and gathering them in their season. Strength
of body, however, came from this life and ex
perience, and with it the power of endurance
which in later years stood him in such good
service. Arriving at the age mentioned above,
twenty-three years, he entered the preparatory
department of Lafayette college, a Presbyte
rian institution where he studied two and a half
years, and then entered the college proper,
whence he graduated, at the end of four years
of careful and patient study. In order to the
more thoroughly prepare himself for the work
of the ministry, he attended Princeton Theo
logical seminary, at Princeton, N. J., three
years more, making in all nine and a half years
spent in two of the highest -grade educational
institutions of the land.
Thus qualified to spread the good news of
the gospel, he removed in 1844 to .Urbana,
Champaign county, Ohio, where he served as
stated supply for six months, and thence he
removed to Logan county, where he also
preached six weeks. From Logan county he
went to Covington, Miami county, where he
preached some time, and then he was for seven
years stationed at Gettysburg and Mount Jeffer
son. In 1852 he went to Delphos and after
ward to Van Buren. where he remained nine

years, preaching at many of the surrounding
towns and in country districts. In 1861 he
went to Decatur, Ind., where he was stated
supply and pastor of the Presbyterian church
five years, at the end of which time he returned
to Van Wert, where he has since been in the
missionary field. During all these years his
journeys, many of them, were made on horse
back, and his experiences were those of the
old time circuit rider. Large extents of timber
had to be penetrated, often swollen streams
had to be forded, and withal the privations of
pioneer life had to be borne; but with all this
the people were uniformly hospitable and the
preacher was always peculiarly welcome to
their humble homes; for he brought consolation
in affliction and sorrow, and was always in their
eyes a superior being, because of his intelligence
and calling. During the twenty-seven years
of his pastorate at Rockford his labors were
crowned with unusual success, as may indeed
be said of his entire fifty-two years' service in
the ministry.
During his earlier life Rev. Mr. Elcock was
an adherent of the whig party, but upon the
organization of the republican party he became
one of its members, and has since been a con
sistent supporter of its principles and policies.
In 1846 Mr. Elcock was married to Eliza
beth H. Moodey, a native of Pennsylvania,
and a most excellent woman. To their mar
riage there were born seven children, as fol
lows: Edward, who is a minister of the gos
pel at Gabon, Ohio; Mary, who taught in the
public schools of Van Wert several years, was
assistant teacher in the high school three years,
and is now married and living in Omaha, Nebr. ;
Elizabeth, a school-teacher of Omaha, Nebr. ;
Anna, living at home with her parent; Lucy,
who taught in the public schools in Van Wert
nine years and is now a school-teacher in
Omaha, Nebr. ; Carrie, now deceased, who was
a teacher in the public schools at Van Wert,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

161

Ohio; and Thomas, who died when four years
of age. Anna was the first graduate of the
public schools in Van Wert, and is a most es
timable young lady.
Rev. Mr. Elcock is a man of high standing
in the community, has always been liberal in
his dealings with his fellow-man, and charita
ble in many ways. He has assisted in found
ing numerous Presbyterian institutions, educa
tional, religious and charitable, and has made
donations to many others of the same denomi
nation; and, taking all things into considera
tion, both himself and his family are among
the most highly esteemed in Van Wert county.
Mrs. Elizabeth H. (Moodey) Elcock, wife
of the subject of this memoir, was born in
Dauphin county, Pa., and is of Scotch-Irish
descent. Her father was a farmer by occupa
tion, and held the office of elder, as well as
other positions of honor, in the Presbyterian
church. In political relations he was a whig.
He was married to Miss Jane Quigley, a native
of Pennsylvania, who died when their daughter
Elizabeth was quite young, his death occurring
before the war of the Rebellion broke out. He
was the father of nine children, viz. : Robert,
Mary, Jane, Nancy, Margaret, Elizabeth,
Joseph, John and one that died in infancy.
Two of the nine are still living — Nancy and
John. Elizabeth removed to Ohio in 1838,
and there, some years later, met Mr. Elcock,
to whom she was married as related above.
She died in Van Wert, Ohio, March 23, 1889,
leaving a most worthy name and estimable
record as a woman full of good deeds and of a
most unselfish disposition.

^V^A AVID W. EVANS, farmer of York
I I township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
/^^J is a native of Wales and was born in
the year 1838, a son of William and
Jane Evans, who came to America when our

subject was but one year old. They located
in Jackson county, Ohio, where the father
bought land near Oak Hill, and also became
manager of the Cambria furnace, and in 1854,
while superintending the building of a stack, a
rope that had been made fast to a lever
snapped in two, killing him instantly. There
were born to William and Jane Evans four
sons and two daughters, as follows: David W. ,
our subject; Thomas, who died at the age of
twenty-seven years; Jane, the widow of David
E. Evans; John W., a druggist of Van Wert;
William W., a farmer of Jennings township,
and Annie, who died in childhood. After the
death of her husband Mrs. Evans was married
to Isaac T. Jones. William Evans had been
a successful man in his lifetime, and at his
death was the owner of 600 acres of land in
York township, which land our subject, David
W. Evans, had partitioned in 1859, leaving to
him as his part 106 acres, to which he has
added by purchase with money saved from
school-teaching eighty acres more. Mr. Evans
enjoyed more than the ordinary advantages
for education, and saved over $1,000 from his
salary as a school-teacher, with which he pur
chased his farm and located thereon in 1861,
in which year he married Miss Jane Bebb,
daughter of William and Margaret Bebb. The
children of this union were born and named as
follows: William B.; Margaret J., wife of
Elmer R. Owen, a merchant of Newark, Ohio;
Thomas Charles and John Elias, twins, both
very talented in vocal music. Thomas Charles,
however, while out boating with some friends
in the Blanchard river, near Findlay, Ohio,
was drowned June 17, 1890; Laura Ann, was
the next child of this family; Martha died an
infant; David is at home, and Mary is deceased.
The mother of these children died February
10, 1887.
Mr. Evans is a republican in his politics,
and held office as justice of the peace for fif-

162

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

teen years, successively, and after an inter
regnum of some years was re-elected in 1895.
He has ever been a public-spirited citizen, and
the residents of his village accord him the
credit of bringing the Clover Leaf railroad to
Venedocia. During his absence and without
his knowledge he was first elected to the office
of justice of the peace, and later elected a
trustee. Mr. Evans has been very active in
the Welsh Presbyterian church, Serving as
deacon and elder for many years. He controls
over 300 acres of land, all well tilled, and im
proved with a substantial brick residence and
fine out-buildings. Of such men as he the
substantial citizens of York township are con
stituted.

SI

* W. EVANS, present trustee of Jen
nings township, Van Wert county,
is a native of Jackson county, Ohio,
a son of W.William and Jane Evans,
and a brother of David W. Evans, above.
He was born about 1857, close to Oak Hill,
Jackson county, Ohio, and spent his early life
in the vicinity of Cambria furnace, in which
his father, a notice of whom appears else
where, lost his life. At the age of sixteen,
Mr. Evans came to the county of Van Wert
and engaged in farm labor, following the same
in different parts of the county, until his mar
riage, which occurred on the ist day of March,
1873, with Miss Ann Alban, born in April,
1852, a daughter of Thomas Alban, a biogra
phy of whom is also given in this volume.
Mr. Evans began the pursuit of agriculture
upon his own responsibility, on a part of the
place originally purchased by his father, but
he subsequently disposed of this and bought
his present farm in Jennings township, which
consists at this time of 1 1 7 acres of highly cul
tivated and otherwise well improved land.
Mr. Evans mariifests exceedingly good judg

ment in the management of the farm, is a man
of good taste, and his buildings and other im
provements are of the latest modern design.
He is now serving his third term as trustee of
Jennings township, and his management of
the office has been creditable to himself and
satisfactory to the people who repose the ut
most confidence in his honor and business in
tegrity. In politics, Mr. Evans is a stanch
supporter of the republican party, the princi
ples of which he believes to be for the best in
terests of the country. The Calvinistic Pres
byterian church represents his religious creed,
and his life, as well as that of his- wife, has.
been in strict accord with his christian profes
sion. He is a gentleman of unimpeachable
character, moral and upright in all his deal
ings, and his name well deserves mention
among the representative citizens of the town
ship of Jennings. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have
an interesting family of three children —
Thomas Walter, born February 3, 1874; An
nie Jane, born March 22, 1877, and Maud,
born April 20, 1887, — all of whom are still
with their parents.

eVAN A. EVANS, a well known citizen
of York township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a native of Wales, and was
born March 21, 1841, in the suburbs
of Mestlyn Tydfil, Coed Cymmar, a son of
Arthur Gwenfred (Jones) Edwards, who came
to America in 1841, and in 1842 reached
Granville, Licking county, Ohio, where Arthur
Evans worked at shoemaking. Shortly after
ward he moved to Putnam county, and entered
forty acres of government land, but shortly
afterward removed to Chatham, Canada,
where, in 1848, he bought in McGillery town
ship, eighty acres, and where he resided until
May, 1850, when he returned to Ohio and
settled on his forty acres in Putnam county.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

163

In 1 85 1 he removed to Delphos, where he
worked thirteen years at shoemaking, and
where his death took place August 1 o, 1 864, his
widowfindingherfinalhome, February 13, 1870.
To Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Evans were born
three children, Elizabeth, John and Evan A.
Elizabeth and John died in childhood and
were buried at Cefen Coed Cymmar.
Evan A. Evans gained his early education in
the common school, which was finished at Den
nison university, Granville, Ohio. Mr. Evans
was employed as drug clerk in Delphos, Ohio,
for two years, and then undertook to learn mill
ing, at which he was employed three years;
he was then employed as a clerk in a dry-goods
establishment until 1863, when he enlisted in an
independent military company at Camp Den
nison, which company was known as the Den
nison guards, but this was shortly afterward
disbanded, and after a brief interval our sub
ject enlisted, in the spring of the same year,
in comany A, One Hundred and Fifty-first
O. V. I., with Ed. King as his captain and
J. M. C. Marble as his colonel. After his dis
charge from the army, Mr. Evans returned to
Delphos and was employed in the dry-goods
house of Chamber, Roebuck & Co. , with whom
he remained until the spring of 1866. Septem
ber 5, 1865, he married Maria G. Whitting-
ton, of Cincinnati, Ohio, adopted daughter of
R. J. and Mary Whittington, and had born
to them three daughters — Elizabeth Winnie,
Flora Anna, and one that died in infancy. In
1 866 Mr. Evans and R. J. Whittington located
at what is now the site of Venedocia, Ohio,
where they erected the first dwelling and
business building in the village, and there em
barked in business as country merchants, un
der the firm uame of Evans & Whittington,
the copartnership lasting three years. During
his residence in Venedocia Mr. Evans pur
chased his present farm of eighty acres in
York township, Van Wert county, known as

the Jeremiah Perry farm, which, in connection
with 105 acres purchased by his father, known
as the Baldridge farm, he has consolidated into
one tract, making one of the most beautiful
and productive farms in the township. During
his business life Mr. Evans served as treasurer
of Jennings township, and most faithfully filled
the position until the expiration of his term.
He and wife are members of the Presbyterian
church, and socially are esteemed by all who
know them. Mr. Evans is recognized as one
of the most public-spirited citizens of York
township, and has won the respect of the entire
community through his unvarying uprightness
and genial disposition.

¦^Tr*OHN S. EYLER, a prominent citizen
A of Van Wert, was born in Wyandot
/» 1 county, Ohio, August 12, 1836. His
father, George Eyler, was born April
4, 1787, in Bedford county, Pa., and was a
patriot in the war of 1812, and his mother,
Sarah (Stewart) Eyler, was a native of Mifflin
county, Pa., born April 25, 1807. They were
married in the Keystone state October 17,
1833, and came to Ohio, locating at Mc-
Cutchenville, Wyandot county, where the fa-
there followed his trade of cabinet-maker until
1848, when the family came to Willshire, Van
Wert county, where Mrs. Sarah Eyler died
July 25, 1855, at about forty-eight years of
age, Rev. N. C. B. Love delivering the funeral
sermon, and where George Eyler continued
cabinet-making until his death, February 12,
1 86 1, Rev. C. Mounts delivering the funeral
sermon. Both parents were members of the
Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Eyler was
a democrat. Their children were: William
H.", born October 1, 1834, deceased; John S.,
subject; Susan E., born March 31, 1839, wife
of D. Casto, Dayton, Ohio; George W. , born

164

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

January 30, 1842, deceased, and also a de
ceased infant.
John S. Eyler was twelve years of age,
only, when his parents settled in Willshire,
where he was reared and educated. At the
age of twenty-one he became a clerk in a gen
eral store, and on August 6, 1862, enlisted in
company A, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer in
fantry, uuder Capt. William C. Scott, men
tioned in the biography of Charles P. Richey,
on another page, and was at the side of his
captain when the latter was mortally wounded.
Mr. Eyler served with his company as a pri
vate and quartermaster sergeant until mus
tered out at Salisbury, N. C. , July 26, 1865.
On his return to Willshire, Mr. Eyler engaged
in the general merchandise business in part
nership with D. Casto & Dettmer until 1871,
when he sold his interest in the firm, and in
1873 came to the city of Van Wert, where the
firm of Casto, Leahman & Eyler was estab
lished and continued as such until 1876, when
the style was changed to Casto & Eyler. In
1877, Mr. Eyler sold his interest in this con
cern and began selling, on his own account, a
full line of agricultural implements, including
reapers, binders, threshers, etc., continuing
until 1892; he then retired from business until
1894, when he united with O. D. Billman in
his present business, that of handling jewelry,
etc., carrying a full and well assorted stock.
Mr. Eyler was married, August 12, 1866, in
Van Wert county, to Miss Ruth A. Casto, a
native of this county and daughter of Amos
Casto, the result of the marriage being two
children — Frankie and William, both deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Eyler are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a
trustee or director, and in politics he is a re
publican. He is a member of the Royal Ar
canum, is a pensioner, owns a fine residence
property on South street, and a business prop
erty at the corner of Market and Water streets.

The family are highly esteemed in a social
sense, and in a business view Mr. Eyler has
always been regarded as enterprising and pro
gressive, with a high reputation for integrity
and straightforward dealing.

HSA D. FARNAM, one of the honored
citizens of Van Wert and one who has
distinction as having rendered his
country gallant service in the late
war of the Rebellion, is a native of Richland
county, Ohio, was born the 27th of March,
1 83 1, and is the son of Solomon and Mary
(Cook) Farnam, both of whom were natives of
Vermont. The father devoted his life to agri
cultural pursuits, and met his death in Van
Wert county, Ohio, as the result of an acci
dent, incidental to the running away of a
horse. The mother died in Newaygo county,
Mich. They were the parents of eight chil
dren, of whom but three survive, viz: Daniel
S., who is engaged in farming in Michigan;
Sabra, wife of A. J. McQueen, of Michigan,
and Asa, the immediate subject of this memoir.
The parents were people of inflexible integrity
and lived honorable and useful lives, both hav
ing been devoted members of the United
Brethren church. In politics the father was a
stalwart democrat and fraternally was a mem
ber of the Masonic order.
Asa D. Farnam was a boy of five years at
the time his parents took up their abode in
Van Wert county, locating in Pleasant town
ship, where the father engaged in farming.
Our subject remained on the parental home
stead until he was twenty-three years of age,
after which he was engaged in common labor
until October, 1861, when he made ready to
respond to a higher duty, as the call was made
for men to aid in suppressing armed rebellion.
He enlisted as a member of company F,
Sixty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, for a

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

165

service of three years, or until the war should
close. He was assigned to John Sherman's
brigade, in the army of the Cumberland. In
the initial stages of the war Mr. Farnam was
shot through the left thigh, at Stone river,
and was sent to the hospital at Nashville, Tenn. ,
where he was compelled to remain for three
months; he then rejoined his command at
Stone river, aud re-entered active service, hav
ing held preferment in turn as orderly sergeant
and as first sergeant. Upon him would have
eventually been conferred the rank of captain,
had it not been for the fact that his commander
and colonel had been killed. He afterward
participated in all the battles of his regiment,
until the engagement at Franklin, Tenn.,
where he was wounded in the side by a gun
shot and was then sent back to Camp Denni
son, where he remained four months, after
which he was transferred to the veteran re
serves at Rock Island, 111. When the Con
federate soldiers were mustered out, the re
serves proceeded to Springfield, 111., where
they remained on provost guard duty until
November, 1865, after which Mr. Farnam re
turned to Van Wert county, where he became
concerned in the saw-mill industry and in the
operating of stationary engineering work, and
continued in these lines of enterprise until
1888, when he assumed charge of the coal and
wood yard of his son, J. G. Farnam, in the
city of Van Wert, and has since continued in
that capacity.
In Van Wert county, on the 26th of June,
1883, was consummated the marriage of our
subject to Miss Christina Bearo, who was born
in Tuscarawas county, May 26, 1838. The
offspring of this union has been four children:
Orlando, deceased; John G., of Van Wert;
Franklin P., a merchant of Van Wert, and
Celestia, wife of I. A. Brown, of Toledo. Mrs.
Farnam is a member of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Farnam owns valuable real estate in the

city, having attractive residence property on
Jackson street and three dwellings on Center
street, while his wife owns a residence prop
erty on Vine street.

>^* OSEPH PRESTON FAUDREE, al
A present night watchman at the Cincin-
(S J nati, Jackson & Mackinaw railroad
"~" yards, Van Wert, Ohio, was born April
17, 1840, in Monroe county, Va. , now W. Va.
He is a son of John W. and Sarah (Tygert)
Faudree, both natives of Virginia and of
French descent. The parents of each came to
the United States from France. Mr. Faudree
was by trade or occupation a miller, running
one of the old-time water-power mills. In
1859 he removed with his family to Ohio, set
tling first in Logan county, where he remained
three years. From there he removed to Madi
son county, where he remained five years.
In 1867 he removed to Van Wert county,
locating in Union township, where he had
purchased a farm, upon which he lived until
his death, which occurred in 1888, when he
was seventy-two years of age. His widow
now resides in Tully township, at the age of
seventy-three. Mr. Faudree was1 a most in
dustrious and honest man, careful in the man
agement of his financial affairs, and one of the
kind-hearted and genial men of his day. He
had many friends while he lived in Van Wert
county, and his memory will long be revered
for the good qualities which he possessed.
Joseph Preston Faudree spent his boyhood
days in his father's mill, assisting with the
work, and as opportunity afforded attending
the district school. After coming to Ohio with
his parents he remained with them until his
marriage, in 1862, at Logansville, Logan
county, Ohio, to Miss Catherine Whitman,
daughter of Septimus and Lucinda (Warner)
Whitman. Both were natives of Kentucky,

166

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

but at the time of their daughter's marriage
they were residents of Ohio. Both are now
dead, the mother dying in Van Wert in 1888,
at the age of eighty-one.
Mr. Faudree removed to Van Wert county
a year after his parents, and engaged in farm
ing about five years. At the end of that time
he removed to the city of Van Wert, and ac
cepted a position as janitor of the Third ward
school, which was at the time the only school
in the place. This position he held three years,
the first two of which he had to carry wood
for twenty-one stoves, as that was before the
present system of heating by steam was
adopted. At the expiration of the three years
spent as janitor Mr. Faudree accepted the po
sition of night policeman in the city of Van
Wert, which he filled to the acceptance of the
people for two years, and then he removed to
Rockford, Ohio, where he engaged in the
manufacture of handles, at which he engaged
three years. For some time afterward he was
engaged in the same line in Saint Mary's and
also in Wapakoneta, and then returned to Van
Wert, where he became an employee of the
Oil Well Supply company, with which com
pany he remained in different capacities for
seven years. He then returned to the school
building and was again janitor, this time for
one year. In 1890 Mr. Faudree accepted a
position with the Cincinnati, Jackson & Macki
naw Railroad company as night policeman for
that company's yards, which position he still
holds, giving entire satisfaction to all interested
in the manner in which his duties are per
formed. He is also a member of the police
force of Van Wert.
In 1863 Mr. Faudree proved his patriotism
by enlisting in the Union army, and although
he saw but little active service, yet that was
not owing to any fault of his. as he was with
the rest of his regiment ready to perform any
duty they were called on to perform. He was

in the company commanded by Capt. Timmons,
and took part in the campaign against John
Morgan when he made his raid through the
southern part of Ohio in 1863. When his
term of enlistment had expired he was honor
ably discharged, and has since been as loyal to
private duties as he was at that time to his
country. Mr. Faudree is a member of the Improved
Order of Red Men, and of the Northwestern
Ohio Police association. In politics he has
always been a democrat, but has never sought
after or held office of any kind. He lives his
wife and their two children in his comfortable
and pleasant home at the corner of Center and
Wall streets, and is a highly respected citizen
of Van Wert. The children of Mr. Faudree
are named John Vallandigham, . who is living
in Van Wert, and Flora Ellen Crawley, now
a resident of Union city, Obion county, Tenn.

^y^VETER R. DAVIDSON, of Union
A A township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
jf and a highly respected citizen, is a
son of Joshua and Catherine (Ross)
Davidson and was born in Allen county, Ohio,
May 3, 1848. Joshua Davidson, the father,
was born in Holmes county, Ohio, June 22,
1 8 1 3, a son of John D. Davidson, of sterling
Scotch stock, and was reared on a frontier
farm. In 1835 he married Catherine Ross, a
daughter of Richard Ross, and to this marriage
were born thirteen children. Mrs. Catherine
Davidson was born November 8, 181 1, in
Holmes county, Ohio, and is of Scotch-Irish
descent. In 1847 Joshua Davidson purchased
a farm in Allen county, on which he built a log
house, and then returned on foot to Holmes
county, whence he brought his family to the
new home, and with their help cleared off the
land. He was a successful and influential

6k.

OA<y^& <!9a^ft^cnr^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

171

farmer, and held a high peace in the esteem of
' his neighbors. He was conservative in his
politics, and leaned toward democracy, but he
was a member of no church, although strictly
upright in his walk through life, and his death,
which occurred in 1866, was sincerely mourned
by his acquaintances as well as his immediate
family. His widow is a member of the Dun-
kard church, in which she takes a deep and
lively interest and exercises a sincere spirit of
christian charity toward all.
Peter R. Davidson laid the foundation for
his education in a little log school-house of his
native county, and also there learned the car
penter's trade, at which he worked until 1883,
when he came to his present home in Union
township, Van Wert county, having purchased
140 acres of woodland, sixty acres of which he
has cleared by his own labor, and this he has
underdrained and brought to a high state of
cultivation. In 1893 he moved to Fulton
county, Ind., where he went to recuperate the
energies he had expended on his farm, but his
business interest demanding his attention, re
turned to his farm the same year. In 1874,
Mr. Davidson was wedded to Miss Mary E.
Diltz, a daughter of William H. and Belinda
H. (Conrad) Diltz. This lady was born in
Allen county, Ohio, in November, 1853, and
of that county her father also was a native.
She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church and takes a deep interest in church
work. Mr. Davidson is also a member of this
church, as well as of the Convoy lodge of LO.
O. F., of which Mrs. Davidson has taken the
Rebekah degree. In politics Mr. Davidson is
a democrat. No children have as yet blessed
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Davidson. By his
own energy and industry Mr. Davidson has
made a home from the wilderness of Van Wert
county, and may well fell proud of the place
he holds in the esteem of his neighbors and
the citizens generally.

SI

*ILLIS M. FLAHARTY.— He to
whose ancestral and personal history
we now turn our attention is one of
the representative men of the city
of Van Wert, holding distinctive preferment
as local freight and ticket agent for the Pitts
burg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad com
pany, and as agent for the Adams Express
company, and on this score alone there is im
perative necessity that he be accorded atten
tion in this connection. But, superadded to
this, there is an element which renders this
consideration all the more congruous, in that
his genealogy bespeaks a prominent identifica
tion with American history from the early
colonial days, and which touches the annals of
the pioneer epoch in the Buckeye state,
The earliest records extant, as bearing upon
the ancestral histroy of our subject, begin with
the great-grandfather, Amasa Flaharty, who
was born December 25, 1755, and who died
July 4, 1 84 1, the place of his nativity being
not definitely known. On the 15th of May,
1785, he was united in marriage to Mary Ridg-
ley, who was born April 3, i860, and whose
death occurred February 21, 1843. They be
came the parents of six sons and three daugh
ters, concerning whom we make record, in or
der of birth, as follows : Nicholas, grandfa
ther of our subject, born July 14, 1786, died
September 8, 1870; Sem, born October 27,
1787, died at Fort Meigs, Ohio, having been a
soldier in the war of 1812; Harriet F., born
February 22, 1789, date of death not known;
Eliza, born May 1, 1790; Ruth, born Septem
ber 15, 1791; Enos, born March 4, 1793;
Elisha, born July 18, 1794; Hannah, born De
cember 29, 1795; and James R., born May 30,
1798; the last named was a citizen of Michigan
at the time of his death. Nicholas T. Flahar
ty, the grandfather of our subject, was united
in marriage, November 1, 18 10, to Eleanor
Israel, who was born June 25, 1789, and who

172

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

died August 17, 1873, aged eighty-four years
one month and twenty-two days. Her hus
band had passed away September 8, 1870,
aged eighty-four years, one month and twenty-
four days — in which connection there is a no
table coincidence in the fact that there was
but two days' difference in the ages of this hon
ored couple at the time of demise. Their chil
dren were eleven in number, viz : Josephus,
born August 8, 1 8 1 1 ; Charlotte, July 11, 1 8 1 3 ;
Perry, father of our subject, born July 14,
1815; Rachel, July 5, 1817; Zerniah, May 9,
1 8 19; Eleanor, born February 3, 1821;
Nicholas, Jr., January 17, 1823; Elzy, Jan
uary 21, 1825; Isreal, May 12, 1827; an infant,
April 6, 1829; and Mary A., May 22, 1831.
The great-grandfather of our subject came
from Maryland to Belmont county, Ohio, at a
very early day, this fact being known only
through tradition handed down through suc
cessive generations. He was a soldier in the
Revolutionary war, and was present at the
surrender of Lord Cornwallis; and A. J. Fla
harty, brother of our subject, has in his
possession the war pension papers of this Re
volutionary hero, together with a certificate as
to his having been a soldier. His son, Sem,
was an active participant in the war of 18 12,
having been in the marine service, and having
been engaged in that famous battle on Lake
Erie, commonly designated Perry's victory.
He was on the sloop "Trippe, " and the cer
tificate that he was a soldier in this fight, and
entitled to prize money, is also in the posses
sion of A. J. Flaharty. Reference has already
been made to the death of Sem Flaharty at
Fort Meigs, as he had later participated in the
Indian war.
The Flaharty family were for many gener
ations identified with agricultural pursuits and
have been people of utmost integrity and dis
tinctive intellectuality. The grandfather of
our subject was an exceptionally bright man,

being well versed in ancient history, and hav
ing a marked mathematical ability, originating
and practicing many rules in mathematics that
would certainly have been of great practical
value had they been published, but his natural
repugnance' to noteriety deterred him from giv
ing his rules to the world. He also had con
siderable musical ability and composed and
arranged a number of excellent scores. Being
a neighbor of the late Sam J. Kirkwood, war
governor of Iowa, the two amused themselves
by writing spicy letters to each other, granting
most pleasing reciprocal courtesies.
The grandparents and all the aunts and
uncles of our subject in the agnatic line are
deceased, unless it may possibly be Elzy, who
left this section of the union about 1855, and
located in the west, never having returned here
except on one occasion, about a quarter of a
century ago, when he made a short visit to his
relatives here.
Reverting at this juncture to the parentage
of our subject, we find that his father, Perry
F., wasbornjuly 14, 1815, and that his death
occurred June 3, 1862, at Nashville, Mich.
September 27, 1837, he was united in mar
riage, in Richland county, Ohio, to Susan
Feazel, who was born April 9, 1820, and whose
death occurred March 2, 1864, at Bellville,
Ohio. Of the eight children of this marriage,
we make record as follows: A. J. Flaharty,
who was born November 16, 1841, resides at
Bucyrus, Ohio, being an official of the Penn
sylvania Railroad company; Theresa J., born
November 2, 1842; a daughter, born May 11,
1839, died in infancy; Milton E., born May
27, 1845; Miranda M., July 28, 1847; Lu
cinda E., March 20, 1850; Winfield S., Sep
tember 30, 1852, and Willis M., May 28, 1859.
Of the children the only snrvivors are Ad-
nirum J., Milton and Willis M. After the
death of his first wife, Perry F. Flaharty con
summated a second marriage, being united to

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

173

Maggie Pervine, at Bellville, Ohio, on the 31st
of October, 1865, and the children of this
marriage were as follows: Nora L. , born
August 22, 1866; Bird C, February 25, 1871,
and Shirley, September 26, 1879. The last
named died February 28, 1881, and the other
two children are living with their mother at
Sandusky city, Ohio. In religion our subject's
parents were members of the Methodist Episco
pal church, and in politics the father was a
stanch republican.
Willis M. Flaharty, the immediate subject
of this review, was born at Bellville, Ohio, the
date of his nativity having already been noted.
His father, at the time, was engaged in the
grocery and provision business at Bellville, but,
about 1878, he disposed of his interests and
removed to Nashville, Mich., at which place
his death occurred. Willis was about five
years of age when his mother died, and after
the death of his father he was taken to the
home of his brother, A. J., and there remained
until he had attained maturity, securing such
educational advantages as were afforded by the
common schools. For a time he attended the
schools during the winter and devoted his at
tention during the summer months to brick
laying, being at that time a resident of Nevada,
Ohio. He next secured employment in the
freight office of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne &
Chicago railway, and was eventually trans
ferred from Nevada to Bucyrus, where he was
freight clerk for the same company four years,
and also held for three years the position of
ticket agent. In February, 1884, there came
a further recognition of his ability and fidelity
in his promotion to the agency at Nevada, and
in 1887 he came to Van Wert and assumed
his present important office, which he has
since filled to the entire satisfaction of the com
pany and the public, enjoying a marked popu
larity in the community. The marriage of
Mr. Flaharty was solemnized at Bucyrus, Ohio,

June 12, 1883, wheh he was united to Miss
Mettie Weber, a native of Crestline, Ohio, and
a daughter of Ludwig and Jerusha (Martin)
Weber, and this happy marriage has been
blessed by the birth of two children, Donna
and Marguerita. Our subject and his wife are
devout members of tlie Presbyterian church,
in which Mr. Flaharty is a trustee. In politics
he renders an unswerving allegiance to the re
publican party, and in his fraternal relations
he is identified with the Masonic order, in
which he has advanced to the knight templar
degree, and also with the Knights of Pythias.
The attractive family home, in which a gra
cious hospitality is dispensed, is located on North
Washington street.

"^-v* AMES FEGLEY, one of the substantial
oj farmers of Washington township, Van
/• 1 Wert county, Ohio, descends from an
~* old Pennsylvania-Dutch family, but is a
native of Ohio and was born on his father's
farm in Delaware county, March 27, 1836.
Henry Fegley, the father of our subject,
was born in Berks county, Pa., and was a son
of Henry Fegley, one of the most extensive
farmers of the county named. Henry, Jr., the
father of James, our subject, was married in
Berks county to Rebecca Miller, a native of
the same county, the marriage resulting in the
birth of eleven children, of whom nine reached
maturity and were named Charles, Maria,
Jacob, Caroline, Nate, James, Sophia, Henry
and Rebecca. At an early day Henry Fegley,
Jr., came to Ohio and settled on 100 acres of
land in the woods of Delaware county within
a mile and a half of the court house, and there
all his children were born with the exception
of the eldest three, who were natives of Berks
county, Pa. The parents were influential
members of the German Reform church, of
which he was an elder, and in the faith of

174

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

which he died at the advanced age of eighty-
one years. He was a democrat in politics, a
useful citizen, a well-to-do farmer, was honored
for his upright character, and died without an
enemy in the world.
James Fegley, the subject proper of this
sketch, was reared on his father's farm in Del
aware county, received a good common-school
education, and was married to Elizabeth Bell,
also a native of Delaware county, born July 1 1,
1842, a daughter of Samuel Bell. Mr. Bell
was also a native of the Keystone state, was of
Scotch-Irish descent, and was an early settler
of Delaware county, Ohio. He was a very
successful farmer, and was the father of six
children, named as follows: Jackson, Robert,
Martha, Mary, Elizabeth and Jeremiah. Mr.
Bell died in Delaware county at about the
age of seventy years, a member of a branch of
the Presbyterian church, and a highly respected
citizen. His son Robert served through the
late Civil war, was a brave soldier, and died
at home during the war from the effects of ex
posure while in the army.
After marriage Mr. Fegley continued to re
side on a farm in Delaware county until Octo
ber 31, 1875, when he came to Van Wert
county and bought his present farm in Wash
ington township — the entire eighty acres being
covered with a wild forest growth, interpersed
with ponds of stagnant water. But Mr. Feg
ley was a practical farmer, and soon erected a
log cabin, by degrees drained the ponds and
quagmires, hewed away the forest and rank
undergrowth, and now has as fine a farm as
one would wish to look upon — the spots where
his horses would mire down now producing the
most luxuriant crops of corn. Of the children
born to Mr. and Mrs. Fegley, Estelle is still at
home but a widow, Delpha Dora died at the
age of twenty-one years, and Charles is married
to Dora Carmean, and is settled on a farm in
Washington township; the deceased husband

of Estelle was Sherman Klinger, a grandson of
Joseph Klinger, whose biography appears on
another page. Mr. and Mrs. Fegley are strict
members of the Presbyterian church, of which
Mr. Fegley is a trustee. In politics he is a
democrat, but is content to let others hold the
offices. He is a most skillful farmer, and be
side his eighty-acre farm in Washington town
ship, he owns a forty-acre tra.ct in Jackson
township. He is a gentleman of the most
rigid integrity, is charitable to all, and his
neighbors respect him in the highest degree for
his unusually good qualities' of mind and heart.

>-j'AMES k. FERGUSON.— He to whose
A career we now briefly turned attention
/• J is a native of the Buckeye state, having
"~* been born in Richland county, Ohio,
on the 13th of August, 1822, and is justly en
titled to consideration as one of the honored
pioneers of the state. He was one of the
seven children of William and Amanda (Dround)
Ferguson. William was a direct descendant
of James Ferguson, the Scotch historian. Of
the family we make a brief record as follows:
James K. , the immediate subject of this re
view; Sarah, the wife of Andrew Campbell, a
resident of Kenton, Ohio; Mary, wife of Dr.
George W. Cady, of Chicago; and Ellen,
Elizabeth, William and Joseph, deceased.
James Ferguson lived in Richland county
until he attained the age of fifteen years, when
with his father he moved to Kenton, Hardin,
county, where his father owned and conducted
a tannery. James learned the cabinet making.
August 14, 1845, at Mansfield, Mr. Ferguson
was united in marriage to Henrietta Stout, and
in 185 1 he sold his furniture store and pur
chased a farm in Union township, Van Wert
county, to which the following year he moved
his family. As the occupation of farming did
not agree with him, he moved to Van Wert

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

175

in 1861. James became a member of the
Masonic order in 1856 Of the children born
to James and Henrietta Ferguson we make
the following brief record: William, retains his
residence in Van Wert, and on the 9th of
April, 1884, was united in marriage to May
Grady; Stout died in 1850; Mary was united in
marriage to George Torrey, July 1, 1875;
Laura is the wife of Brough J. Johnson, to
whom extended reference is made on another
page of this volume; John, who is a painter by
trade; Celina, who has been for the past eight
years a teacher in the Van Wert public schools,
is now instructor of the seventh grade and has
worked her way from the bottom up, and is
known as one of the most efficient and earnest
workers retained in the excellent schools of
the city; Charles E., a compositor of the Van
Wert Times, was married on the 4th of Au
gust, 1 89 1, to Bertha Rice, and Maud is a
capable teacher of music.
Henrietta Ferguson, the wife of our sub
ject, was the daughter of William and Cath
arine (Rayboldt) Stout, born at Hagerstown,
Md., September 3, 1824, the parents of the
latter having been William and Ann (Strick
land) Rayboldt. William Stout's parents were
Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Moltz) Stout, the
former of whom had the honor of having been
acquainted with George Washington. William
Stout was born in Newmanstown, Pa., April
17, 1790, and for a number of years was en
gaged in school-teaching, a vocation which his
father had also followed. War breaking out
with England in 181 2, he enlisted in the army
and served until peace was restored. A few
months previous to his enlistment as a soldier
he joined the Masonic order at Baltimore,
Md., and remained a true Mason throughout
his entire life. For two terms he held the
office of sheriff in Washington county, Md. ,
from which state he moved to Mansfield, Ohio,
in 1830, where he was engaged for many years

in the dry-goods business. His wife died the
next morning after his arrival in the new home.
They became the parents of seven children :
Maj. Aaron R. , Maria, William H. , Catherine,
Sarah, Henrietta and Elizabeth, all of whom
are deceased except Henrietta. William
Stout's second marriage occurred in 183 1 to
Mrs. Mary Van Horn Sanderson, who died in
1848. The venerable father passed away Sep
tember 8, 1874, having been known and hon
ored as a man of sterling character and one
prominently identified with the history of the
Buckeye state.

(D

ATTHEW FILES, a substantial
farmer of Union township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, and father of
Dr. Charles A. Files of Van Wert
city, was born in Ross county, Ohio, June 25,
1825, a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Mahan)
Files. The father, Robert, was born in Rock
bridge county, Va., and about the year 1778
came to Ross county, Ohio. He enlisted
under Capt. McDonnell in the war of 18 12,
and in recognition of his services was awarded
a land warrant for 160 acres, but his warrant
he sold. He farmed in Ross nntil 1835, when
he moved to Greene county, where his death
occurred in 1848. Mrs. Elizabeth (Mahan)
Files was born in Pennsylvania about the
year 1782, her father, Matthew Mahan, being
a Methodist minister, who devoted much of his
time to the conversion of the Indians. Robert
and Elizabeth were married about 1800, the
issue being eleven children, viz : Ruth, de
ceased wife of Ephraim Simpson; Polly A.,
wife of James Kennedy, of Michigan; Margaret,
wife of Jacob Kennedy, of Michigan; Catherine,
deceased wife of Samuel McClellan: Matthew,
our subject; 'Betsey A., deceased wife of George
Neidy: Jacob, of Nebraska; Sarah, who died in
childhood; James, deceased; and Nancy, who

176

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

also died in childhood; and Eliza, deceased
wife of John Morris, of Greene county, Ohio.
The mother of this family died in Michigan in
1875. She had been a life-long member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, although her hus
band had held to the Quaker doctrine.
Matthew Files was reared on a farm in the
woods of Ross and Greene counties, Ohio, and
was deprived of all opportunities for gaining
an education until after he reached his majori
ty. In 1846, he went to Carroll county, Ind.,
where for three years he kept a ferry on the
Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers, then came to
Van Wert county, Ohio, and engaged in farm
ing in Ridge and Union townships, and has
since been identified with the agricultural in
terests of the county. His marriage took place,
in 1853, with Amarilla Snodgrass, daughter of
Joseph and Eliza (Ballard) Snodgrass, two
children being the result of the union — Dr.
Charles A., mentioned above, and Joseph A.,
a farmer of Union township. Mrs. Files is a
native of Greene county, Ohio, born in 1836,
her parents having been early settlers of that
county. Mr. Files has reached his three-score-
and-ten, but is still hale and hearty, and is
bringing his present farm, which he purchased
in 1893, in the newest section of the county,
to a high state of cultivation. He is greatly
respected by his neighbors, and considered to
be one of the most useful and substantial citi
zens of his township.

aHARLES A. FILES, M. D., of Van
Wert, Ohio, was born in Xenia,
Greene county, in the same state,
May 13, 1857, and is a son of
Matthew and Amarilla (Snodgrass) Files, at
present residing in Union township, Van Wert
county, where they first made their home
when Charles A. was a lad of but nine years
of age. Here our subject was reared and at

tended the neighboring district school until he
reached his eighteenth year, when he began
teaching; in 1883, he was chosen principal of
the Van Wert city schools, and held the posi
tion until 1890. On his assumption of the
principalship of the public schools, Mr. Files
began to devote his attention, during vaca
tions, to the study of medicine under Dr. W.
H. Christopher of Van Wert, pursuing this
course of instruction until 1887, when he
placed himself under the tutelage of Dr. G. J.
Eblen, with whom he studied until 1890, and
then attended the Fort Wayne Medical col
lege one term, and next passed two years in
study at the Ohio Medical university of Colum
bus, from which he was graduated March 13,
1894, and immediately entered upon the prac
tice in Van Wert, where a bright future evi
dently awaits him. The doctor was united in
marriage April 2, 1880, with Miss Carrie C.
Frazer, a native of Mercer county, Ohio, and
this union has been blessed with the birth of
two daughters — Rilla and Mabel. Mrs. Files
is a sincere member of the Christian church,
and the doctor is a member of the Improved
Order of Red Men. In politics he is a repub
lican and his social standing is with the best
citizens of Van Wert.

%S~*\ EV. J. H. FITZWATER, D. D.— A
¦ ^Z man whose life has been consecrated
M .f to the cause of humanity and the
service of the Master, whose days
have been filled with ceaseless toil and endeav
or, whose intellectual attainments are of high
order and whose efforts have been so earnestly
and devotedly directed as to insure the goodly
harvest in its time, is peculiarly deserving of
having incorporated into this volume a review
of his life. Dr. Fitzwater holds distinctive
preferment as presiding elder of the Lima dis
trict, Central Ohio annual conference of the

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

177

Methodist Episcopal church, maintaining his
residence on North Jefferson street in the city
of Van Wert.
He was born in Alleghany county, Md.,
June i, 1 85 1, being the fourth child of Nelson
and Sarah A. (White) Fitzwater, the former of
whom was born in Hampshire county, Va.
(now W. Va.), May 31, 1817, being a black
smith by trade, a man of strong individuality
and of the most sturdy integrity. He followed
this trade the greater portion of his life, and
lived to attain a venerable age, his death oc
curring in 1893; his widow still survives him,
and retains her home in Beverly, W. Va.
They became the parents of ten children, of
whom a brief record is as follows: Lydia died
in infancy, as did also William, who was the
second in order of birth; Martha, born in 1847,
is now widowed and has one child, and they
also reside in Beverly; James H. is the imme
diate subject of this sketch; Clay, born in
1854, married Anna Daniels, and is a resident
of Beverly; Lucy married Frank Scott, of
Beverly, at which place she died in February,
1 891; Jasper, Clarence, Err and Joseph died
in infancy. Of the ten children but three —
Martha, Jame H., and Clay — survive.
Rev. James H. Fitzwater received bis fun
damental education in the common schools of
Beverly, W. Va. , and later entered the State
Normal academy at Fairmont, that state, in
which institution he graduated with high honors
in 1878. Thus reinforced in a practical way,
he prepared to enter upon that line of technical
study which should fit him for that high call
ing to which he had determined to devote his
life. He accordingly entered Drew Theological
seminary, the central theological school of
Methodism, pursued his studies with earnest
ness and zeal, and graduated in 1883. In the
year of 1895, m recognition of his distinguished
services, the degree of doctor of divinity was
conferred upon him by the faculty of Taylor

university. Our subject's first ministerial work
had antedated to his graduation in theology;
since, in 1875, he was licensed to preach, and
thereafter served four years as a local
preacher — one of these as pastor of White
hall M. E. church, Whitehall, N. J. He
entered the Central Ohio annual conference in
in 1883, having, however, served as pastor of
the church at Delta for six months prior to
this. As a clergyman of the Central Ohio con
ference, Dr. Fitzwater's labors have been of
great magnitude and productive of great good
in furthering the interests of the church in
both a spiritual and temporal way. His first
pastoral call was to Arcanum, Darke county,
Ohio, which charge he assumed in 1883 and
retained until 1886. Here, as in after life,
the doctor not only demonstrated his right to
precedence in the ministerial functions and as
a pulpit orator, but also proved himself supe
rior as an organizer and builder of church in
stitutions, showing marked discrimination and
potent executive abilities. Beside adding to
the strength of his congregation in a numerical
way, he also brought about the erection of a
fine church edifice in Arcanum, the cost of
said structure having been $6,000.
Wauseon, Fulton county, was our subject's
next field of labor. He here found the church
property encumbered with a debt of $5,000,
which had been standing for the long period of
fifteen years. With his characteristic and al
most inimitable energy, he plunged into this
labyrinth of difficulty, and so assiduously he
applied himself that at the expiration of his
three years' pastorage, the entire debt had
been liquidated and the church interests ad
vanced in every phase. His next call was to
Van Wert, whither he came in 1889, and as
sumed the pastorage of the First Methodist
Episcopal church, which incumbency he re
tained three years. As indicative of his re-

178

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

markable ability as a preacher and organizer,
it is herein noted that he increased the church
membership by 300 individuals within the three
years. Equally significant was his work in
connection with the organization of the young
people of the Lima district into a district
Epworth league — a work to which he was ap
pointed in 1890. So rapidly did he perform
his duty that the first convention of the asso
ciation was held in Van Wert within the same
year, and so. staple was the foundation on
which the organization was erected that the
association has grown to immense proportions,
now having a membership of 5,000 individuals.
In the fall of 1892 Dr. Fitzwater was trans
ferred to Ogden, Utah, and assumed charge of
the First Methodist church of that place. In
less than one year he effected the liquitation of
the $30,000 debt which had been held against
the church. He was recalled to Ohio in 1893
and was appointed presiding elder of the Lima
district Central Ohio annual conference, which
position he now holds. The district is the
largest one in the conference, comprising the
counties of Allen, Auglaize, Mercer and Van
Wert, and having twenty-eight pastoral
charges, and an aggregate of not less than
9,000 communicants.
Turning, in conclusion, to the domestic
chapter of the life of our honored subject, we
find that on September 26, 1883, Dr. Fitz
water was united in marriage to Mary. A.
Clark, of Shinnston, W. Va. , the daughter of
Leonard and Mary (Rone) Clark, of Harrison
county, that state. Her father was a farmer
and continued his operations in this line until
1 86 1, when he enlisted for service in the late
war of the Rebellion, as a scout, under Gen.
George B. McClellan. He was captured, and
for twenty months was confined in the Libby
prison. Upon his release he was promoted to
a captaincy in the Third Virginia cavalry, and
was killed in active service at Moorefield, W.

Va. , in 1865. His widow is now living in Wes
ton, W. Va. ; their children were four in number
— Margaret, Arthur, Mary A. and Martha — the
last named of whom died in infancy. Dr. and
Mrs. Fitzwater are the parents of six daugh
ters, viz: Margaret, Mary, Lucy, Florence,
Helen and Winfred.
Rev. J. H. Fitzwater is a member of the
order of Odd Fellows at Arcanum, Darke
county, Ohio, in which order he was initiated
in the Tygarts Valley lodge — Beverly, W. Va. ,
in 1874. He is also a member of the Masonic
Van Wert lodge, having been received into the
Blue lodge at Ithaca, Drake county, Ohio, and
has attained to the degree of royal arch in Van
Wert, Ohio.

BICHARD DAVIDSON, farmer and
stock raiser of Union township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, was born January
31, 1838, in Holmes county, Ohio.
His father was Joshua Davidson, also a native
of the Buckeye state, born in the county of
Jefferson in 1813, being a son of Joshua David
son, whose birth occurred on Long Island, N.
Y., about the year of 1775. The Davidson
family is of Scotch descent, and were among
the early settlers of the eastern states. Joshua
Davidson, Sr., was a soldier of the war of
181 2, and had previously taken part in the
Indian war of 1794, under Gen. W. H. Harri
son. He lived for some time in Jefferson
county, engaged in hunting and farming, and
later, sometime in the 'twenties, moved to the
county of Holmes, of which he was one of the
pioneers. His death occurred in Holmes
county about the year of 1850. Joshua David
son, Jr., father of the subject of this biography,
was reared to manhood on the frontier farms-
of his father, in Jefferson and Holmes counties,
Ohio. About 1848, he purchased a farm in
Coshocton county, but soon after disposed of

u\+ (^^^^^Luyy^

cT-O

cf-i^c^^^0-

cJ^dLst/Z-dUL^TZ^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

183

the same, and in 1848 moved to the county of
Allen, where he purchased a small place and
began clearing a farm. Subsequently he sold
this land and took a claim of eighty acres of
government land, which had been granted the
canal, and resided upon the same until his
death, which occurred in February, 1866. He
was known far and wide for his generosity, and
his charities were dispensed quite liberally
upon all who applied to him for assistance.
He was a progressive farmer, a good citizen,
and his influence is still felt in the community
where he formerly lived. His wife, Catherine
Davidson, was the daughter of Richard and
Violetta (Thompson) Ross. She was born in
181 1, married Mr. Davidson in 1833, an^ be"
came the mother of thirteen children, viz:
James; Lucinda, wife of Henry Gallespie;
Hugh, deceased; Richard; Margaret, wife of
William P. Neely; John; George W. died in
the Confederate prison at Salisbury, N. C. ,
William; Peter; Mary A., wife of Charles
Peterson; Catherine, wife of Stephen Cremean;
Joshua, and Elizabeth, deceased. Richard
Ross served in the Indian war under Gen. Har
rison, and in the war of 1812, and died in Jeffer
son county, at an early age, from injuries
received while in the military service in defense
of the honor of his country.
Richard Davidson, whose name introduces
this sketch, and whose birth is noted in the
opening paragraph, attended such schools as
the country afforded in his youth, and while
still a mere lad was apprenticed at the car
penter's trade, which he followed until 1861.
In that year he laid aside his tools and re
sponded the country's call for volunteers,
enlisting in company I, Thirty-fourth Ohio
infantry .(First Zouaves), for three years' serv
ice. He was mustered in at Cincinnati, thence
accompanied his command up the Kanawha
river into West Virginia, where he participated
in a number of minor skirmishes. He took
9

part in the Shenandoah valley campaign, and
Hunter's expedition against Lynchburg, in the
battles of Panther's Gap, and many other en
gagements, and was honorably discharged at
Columbus, Ohio, September, 1864, having
acheived a most enviable military record.
After leaving the army Mr. Davidson,
worked for some time as a day laborer, and in
1866 farmed his father's place, upon which he
resided until his removal to the county of Van
Wert in 1870. In the year last named he
came to Union township, where he purchased
land, erecting thereon a log house, which
served as a residence for a number of years
until a more comfortable and pretentious
structure could be built. He has made a good
farm, is in comfortable circumstances, and has
the satisfaction of knowing that all he has of
this world's goods was acquired by his own un
aided efforts. He is a democrat in politics,
takes a lively interest in the success of his
party, and has served in various official posi
tions, including those of township trustee and
infirmary director, also as township treasurer
three terms — the duties of which offices were
filled with great credit to himself.
Mr. Davidson was married, in 1865, to
Louisa Dunn, daughter of Beracha and Anna
(Clark) Dunn. Mr. and Mrs. Davidson have
had seven children: Edwin James, Mary L. ,
wife of E. G. Linder, Charles R., Clarence
W., Marion M., Burton and Alta C. — the last
two deceased. Mr. Davidson has been a
hunter of considerable note and has ' many
trophies to show for his skill, and once killed
a catamount with an old-fashioned trapper's
spear. He was a brave and valiant soldier,
and now draws $12 pension. He stands
high in the esteem of his neighbors as a citi
zen and business man, and his services to his
country and his efforts to advance the pros
perity of his township and county are not with
out recognition.

184

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

^~V*AMUEL WATSON FLEMING, of
*\^^T Van Wert, was born August 16, 185 1.
j\^ J He is a son of Samuel Fleming, who
was born in Pennsylvania, was of
Irish descent, was reared on a farm, and fol
lowed farming all his life. Mr. Fleming,^ the
father, was one of those whole-souled Irishmen
that it is always a pleasure to meet, genial and
kind-hearted, and way always striving to find
some duty that he could perform for a fellow-
man. In politics he was a republican, but
cared more for family, home and friends than
for official position, though he was true to his
party convictions, and performed his duty as a
private citizen in politics as well as in other
and perhaps more important things. He was
a member of the Christian church, and was
married to Miss Lafferty, of Pennsylvania, who
was also of Irish descent. To their marriage
there were born the following children: Will
iam H., who is married and living in Kenton,
Ohio; James S., who is also married and liv
ing in Kenton; Samuel W. , married and living
in Van Wert; Jane Ridney, married and living
'in Mansfield, Ohio; John, who died a single
man. All the rest are living. Samuel Flem
ing, the father of these children, came to Ohio
and married at an early day, settling in Hardin
county, near Dunkirk. There he lived the
rest of his life, his wife dying before him.
John, his eldest son, enlisted in the war of the
Rebellion, and died from the effects of a wound
received in battle.
Samuel Watson Fleming, the subject of
this sketch, was born in Pennsylvania, was
reared on his father's farm, where he remained
until he grew to mature years, and until his
marriage, which occurred in August, 1871.
His wife was Miss Alice Arnold, of Hardin
county, Ohio. By her he had the following
children: Esta M., siggle; Maud, born April
15, 1875; Fern, born February 11, 1880;
James W. , and Deborah J., the latter two both

single. Two of these children are dead, Fern
and Maud. The mother of these children died
in 1880, a good woman and a faithful mother,
earnest in her religious convictions and always
striving to impress her children with correct
ideas concerning life and its duties. She was
a member of the Methodist church, and died
near Dunkirk, Ohio. Mr. Fleming's second
marriage was with Mrs. Mary Gordon, a daugh
ter of Alexander L. Strothers, this marriage
taking place in 189 1. In 1887 Mr. Fleming
removed to Van Wert, where ever since he
has been employed as car inspector for the
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad
company. He is a republican in politics, and
is in every way a very liberal man, as to his
views and as to his means, as in all other
things. He is in very comfortable circum
stances, and is living in his beautiful home in
Van Wert.
Mrs. Mary (Gordon) Fleming, his second
wife, was born in Van Wert county, April 30,
1 85 1. She lived with her father until her
marriage, in 1871, to Charles Gordon, of
Cincinnati, a very highly respected and popu
lar man. He was a member of the Independ
ent Order of Red Men; of the Knights of
Pythias, and of the Odd Fellows. He died in
1 89 1 and was buried with appropriate cere
monies all the lodges of which he was a mem
ber participating. Her father, Alexander L.
Strothers, was born in Hancock county, Ohio,
in 1820. He was educated and reared upon
the farm, but in early age mechanical ability
developed to such a degree and it was so pleas-
ureable for him to exercise that ability, as com
pared with working on a farm, that he learned
the trade of a machinist, and followed it all his
life, or rather until late years, when he began
to cultivate a market garden, in which he has
been unusually successful. In politics he is a
republican, and is a very charitable and liberal-
minded man. He was married to Miss Han-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

185

nah Arnold, of Van Wert county, by whom he
had six children, viz: Mary, Amanda, Marion
(died in infancy), Harriet, Charles and Bertie
(deceased). Those still living are all married.
Alexander L. Strothers came to Van Wert
county in 1832 and bought a farm in York
township, containing 300 acres, all covered
with timber. In 1861 he removed to Van
Wert and established a machine shop, and
was, in this new venture, very successful. In
1 87 1 his wife died and he was married, the sec
ond time, to Miss Hannah Myers, of Cincin
nati, by whom he had one child, Ethel, who
is at present attending school in Van Wert.
Mr. Strothers and his wife are living quiet and
retired lives in Van Wert, enjoying the even
ing of their days in peace and plenty.

>j* OSEPH FOOR, who owns one of the
A best tilled and neatest sixty-acre farms
A J in Willshire township, Van Wert county,
was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
June 10, 1837, and is of German extraction.
His father, John Foor, was born in Pennsyl
vania, whence he moved to Fairfield county,
Ohio, where he married Sarah Young, and
settled on a forty-acre farm, which he culti
vated until his death.
Joseph Foor, our subject, was reared on
this farm, but, his parents being in somewhat
straightened circumstances, his educational
advantages were very meager. On reaching
maturity he married Sarah Tower, who has
borne him the following children: Mrs. Emma
Murphy, William, Sarah A., Henry, Mary,
Gustavus, John, Frank, Mrs. Elbe Douglass,
Burt T., Jess L., George M. and Ollie G. ,
who have all been fairly well educated. The
father of this family came to Van Wert county
when it was in a very wild condition, and
bought forty acres of land, to which he has
added forty acres, and now has the prettiest

farm of its size in the county of Van Wert, all
most excellently cultivated. His buildings are
modern and substantial, and cost over $2,000,
all of which Mr. Foor has earned by his own
hard labor, assisted, to some extent, by his
children and his faithful wife. In politics Mr.
Foor is a republican, but he has never been in
any sense an office seeker. He and wife are
consistent members of the radical branch of
the church of United Brethren in Christ, and
Mr. Foor was one of those who liberally as
sisted in contributing toward the erection of a
house of worship for the congregation at Will
shire. Mr. Foor is widely known as a method
ical, thrifty and skillful agriculturist, and his
farm gives the best possible evidence of his
taste, skill and good management. His social
standing, as well as that of his large family, is
all that could be desired, and he is universally
recognized as an honorable and straightforward
gentleman and useful citizen.

5>^V AVID F. FORTNEY, a respected
1 I and substantial farmer of Tully town-
/A^J ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a
son of John and Susannah (Crall)
Fortney. John Fortney was born in Dauphin
county, Pa., came to Van Wert county, Ohio,
in i860, and settled on farm land in Tully
township. His children by his first wife were
named Henrietta, David F., Alfred, John,
Christian and Samuel; by his second wife,
Harriet Sullinger, he was the father of two
children — Sylvester and Charles. Mr. Fortney
was a hard-working and respected farmer, and
served his fellow-citizens of Tully three years
as township trustee.
David F. Fortney, our subject, was born
June 13, 1872, in Dauphin county, Pa., was
educated in the district schools and was reared
a farmer. In 1863 he came west to Defiance
county, Ohio, and for about a year was em-

186

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ployed at farm work. March 16, 1864, he
enlisted, at Defiance, in company E, Four
teenth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three
years or during the war, and served until hon
orably discharged at Louisville, Ky. , July 11,
1865. He took part in the famous Atlanta
campaign, fighting at Resaca, Kenesaw Mount
ain, Jonesboro, and engaging in constant
skirmishing until the capture and destruction of
Atlanta in September, 1864, and went onward
with Sherman to the sea — marching through
to Goldsboro, N. C, and then on to Washing
ton, D. C, where he took part in the grand
review that celebrated the close of the war.
At the battle of Jonesboro he was wounded in
the nose by a splinter from a shell, and this
wound has culminated in a permanent injury
to bis eyesight. He did his duty well and
faithfully and was promoted to be corporal for
his gallant and meritorious conduct on the
the field. After the war was over Mr. Fort
ney came to Van Wert county, which he had
first visited with his father in i860, and was
married in Defiance county September 5, 1865,
to Miss Lavinia Noffsinger, daughter of Samuel
and Sarah Noffsinger. Samuel Noffsinger was
a Pennsylvania German, but came from Mont
gomery county, Ohio, of which county his
father, Daniel Noffsinger, was a pioneer, was a
farmer and a member of the Baptist church.
Samuel and his wife early settled in the woods
of Defiance county and cleared up a farm of
160 acres. Like his father, he was a German
Baptist in religion. He and wife were parents
of six children — Mary, Christian, Elizabeth,
Lavinia, Alvora and Ida. Mr. Noffsinger died
at the age of seventy years, an honored and
respected citizen and the owner of a good
farm. After marriage David F. Fortney located
in Dixon, Van Wert county, and for a time
worked as a section hand on the P., Ft. W.
& C. railroad, and next settled in Tully town

ship, where he bought a farm of thirty acres
and rented eighty acres additional. To his
marriage with Miss Noffsinger have been born
ten children, as follows : One that died young;,
Byron, John, William, Alvaro, Celeste, Mor
gan, Pearl, Ethel and Samuel. In politics.
Mr. Fortney is a democrat and has served as
constable. He is a man who has always
worked hard to support his family, has reared
his children respectably, and has been faith
fully assisted by his amiable wife; he was a
brave soldier and still suffers from the effects
produced by his army life, yet maintains his
position as a worthy and useful citizen.

/~"V* IMON FOSTER, a pioneer farmer and
*^^KT wealthy resident of Washington town-
^ j ship, Van Wert county, was born in
Perry county, Ohio, December 2,
1828, and descends from one of the earliest
pioneer families of the state.
His grandfather, William Forster (as he
spelled the name), was born in Prussia; when
fifteen years of age he came to America, and
here became a Lutheran minister and for many
years preached in Virginia and Ohio. He mar
ried in Pennsylvania and died in Perry county,
Ohio, the father of twelve children, viz:
William, Daniel, John, Samuel, Henry, Chris
tian, Andrew, George, Benjamin, Elizabeth,
Magdalena and Catherine. Mr. Foster gave
all his children in Perry ceunty 160 acres each,
and died at the age of sixty- six years. George
Foster, son of above and father of our sub
ject, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1789, and
was a small boy when brought to Ohio. He
was married in Perry county, to Christina
Bean, a native of Pennsylvania, and to this
union were born ten children, as follows:
Jacob, Samuel, John, Mary, William, Daniel,
Simon, Elizabeth, James and Salomi. Mr.
Foster inherited a farm of 160 acres from his

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

187

father, and this land he cleared up to a great
extent, made a very good farm, and then, in
1848, came to Van Wert county and purchased
a farm that lay partly in Ridge township and
partly in York township, and also purchased
215 acres in Ottawa county. Mr. and Mrs.
Foster led an honored life as a member of the
Lutheran church, and Mr. Foster died in this
faith, in 1858, at the age of sixty-nine years.
He gave each of his children a good start in
life and was in every respect a true man.
Simon Foster, the gentleman with whom
this biography is most interested, was as well
educated at the pioneer log school-house of his
district as its limited curriculum would permit,
was reared to an accurate knowledge of farm
ing, and was married at Lima, Allen county,
Ohio, June 12, 1856, to Susannah Fisher, who
was born October 5, 1834, in Perry county,
Ohio, a daughter of Jacob Fisher, a native of
Pennsylvania and of German descent, arid an
old pioneer of Highland county, Ohio. When
Mrs. Foster was but two years old — about
1836 — he settled one mile from Lafayette,
Allen county, cleared up eighty acres of land,
and died at the age of seventy-one years. Mr.
Foster had received from his father 215 acres
•of land in the woods of Ottawa county, Ohio,
but subsequently sold this land and in 1853
bought his present home of 168 acres, all of
which was wooded with the exception of forty
acres — for which he paid $12 per acre — all of
which he has converted into arable land and
productive fields. To Mr. and Mrs. Foster
have been born seven children, named as fol
lows: Almonary, Ellen, Agnes A., Elizabeth
Emma, (who died at the age of twenty years),
Jacob H. and Harriet.
Mr. and Mrs. Foster are strict members of
the Lutheran church, of which Mr. Foster was
for many years a deacon, treasurer and clerk,
and is now an elder. He has always contributed
freely of his means to the support of this re

ligious body, and is ardent in the forwarding of
its interests, and he had his brother Samuel
erected the first edifice owned by that denomi
nation at Middlepoint from their own means,
with the exception of $25 contributed by others
of the faithful. In politics Mr. Foster is a
democrat, and has filled in a most satisfactory
manner the office of township trustee. He is
one of the most respected pioneer residents of
Washington township, and has done much in
his day toward making it the prosperous town
ship it now is.

e MANUEL S. FOSTER, a thriving
farmer of York township, Van Wert
county, is a native of Perry county,
Ohio, and was born February 14,
1849, a son °f Joseph and Elizabeth (Suit)
Foster, natives of Pennsylvania, but married
in Ohio, becoming the parents of the follow
ing children: Benjamin, who died in child
hood; James S., who resides in Toledo, Ohio;
one child that died in infancy; Emanuel S.,
our subject; Jacob H., who resides at Lovell,
Ohio, and David, a resident of Perry county,
Ohio. The father of these children died when
the subject was but five years of age, and the
mother was next married to Israel Zartman,
and to this union liEve been born three daugh
ters, viz: Dora, wife of Noah Snyder; Emma,
wife of David Helser; and Louisa, wife of
Vallandingham Shreider; the mother of our
subject died February 13, 1895.
Emanuel S. Foster lived on the home farm
until eighteen years of age, when he was
granted his freedom, and then he went to
work by the month, and was so employed un
til his marriage in March, 1872, to Emma
Breeding, a daughter of John and Elizabeth
(Askins) Breeding, residents of Van Wert
county, but natives of Auglaize county, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. E. S. Foster have had born to

188

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

them seven children, viz: Lizzie, who has
been successful as a school-teacher, and is
noted for her gentle manners and good man
agement; Daisy, Charley, Homer, Pearly,
Eva and Dewitt. Mr. Foster's present farm
was entered by his grandfather, Andrew Fos
ter, and came into the hands of our subject
through purchase from the other heirs. The
original entry consisted of forty acres only,
and when the title was vested in our subject,
the land was absolutely without any improve
ment. Mr. Foster now has a splendid brick
dwelling, costing $2,000, situated upon a
natural eminence; his farm comprises 240
acres in one tract, and a wind-engine supplies
his stock with water, and as a whole is one of
the richest and best improved farms in the
county. Mr. and Mrs. Foster worship at the Pres
byterian church, and he votes the prohibition
ticket, while his social standing is with the
best citizens of the township. Still a young
man, the field of agricultural practice has for
him a scope that will embrace many new and
interesting features not yet dreamed of by the
most advanced cultivators of the soil, although
Mr. Foster may well feel proud of the manner
in which he has kept abreast of the times.
Possessing one of the best farms in the county
and a dwelling of which any farmer might
justly feel proud, and surrounded by a most
aimable and interesting family, there is but
little left, however, for Mr. Foster to be de
sired as far sublunary matters are concerned.

St

'ILLIAM FRECK, ex-county com
missioner of Van Wert county, Ohio,
ex-soldier and a prominent farmer,
was born in Crawford county, Ohio,
August 8, 1843, and is a son of John and Anna
(Mauer) Freck, natives of Alsace and Lorraine,
Germany, where they were married and where

they had born to them three children — eight
more being added to the family after the ar
rival of the parents in America. John Freck,
who was born July 4, 1804, was a tailor by
trade, located in Crawford county, Ohio, in
1838; in 1852 he moved to Paulding county
and bought eighty acres of wild land, of which
he made a good farm; in 1863 he came to Van
Wert county and here died, at the residence
of his son, William, in 1878, at the age of
seventy-four years. He was a strong Union
man, voted for Lincoln, and had four sons in
the Civil war, viz: Conrad, who died of spotted
fever while in the three-years' service, Four
teenth Ohio infantry; John was shot dead in
action at Bentonville, N. C. ; Jonas died at
Toledo, Ohio, a few week after his enlistment
for three years, and William, whose service
will be mentioned further on. Mr. and Mrs.
Freck were members of the German Lutheran
church and were highly respected among their
pioneer neighbors of Paulding county.
William Freck was nine years of age when
the family moved from Crawford to Paulding
county. He was reared to the hard work of
clearing and cultivating the farm, doing his
part of this severe lobor in conjuction with his
brothers — the boys doing all the clearing, for
the reason that the father had never been
trained to manual labor. The pioneer schools
afforded him but a limited education, but he
fully availed himself of such as could be ac
quired. At the age of twenty years he enlisted,
February 27, 1864, at Junction, Paulding
county, Ohio, in company F, Thirty-eighth
Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. John
Crosson, to serve three years or during the war,
but owing topeace being achieved, was honor
ably discharged at Indianapolis, July 27, 1865.
He had taken part in the battles of Resaca, Kene
saw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta and
Jonesboro. In the last-named conflict, Sep
tember 1, 1864, he was simultaneously struck

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

189

by three rifle-balls — one striking in the left hip,
one on the left wrist, and one on the left shoul
der. He did not fall, but crowded his way to
the rear, a distance of ten rods, and lay down
behind a log to escape capture by the enemy.
Here he lay from four o'clock in the afternoon
until nine at night, growing weaker from loss
of blood; he was then taken to the field hos
pital and placed under a tree until the next
day, when, at sundown, his wounds were
dressed; he was then taken eighteen miles to
Atlanta, in a government wagon, over a very
rough road, the trip causing him more suffer
ing than the shooting itself. He lay in the
hospital at Atlanta until November, and was
then furloughed home for thirty days, but the
time was extended, and from May until July,
1865, he was on provost duty at Indianapolis,
when, the war having long since been closed,
he was honorably discharged, as already stated.
After his return from the war Mr. Freck bought,
in 1866, eighty acres of land in Tully town
ship, Van Wert county, all of which land was
covered with a thick growth of timber, except
one small patch.
October 18, 1866, Mr. Freck married
Rebecca, daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth
(Roop) Mentzer, and went to housekeeping on
his little farm; but he was industrious, and a
good manager, and added to his possessions
until at one time he owned 396 acres, of
which he has donated to his children 156
acres. The 240 acres retained by. himself are
highly cultivated, extensively drained and im
proved with most substantial farm buildings,
and is in reality one of ihe best farms in the
county. To Mr. and Mrs. Freck have been
born eight children, viz: Alexander, Emma,
Annie, Susan (died at eleven years of age),
Charles A. (died at five years), Wilson, Will
iam and Harley. Of these, Alexander mar
ried Mary Stephenson, has two children, and
resides on the home farm; Emma married

David E. Bayles, farmer and school-teacher,
and has two children. Mr. and Mrs. Freck
are Lutheran in religious belief and in politics
he is a democrat. He has the confidence of
the citizens of the township and county and
has served them two years as township super
visor, two terms as township trustee, and two
terms as assessor: he has been a member of
the school board five years and was one of the
county commissioners from 1888 to 1893 — S1X
years. He is a member of Capper post, No.
236, G. A. R. , of Convoy, of which he was at
one time adjutant, and for about six years he
was master of the Convoy grange, No. 153.
Mr. Freck is one of the most substantial cit
izens of Van Wert county, has acquired his
extensive property by his individual industry
and good management, and by his integrity
and straightforward walk through life has de
servedly won the high position he holds in the
esteem of his fellow-men.

'ESLEY FRAGER, one of the thriv
ing farmers of Ridge township, Van

(U \J^A Wert county, Ohio, was born in
Stark county, April 27, 1842, a son
of Lewis and Sidney (Harper) Frager — the lat
ter a native of Chambersburg, Pa. Lewis
Frager was a boy when brought to Ohio by
his parents. In 1852 he came to Van Wert
county to take possession of a tract of land he
had previously purchased in Union township,
but had never seen, but on arriving found that
the tract was all under water, and he conse
quently sought a new location, which he found
in Ridge township, his present home, which
then consisted of eighty acres, all in the woods,
but to which he shortly added another tract of
eighty acres. Here he erected a cabin and
moved his family into it before the roof was
upon it, and, of course, the rain fell in torrents
before the roof could be adjusted to its place;

190

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

but Mr. Frager devoted himself earnestly to
the task of clearing and eventually developed
as fine a farm as there was to be found in the
county, although he possessed very limited
means. To Lewis Frager and wife were born
three children, viz: Wesley, our subject;
Melinda, wife of Jerry Ross, a farmer of Ridge
township, and Louisa, still at home with her
parents. Mr. Frager has served as township
trustee; with his wife he is a member of the
Presbyterian church and is a highly respected
citizen of his township.
Wesley Frager grew to manhood on the
home farm, and in October, 1864, enlisted in
company G, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry,
and faithfully served until his honorable dis
charge in February, 1865. He then began
farming on his own account, owning, at one
time, 140 acres in Ridge township. In July,
1892, Mr. Frager and Harrison Leathers en
gaged in the grain business at Middlepoint,
where they are doing an extensive business.
Mr. Frager is a member of the I. O. O. F.
lodge, No. 665, of Middlepoint, as well as the
G. A. R., and in politics is a republican.

£~V OLOMON FRIESNER, a prominent
*^^fcT business man of Van Wert, Ohio,
h\^_J was born in Hocking county, this
state, April 18, 1839, a son of Fred
and Leo (Fought) Freisner, natives, respect
ively, of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, and the
former by vocation a farmer. Solomon, our
subject, lived with his parents until he reached
his twenty-third year, when he bought ninety-
seven and a half acres in Hocking county and
went to farming on his own account. In 1865
he sold his property and moved to liberty
township, Van Wert county, where for seven
years he engaged in the grocery businss. He
then resumed farming on his 120 acres of land,

which he had here purchased, and followed
this vocation until his wife's death, in 1882,
when he sold his place, and in the spring of
1883 came to the city of Van Wert, and for
two years was employed at labor work on the
gas line and on the street cars. He then
joined Willard Smith, in the grocery business,
on East Main street, but at the end of four
teen months Mr. Friesner withdrew from the
firm and was employed as clerk in one or more
groceries until 1889, in January of which year
he formed a partnership with George Wert in
the stove and tinware trade, on South Wash
ington street, where a successful business was
carried on until 1891, when Mr. Friesner
bought the lot and erected his present building
on Main street, to which the firm moved and
carried on their trade until August 1, 1893,
when Mr. Wirt retired, leaving the business
solely in the hands of Mr. Friesner, who car
ries a stock valued at $2,000. In addition to
his regular trade in stoves and tinware, Mr.
Friesner makes a specialty of handling old
iron, and junk generally, in which trade he has
almost a monopoly.
Mr. Friesner was first married January 2,
1862, in Hocking county, Ohio, to Miss Chris
tina Weaver, a native thereof, and to this
union were born six children, of whom four
survive, viz: Lovine, wife of George Spahr, a
carpenter of Van Wert; Ida A., wife of Will
iam Ickes; John F., in the employment of his
father, and Ora S., a grocery clerk. The
mother of this family died September 25,
1883, and Mr. Friesner 's second marriage took
place in Mendon, Mercer county, Ohio, Sep
tember 15, 1890, to Mrs. Laura R. Rider, a
native of Kentucky, born in 1837, and the
widow of William Rider. Mrs. Friesner is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and in politics Mr. Friesner is a democrat,
under the auspices of which party he has
served as city assessor two terms, as township

iw. ^ $Ldfy?

\ ' "fi%

oMuiA-cM. ^.2u^£t,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

195

clerk and as constable. Fraternally he is a.
master Mason. He is the owner of his resi
dence on Sycamore street, and a residence and
business block on Market street. Mrs. Freis-
ner owns in her own right sixty acres in
Mercer county, Ohio, beside five oil wells,
which yield her an income of $i 50 per month.
Mr. Friesner is a thorough business man and
sells the Eclipse ranges and heating stoves, as
well as his queensware and tinware, at No.
-81 East Main street, strictly for cash.

WOHN W. DULL, dealer in slate roof-
A ing, galvanized iron, etc., Kepler street,
/» 1 Van Wert city, was born in Willshire
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
March 6, 1855, a son of Elias and Jane (Wal
ters) Dull. John W. Dull was educated in the
common schools of his native township and re
mained with his parents until his marriage, De
cember 2, 1875, to Miss Mary A. Bay, who
was born in Middlepoint, Washington town
ship, Van Wert county, January 27, 1855, a
daughter of Rev. W. E. and Elizabeth (Mot-
ter) Bay, natives of Auglaize county, Ohio.
Her father is of Scotch-Irish descent, and a
minister of the United Brethren church, with
his residence at Wapakoneta, Auglaize county,
Ohio, and her mother is of German extraction.
Immediately after marriage, John W. Dull
and his bride settled on a farm of eighty acres
in Willshire township, given him by his father,
and to this tract he added forty acres; this
property he cultivated until 1884, when he be
gan handling slate, roofing and galvanized iron
work, operating throughout Mercer, Auglaize
and Van Wert counties, and this business, in
connection with the manufacture of brick in
his own township, he continued until 1890,
when he moved to Van Wert, since when he
has devoted his entire attention to his present

business, the details of which will be men
tioned further on. He employs from six to
twenty men at labor, while he himself does all
the contracting. He has roofed the Presby
terian church, the water works, county jail and
electric light plant in Van Wert, also C, J. &
M. railroad shops; the carbon works at Fre
mont, Ohio; the Knoxville church; the opera
house at Saint Mary's, Ohio, and the plow
works at Bremen, Ohio; also the C, J. & M.
station at Van Wert, and numberless residences
and barns, reaching about 100 per season.
Mr. Dull is also sole agent for the celebrated
Climax brand of wool felt roofing; the Excel
sior fire-proof slate paint, for new and old
shingles and felt roofs; the celebrated Ebon
ite varnish for tin and metal roofs, crestings,
iron bridges, tanks, boilers and fences; he
also deals in and applies all colors of roof
ing slate.
To the union of John W. and Mary A.
Dull, have been born seven children, in the fol
lowing order: Armand R. , a graduate of Van
Wert Business college, and now an assistant to
his father; Leola V., deceased; lone, deceased;
Neonto, Ethel, Zoe, Erma L., and John S.,
Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Dull are members of the
Presbyterian church; politically he is a repub
lican, and has served as trustee of Willshire
township; fraternally he is an Odd Fellow,
and a member of the canton and encampment,
and his wife is a member of Rebekah lodge.
Mrs. Dull was educated in Westfield (Ills.)
college, and also in Freeport academy, Canada.
She began teaching in Auglaize county, Ohio,
and held her position eleven terms, and like
wise taught one term in Willshire township,
Van Wert county. After withdrawing from
the profession for seventeen years, she passed
a re-examination and was granted a five-year
license. She is a lady of marked individuality
and intelligence, and is strongly in favor of
woman's rights.

196

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

>-j* OSEPH B. FRONFIELD, merchant,
A ex-soldier and farmer of Van Wert,
A 1 Ohio, was born in Stark county, Ohio,
June 30, 1839, a son of Jacob and
Barbara (Wornewag) Fronfield, the former of
whom was born in Pennsylvania, was a black
smith, and was married in his native state to
Miss Wornewag, who was a native of Ger
many and was but seventeen years of age
when she came to America. In 1841, Jacob
Fronfield emigrated from Pennsylvania and
purchased a home in the woods of Union
township, Mercer county, Ohio, on which he
lived until his death in December, 1S65, his
wife having preceded him to the grave in
September, 1862. The children born to Jacob
and Barbara Fronfield numbered seven and
were named as follows: William, of Van
Wert; George and John, deceased; Mary, of
Mercer county; Jacob and Barbara, both de
ceased, and Joseph B., our subject. In poli
tics the father of this family was a republican,
and with his wife was a member of the Meth
odist Episcopal church, was successful in life,
and left a farm of eighty acres in fine condition.
Joseph B. Fronfield was but eighteen
months of age when brought by his parents to
Mercer county, Ohio, arid in the woods of
Union township he grew to manhood and
worked for his father until his majority, when
he married, cleared up his own farm of ninety-
five acres, and on it made his home until 1866,
when he traded for another farm of eighty
acres, on which he resided two years; he then
traded for 112 acres, which he retained and
cultivated for five years, and then sold and
bought a farm of 160 acres in Ridge township,
Van Wert county, which he still owns, and
which he cultivated until 1889, and on which
he lived with the exception of intervals, when
he was engaged in business in Van Wert, in
which city he took up his permanent residence
in the year last named. In 1886 he began

the undertaking business in partnership with
B. L. Vore, from which partnership he
withdrew at the end of eighteen months,
and a year later, in company with M.
Gackenheimer, started business in the same
line on South Washington street, which was
profitably pursued until 1894, when Mr. Fron
field became the sole proprietor, and is still
doing a general undertaking and picture-frame
business. He is a practical embalmer, owns a
fine hearse, and handles a well assorted line of
caskets, etc.
The marriage of Mr. Fronfield took place
April 23,1861, in Mercer county, Ohio, to Miss
Martha Yocum, who was born in Wayne coun
ty, Ohio, in October, 1840, a daughter of John
E. and Betsey (Shelly) Yocum, and to this
union three children have been born, viz :
Morris M. and Mary Ann, deceased, and
Joseph R. , a farmer.
Mr: Fronfield has his military experience,
having enlisted in February, 1864, in company
C, Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, under
Captain Barber, for the term of three years or
di _ng the war, but was honorably discharged
in February, 1865, at Camp Dennison, on ac
count of disability. His active battles were
those at Missionary Ridge, Snake Creek Gap,
Lookout Mountain, Big Shanty, Peach Tree
Creek, and Atlanta, in all of which he nobly
and faithfully acted his part. Mr. and Mrs.
Fronfield are Presbyterians in their religious
belief, and beside the 160-acre farm in Ridge
township, they own their fine residence, corner
of Cherry and Crawford streets, Van Wert.

«y-W ARVEY ADAMS, of Jackson town-
l^"\ ship. Van Wert county, Ohio, is of
i F New England descent on his paternal
side and of Pennsylvania-German on
his maternal side. Emanuel Adams, his father,
was a son of Absalom Adams, who, after spend-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

197

ing years of his life at sea, became a farmer of
Ross county, Ohio, and was among the pio
neers of the state. He was the father of the
following children : Emanuel, Robert, Will
iam, Betsey, Dorcas and Sallie, and, making
a comfortable competence as a farmer, died a
highly respected citizen. Emanuel Adams,
the father of our subject, was born April 3,
181 1, and was married in Ross county, Ohio,
to Miss Lydia Huffman, who was born May 13,
181 3, a daughter of John Huffman, a pioneer
farmer. To Mr. and Mrs. Adams were born
thirteen children, of ¦ whom eleven lived to
maturity, viz. : Martha, William, Henrietta,
Matilda, Arthlinda and Cynthia (twins), Har
vey, Mary, James, Stewart and Jane, all hav
ing been born in Ross county except the last
two, Stewart and Jane, who were born in
Auglaize county, whither Mr. Adams had
moved and where he resided until 1886, when
he moved to Wood county, where he is now
living on his farm at the venerable age of
eighty-four years. In politics he is a stanch
democrat. Harvey Adams, whose name opens J.s
biographical notice, was born in Ross county,
Ohio, March 30, 1845, arm was early taken to
Auglaize county, where he was reared on a
farm. At a little over sixteen years of age he
was enrolled in company E, Sixty-seventh Ohio
volunteer infantry, for three years or during
the war, veteranized in the same regiment,
and was honorably discharged August 15,
1865, having served four years, less eleven
days. The Sixty-seventh Ohio volunteers
were organized at Columbus in the winter of
1861-2, with 1,025 men, under Col. Alvin C.
Voris; started for western Virginia January 19,
1862, and then served until June; was then
ordered to join McClelland's forces on the
James river; refnained with the army of the
Potomac until December, and was then trans
ferred to North Carolina, with only 300 men

left for duty; served in South Carolina in 1863;
the majority re-enlisted in January, 1864,
were furloughed, and returned to duty in
March; through the remainder of 1864 and in
the early part of 1865 they served under Grant
in Virginia, were under fire 200 times and had
half their rank and file disabled or killed in
action; they were present at the surrender of
Lee at Appomattox Court-house, April 9,
1865, and then went on garrison duty at Tide
Water, Va. , until December, 1865; were mus
tered out at City Point, Va., December 7, 1865,
and the heroes returned to their homes. Mr.
Adams took part in every battle in which his
regiment was engaged, going through the
Georgia campaign with Sherman, and being
everywhere except in the battle of Winchester,
when he was on picket, but under fire. Mr.
Adams escaped the hospital, and at one time,
when sick, stood by his regiment and com
pany — the highest rank he ever attained being
that of corporal, which was the only title he
would accept.
The marriage of Mr. Adams took place in
Auglaize county, October 3, 1867, to Miss
Catherine Bowersock who was born in Allen
county, October 12, 1 49, a daughter of James
and Isabel (Sunderland) Bowersock. The
father, James Bowersock, was a native of
Pennsylvania, came to Allen county, Ohio,
with his father when a boy, and was reared a
farmer. His father was of German birth 'and
mother of Irish stock. To himself and wife
were born four children, viz: Catherine, Lo
renzo, Nancy and John. Some time after
marriage he settled in Auglaize county and
cleared up a farm of 100 acres and made a
good farm. At about the first call to arms he
enlisted, in 1 861, in the three months' service,
and at the expiration of his term enlisted in
company E, Sixty-seventh Ohio volunteer
infantry, in December, 1861, reached the rank
of orderly sergeant, and was killed at the

198

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

battle of Fort Wagner, July 18, 1863, at the
age of thirty-six years. His widow then
bought a farm of forty acres in Allen county,
where she reared her children in respectability,
and where she died in the faith of the Meth
odist church, beloved by all for her many
womanly virtues. Valentine Bowersock, a
brother of James, was also a soldier in an
Ohio regiment.
After marriage Mr. Adams remained on a
farm in Auglaize county until 1879, when he
bought thirty acres of land in the woods of
Jackson township, Van Wert county, which
-by diligence and hard labor he soon cleared
up, made into an excellent home and increased
in size, and has here found his home ever
since. To this happy union with Catherine
Bowersock have been born the following chil
dren: Josephine, born January 15, 1869; Lydia
B., December 10, 1872; Nancy J., October
12, 1877; Bertha, November 18, 1879; John
W., January 7, 1881; Bessie, February 9,
1883; Glenn, November 9, 1885, and Hazel,
August 19, 1890 — of whom the three first were
born in Auglaize county and the others in Van
Wert county.
In politics Mr. Adams is a republican, but
has never been an office seeker. He has been
an ordained minister of the Christian Union
church since October 24, 1886, and for a
number of years has preached most accepta
bly to the congregations at Bethlehem and
Wetzel, as well as other places — his wife being
an earnest worker in the same religious organ
ization and being in all other respects a most
worthy helpmate and a valuable aid in rearing
their respectable family of children. Mr.
Adams was a brave soldier, and a true patriot,
serving his country when he should have been
at school; he is a dilligent student at present,
however, and has been since his return from
the battle field; is a useful citizen, and is truly
a christian gentleman.

(/^ F. FRONFIELD, a prominent busi-
|'"eX ness man of Van Wert, Ohio, was
JkJ born in this county in November,
1847, a son of William Fronfield, and
this county and city have been his home up to
the present time.
B. F. Fronfield was reared in Jennings
township until seventeen years of age, when he
left his parents and enlisted, February 20, 1865,
in company D, One Hundred and Ninety-third
Ohio volunteer infantry, was assigned to the
Second division of the army of the Potomac,
and served under Capt. Alexander Gable un
til August, 1865, when he was honorably dis
charged at Winchester, Va. He then came to
the city of Van Wert, worked as a laborer in
the old Warren & Wells stave factory for four
years, then in the Eagle works for a year, and
then, in 1880, in company with J. H. Fron
field, opened a meat market on South Wash
ington street, which they carried on for nine
years. Our subject then engaged in the gro
cery trade in partnership with C. H. Brown
for eighteen months; then was sole proprietor
for a short time, when William Young bought
a half interest, and the two did business to
gether for sixteen months, when Mr. Fronfield
again became sole proprietor until January 1 5,
1894, when he closed out and retired; since
then he has been assisting the city civil engi
neer on street improvements.
Mr. Fronfield was married in York town
ship, Van Wert county, January 7, 1866, to
Miss Maggie A. Hammond, a native of Mercer
county, Ohio, and daughter of John and Cath
erine Hammond, and this union had been
blessed by the birth of three children, viz:
Ollie I., wife of Dr. William Kirkpatrick, of
Lincoln, 111.; Edith A., still at home, and an
infant deceased. In politics Mr. Fronfield is a
republican, and in 1892 filled a seat in the.
common council for six months, supplying a
vacancy, and in 1894 was elected a member

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

199'

of that body for two years. He is a Free
mason, a member of the G. A. R., and of the
National Union, and is a most agreeable
and highly respected gentleman. He owns a
tract of twenty acres adjoining Van Wert and
considerable property in town, and has been
the maker of his own fortune.

• HOMAS A. ALBAN, resident of York
township, Van Wert county, is a na
tive of Wales, born in October, 1828,
the son of Thomas and Ann (Morgan)
Alban. The parents came to America, with
their five sons, in 1835. The father made a
permanent settlement in Jackson county, Ohio,
purchasing 160 acres of land, which he cleared
and sold, and then purchased 320 acres which
are now in the same county, on which he re
sided until the time of his death in 1863 — his
widow surviving until 1889. In addition to
the five sons born in Wales, four daughters
were born in this country, named: Ann, the
wife cf David Davis, of Van Wert county,
Ohio; Sarah, wife of Rev. Rowland H. Evans,
of Wisconsin; Mary, wife of David Richards,
of Gallia county, Ohio; Elizabeth, wife of
Edward Edwards, of Jackson county, Ohio.
Of the sons, David located in Marietta, Ohio,
where he rose to eminence as a lawyer, served
as prosecuting attorney of Washington county
for a number of years, and died about 1882.
John is a farmer of Jackson county, Ohio, and
Evan resides on and owns one-half of the old
homestead in the same county.
Thomas A. Alban, our subject, spent his
life on the homestead, and when a boy made
many trips to Centerville, with grain, and on
returning from the market would come home
with his wagon laden with merchandise for the
country merchants; this proved to be a sorce
of considerable revenue, every dollar of which
he turned over to his father. His sincere be

lief in the old proverb " honesty is the best
policy," has brought to him peace, prosperity
and a guileless conscience. In 1849 ne mar
ried Ann Jones, daughter of Thomas T. Jones,
of Jackson, Ohio, and five children were born
to this union, viz: Mary, wife of Hugh Evans,
a farmer of York township; Ann, married to
William W. Evans, of Jennings township;.
Elizabeth, wife of William B. Jones, of Van
Wert city; Margaret, wife of Abram Jones;.
David, living with his father, and Thomas, a
twin of Margaret, who died at the age of three-
years. The mother of these children died in
1862, and Mr. Alban was next married to
Rachel Evans. In the fall of 1865 Mr. Alban
came to his present home, making many im
provements and clearing up most of the land,
and has seen the county taken from almost a
swamp, and converted into productive fields;.
his original purchase consisted of nearly 200-
acres, and he has devoted much of his time to
breeding fine short-horn cattle, deserving and
taking many premiuns from the state fairs. Mr.
Alban originally was a whig — then a republican,
and for the last ten years he has been identi
fied with the prohibition party, and served two
terms as infirmary director, from 1869 to 1.875.
He and wife are members of the Welsh Pres
byterian church, and are highly respected
throughout the community for their steady
habits and strict integrity. Mr. Alban avers
that with his own hands he has cleared at.
least 200 acres of land.

eLIJAH ARNOLD, farmer and stock-
raiser of Jennings township, Van Wert
county, is a son of John and Rachael
(Gilbert) Arnold, and was born in
Fayette county, Ohio, in the year 1835. John-
Arnold was a pioneer of Van Wert county,
moving to the same in October, 1836, and lo
cating on what is now known as the Thomas.

200

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

farm in Jennings township, where he reared his
family. In 1861, he removed to Delphos,
which was his home for some years; he after
wards lived for a limited period in the city of
Van Wert, moving thence to Ridge township,
where he died on the third day of March, 1869,
at the age of seventy-three years; his wife died
about the year 1845. John and Rachael
Arnold had a family of ten children, as follows:
Elizabeth, married Claude Griffin; Priscilla,
widow of Mr. Keith; Levi, died in early child
hood; Mary, wife of Joseph Tomlinson; John,
resides in Iowa; Hanna, deceased wife of Alex
ander Stowther; Samuel; Elijah, and Elias,
twins, the latter dying at the age of twenty-
two; and Charley, whose death occurred when
quite young. By a subsequent marriage, with
Mary Ross, Mr. Arnold had one child, a son,
Dallas. Elijah Arnold grew to manhood on the farm,
attending in the meantime the district schools,
and in the fall of 1863 he enlisted in company
G, Second Ohio heavy artillery, with which he
served until the close of the war. In March,
1869, he married Miss E. C. Mathis, daughter
of Ephriam and Caroline Mathis, a union
blessed with the birth of the following children:
Frank, deceased; Cora, a popular teacher and
accomplished musician; Elva, and Ethel. Mr.
Arnold came into possession of his present
beautiful home in Jennings township by inheri
tance. He has made many improvements
upon his farm, which contains 160 acres of ex
cellent land, and his residence and out-build
ings rank with the best structures of the kind
in the community. He is a successful farmer
and progressive citizen, active in all that per
tains to the well being of the community, and
enjoys the confidence and esteem of a large
circle of neighbors and friends. He was elect
ed to the office of township treasurer in 1881,
and has held the position continuously since,
hisiperiod of service being longer than that of

any of his predecessors. Mr. Arnold cast his
first vote for the first republican candidate for
president, and has been an earnest supporter
of the republican party ever since. Mr. and
Mrs. Arnold and daughter are members of the
Methodist church; and he contributes liberally
of his means to the promulgation of the doc
trines of the same.

>t» OHN S. BAXTER, a well known citi-
A zen of York township, Van Wert county,
m 1 born in Harrison county, Ohio, June 24,
1844, a son of Thomas arid Nancy
(Suddeth) Baxter, the former a native of Penn
sylvania and the latter of Henrietta county,
Va. Thomas Baxter was but five years of age
when brought to Harrison county, Ohio, by
his father, Elias Baxter, and was reared a
farmer, To the marriage of Thomas and
Nancy Baxter were born eleven children, of
whom some were born in Harrison and some in
Van Wert county, the parents having taken up
their residence in the latter county October
8, 1848. The eleven children alluded to were
named, in order of birth, as follows; Elias, of
Convoy, Van Wert county; Robert E., retired
farmer, also of Convoy; John S., our subject;
William L. , farmer, near Convoy; Thomas U.,
of Paulding county; James K. , residing in the
vicinity of Convoy; Alonzo S., a farmer of
Pleasant township; Rebecca, wife of Jacob
Ackom; Sarah, married to John Wilkins;
Nancy Jane, who died September 29, 1865, at
the age of twelve years, and Janette, wife of
Nathaniel Kraut, of Denver, Colo. Of the boys,
Elias, served in the army of the Union under
the call for three-months volunteers to crush
the Rebellion. Robert and John S., enlisted
together in July, 1862, in company A, Fifty-
second Ohio volunteer infantry, and followed
the fortunes of their regiment until the follow
ing mishaps took place: July 12, 1864, Robert

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

201

was taken prisoner at the battle of Peach Tree
Creek, and was held prisoner until May, 1865.
John S., subject of this sketch, sustained a slight
wound in the head at Resaca in May, 1864;
had a sun stroke at Kenesaw Mountain in June,
1864, and while in hospital was taken with
erysipelas, but recovered sufficiently to rejoin his
regiment at Chattanooga; then he went to the
siege of Atlanta, followed Sherman to the sea
and through the Carolinas to the grand review
at Washington, D. C. , was mustered out at
that city, June 3, 1865.
After and honorable discharge at Camp
Chase June 18, 1865, at the close of the war,
our subject returned to his father's farm, where
he employed himself diligently until November
15, 1866, when he married Miss Ellen Stewart,
daughter of Ebson and Elizabeth (Capper)
Stewart. The children born to this marriage
were Irvin S. , who married Elizabeth Richards,
and became father of two children, Earl and
Russell; Arthur, who wedded Maggie May
Brown; Bertha, the wife of L. M. Zeigler and
the mother of one child, Howard; Oren M.,
married to Bertha Dorman, and the father of
one child, Freida; Hattie May, Roscoe W. ,
Chauncy R. and Mable L. The mother of
Mrs. Baxter died in September, 1868, and her
father, who served nine months in the war of
the Rebellion, died in 1887. Elias Suddeth,
the maternal grandfather of our subject, lived
to reach the extraordinary age of 114 years,
and at the time of his death was in the pos
session of all his faculties; Thomas Baxter,
father of our subject, was born July 12, 181 3,
and died December 15, 1894, and his wife,
who was born in 181 5, joined him December
19, 1894, after a married life of over sixty
years. In politics our subject is a stanch re
publican and in their church relations both he
and wife are Methodists, Mr. Baxter having
been one of the charter members of the Whit
field society. The Baxter family in their social

relations, are universally respected throughout
the township of York, and are well deserving
of the esteem in which they are held.

sr

ILLIAM J. BEBB, ex-soldier and
farmer of York township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, is a native of Mont
gomeryshire, Wales, was born Octo
ber 4, 1844, and is a son of John and Sarah
(Jones) Bebb, the last-named now deceased.
John Bebb came to America shortly after his
second marriage, bringing with him his bride,
who bore the maiden name of Mary Jones, and
also William J., their only son (our subject),
and his half-sister — Sephorah. John Bebb
first located in Jennings township, Van Wert
county, but now makes his home with his son,
William J., our subject. Mrs. Mary (Jones)
Bebb died about two years after landing in
America, and the half-sister, Sephorah, kept
house for our subject until the latter's marriage,
in 1878, to Elizabeth Goodwin, of Johnstown,
Pa., whose acquaintance he had made in
Wales. Until i860 our subject worked by the
day in his neighborhood, and in i860 he went
to Gomer, Allen county, Ohio, where he
worked at farm labor until the fall of 1862,
when he enlisted in company F, One Hundred
and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, for
three years, and served until honorably dis
charged in July, 1865. He was twice wounded;
first, at Mossy Creek, in east Tennessee, and,
secondly, at Resaca, Ga. , and now receives a
pension, which he justly deserves. After the
war he located near Gomer, Allen county,
Ohio, but sold his farm in April, 1882, and
moved to Van Wert county and purchased his
present farm of 120 acres in York township, on
which he has made all the improvements it
now contains. There have been born to his
marriage four children, viz. : William John,
Goodwin Louis, David Rowland and James

202

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Orlando. The mother of this family was
called away December i, 1895. In politics
Mr. Bebb is a republican, and while a resident
of Allen county served two terms as township
trustee. He and wife are strict members of
the Welch Calvinistic church, and their daily
deportment gives evidence of the sincerity of
their belief. Mr. Bebb is industrious and
economical, and has earned his property
through his own unaided efforts. He is liberal
in his characteristics, and contributes freely to
the support of his church. As an enterprising
citizen he is behind no one in his township,
and he possesses the friendship and respect of
the entire community.

*S~\ EV. WILLIAM DUNLAP, deceased,
I /^ was born in Sidney, Shelby county,
I P Ohio, July 13, 1 83 1, and was a son
of William and Elizabeth (Blakely)
Dunlap, the former a native of Dublin, Ire
land, born January 29, 1787, and came to
Philadelphia, Pa., in 18 16, iived there three
years, and then settled in Shelby county, Ohio.
His parents moved to a farm when he was
quite young, but afterward moved back to
Sidney, where William went to school when a
child, and also finished his education there in
early boyhood, as he was always industrious
as a student. Although his father was at one
time in good circumstances, by some mistake
made in taking a contract on the canal at Sid
ney, he failed in business and lost all his prop
erty. When William, however, was sixteen
years old, he bought two acres of land near
Sidney and built a house on it for his parents,
where they lived until the death of his father.
Then his mother lived with his sister Mary
until after his marriage, November 16, 1854,
to Anna Sollenberger. He was then twenty-
two years old. After his marriage he moved
on a farm one-half mile from Sidney, where he

lived six months. Then he moved on a farm
two miles from Port Jefferson, known as the-
Cox farm, where he farmed in summer and
taught school in winter. In the latter voca
tion his experience extended through seventeen
years, having begun when nineteen years old.
After he moved here his mother lived with
him until her death, in 1864. Soon after her
death he moved to Port Jefferson and pur
chased a dry goods store in partnership with
S. T. Thirkield, but his health failed and he
sold out his interest in this store and bought a
steam grist-mill in 1867; he sold this in 1871
and built a water-mill in partnership with
William Manning, which he kept until he en
tered the ministry in 1873.
William Dunlap was converted when four
teen years old, but did not join the church at
that time, and dated his conversion from 1 870.
After the loss of a little boy, Sherman, Mr.
Dunlap was converted by a lady, Mrs. Doran,
giving the illustration of a shepherd taking a
little lamb and putting it in another field, that
he might entice the flock into that field. Thus-
applying it to himself, he was converted in the
meeting held by Rev. I. Smith and joined the
church at Port Jefferson. He was licensed as
a local preacher immediately afterward by Rev.
Joseph Fergueson; was always active in church
work, being a class leader and Sabbath-school
teacher, and in 1872 was sent as a supply to
Fort Recovery. He entered the ministry in
1873, at the conference held at Van Wert.
His appointments were Versailles, Dover,
Mount Victory, Marseilles, Bettsville, Middle-
point, Elida, McComb, Rockford and Ohio City.
He was one year at Rockford and one at Ohio
City; three years at Marseilles and two years-
at each of the other places. While at Mount
Victory he had a glorious revival, and as a re
sult a church was built. He also had a large
revival at Elida, and many were converted
during his ministry, although his greatest power-

REV. WILLIAM DUNLAP
DECEASED.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

205

lay in his ability to strengthen the members
and build up the church. He always left a
charge in a more spiritual condition than he
found it; he was a good Bible teacher, studied
the Scriptures much, and loved to explain
them. Rev. Dunlap came to Van Wert in Octo
ber, 1 89 1. For a year before his death he
had been gradually failing, but the last eight
months of his life he spent in his chair. Heart
failure being his disease, he could not lie down
often, but he was always very patient. Once
he said: " Why, nothing can harm a Chris
tian; when God has him, he can say to all
other powers, ' Stand back! You dare not
touch my child.' " About a month before his
death he had a vision. He saw his name
written in Heaven in large letters of gold; he
said it was beautiful. Often during the night,
when one of the family would go to see how
he was resting, he would say, " O, I've been
having a blessed night; I've been talking with
Jesus; I'm happy. " He was loved and respected
by all who knew him; he was a sweet-spirited
man, and even in his great feebleness he
greeted all who came to see him with a cheer
ful smile. A few days before his death he
said to Dr. Avann, with a playful smile,
' ' When you are talking about me at my
funeral, and trying to comfort my family, I
shall be stirring around in the other country."
He was one of God's noblemen, and a true
minister of His word. His sermon was always
clear and to the point. His faith was firm,
and his last expressions were, "Jesus saves;
O, I'm so happy; the Lord is good." The
last chapter in the Bible that he tried to read
was Romas, 5 ; but he could not read it, so he
handed it to his son-in-law, Mr. Littler, who
read it for him. His funeral was conducted by
many ot his ministerial brethren, at 10:30 A. m.,
February 2, 1895, in the First Methodist
Episcopal church; Dr. Avann offering prayer
10

at the home. The following-named brethren
were present: J. F. Mounts, R. Rauch, W. R.
Shultz, J. H. Bethards, S. Baumgardner, M.
Gascoigne, J. F. Newcomb, W. H. Leather-
man, W. J. Hagerman, J. M. Avann and J.
H. Fitzwater. The Masonic order, of which
he was a member, took charge of the remains
at the church, and held service at the grave.
Mr. Dunlap left a wife and three daughters to
mourn his loss.
Mrs. Anna (Sollenberger) Dunlap was born
in Montgomery county, Ohio, February 2,
1833, a daughter of Abraham and Barbara
(Winger) Sollenberger, natives of Pennsyl
vania. Seven children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Dunlap, viz: Franklin A., Illyria and
Sherman, all deceased; Mary B., wife of F.
A. Littler, a druggist of Dunkirk, Ind. ; Laura
E., at home; Eddie, deceased, and Maggie
E., at home. Mr. Dunlap was made a Mason
in Port Jefferson, Ohio; he was also an honored
member of the I. O. O. F. He owned, at his
death, 135 acres of farming land in Ridge
township, Van Wert county, and also two
business properties on Washington street, in
the city, as well as his residence property. In
politics he was a republican. The marriage of
Mr. Dunlap took place in Sidney, Ohio, Novem
ber 16, 1854; he was a kind and loving hus.-
band, a sincere Christian, and an ardent and
faithful laborer in the vineyard of the Master.

HOMAS M. BERRY, a well known
citizen of the township of Jennings,
is a native of the county of Van Wert,
Ohio, dating his birth from the 29th
day of July, 1859. His grandfather, Malachi
Berry, who married Polly Taylor, was a sol
dier in the war of 1 81 2, and an early settler
of the county of Van Wert, moving to the
same a number of years ago, and bringing with
him the following-named children: Noah, who

206

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

grew to manhood, and died on the home farm;
Barbara, deceased wife of Michael Weaver;
John, a soldier in the late war, died from ex
posure in service; Mary, who has achieved a
wide-spread reputation as a weaver of hand
some coverlets, by which she has accumulated
a comfortable fortune and who makes her home
with the subject of this sketch; Malachi, who
resides in Jennings township; Martha, who
died in childhood; Anna, deceased, was twice
married, her first husband being Joel Jenkins,
the second Henry K. Morris; Joseph; Sally,
deceased wife of Joseph R. Miller; Elizabeth,
deceased wife of Elisha Marvin — she and hus
band were both mutes; Lydia, deceased wife
of Jesse Coil; Susanna, deceased wife of Fred
erick Reed, and Elijah who died in the army,
in 1 86 1, at the age of nineteen. Malachai
Berry, Sr., purchased quite an amount of land
on coming to Van Wert county, and became a
prosperous man. He was a zealous church
member and died in November, 1861, honored
and respected by all who knew him; his wife
survived him until 1887, dying August 27 of
that year, at the advanced age of eighty-nine.
Joseph Berry, father of Thomas M., was
born in Champaign county, Ohio, accompanied
his parents to Van Wert county, and later
moved to Iowa. His first wife was Mary Jane
Fitzpatrick,who died in Iowa, leaving two sons,
Thomas M. and Malachi, the latter residing in
Chattanooga, Tenn. ; he wedded May Upde-
grove, daughter of Capt. J. R. Updegrove, and
has two children. Joseph Berry's second wife
was Clarissa Richards, who resides at this time
in the town of Cavett, Van Wert county, Ohio.
Thomas M. Berry, the immediate subject
of this biography, was reared on a farm and
had the ordinary educational advantages,
though he has ever a student and lover of
books. His early life was beset with consid
erable hardships, as he was obliged to bear his
part in supporting the family, his father not

being at all a prosperous man — he and wife
being mutes. Much devolved' upon young
Thomas, and he was obliged to forego many
of the privileges, such as those more fortunately
situated are permitted to enjoy. October 16,
1880, when twenty-one years of age, he was
united in marriage to Miss Minnie Wolford,
daughter of Rev. George and Catherine Wol
ford, of Allen county. To this marriage the
following children have been born: Ada May,
Beatrice, Malachi, Minnie, Norma, John, Anna,
Eunice, Nellie and Myra. Mr. Berry owns a
good farm, well underdrained, and is one of
the progressive citizens of his township. He
is now serving his third term as township clerk,
and has discharged the duties of the position
very efficiently. He is a member of the K. of
P. order, in which he has passed all the chairs of
the subordinate lodge; he also belongs to Jen
nings grange, Patrons of Husbandry. Mr.
Berry and wife are members of the Methodist
church, and maintain a very high position in
the esteem of their neighbors.

<*S~\ ICHARD BREES, a prosperous
I /^ farmer of York township, Van Wert
\ 1 county, Ohio, is a native of Wales,
born October 16, 1841, a son of
William and Catherine (Griffith) Brees. He
came to America with his grandfather, An
drew, and his uncle, John, accompanied by
his sister, Jane, who had married Evan L.
Jones, now deceased. Andrew Brees, the
grandfather, located in York township, pur
chasing eighty acres of land, all in the wilder
ness; he had, however, come to America at
the solicitation of George Bebb, with the in
tention of settling in east Tennessee, where he
had purchased 400 acres, without ever having
seen the land. Mr. Brees remained for two
years with his grandfather and then worked
here and there at whatever his hands could

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

207

find to do, until he had attained twenty years
of age, when he enlisted in company H, Fifth
Ohio volunteer cavalry, October 14, 1861, and
served with his regiment throughout the war,
until honorably discharged, November 29,
1864, doing continual service, with the excep
tion of one brief spell of illness. On his re
turning to Ohio he was married, in 1869, to
Mary Evans, daughter of Rowland and Jane
Evans, the marriage resulting in the birth of
the following children: William, who married
Clara Cox, and became the father of one
daughter; Selma J. ; two children who died in
infancy, Rowland and Jane; John, Rowland,
Robert, Richard and Isaac Newton. In 1865
Mr. Brees bought his present farm of eighty
acres, at that time wholly unimproved, but
which is now aderned with splendid buildings;
he also owns eighty acres where his son Will
iam now resides. This property Mr. Brees
has gained through his own individual exer
tions, having received in no way aid from any
outside source. Mrs. Brees is a consistent
member of the Calvinistic church; in politics
Mr. Brees is a stanch republican and has
served his citizens as school director, consta
ble and supervisor. He is recognized as an
industrious, thrifty and useful citizen.

HLEXANDER WRIGHT BROWN, a
prosperous farmer of York township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in
Pennsylvania, Lawrence county, De
cember 26, 1826, a son of Robert and Marga
ret (Wright) Brown, both natives of the Key
stone state; maternally he is of Scotch-Irish
descent. The paternal grandfather was Abra
ham Brown. Robert Brown came to Van
Wert county in the spring of 1844. He had
leased a tract of land in York township before
coming, resided on it until about 1848, and
then bought a tract near Delphos, but passed

his later years at the residence of his son, our
subject, his first wife having died in 1845, and
having married for his second wife the widow,
Mrs. Elizabeth Jones. To Margaret and Rob
ert Brown were born the following children:
Edith, widow of John Connor; David C, who
died at the age of sixty-two years; Sarah
Jane, deceased wife of Peter Book; Susannah,
who died in childhood; Alexander W. , our
subject; Elizabeth, wife of Peter Moore; Mary
Celina, who died after attaining womanhood;
Abraham B., now a resident of South Dakota,
and a soldier of the late war, who was wounded
at Shiloh and also in the fight at Kenesaw
Mountain, while serving in company A, Forty-
sixth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry; Will
iam John is a resident of Nebraska; James C. ;
and Nancy has been twice married, her first
husband having been Jacob Wooley, and her
second husband Gabriel Coil; Samuel, a resi
dent of Liberty township, Van Wert county,
was a soldier in the forty-sixth Ohio volunteer
infantry, and was slightly wounded; James
served in the Twelfth Indiana cavalry.
Alexander W. Brown left his father's house
at the age of twenty years and engaged with
William Heath for six months at fifty dollars
for the term, half of which was claimed by his
father. In October, 1849, he wedded Marga
ret Bevington, daughter of John and Elizabeth
(Heath) Bevington, and this union has been
blessed by the birth of nine children, as fol
lows: Henry, who died in childhood; Albina,
wife of Elijah A. Tomlinson; Elizabeth, mar
ried to W. H. Whitten; Nancy, deceased wife
of M. C. Tomlinson; Charles Wesley, of
Mercer county; Emma, wife of W. L. Bolton;
Rebecca Jane, now Mrs. J. F. Price; William
Edgar and Walter A.,- at home. The mother
of these children died December 17, 1894.
Mr. Brown made his first purchase of land
in 1847, with but $10 in cash, and now owns a
finely improved farm of 200 acres, on which

208

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

he makes his home, and also owns eighty
acres elsewhere. Mr. Brown is highly popu
lar in his county, and has held nearly every
office of his township within the gift of its
citizens, such as township trustee, town clerk,
assessor and school director; he is a stanch
supporter of the Methodist church, having been
identified with that denomination since 1858.
In politics he .is a republican, and no man in
the county holds a higher position in social
circles than he.

eDWARD CARMEAN, an ex-soldier of
the Civil war and now a prosperous
merchant of Jackson township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, was born in Allen
county, September 25, 1844, a son of William
and Margaret (Miller) Carmean, of whom an
extended notice is made elsewhere in this vol
ume, and in which will be found the genealogy
of our subject. It will there be found that
William, the father, was drowned accidentally
in an attempt to cross the Big Auglaize river
when our subject was but two months old, and
that the infant was thus left to the care of its
bereaved mother at a very tender age. She
was, however, equal to the. task imposed on
her, as is proved by the subsequent career of
her son.
Edward Carmean was educated in the
pioneer school of his childhood, but was an
apt scholar. At the age of about nineteen
years he enlisted at Lima, Allen county, Ohio,
December 16, 1863, and was enrolled in Janu
ary, 1864, in company B, Eighty-fourth Ohio
volunteer infantry, under Capt. W. Titus, to
serve three years or during the war, but his
services lasted only until his honorable dis
charge, at Louisville, Ky. , in July, 1865, on
account of the close of hostilities. He fought
at Resacca, Spring Station, Rome Cross
Roads, and Kingston. Mr. Carmean, however,

had an attack of sickness during his service
and was confined in hospital at Chattanooga,
Tenn., and at Rome, Ga. , was afterward de
tailed to the hospital department, being dis
abled, and later granted a furlough home for
thirty days in November, 1864, at the expira
tion of which he reported for duty, but, his
regiment being before Richmond, Va., and
communications cut off, he was assigned to-
the militia corps, with which he served until
ordered back to Louisville, Ky., to be mus
tered out and honorably discharged.
On his. return home Mr. Carmean engaged
in farming, and November 5, 1865, was mar
ried, in Allen county, Ohio, to Miss Mary'M.
Poling, who was born May 4, 1848. He then
lived in Allen county until March 9, 1867,
when he came to Van Wert county and settled
in the woods of Jackson township, when its
voting population numbered but thirteen. Part
of his tract he cleared up and sold, and then
bought eighty acres additional in the same sec
tion, and also partly cleared this tract, on
which he made one of the most pleasant homes
in that township. He had, however, had much
of his cleaning and improvement done with
the help of others, having been badly disabled
when a soldier. In 1891 he traded his farm
for a general store in Wetsel, of which he has
made an enviable success, being a man of
naturally good business abilities.
To the happy marriage of Mr. and Mrs.
Carmean have been born seven children, viz:
Amanda C, John W., George W., Elizabeth,
Freda V., Lydia O., and Ollie. In religion
Mr. and Mrs. Carmean are both members of
the United Brethren church and are strong ad
herents of the faith. In politics he is a repub
lican, and his first vote was cast for the re
election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency
of the United States. Mr. Carmean holds an
excellent position in the social circles of Jack
son township, and is recognized as an upright

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

209

and straightforward merchant and gentleman
in every respect. He has reared a respectable
family, and- during a residence of four years in
Paulding county gave his children every facil
ity for a first-class education.

vAR EZRA BURNETT, one of the
I I more prominent of the rising young
/A^J physicians of Jackson township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, with his office
and residence at Wetsel, was born in Jennings
township, in the same county, January 29,
1868, and is a son of Daniel and Sarah (Bush)
Burnett, of English descent and natives of
Virginia. Henry Burnett, grandfather of our subject,
came from Virginia to Ohio, and settled in
Fayette county on a farm, where he passed the
remainder of his days, dying at the advanced
age of eighty years, a highly respected citizen.
His children were named Matthew, Jesse,
Henry (killed in the Civil war), Daniel, Eliza
beth and Harriet. His son Daniel, the father
of our subject, was born in Fayette county,
Ohio, in 1824, and was married in the same
county. About 1845, he came to Van Wert
county and first located in Jennings township,
then a wilderness, with but three houses
between his place and Spencerville, Allen
county. His brother, Robert, came about the
same time, and together they entered 240
acres of land, all covered with a dense forest.
Of this tract Daniel owned 105 acres, on
which he built a log cabin, and by slow degrees
and hard work succeeded in clearing up a good
farm, a hewn-log house supplementing the
round-log cabin, and later a neat frame dwell
ing took the place of the hewn-log structure.
Daniel had born to him twelve children, named
as follows, and all still living: Marshall, Hul-
dah, James, Daniel, Jesse, Allen, Matthew,
Robert, Ezra, Alice, Frank and Clinton. The

father of this family was a republican, and
held the office of township trustee; he was
well known for his integrity, and died, an hon
ored pioneer, September 24, 1895.
Dr. Ezra Burnett was primarily educated
in the common school of his district and then
attended the western Ohio Normal school at
Middlepoint; he next taught public school for
about four years, and worked out by the day
to obtain money to pay his college expenses;
then began his professional studies at the
Columbus Medical college and finished at the
Ohio Medical university, from which he grad
uated in 1893. He at once commenced the
practice of his profession at Wetsel, where his
skill was recognized and appreciated, and he
soon became the favorite practitioner of the
town and surrounding country. He is still a
devoted student, gaining knowledge every day
from his clinical practice and availing himself
of the experience of older professional men
through a well-stocked library of medical
works by the most approved authors, as well as
by close attention to the best medical peri
odical literature of the day.
The marriage of the doctor took place
August 3, 1892, with Miss Euthema Sill, daugh
ter of George and Elizabeth (Slentz) Sill, the
wedding taking place in York township, at the
home of Euthema, and to this happy union
one child has been born — Edith R. Not only
has the doctor attained a very high position in
his chosen.profession, but in his social relations
he mingles with and is highly respected by the
best people of his township and county.

*y— * ENRY CLAPPER, a well known farm-
jj er of Jackson township, Van Wert
A .r county, Ohio, is a native of the Buck
eye state, and was born in Marion
township, Allen county, November 24, 1842.
His grandfather, also named Henry, was a na-

210

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

tive of Pennsylvania, served in the war of
1 812, and married Sarah E. Buzzard, a native
of the same state, by which union were born
the following children: Jacob, Andrew, Jere
miah, Emanuel, Mary, Nancy, Hannah and
Susan. Henry, the grandfather, early came
to Ohio, located first in Fairfield county, and
then settled on Hog Creek, in Sugar Creek
township, Allen county, cleared up a farm
from the- wilderness and died at the good old
age of eighty-two years, a member of the
Methodist church and in politics a republican-
having previously been a whig — and having
passed the last few years of his life with his
son, Andrew.
Andrew Clapper, father of our subject, was
born in Fairfield county, Ohio, married, in his
native county, Stacy A. Schlegle, and had
born to this union thirteen children, viz: Jacob,
Hannah, Mary J., Nancy A., John, Henry,
Elizabeth, Rachael, Daniel, Susan, Jemima
and two that died young. Shortly after his
marriage Mr. Clapper came to Allen county
with his father, settled in Marion township,
and here all the children were born, with the
exception of Jacob, who was born in Fairfield
county. Mr. Clapper cleared up a farm from
the woods, and here died in 1882, aged seventy-
two years, a member of the United Brethren
church and a republican in politics. He had
four sons in the Civil war — Jacob in the Ohio
infantry, company and regiment not known,
and John, Henry, and Daniel in company E,
Ninety-ninth Ohio infantry.
Henry Clapper, our subject, was reared a
farmer, and before twenty-one years of age
enlisted, August 6, 1862, and was enrolled at
Lima, Ohio, in company E, Ninety-ninth Ohio
volunteer infantry, for three years or during
the war, serving until honorably discharged at
Salisbury, N. C, June 23, 1865. He fought
in the battles of Stone River, Dalton, Resaca,
Peach Tree Creek, Snow Hill, Pumpkinvine

Creek, Smoky Creek Gap, Kenesaw Mountain,
Rocky Faced Ridge, Atlanta, Jonesboro, and
all through the famous Atlanta campaign, and
in many skirmishes. He was in the battles of
Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Lookout
Mountain, Nashville, etc., and had his left arm
badly wounded at Chickamauga, but otherwise
not injured. He did his full duty and was a
brave soldier, and still suffers from disease
contracted through exposure while in the
service. August 20, 1866, Mr. Clapper was married
to Miss Catherine Stemen, daughter of S. P.
Stemen, mention of whom is made on another
page of this volume, and this union has been
blessed by the birth of the following children:
William T., Edmund O., Anna M., Elvin C,
Mattie D. and Hettie B. (twins), Charles M.
and Mary M. After marriage Mr. Clapper lo
cated on a farm in Marion township, Allen
county, cleared sixty acres, then sold and came
to Van Wert county and settled in Jackson
township about 1881, settling on a partly
cleared farm of forty-three acres, all of which
he has since fully cleared up and turned into
a cheerful, comfortable and profitable home
place. Here Mrs. Clapper died August 2,
1888, a devoted member of the United Breth
ren church and a woman much respected for
her many christian virtues. In politics Mr.
Clapper is a republican, but has never been an
office seeker. An industrious and upright
man, and a true patriot, he has won the re
spect of all his fellow-citizens.

'w •* ENRY COLE, one of the most ex-
1^\ perienced and prosperous farmers of
A .r Jennings township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a son of Henry and Mary
(Evey) Cole, and was born in Adams county,
Md., January 24, 1829. His father, Henry,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

211

was born in Pennsylvania, about 1794, was of
German descent, was reared on a farm, and
also learned the brickmason's trade, following
the latter until his marriage, about 1 8 1 7, with
Mary Evey, who was a native of Maryland,
and was born in 1799. To this marriage were
born eight children, as follows : George, de
ceased; a daughter who died in infancy, un
named; Andrew, deceased; John, deceased;
Henry, out subject; Anne, of Detroit, Mich.;
Mary, widow of Bernard Fitzpatrick, of Jen
nings township, and Levi, who died at the age
of four years. After marriage, Mr. Cole re
sided in Maryland until 1834, when he came
to „Ohio and bought a farm of seventy-two
acres in Chippewa township, Wayne county,
part of which was cleared, and on which he
passed the remainder of his life, dying June
20, 1859, and his wife in i860, in the faith of
the Catholic church, of which the entire family
were members. He had served nine monies
in the war of 181 2, and at the battle of Lundy's
Lane, July 25, 1814, his hat was shot off his
head. In politics he was a democrat, and, as
a citizen, but few were held in higher esteem.
Henry Cole, subject of this sketch, was
reared on his father's farm in Wayne county,
Ohio, and April 7, 1853, married Miss Mary
Fitzpatrick, daughter of Patrick and Margaret
(Dowdel) Fitzpatrick. To this union have
been born four children, namely : Margaret,
wife of Michael Maloney, of Spencerville, Ohio;
John, on the home farm; Edward, of Monti
cello, Van Wert county, and Mary Ellen, at
home. Mrs. Mary Cole was born in Summit
county, Ohio, June 17, 1834; her parents were
natives of Ireland, the father having been born
in county Caven, March 15, 1802, and the
mother in county Westmeath, October 15,
1 81 1. After marriage Mr. Cole farmed in
Wayne county until i860, when he came to
his present place, at that time uncleared, but
now as likely-looking a farm as there is in the

county. Besides being a farmer, Mr. Cole is
a practical mechanic and has worked at car
pentering as well as at blacksmithing, but
agriculture is his favorite pursuit. In politics
he is a stanch democrat and has served two
terms as supervisor. He is a liberal con
tributor of his means to the support of the
Catholic church, of which he is a member,
and as a citizen stands high in the estimation
of his neighbors and the* general public.
Mrs. Mary Fitzpatrick, widow of Bernard
Fitzpatrich, is a daughter of Henry and Mary
(Evey) Cole, and a sister of Henry Cole,
whose sketch is given above. She was born in
Wayne county, Ohio, May 18, 1838, and
April 15, 1856, married Bernard Fitzpatrick,
son of Patrick and Margaret (Dowdel) Fitz
patrick, and to this union were born five chil
dren, viz: Bridget, of Chicago; Thomas J.,
merchant of Spencerville, Ohio; Henry, who
died in childhood; Mary Margaret, wife of
David Cooper, now farming the Fitzpatrick
homestead, and Ellen, at home. Bernard
Fitzpatrick was born in Clinton county, N. Y.
April 21, 1833, and came to Wayne county,
Ohio, in his youth, with his parents, and there
his father was engaged in mining for twelve
years, when the family moved to Holmes
county, and in 1859 to Putnam county, where
the father died in 1863 and the mother three
years later. Their surviving children are Mrs.
Cole, Mrs. Ellen Collins, of Fort Wayne, Ind.,
and Daniel, of North Baltimore, Ohio. Mr.
and Mrs. Bernard Fitzpatrick were married in
Wayne county, then lived in Holmes county
two years, and then in the fall of 1858, came
to Van Wert county, and settled on the farm
which Mrs. Fitzpatrick now occupies and
which the deceased husband cleared from out
the woods. His death took place August 21,
1891, a member of the Catholic church. In
politics he was a democrat, and was a promi
nent and influential citizen, and his death was a

212

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

sad blow to his sorrowing family and a cause
of mourning to a large circle of friends, as well
as to the general public.

<V^V AVID DAVIS, M. D., of York
i I township, is a native of Jackson
/M^J county, Ohio, is a son of Morgan
and Mary Davis, and was born in
1858. He grew to manhood on the farm, but
at twelve years of age he lost his father and
the care of the farm and his widowed mother
developed on him and an elder brother, Jona
than, who still lives on the old homestead. At
the age of twenty-one years Mr. Davis began
teaching school; he had educational advan
tages above those of the average farm boy, hav
ing attended the Rio Grande college, and Mor
gan Brother's academy, at Oak Hill, In 1881
he began a medical course at the Cincinnati
Eclectic Medical college, attended three years,
and graduated in 1885. He at once began the
practice of his profession in Kieferville, Putnam
county, Ohio, where he remained until 1886,
when he settled in Venedocia. In the mean
time he married Miss Elizabeth Evans, daugh
ter of John W. Evans, and to this union have
been born four sons, all of whom died in infancy
excepting one, who is named Morgan. The
doctor and wife are earnest and devout mem
bers of the Calvinistic church. In politics the
doctor is a republican, but has never been a
seeker after office; fraternally he is a Knight
of Pythias, and socially he enjoys the friend
ship of almost every resident of the county for
miles around.
The professional career of Dr. Davis has
been a phenomenal one from its incipiency,
even his brief stay at Kieferville being attended
with triumphs seldom attained by one who may
at that time have been designated as but little
more than a novice in his art. Since his resi
dence has been made in Venedocia, his profes

sional career has been one of unvarying success,
and well deserved remuneration has been the
result. His exceptional ability as a physician
and surgeon has been recognized through the
surrounding country, and his worth as a citizen
has placed him in a most favorable light in the
eyes of his fellow-townsmen, who do not fail
to accord him the fiull praise his merits deserve.

HE DUSTMAN FAMILY.— It was the
summer of 1836 that George Dustman
first came to Van Wert county. At
that time the county was a wilderness
inhabited by wild animals, Indians, and a few
venturesome white men. On the site of the
present city of Van Wert stood an Indian hut,
but it was uninhabited, and Mr. Dustman and
two or three companions passed a night there.
He remained in the county a few days then
walked to Lima, where, at the government
land office, he purchased the quarter section
of land upon which he now lives, paying for it
the regular price of $1.25 per acre. The old
government deed bears the name of Martin
Van Buren, who was then president of the
United States. At that time Mr. Dustman
was twenty-five years of age. He was born
in Washington county, Pa., in 181 1, and was
the son of Henry and Salome Dustman. His
father was born in 1789, of good old Pennsyl
vania-Dutch stock, and came to. Fairfield
county, Ohio, in 1815, when his eldest son, •
George, the subject of this -sketch, was but
four years old. The elder Dustman spent the
last years of his life at the home of his son, in
Van Wert county, and died in 1872.
George Dustman's education was received
in the subscription schools in the then sparsely
settled county of Fairfield. His father, who
was a potter, was too poor to afford him a
better education. As he grew up, George
learned the potter's trade, and also that of car-

GEORGE DUSTMAN.

I I

#l\

MRS. ANNA M. DUSTMAN.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

217

penter, but he delighted more in farming than
in either. For several years he worked out
by the day during the summer, and taught
school during the winter months. As a rule,
he received half a dollar a day for the farm
work, and for teaching he received $10 a month,
and " board around. " In 1839, three years
after buying his Van Wert county land with
the money he had saved, he married Anna
Milla Peters, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth
Peters. In 1846, ten years after his first visit
to Van Wert county, Mr. Dustman and his
family came here to make it their home. The
journey of more than 200 miles was made in a
covered wagon, part of the way through the
woods in which the ax had to be used to clear
a road. A small log cabin had been erected
on the northeast corner of his farm, and here,
in October, 1846, the Dustman family sett^d
in their home, the first they ever owned. Here
Mr. and Mrs. Dustman endured all the hard
ships and enjoyed all the pleasures of pioneer
life. The farm was covered with heavy tim
ber, and this had to be removed ' before crops
could be raised. But this was not the worst
feature; Mr. Dustman had no money on which
to keep his family while he was clearing up his
farm. He found it necessary to let his own
work remain undone, and work for his more
fortunate neighbors, in order to secure money
to buy the necessaries of life. It was not an
encouraging outlook, but Mr. and Mrs. Dust
man had stout hearts, confidence in each other,
and a never shadowed belief, that in the end
all would be well.
Little by little the forest gave way to culti
vated fields. The children, too small to assist
in the work, were kept busy during the late
fall driving the wild turkey from the corn
shocks. There was but a small market for
surplus produce. Van Wert town, contained
but a few houses, and it was necessary to go
to Mendon or Delphos to mill. This trip

always took two days, and was never made
without taking an ax to clear a road through
the woods. And yet, in spite of such surroud-
ings, and in spite of poverty and hard work,
none were better contented than Mr. and Mrs.
Dustman. Both of them of a lively disposi
tion, fond of a good joke, and hospitable to all
comers, their little cabin, in the woods was the
scene of happiness, whether the home circle
contained strangers or not.
In the early days of this new county, Mr.
Dustman performed well his part in advancing
all public improvements. He was always
modest, and always willing to remain in the
background, but his judgment was so good
that his counsel was always sought in public
matters. First a whig and then a republican,
he took a deep interest in political affairs, but
never allowed himself to be drawn into the
vortex of personal politics. He never held
office except of a local nature, and this office
had to find him. His farm has always been
his pride. To its improvement he gave the
best years of his life, and brought it up to such
state of cultivation that it ranks to-day as one
of the best, most beautiful, and most valuable
farms in this county of good farms. In all of
this work he was assisted and strengthened by
his wife, whose excellent management and
practical common sense made success assured.
Mr. Dustman is now past four score years,
while Mrs. Dustman is nearing that mark.
For a half-century they have lived on their
Van Wert county farm. In their old age they
find their last days their best days, and this,
too, in spite of affliction, whose hand they have
not escaped. But they live in the evening of
lives well spent, surrounded by hosts of friends
who honor and respect them because their
lives have been without a tarnish. They be
long to that class of pioneers to whom the
county owes so much, and whose work tells
the story of lives well spent, both Mr. and

218

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mrs. Dustman having been life-long members
of the Lutheran church.
Mr. and Mrs. Dustman are the parents of
eleven children, nine of whom are living.
Maria, the eldest, died in infancy, and Salmon
C, next to the youngest, died when two years
old. Of the nine children living, six reside in
Van Wert county, one in Allen county, one in
Toledo, and one in Butler, Ind. The names
of these nine children are John M., Sarah A.,
Sabina, Daniel C, Lodena, Henry C, Ella,'
Lydia, and Freeman L.
John M. Dustman, the eldest son, was born
in Fairfield county, in July, 1840, and came
with his parents to Van Wert county. He
assisted his father in the farm work, and was
educated in the district school. When the
war broke out he tried to enlist, but could not
pass a physical examination, and the second
attempt also resulted in failure. He prepared
himself for the ministry, and became pastor of
two English Lutheran churches in Van Wert
county. After serving these churches for some
time he accepted a call to the English Luther
an church at Carey, Ohio, where he remained
for thirteen consecutive years, going from there
to a charge in Tuscarawas county. Since then
he has been pastor of the English Lutheran
church at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, Middlebury,
Ind., and is now pastor of the church at But
ler, Ind. Before entering the ministry he
married Nancy Poe, of Van Wert county. Two
children have been born to them — Stanley B.,
and Almeda.
Sarah A. Dustman was also born in Fair
field county, and was but a few years old
when the family came to Van Wert county.
Here she grew to girlhood and womanhood,
the principal assistant of her mother in their
early days in Van Wert county. In 1862 she
married Josiah Waltz, and they now live on
their farm in York township. They have been
a prosperous couple, and their farm is one of

the best in Van Wert county. They have six
children living, as follows: Emma, Eva, Ger
trude, Henry, Wilbur and Oscar. Mr. and
Mrs. Waltz are members of the Methodist
church. Sabina Dustman was born but three years
before the family came to Van Wert county.
Like the rest of the children she enjoyed the
advantages of a moderate education. She
grew to womanhood on the farm and married
Henry Sherrick, one of the leading farmers
and stock raisers of Allen county. They now
live on their farm five miles east of Delphos.
Daniel C. Dustman was the last of the
children born in Fairfield county. He was
educated in the schools of Pleasant township,
Van Wert county, and was reared a farmer.
In 1865, or as soon as he was old enough to
d^ so, he enlisted in company F, One Hundred
and Eighty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer
infantry, and saw service in Kentucky, Ten
nessee, Georgia and Alabama. He was mus
tered out at Camp Chase just one year from
the time of his enlistment. In 1872 he pur
chased his present home in York township.
It was then woodland, but is now a well culti
vated farm. In 1866 he married Margaret
Larue, daughter of Abraham and Margaret
Larue, of this county. To them nine children
have been born, as follows: Marcus E., Hor
ace E. (deceased), Mary Alberta, Jennie, Wal
ter, Charles, George H., Edgar Francis, and
Bessie. Mrs. Dustman was born in Richland
county and came to Van Wert county with her
parents when but ten years old. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Dustman are consistent members of
the Methodist church. In politics Mr. Dust
man is a republican, and has held several local
offices, but has never cared to make politics a
business. He is an enterprising farmer, and
owes his success to his own efforts.
Lodema Dustman was born on the old farm
in 1847, and lived with her parents until her

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

219

marriage, in 1865, to Jacob "Poe. Mr. and
Mrs. Poe have always lived in Van Wert
county, and for the past twenty years have
lived on the old Dustman homestead, which
Mr. Poe and his sons are now farming. Jacob
Poe was born and his early life was spent in
Hancock county. Mr. and Mrs. Poe have three
children — William, Rilla and George.
Henry C. Dustman was born on the old
farm in 1850, was educated in the country
schools and was reared a farmer, which pro
fession he has since adopted. In 1872 he
learned photography, and the same year re
moved to Monroeville, Ind, , where he remained
for two years. From there he went to Carey,
Ohio, and remained three years. He then
sold his business and returned to the farm,
since which time he has farmed in Pleasant
township. In 1872 he married ' Martha J.
Hester, daughter of John V. and Anna Hester,
of Pleasant township. Five children have been
born to them — Minta, Elva, May, Willis A.,
and Mattie. Mrs. Dustman was born in Clin
ton county, in 1852, and came to Van Wert
with her parents in 1868. Mr. Dustman is a
republican in politics, and he and his wife are
members of the English Lutheran church.
Ella Dustman was born on the farm Jan
uary 1, 1853, and has lived there ever since.
For sixteen years she was a teacher in the
country schools of Van Wert county, and was
eminently successful in that profession. Ella
is the only child remaining with her parents,
the rest of the children being married. She is
giving them in their old age that same- tender
care they gave her when a child. She has a
wide circle of acquaintances, and is almost
always entertaining some of the many friends
of the family in the old home. She is a mem
ber of the Van Wert Lutheran church.
Lydia Dustman was born in October, 1854,
and her early life was spent at the old home.
In May, 1888, she was married to Joseph

Ross, of Liberty township. They now live at
Shasta, where Mr. Ross is conducting a black
smithing business and overseeing his farm.
Their home life is a happy one, and they are
so situated that they extract a good share of
pleasure out of life. Both are members of the
Methodist church.
Freeman L. Dustman, the youngest of the
family, was born on the old home farm in the
fall of i860. His education was obtained in
the school-house situated on his father's farm,
going to school in the winter months and work
ing on the farm in the summer. When he
reached his majority he devoted himself to
farming, living with his parents and assisting
in cultivating the home place. In the fall of
1888 he left the farm and took the position of
city editor on. the Van Wert Bulletin, remain
ing with that paper for three years. In 1891
he went to Toledo as state editor of the Toledo
Blade. For some months he had charge of
the telegraph service of The Blade, and in the
winter of 1893-4, represented that paper as
legislative correspondent at Columbus. In
October, 1894, he assumed the managing
editorship of The Blade. In December, 1890,
he was united in marriage to Gussie C. Rand,
at Lathrop, Mo. This most happy union has
been blessed with two children, Rand J., and
George T.

¦Jrj»OHN DAVIDSON, resident of Jack-
A son township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
(9 J and an ex-soldier of the late Civil war,
was born in Coshocton county, Ohio,
December 22, 1842. His grandfather, Joshua
Davidson, was born in Scotland, and when a
young man came to America and settled in
Coshocton county, where he reared a family,
of whom the names of James, Henry and
Joshua can only be recalled. Of these, Joshua,
the father of our subject, married Catherine

-220

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

"Ross, and about 1 846 located in Jackson town
ship, Allen county, Ohio, having bought forty
acres of land east of Lima, cleared it up, and
in a short time sold out and purchased eighty
acres in Amanda township, west of Lima,
which he also cleared up and turned into a
first-class farm. To him and wife were born
fourteen children, of whom eleven lived to
maturity, and were named James, Lucinda,
Richard, Margaret, John, George, William,
Peter A., Catherine and Joshua, of whom the
first five were born in Coshocton county and
the remainder in Allen county. Five of the
sons — James, Richard, John, George and
William, were patriots in their souls, as were
the chieftains of their fatherland, Bruce and
Wallace, and fought for the preservation of the
Union in company I, Thirty-fourth Ohio vol
unteer infantry — James excepted, who served
with the Thirteenth Wisconsin. The father
•of these brave boys was called to his last rest
ing place in 1867, dying in Allen county at the
age of sixty-five years.
John Davidson, the gentleman whose rec
ord of life is here briefly detailed, was but an
infant when taken to Allen county by his par
ents. Here he was reared to the hardships of
pioneer farming and enjoyed such feeble edu
cational accessories as the log-cabin schools of
the country districts of that day afforded.
January 22, 1862, not yet having attained
man's estate, he enlisted in company I, Thirty-
fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three
years or during the war, and faithfully served
until honorably discharged at Cumberland,
Md., June 27, 1865, on account of the close
of the conflict for which he had enlisted, hav
ing served three years, five months and eight
een days. He took part in the battle of Cedar
Creek, and was wounded at Fayetteville, W.
Va. , September 22, 1862, by a minie ball
through the right thigh; he was in hospital for
a month, and then given a furlough for thirty

days; he theri reported for duty, but was
placed in invalid camp at Point Pleasant for a
month and then returned to his regiment. He
next fought at Princeton; next at a forgotten
battle in West Virginia, then at Meadow Bluffs,
Green River, Fisher's Hill, and in the Shenan
doah valley at Winchester and Mount Jackson.
At Beverley, W. Va., February 1864, his regi
ment was surprised while asleep in camp and
800 taken prisoners. After confinement in
Richmond, Va., for thirty-five days, was sent
home for final exchange, and this was effected
two months later. After rejoining his regi
ment, Mr. Davidson took part in a number of
battles and skirmishes, but with no further
mishaps. His brothers had about the same
experience, with the exception of George, who
met with the sad fate of being captured at
Martinsburg, W. Va., and of dying of starva
tion in Salisbury prison, N. C. , in 1864.
After returning from the war Mr. Davidson
engaged in the saw-mill business in Allen
county in partnership with his brother Peter,
and in 1878 came to Van Wert county and
ran a saw-mill in Convoy until 1880, when he
came to Jackson township, bought a farm,
cleared it up, and in 1886 bought a saw-mill,
and has since done an excellent business. The
marriage of Mr. Davidson took place in Allen
county, Ohio, in April, 1866, to Miss Mary S.
Culp, who was born in Ross county, October
23, 1848, a daughter of Conrad and Sarah
(Dinkle) Culp. Conrad Culp was of Pennsyl
vania-Dutch stock. Peter, his father was a
pioneer of Pickaway county, Ohio, and Con
rad moved to Auglaize county in 1852 and to
Allen county in 1856, and there had a good
farm of 120 acres. He was twice married,
and died in Allen county, in the sixty-fifth year
of his age, in August, 1888. To the congenial
union of Mr. and Mrs. John Davidson have
been born thirteen children: George W.,
Florelle, Phebe A., Emma, Charles M. (died

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

221

at eight years of age), Addie (died when six
years old), Richard, William, John, Alonzo,
Frank, Florence and Hattie — five of whom
were born in Allen county and the remainder
in Van Wert county. Mr. Davidson has
always been a hard-working and industrious
man and has acquired his own fortune; he has
deservedly earned the lofty position he holds
in the estimation of his neighbors, and as a
useful citizen ranks with the best in Jackson
township. George W. Davidson, the eldest son of
John Davidson, of whom mention has been
made above, is associated with his father in
saw-mill and farming, owning one-half interest
in the saw-mill in Jackson township, Van Wert
county, and one-half interest in a similar mill
in Washington township, Paulding county, and
together are doing a line of business which
"leads on to fortune."

HNDREW E. DeCAMP, an ex-soldier
of the late Civil war and a resident of
Jackson township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is of Gallic descent and a true
American citizen. His grandfather, John De-
Camp, a native of France, was a skillful ma
chinist and tool-maker, was a young man
when he came to America and settled in New
York and there married, and had born to him
the following named children: Job, John,
Charlotte, Mary, Hannah, Henrietta and Or
ville. In an early day he came to Ohio and
carried on edge-tool making in Licking county
for several years, then came to Van Wert
county, in 1840, and for twelve years carried
on a blacksmith shop in Ridge township, and
there died of cholera within a year of the
opening of the late Civil war.
Job DeCamp, son of John and father of
the subject of this biography, was born in the
city of New York, lived for some time in Johns

town, Pa., and there married Lydia Cavette,
a daughter of John and Lydia Cavette, and in
1840 came to Ohio and located in Ridge
township, Van Wert county. To Job De-
Camp and wife were born the following chil
dren: Mary, William, Andrew E. , Joseph,,
Hannah, Ainsworth, Orvilla and Thomas.
Mr. DeCamp entered -eighty acres of land in
Ridge township and succeeded in clearing up
an excellent farm and in rearing his family in
respectability. Two of his sons, William and1
Andrew E., served in the Civil war, in com
pany H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry,
and he did all things pertaining to the life of a
good citizen. In politics he was first a whig
and then a republican, and he and wife were
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Andrew E. DeCamp, whose name opens
this biography, was born in Ridge township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, June 9, 1842, re
ceived the usual common-school education,.
and was taught the trade of blacksmithing, be
coming, under his father's skillful training, a
more than ordinary expert. At Lima, Allen
county, Mr. DeCamp enlisted, at the age of
twenty years, in September, 1864, in company
H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, served
one year in the Civil war, and was honorably
discharged at Columbus, Ohio, June 8, 1865.
He served in Tennessee, Georgia, South Caro
lina and North Carolina — taking part with
Gen. Sherman in his famous march to the sea.
During his absence he was entangled in the-
pursuit of the rebel Hood. At Ringgold, Ga.,
he received two saber cuts on the right arm
and hand from one of the rebel guards, Joe-
Wheeler's cavalrymen, but soon recovered and
fought it out to the conclusion of the term of
his enlistment, and then came to Van Wert
county. In 1867 he married Catherine Geeth-
ing daughter of Thomas and Hester (Crates).
Geething, to which union have been born
twelve children, of whom the following are

222

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

still living: Edward, Frank, Minnie, Mary,
Myrtle, Martha, Job, Lawrence, Katie, James,
and Edith. The father of Mrs. DeCamp,
Thomas Geething, was a saw-miller of Ridge
township, and is now living in Hoaglin town
ship, Van Wert county, the father of five chil
dren — Catherine, Sarah, William, Ollie and
Eliza. Mr. DeCamp, after his marriage, lived in
Washington township for eight years, then
moved to Middlepoint, and for ten years was
employed as an engineer on the Pittsburg,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad. He now has
a good farm that he has hewn out of the woods,
and is enjoying life amid a surrounding circle
of devoted friends. Mr. and Mrs. DeCamp
are sincere members of the Methodist church,
and in politics he is a republican. He has
reared his family in respectiability, and has
won for himself the esteem of his neighbors
and the respect of the community in which he
has passed the better portion of his useful life.

>^OHN M. GEISE, one of the well-known
A citizens of Van Wert county, Ohio, and
A 1 a leading and successful farmer of
Washington township, now residing two
miles northwest from Delphos, is a native of
Germany, having been born in the kingdom of
Hanover on February 5, 1831. His parents
were Casper and Elizabeth (Hemker) Geise,
both natives of Hanover, where they were
married. The parents, with their two sons,
left the old country in the fall of 1841, and
reached New York city in the month of No
vember, after a voyage of seven weeks and six
days. From New. York city they went to Al
bany by boat, thence to Buffalo, N. Y., by
canal, and thence to Cleveland by the lake.
From Cleveland they went to Toledo by lake
steam-boat, and from that point they made
their way by river to about three miles from

Napoleon, Ohio, where the boat was frozen in
the ice, and they made the balance of the trip
to Fort Jennings by sled, reaching that point
in January, 1842. At Fort Jennings they re
mained until the following April, and then
moved upon ten acres of school land in sec
tion No. 16, Putnam county, which they rent
ed. They lived there three years, and then
came to Washington township, Van Wert
county, where they purchased forty acres of
government land, and began farming. When
the work of digging the canal was begun, Cas
per Geise went to work on it, and continued at
work until it was completed, and it was there
he earned the money to make the first pay
ment on his land. To the original forty, he
added forty and then eighty acres, and alto
gether had a farm of 160 acres. Casper Geise
was one of the very first settlers as well as one
of a very few of Washington township, and the
township was one dense forest with but few
roads. The country was a forest and the woods
full of wild animals. He lived, however, to
see the county cleared up and converted into as
fine a farming district as can be found any
where in the state, and to see Delphos grow
from woods into a thriving, progressive little
city. He helped to build the first house in
Delphos, which was the log cabin owned by
Ferdinand Bredeick, brother of Father Bred
eick, who founded Delphos and established the
present Saint John's Roman Catholic church.
He was born in 1799 and died in 1881. His
wife died in 1846, being then about fifty-eight
years of age. They were both among the first
members of the Catholic church of Delphos,
of which he was a trustee for several years.
To these parents three children were born, the
eldest one dying in the old country at the age
of three years. Our subject was the second
son, and Conrad was the third, all being born
in the old country.
John M: Geise was reared upon the farm.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

223

He got his education by attending school in
the old country and the schools at Fort Jen
nings and Delphos. He remained at home un
til 1855, when he married and moved on the
land where he now resides, which at that time
contained eighty acres in section No. 14.
Here he has since continued to live. In 1884
he built his present large and handsome resi
dence, which is one of the best in the town
ship. He has at different times added to his
original eighty acres until he has now 160 acres
in one body. He also owns sixty acres in sec
tion No. 12, Marion township, Allen county,
which is known as Sulphur Springs. In 1889,
during the oil excitement, Mr. Geise leased his
Sulphur Springs land to Sam Jones & Co. ,
who were succeeded by the Geyser oil com
pany. This company had much trouble in
procuring leases of oil lands, and until Mr.
Geise leased his land, not a single well had
been secured. He then let his influence and
service to the company, and through him the
company leased over 50,000 acres. In testi
mony of the company's regard and apprecia
tion of his services, they presented him with a
handsome gold watch, upon which is inscribed
the following words: "J. M. Geise, from the
Geyser Oil company, December 25, 1889,"
which testimonial he values very highly. The
following Christmas Mr. Geise reciprocated by
sending each member of the company a fine fat
turkey. Mr. Geise has for many years been
one of the leading citizens of Van Wert county,
and has always been prominent in public mat
ters. He has always been a democrat in poli
tics, but is a liberal and independent voter, and
while generally voting the democrat ticket,
he does not hesitate to scratch a bad nominee,
if he is certain it is best for the welfare of the
community. He is broad and liberal in his
views, enterprising and progressive, always
doing his full share toward the support of all
worthy enterprises having for their object the

good of the community. His conservative,
yet generous nature, has made him very popu
lar, and he has been many times called by his
fellow-citizens to public office. He has served
as township trustee of Washington township
eight years; he was director of the county in
firmary two terms of three years each, making
six years in that office; and for twenty-two
years he was treasurer of the German Mutual
Fire Insurance company, for Putnam, Van
Wert and Allen counties. For many years he
was a member of the council of Saint John's
Roman Catholic church.
In 1855, Mr. Geise was married to Clara
Kramer, of Fort Jennings, who was born in
Glandorf, Putnam county, Ohio, and was the
daughter of Bernhard Kramer, who was a na
tive of Germany. She died in 1880, at the
age of forty-seven years. She was a devoted
wife and mother, and was a member of Saint
John's Roman Catholic church. To Mr. and
Mrs. Geise nine children were born, six of
whom are living, as follows: Joseph, Otto,
Fred, Theresa, Annie and Sallie; the three
deceased were John, David and Henry. Mr.
Geise and family are all members of Saint
John's Roman Catholic church and are num
bered among the best families in Washington.

>j'OHN GEORGE, a prominent citizen of
J York township. Van Wert county, Ohio,
/• 1 is a native of Wales and was born Jan
uary 20, 1829, a son of George and
Ann (Jones) George. John George, the father,
with his wife, son Thomas and his daughters,
Mary and Ann, came to Van Wert county in
1856; his son, John, having preceded him four
years, and, having written his father of the
fertile lands abounding in Van Wert county,
and the plenty arising therefrom, the father
and his family were induced to come here,
and here resided on a farm to the time of his

224

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

death, at the age of sixty years, his wife dying
at three-score and ten. Thomas George, son
of John, the immigrant, resides in Elgin; Ann,
the elder daughter, is the wife of Thomas Tib-
bett, and resides in Elida, Allen county; Mary,
the second daughter, became the wife of Grif
fith Evans, but is now deceased.
John George, our subject, shortly after his
arrival in the United States, found himself in
Cincinnati, sixty dollars in debt. He had,
however, a friend by the name of John Davis,
who divided what means he possessed with
our subject, and thus assisted in the time of
distress, which act was never forgotten — either
as a debt of gratitude or a financial debt — and
both debts were subsequently repaid. In his
youth, our subject, John George, had learned
the carpenter's trade, having served an ap
prenticeship of six years, without any financial
remuneration. While in Cincinnati he fol
lowed his trade four years, and for four years
longer he followed this vocation in Louisiana.
In the fall of 1859 he came to Van Wert
county, Ohio, and here bought 160 acres of
land, being the farm which he now owns. He
was to pay $1,000 for this property, of which
he paid $500 on taking possession and subse
quently paid the balance, having earned the
money through his own exertions.
In 1856 he married Miss Elizabeth Jones,
of Paddy's Run, Butler county, Ohio, the
union being blessed with' four sons .and two
daughters; of these, Moses lives on his father's
farm; William lives near Elgin; John, at Ven
edocia; Elizabeth Ann is the wife of Hugh
Thomas; Richard lives in Van Wert, and
Dora resides at home with her parents. In
politics Mr. George is an active republican
and has served as township treasurer, having
been elected in 1882, and serving twelve years
consecutively. In religion he is an adherent
of the Congregational church, of which his
parents were also members. His farm is now

highly improved, and is the admiration of all
beholders. He is highly respected in the com
munity in which he moves, and no one more
deserves the esteem in which he is held
than he.

@EORGE JOSEPH EBLEN, M. D.,
one of the most talented physicians
of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in
Vevay, Switzerland county, Ind.,
September 22, 1852. His father, David Eb-
len, was born in Virginia in 1806, and was
quite a child when taken to Switzerland county,
Ind., where he was educated in the pioneer
schools and reared to manhood — his first busi
ness for himself being brick-laying and farm
ing. For some years later he was engaged in
merchandising at Vevay, where he resided
until 1882, and died while on a visit to Chris-
tiansburg, Ky., in the fall of 1882. His mar
riage had taken place in Switzerland county,
Ind., in 1830, to Miss Sarah Buchanan, and
to this union were born eight children, viz:
Sarah, deceased; James, Elizabeth, John Law-
son, Nettie, Fletcher, deceased; George J.,
and Charles, deceased. The mother, Mrs.
Sarah Eblen, died in 1858; she was a mem
ber of the Christian church, and was known as
a lady of many admirable traits of mind and
heart. For his second wife, Mr. Eblen chose
Mrs. Mary Sachwell, of Ghent, Ky. , who bore
him one child — Laura. Mr. Elben was a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a
republican in politics, and a man of consider
able prominence in the community where he
resided. George Joseph Eblen, at the age of ten
years, abandoned the parental domicile, and
sought a home with John B. Gordon, a
farmer of Switzerland county, Ind., with
whom he lived until nineteen years of age,.
attending in the meantime the district school

G. J. EBLEN, M. D.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

227

and studying assiduously and profitably, so
that, when at the age mentioned, he made
application for a license to teach, and secured
at the examination the best rating of any appli
cant in Switzerland county — that of ninety-
three and a fraction. He thus secured a
license to teach for twenty-four months. He
next attended Bryant & Stratton's business
college at Louisville, Ky. , for a year, gradu
ated in 1873, and then taught a year in the
same institution. He was similarly employed
a year in Hollingsworth & Johnson's business
college in the same city; and then returned to
Switzerland county, Ind., and taught school
until 1875, when he attended a course of lec
tures at the Kentucky School of Medicine, at
Louisville, Ky. Subsequently, he pursued his
professional studies at Cross Plains, Ind., with
Dr. J. M. Sweezy, for five years, teaching
school in the interim, and then attending
lectures at the Eclectic Medical Institute of
Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was gradu
ated in 1880. Dr. Eblen began the practice
of his profession in the town of Shasta, Van
Werf county, Ohio, and for six years met with
marked success; in 1886, he effected a co
partnership with Dr. W. H. Christopher, at
Van Wert, for one year, and since then has
been alone in the practice.
Dr. Eblen 's professional career presents a
series of continued successes, and his reputa
tion as a practioner is of the highest order of
excellence. He brought to the practice a
mind well fortified with intellectual and pro
fessional training, and he possesses a presence
and sympathetic nature which at once gains
him the confidence of his patients, and skill
mark him as a true friend of suffering human
ity. In the sick room he is a typical family
physician, and his conscientious fidelity to
duty and principle has won for him the love
and confidence of all with whom he comes in
contact as a medical adviser. The doctor,
11

while engaged in the general practice, makes
a specialty of female and rectal diseases, and
his reputation in the department of surgery is
regarded as second to that of no other prac
titioner in the city of Van Wert.
Dr. Eblen belongs to the Ohio State Eclec
tic Medical association, and in 1890 added to
his professional knowledge by taking a post
graduate course in the Polyclinic of New York
city. The doctor possesses a vigorous person
ality and commanding presence, both of which
have contributed not a little to his professional
success. Fraternally he is a member of the
Masonic and Odd Fellows' orders, and also of
the Royal Arcanum and National Union, and
financially has been quite fortunate, owning
valuable property in Van Wert and the city of
Cincinnati. Dr. Eblen was united in marriage in Cin
cinnati, December 7, 1881, with Miss Carrie
Niles, the accomplished daughter of Barnabas
Niles, of that city. Mrs. Eblen is a native of
Cincinnati, born January 19, 1854, and is a
lady of culture and refinement, moving in the
best social circles of Van Wert. The Eblen
home on South Washington street is the abode
of a genuine, open-hearted hospitality, and the
genial nature of the doctor, and the affable
manners of his aimable lady, add new charms
to the pleasant domicile. Dr. and Mrs. Eblen
belong to the Methodist church, being es
teemed members of the Van Wert congregation.

WOHN C. GEORGE, son of John George,
A whose sketch has been given, was born
(t J on the old homestead in Van Wert
""* county, Ohio, in 1862, and still con
tinues to reside in the same township, where
he- is a prosperous and enterprising young
farmer, thoroughly instructed in agricultural
pursuits; he received his preliminary education
in the district schools and then attended the

228

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

normal school at Mansfield, Ohio, thus fitting
himself for teaching, a vocation he followed for
five terms in Van Wert county. November
27, 1886, he married Sarah O. Jones, a daugh
ter of John M. and Mary (Owens) Jones, two
children being the result of this union and
respectively named John Gilbert and Maurice
Nelson. Mr. George and his wife worship at
the Calvinistic church. In politics Mr. ^George
is a stanch republican. Mr. George owns and
occupies a beautiful modern dwelling in the
suburbs of Venedocia, and cultivates a nice
little farm just southwest of town.

*» * ENRY J. GERDEMAN, one of the
l^\ well-known farmers and prosperous
1 F citizens of Washington township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in
Hanover, Germany, December 18, 1820. He
is a son of Henry and Mary Gerdeman, both
natives of Hanover. His father was a farmer,
and died in the old country when his son,
Henry J., was but four and a half years old,
while the mother of our subject died in the old
country also, when the latter was but twenty-
eight years of age. There were four sons and
five daughters born to the parents, all of whom,
with the exception of our subject, are now
dead. Only five of the children came to
America. • Henry J. Gerdeman was reared on the farm
in the old country and received his education
there by attending the neighboring schools. In
1840, when nearly twenty years of age, he and
his brother, John D., came to America; they
landed at Baltimore, and from that city came
to Putnam county, Ohio, where their sister,
Mary Ann, was living, she having come over
four years earlier. After arriving in Putnam
county he was taken ill with fever and ague
and for eight months was sick. After recov
ering his health he went to work on the dig

ging of the Wabash & Erie canal, and worked
on that until the contract was let for digging
the Miami extension of the canal, when he
went to work on that; this was in 1843, and
what is now Delphos was then known as Sec
tion No. 10. Where the town stands was all
in woods, and the only houses were canal
shanties. He remained in Delphos for fifteen
years, during which time he was working in a
saw-mill. In i860 he began farming on land he had
already purchased, which land embraced 160
acres lying about two and one-half miles west
of Delphos, in section No. 27, Washington
township, Van Wert county. Since that he
has added at times to the first 160 acres; in
section No. 22 he has twenty-eight acres; in
section No. 26 he has eighty acres; in section
No. 33 he has 160 acres, and in section No. 34
he has eighty acres. His first purchase of
land was was from the government in 1847.
In 1855, before he moved upon it, he built a
small house of two rooms, and in that he lived
from i860 until 1867, when he made an addi
tion to it, two stories in height, containing
four large rooms; he now has one of the best
residences in his neighborhood. Mr. Gerde
man has always been one of the leading men
of his township, and has always been quite
prominent. He has served as trustee of his
township for several terms, was a school di
rector and was a director in the German Mu
tual Fire Insurance company, of Delphos. In
politics he is a democrat.
Mr. Gerdeman has been twice married.
The first time was in 1851, when he married
Bernardine Gerking, who was born in 1833,
and was a native of Germany. Twenty
months after their marriage her death occurred,
leaving one son, Joseph A., who is a farmer
of Washington township, section No. 3. The
second marriage was in 1854, when he mar
ried Mary J. Moennig, who was born in Han-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

229

over, Germany, in 1836. To this union seven
boys were born, as follows: Henry, Ferdi
nand, John, William, Frank, and Sylvester
and Theodore, twins. Mr. Gerdeman and
family are members of Saint John's Roman
Catholic church, and he served as trustee of
that church for some time. At the centennial
celebration he was on one of the committees,
and he also had a place on the old settlers'
wagon.

>-j*AMES W. GILBERT, a native of Van
A Wert county, Ohio, and a prosperous
A 1 farmer of Tully township, is a son of
Eleazer and Minerva (Fisher) Gilbert,
and was born January 1, 1845. Eleazer Gil
bert was of Welsh descent, but came from
Pennsylvania to Van Wert county and settled
in Harrison township. By his first wife were
born four children, viz : James W. , Charles,
Anette and Sarah. His second marriage was
to Leah Crothers, who bore him six children.
Mrs. Gilbert died in 1859, but he is still a
resident of Van Wert county.
James W. Gilbert received the ordinary
common-school education and was reared on
the home farm. When about nineteen years
of age, fired by a commendable patriotism, he
enlisted, October 11, 1854, at Van Wert, in
company C, Seventy-eighth Ohio infantry, to
serve for one year or during the war, but the
young soldier was held for about nine months
only, being honorably discharged July 11,
1865, at Louisville, Ky., the object for which
he volunteered having been accomplished and
the Rebellion suppressed. He entered upon
active service by joining Gen. Sherman's army
after the fall of Atlanta (September 2, 1864),
and was with that hero on the famous march
to the sea, and took part in a number of severe
skirmishes. He marched the entire distance

to Goldsboro, N. C. , on foot, with the excep
tion of one day's ride, which he secured by
picking up a worn-out horse. After the glori
ous victory over 40,000 rebels near Goldsboro,
March 19, 1865, Sherman proceeded north
ward, and finally, peace having been restored,
Mr. Gilbert had the proud satisfaction of tak
ing part in the grand review at Washington,
D. C, May 23-4, 1865, whence with his regi
ment he was sent to Louisville, Ky. , to be
mustered out of the service. During this
period Mr. Gilbert was never sick, never wound
ed nor taken prisoner, nor ever missed a roll-
call. On his return to Van Wert Mr. Gilbert
was married, September 7, 1865, to Miss Kate
Stevens, daughter of Moses and Levina (Howe)
Stevens. Moses Stevens was born in West
moreland county, Pa., of Scotch-Irish parents,
and came to Ohio in 1852, settling in Adams
county, where he bought and cleared up an
eighty-acre farm, on which he died at the age
of fifty-five years. He was a republican in
politics and an honored and hard-working man.
He and his wife were members of the Metho
dist church and were the parents of eight chil
dren, named as follows : Wesley, Thomas,
Emma, Rachael, Julia, Kate, Jennie and
Melissia. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert settled
iu Harrison township, Van Wert count}', and
in the spring of 1875 came to Tully township,
bought sixty acres of heavily timpered land,
cleared it by hard work and made a good home,
now well cultivated and improved with all
necessary buildings. Ten children came to
crown the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert, and
were named, Lillie, Burt, Martin, Cora (died
at the age of twenty years), Jennie, Elsie,
Myrtle, Teressa, James and Grover. In poli
tics Mr. Gilbert is a democrat, but was one of
those who served his country faithfully as a
soldier. He is a self-made man and a sub-
tantial citizen of the purest integrity.

230

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

BRANCIS H. GIPE, a practical and
rising young farmer of Ridge town
ship, was born in Van Wert county,
Ohio, July 23, 1864, a son of Elias
and Louisa (Gilliland) Gipe, the latter being a
son of one of the earliest of the pioneer fami
lies of the county. A brother of our subject,
Waldo C. Gipe, is also a farmer of Ridge
township; a sister of subject, Minnie, is the
wife of E. B. Waldron, a grocer of the city of
Van Wert, and another sister, Rosa A. , died in
early womanhood. The father of this family
died a few years after the death of his wife,
who was summoned to the grave October 5,
1874. Francis H. Gipe having in his adolesence
lost his parents, made his home, as did also
his brother and sister, with his maternal grand
father, Hugh Gilliland, under whom our sub
ject was inured and trained to the arduous
duties of a farmer's life — a circumstance he
has never had cause to regret. He had the
usual advantages of a common-school educa
tion, and added to the knowledge acquired
under the instruction of the common-school
teachers much more, under self-tuition. In
1889 he was united in wedlock with Miss Lu
cinda E. Sanders, daughter of Sylvester and
Mary E. (Smith) Sanders, the union being
blessed by the birth of three daughters — Rosa,
Helen (deceased), and Mabel. The amiable
mother of this little family lived but a few
years in the enjoyment of her domestic felicity,
being called away, in 1893, to join the caravan
that proceeds without ceasing to the last and
permanent home on earth of mortals.
In politics Mr. Gipe is an uncompromising
democrat, and in 1893 was elected to the
office of township treasurer, and, as an instance
of his popularity with all parties and the people
at large, it is but fair to state that he was the
only democrat that was ever elected to the
office in Ridge township. He performed his

duties well and faithfully, and no word has
ever been uttered that would or could impugn
his integrity. Socially Mr. Gipe stands very
high, and as & member of the grange he is en
ergetic in promoting its welfare. His farm of
seventy-four acres, three miles southeast of
Van Wert, is a model in itself, and gives
evidence of the fact that a master hand holds.
control of it.

«w -* ON. E. B. GILLILAND is a native
Y~\ of Van Wert county, Ohio, born
| F April 10, 1846, a son of Thomas and
Catherine (McCann) Gilliland, na
tives of Maryland, and among the earlier set
tlers of Van Wert county, Ohio. The family
is quite a famous one in this county, as well as
in the city, as will be found in the various
sketches published in this volume, to which
the reader can readily refer by means of the
index preceding these sketches.
Thomas Gilliland was born October 22,
1806, and Mrs. Catherine Gilliland December
11, 1809. In 1835, Thomas came to Van
Wert county with his wife, his son William
and a daughter Martha, and entered 160 acres
of land in Ridge township, the tract being a
part of the farm now owned by our subject,
Hon. E. B. Gilliland — the father increasing his
possessions at one time to 480 acres, and be
coming one of the most prominent farmers and
popular citizens of the township. He was a
thoroughly upright man, was a member of the
F. & A. M., and held the full confidence of
his fellow-citizens, whom he served fifteen
years as justice of the peace, holding that
office at the time of his decease, which oc
curred July 28, 1857, "when his remains were
interred in the old cemetery at Van Wert,
with Masonic honors. The respected widow
of Mr. Gilliland survived until November 13,
1888, when her venerated remains were also-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

231

deposited in the same receptacle. The twelve
children of this pioneer couple were born in
the following order: Martha, wife of Ira Cavett;
William, deceased; Mary Jane, deceased wife
of G. C. Weible; Sarah Ann, married to D. M.
Conroy; John Francis, deceased; Robert A.
Webster, deceased; James Maxwell, of the
city of Van Wert; Edward B., subject of this
sketch; Ellen and Elizabeth, deceased; Hen
rietta, wife of Allen Lown, of Van Wert city,
and Thomas Hiram, deceased.
Hon.'E. B. Gilliland, whose name opens
this biographical memoir, passed his early
youth on the home farm, enjoying, at the same
time, excellent opportunities for an education,
becoming, himself, a school-teacher,- a voca
tion he followed six years. In the year 1875,
he was united in matrimony with Miss Mary
Jane Collins, daughter of Samuel and Eliza
beth (Featherolf) Collins, which happy union
was blessed by the birth of six children, named
as follows: Florence, Daisy, Thomas, Grace
¦(deceased), Myrtle, and Edna May (deceased).
Mr. Gilliland, like various other members of
his family, continued to rise in popularity and
became a favorite with the democratic party,
bis abilities as a politician being also recognized
by the public at large, the result being that he
was elected to serve his constituency in the
Sixty-ninth and Seventieth Ohio general as
sembly, and his popularity was further empha
sized by the fact that he was elected from a
district that usually polled from 100 to 200 re
publican majority. While in the legislature
he served in a most satisfactory manner on the
important committee of ways and means, on
committee on agriculture, and on the commit
tee on 'the insane asylum. In religion Mr.
Gilliland and his entire family are members of
the church of Rome, of which they are not
only conscientious adherents in principle, but
liberal supporters in a financial sense. In his
worldly possessions Mr. Gilliland may well be

considered quite well to do, possessing, as he
does, a fine farm of 206 acres and property of
considerable value in the city of Van Wert.
The social standing of the family, it is needless
to say, is with the highest and most honored
of the county.

£~V* M. GILLILAND, son of Adam and
•^M* Sarah (Shaffner) Gilliland, was born
h<_Jf in Ridge township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, June 15, 1842, was reared on
the home farm, and has made farming his life
vocation. At the age of twenty-two years he
enlisted in company B, One Hundred and
Ninety-second Ohio volunteer infantry, and
served until the close of the Rebellion, when
he was honorably discharged at Winchester,
Va. He then returned to the home of his
childhood and resumed farming on the old
home place until 1868, when he bought sixty
acres of land, which he has since supplemented
with sixty additional acres, on which he has
made all the improvements. On the 3d day
of February, 1870, he was united in marriage
with Miss Amanda E. Balyeat, daughter of
Jacob and Frances (Thomas) Balyeat, resi
dents of Ridge township, and this union has
been blessed by the birth of five children, viz:
Homer, who married Flora Johantgen, of
Ridge township, the remaining four being Ira,
Laura, Frances and Jesse. Mr. Gilliland and
his family worship at the Methodist church
and manifest in their daily walk the sincerity
of their belief in that faith. In politics Mr.
Gilliland is a democrat, and in 1 884 was elected
a justice of the peace; during the six years that
he performed the functions of this office it may
be said that not more than three cases were
appealed from his docket, and in no instance
was a decision of his reversed. A more exten
sive notice of the Gilliland family will be found
in adjacent parts of this volume, also the

232

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

genealogy of the Balyeat family will be given
upon other pages. Mr. and Mrs. Gilliland are
well known citizens throughout Ridge town
ship, and none hold the confidence of the en
tire community to a- greater extent than they,
and none take a deeper interest -in the matters
of education and the moral traini ^ of the
community. Mr. Gilliland is one of the enter
prising and progressive men of hi" township,
and well deserves the high respect in which he
is held.

">-t*AMES M. GILLILAND, son of Thomas
A and Catherine Gilliland (see geneaology
A 1 of Gilliland family) is a native of Van
~" Wert county, born in the year 1843.
Reared on a farm in the vicinity of the city of
Van Wert, he enjoyed the usual advantages of
acquiring an education and began his life as a
farmer, purchasing, in connection with his
brother, Hon. E. B. Gilliland, the old home
stead, when but nineteen years of age. Later
he disposed of his interest in the farm, and
subsequently purchased a farm consisting of
155 acres two and a half miles southeast of
Van Wert, which he has highly improved, its
present condition and close proximity to the
city making it one of the most valuable pieces
of land of its area in the county. In July,
1892, Mr. Gilliland purchased two acres on
South Walnut street, Van Wert, and in Jan
uary of the following year moved to his city
home, which is one of the most desirable resi
dence properties on the street on which it is
situated. April 10, 1878, Mr. Gilliland and Miss Mary
Ellen Gorham, daughter of Eleazar and Mary
M. (Harlam) Gorham, were united in marriage.
The parents of Mrs. Gilliland were both na
tives of Clinton county, Ohio, and the names
of their children are as follows: Elvira B., died
in infancy; Mary Ellen; Melvina F., wife of

Lafayette Hudgel; Elmira E., wife of Calvin
C. Gamble, and Agnes Ann, deceased The
mother of these children died on the 5th day
of March, 1862.
Mrs. Gilliland's father served in the late
war, enlisting in 1861, in the Seventy-ninth
regiment, but was afterward transferred to the
Seventy-third, Ohio volunteer infantry. He
served throughout the war without receiving
an injury, except the partial loss of the sense
of hearing, caused by the heavy cannonading
during one the battles in which he was engaged.
Mr. Gilliland has been quite successful in
his business ventures, accumulating thereby an
ample competence. Politically he is a demo
crat and religiously subscribes to the creed of
the Methodist church, his wife also being an
active member of the same church, and both
belonging to the congregation worshiping in
Van Wert.
John Gilliland was born in Ridge township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, July 5, 1836, the
first white male child born there, and is a son
of Adam and Sarah (Shaffer) Gilliland, full
particulars regarding whom will be found in
the history of their family on another page.
John Gilliland, our subject, was reared to
manhood on the home farm, was educated in
the common schools, and in the spring of 1857
made a trip to Woodford county, 111., where
he passed the following summer in farm labor,
returning, the next winter, to his native town
ship of Ridge, where he re-engaged in farm
work, and was so employed until his marriage
in 1866, further mention of which important
event in his life will be made a little further on.
In the year named he settled on eighty acres
of land owned by his wife in section No. 31,
Ridge township, to which he has since added
twenty-one acres, the combined tracts consti
tuting his present home. To this farm he
devoted his undivided attention, and improved
and assiduously cultivated until 1873, when he

ANDREW J. GLEASON

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

235

began dealing in live stock, shipping to the
eastern markets, and this trade, in conjunction
with agriculture, claimed his attention until
within the past few years, when he made live
stock dealing his sole occupation, in which he
has met with abundant success.
The marriage of Mr. Gilliland took place
in Ridge township, June 9, 1866, with Miss
Lucy Cavett, who was born in Williams
county, Ohio, a daughter of William ( and
Elizabeth Cavett, and to this happy union ten
children have been born, viz: Ella, wife of
H. V. Cooper; William C , Adam and Emma
J., all of Ridge township; Bertha, wife of J.
Huffine; Pearl, wife of Delbert A. North; an
infant, deceased; Hugh, Sarah and Ira. Mr.
and Mrs. Gilliland are consistent members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and are very
liberal in its support. In politics Mr. Gilliland
is a democrat, and in 1890 was elected land
appraiser of his township, serving one year; in
1 89 1 he was elected trustee of his township,
and served until 1893, and in 1895 was re
elected to the same office. He is a highly
honored citizen, and the attention of the reader
is called to another page, on which is opened
the history of the Gilliland family, prepared
by T. S. Gilliland of Van Wert. Of the chil
dren of our subject, William C. married De-
laura Crothers, March 24, 1897, and Adam
married Rosetta Tumbleson, December 28,
in the year 1893.

)HE GLEASON FAMILY.— Probably
the earliest mention of the Gleason
family of America, traceable, is found
in the records Cambridge, Mass.,
where, in 1657, lived Thomas Gleason, who
emigrated to America from New Castle, Eng
land, the family having originated in the north
of Ireland. There is a family legend relating
that the first emigrants of the name to come

to America were three brothers, who settled in
New England, during the colonial period, and
were the original stock from which the Amer
ican family sprung, which gradually spread to
adjacent states, until now its descendants are
to be found in every northern state, and
doubtless many southern states also.
Bezaleel Gleason, the great-grandfather of
Andrew J. Gleason, to whom we are indebted
for the data of this memoir, is the most re
mote ancestor known of, in a direct line. He
lived near Brattleboro, Vt., and is said to
have taken part with Gen. Stark's Green
Mountain boys, at the battle of Bennington.
He was probably a descendant of the Thomas
Gleason above mentioned. His wife was
Phoebe Newberry, their family consisting of
six sons and three daughters, named as fol
lows: Adonijah, Amos, Nathan and Nahum
(twins), Ira, Bezaleel, Sarah, Phoebe and
Clarissa. Adonijah was a Baptist preacher,
lived at Sempronius, N. Y. , for a time, then
removed to Switzerland county, Ind., and at
last accounts was in Minnesota, where he prob
ably died. To him and his wife Cynthia were
born three sons, Justus, Parsons and Elias,
the last named living in Cincinnati during the
'fifties. Amos, second son, lived at Caledonia
Springs, N. Y. ; Sarah (Fisher) lived also in
New York state on the St. Lawrence river,
while the rest of the family, except Bezaleel
(second) continued to reside in Vermont when
last heard of.
It was while journeying across the mount
ains on his return from visiting some of his
children that the aged patriarch was overtaken
by a tragic fate, becoming bewildered in a
mountain storm, causing him to lose his way
and to perish in the cold. Bezaleel, the
writer's grandfather, settled in Ontario coun
ty, N. Y. , near where the town of Shortsville
now stands. He was a farmer, and a man
noted for great muscular strength. He mar-

236

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ried Abigail Howland, by whom he had three
sons and five daughters, viz: Stephen, Joseph,
Sarah, Phoebe, Clarissa, Mary, Eliza and Ben
jamin. His death occurred June 21, 1832,
after which his widow resided on the family
homestead for some years, then, gathering to
gether her family (except Sarah and Phcebe,
who had previously married), her two eldest
sons piloting the way, she removed, in the
summer of 1837, to the unbroken wilds of
Van Wert county, Ohio, taking up lands in the
southwestern part of Pleasant township, where
she resided until her death, which took place
August 29, 185 1, having seen the most of her
children settled around her, and enjoyed the
affectionate care of both children and grand
children. Stephen Gleason, the eldest son, was born
in Ontario county, N. Y. , July 24, 1801. He
married Amanda Fletcher, by whom he had
eight children, viz: Emily (Evers), Sarah J.
(Royce), Mary A. (Evers), Lucy O. (Albright),
Charles F., George H., Louisa (Kiser), and
Oliver B., four of whom are living, viz: Sarah
J. Royce, of Columbia City, Ind.; Charles F.
Gleason and Mrs. J. W. Kiser, of Dull, Ohio,
and Oliver B. Gleason, of Van Wert city.
For several years after his marriage he fol
lowed the occupation of a farmer, residing, a
part of the time, at a place called Oak Orchard,
N. Y. , but being enticed by the flattering re
ports from the new country in western Ohio,
after first, with his brother Joseph, having
prospected and selected a location, he sold
his property in New York state, and at the
head of the family colony, with wife and five
children, he turned his back on a compara
tively comfortable home to face hardships and
privations he little dreamed of. At one time
he was left in charge of the whole colony,
while his brothers, with all the available teams,
proceeded to a point on the Maumee river,
where a portion of the household goods had

been shipped via water, a trip requiring some
weeks, in the bad condition of the roads.
During all this time Stephen was constantly
employed carrying grists of corn to and from
a hand-mill, some four or five miles distant, to
keep up a supply of breadstuff. Yet indom
itable pluck carried him through. these and sim
ilar hardships until he had made for himself
and family a comfortable home again.
Mr. Gleason lived on his farm, which he
and his sons brought into a high state of culti
vation, until about 1867, having been several
times elected county commissioner, and after
ward county treasurer, which offices he held
with much credit to himself and to the satis
faction of the public. Upon retiring from the
office of treasurer he resumed his farm life,
but, receiving a fair offer for his farm, sold it
to Robert Wade and removed to Van Wert.
Here, however, he remained only long enough
to enable him to purchase another farm near
South Whitley, Ind., to which he soon after
removed. Losing his faithful wife in 1871, he
soon gave up farming, spending his time with
his children up to the time of his death, June
21, 1883, the fifty-first anniversary of his
father's death. Both his and his wife's re
mains were brought to Van Wert and interred
in the family lot in the old Van Wert cemetery.
In politics Mr. Gleason was a democrat,
and, being of an argumentative disposition, was
always ready for a tilt with a political oppo
nent. His religious belief was Universalism,
although never having any affiliation with that
church; as a citizen few were looked up to for
counsel and advice more than he, and while in
or out of public office his best efforts for the
promotion of the county's welfare were given
without stint, and many substantial improve
ments through the county will perpetuate the
memory of Stephen Gleason.
Joseph Gleason, father of the writer, was
born in Manchester township, Ontario county,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

237

N. Y. , September 3, 1803, arid, with his
brother and sisters, was given a fair common-
school education, which qualified him to teach
the district school. It was while engaged in
teaching he became acquainted with Miss Har
riet Brown, who was at that time a pupil in
his school, the acquaintance ripening into at
tachment destined to be life long," and which
resulted in their marriage, February 10, 1828.
After his marriage he continued to reside near
the place of his birth, following in turn the
occupations of teacher, farmer and lumberman,
until the year 1837, when with his wife and
three children, he joined the little colony then
about to try the many vicissitudes of emigra
tion to this then unsettled region. Entering
160 acres of land where Pott's Corners are
now, he devoted his time for the next two
years to clearing and improving a farm. Hav
ing been elected county recorder, he removed
to Van Wert in the autumn of 1839, purchas
ing a log tavern near the northeast corner of
Main and Jefferson streets, afterward replaced
by him with a two-story frame building, known
for many years as the American House. Being
quite popular with the new settlers, official
honors rather crowded upon him, as he at one
time held the office of county recorder, asso
ciate judge, and justice of the peace, being
appointed judge to fill a vacancy, so he did
not continue long in that office, but held the
other two for many years, and in the numer
ous pettifogged cases that came up to his court,
'Squire Gleason's rulings were rarely known to
be set aside. After remaining in this diversified
employment some fifteen years, he leased his
hotel property to John W. Conn, and his term
of office as county recorder having expired, he
formed a partnership with Thos. R. Kear, and
erected the first steam saw-mill built in the
county, on the ground where W. A. Clark's
flouring-mill is now located. After operating
this mill about a year he sold out to his partner,

taking a lease of the property for three years
as a part of the consideration and at the expir
ation of the lease, with his brother Stephen as a
partner, he built what is now the Gleason
Lumber Co. 's mill, of which he afterward be
came sole owner, operating it with little help
except that of his four sons, for a number of
years, its products contributing largely toward
the improvement of the town and surrounding
county. In the meantime, having sold the
hotel property and become possessed of several
farms in embryo in the near vicinity of Van
Wert, he gradually withdrew from the lumber
business (which thereafter was conducted by
his two youngest sons) and devoted his entire
time to improving his farms, and looking after
other real estate interests. During the Cen
tennial year Mr. and Mrs. Gleason visited the
Philadelphia World's fair, after which they
made a tour of the scenes of thier childhood
in Connecticut and New York, a journey long
anticipated and greatly enjoyed, they, as a
matter of course, finding but few still living in
the old neighborhoods whom they had known
in earlier years, yet this visit was something to
recall and live over again until the end of life.
It was with much satisfaction that he saw
nearly all of his children settle around the old
home (his eldest daughter having removed to
Michigan), and all were often together enjoy
ing happy reunions under the parental roof.
He was father of nine children, two of whom
(a boy and a girl) died in infancy, seven grow
ing to* man's and woman's estate as follows:
Mrs. Marietta L. Strother, of Algodon, Mich. ;
Julius A., Andrew J., Abram B. and Francis
J., and Mrs. Julia A. Carper; and Ella A.
Carper, of Van Wert city, who died April
4, 1876. In politics Mr. Gleason was always a demo
crat, but he drew the line when disunion
threatened, casting his vote for Stephen A.
Douglass for president, and when the Civil war

238

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

came, gave his two elder sons to uphold the
stars and stripes. His religious convictions
were broad and liberal, and although never
affiliating with any church, he was a strong be
liever in the final salvation of the whole human
race, or, in other words, was a Universalist,
losing no opportunity to attend the preaching
of that doctrine and to contribute of his means
thereto. His favorite mottoes were, "Love
thy neighbor as thyself" and, "Keep thyself
unspotted from the world. " With this simple
creed for his guidance he was content to trust
his future in the care of Him who doeth all
things well. The approach of the grim reaper
was gradual but sure for severalyears, paralytic
symptoms affecting his walk and speech being
first noticeable, yet his mental faculties were
impaired but slightly up to his death, which
occurred February 2, 1883, he having entered
upon his eightieth year. He was surrounded
by all of his family in his last hours and was
followed to his chosen resting place in beauti
ful Woodland by many surviving and loving
friends, who will long revere the name of
Joseph Gleason.
Harriet Brown, mother of the writer, and
eldest daughter of John and Elsie (Fish) Brown,
was born February 26, 181 1, at East Windsor,
Conn., her family afterward moving to On
tario county, N. Y., and from thence to Lorain
county, Ohio, where her parents resided until
their death. While residing in New York she
was united in marriage to Joseph Gleason, and
afterward, with him and their three small chil
dren, emigrated to this county to help build a
home in the almost unbroken wilderness. Al
though many privations and dangers had to be
endured, yet she never flinched from her duty,
and was in later years rewarded by seeing the
wilderness bud and blossom as the rose, and
the virgin forests give way to fertile and fruit
ful farms. So great was the transformation
that it was difficult to realize that but a score

of years had passed since she had nightly
gathered her little ones about her to quiet their
fears amid the howling of wolves in the sur
rounding forests. Mrs. Gleason never affilia
ted in membership with any church, and with
her family was Universalist in belief, and found
her highest good in maintaining an upright
character and striving to impart it to her chil
dren and grandchildren, who "rise up and
call her blessed." She survived her husband
a little over five years, her death occurring
July 26, 1888, at the family residence on West
Main street, Van Wert, whence her mortal re
mains were borne by tender hands to be laid
beside her loved companion in Woodland
cemetery. Sarah, eldest sister of Joseph Gleason, mar
ried William Pomeroy, with whom she re
moved to Canada, and when mother of five
children, died. Her husband being unable to
care for the children properly wrote an appeal
ing letter to the Van Wert relatives in their
behalf, which resulted in Stephen and Joseph
Gleason undertaking to bring the orphans here
to find homes, which was successfully accom
plished, and they all lived to become useful citi
zens, viz : Francis C. Pomeroy, Mrs. John
W. Clark, Carlos Pomeroy, Mrs. John T.
Bowers and Mrs. Sarah J. Brittson, all of
whom are now deceased. Their father fol
lowed them to Van Wert after a few years,
and lived with his eldest son near Middlebury,
up to the time of his death.
Phoebe N., second sister, became the wife
of Matson Warren, and with him settled first
in Lorain county, and afterward in Lake coun
ty, Ohio, whence with their family of seven
children they removed to Van Wert county in
the 'fifties, living first in the Gleason settle
ment, thence removing to Willshire, in and
near which town they continued to reside until
both parents were summoned to the better
land. For a number of years previous to his

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

239

death, Mr. Warren was totally blind. Mrs.
Warren survived her husband some eight or
ten years and lived to be the last surviving
member of her father's family, her death oc
curring in December, 1894, at about the age
of ninety years. Being a woman of great
memory, to her A. J. Gleason is indebted for
much of the family history here recorded,
there being very few records existing in posses
sion of Grandfather Gleason's descendants.
Her children were, John B. Warren, of Mount
Vernon, Ohio, the late Mrs. Abigail Langdon,
of Liberty township, Van Wert county, Abram
M. Warren, of Cleveland, Mrs. Minerva Lang
don of Liberty township, Mrs. Elmira Richards
of Van Wert city, Hiram Warren (deceased),
and Job A. Warren, of Pleasant township.
Clarissa, third sister, began teaching at an
early age and was one of the pioneers of that
profession in Van Wert county, numbering
among her pupils many who are among the
best known residents. She became the wife
of John Edson, to whom she bore one daugh
ter. In the year 1873 she was bereaved by
the loss of both husband and daughter, who
were stricken down by the destroyer within
but a few weeks of each other. She after
ward made her home in Van Wert, becoming
an active promoter of Spiritualism, in which
doctrine she sought consolation for her double
bereavement. Her death occurred November
24, 1893, at the age of eighty years.
Mary, fourth sister, married Jacob Thorn,
now of Chicago, 111., making her home at
Delphos, Van Wert and Dixon at different
periods, but while residing at the latter place
fell a victim to consumption, August 3, 1856,
aged thirty-nine years. No children were
born by her.
Eliza, fifth sister, was wedded to Matthew
Flagg and resided near her mother's homestead
in Pleasant township until about 1858, when,
being compelled to leave home by her hus

band's abuse, she, with her children (two sons
and a daughter), made her home in Van Wert
until her death, which occurred June 23,
1867, at the age of forty-eight years. Henry
J. Flagg, her eldest son, is now residing at
Xenia, Ohio, while Mrs. Albina Long, the
daughter, and Joseph C. Flagg, the youngest
son, reside in Whitley county, Ind. Benja
min H. Gleason, youdgest brother of the
writer's father, being a mere boy when the
family came to Van Wert county, grew to
manhood and cared for his widowed mother
until her death, after which he married a Miss
Potts, and in a few years removed to Green
ville, Mich., where he resided until 1890,
when he parted from his wife, coming to Van
Wert county, where he made his home with
his sister, Mrs. Edson, up to the time of his
death, which occurred December 19, 1891,
aged sixty-eight. He left no children.

HNDREW JACKSON GLEASON, son
of Joseph Gleason, was born iii Man
chester township, Ontario county,
N. Y., November 27, 1836. The
following year his parents removed to Ohio,
stopping for a few weeks in Lorain county,
with the mother's parents — Mr. and Mrs. John
Brown — while his father and uncle, Stephen
Gleason, proceeded via Lake Erie and the
Maumee river to the wilds of Van Wert county,
to select lands for themselves and widowed
mother. As an amusing incident of the jour
ney it is related that when the time came to
pari with her relatives in Lorain, Mrs. Glea
son remarked, upon getting into the wagon,
that she was sure that she was ' ' forgetting
something," but could not think what it was
until some one asked where the baby was,
when it was learned that the subject had been
left in the house asleep and unnoticed, and
nearly got left in the confusion.

240

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

In the fall of 1839 his father removed from
his clearing to Van V\ ert, then consisting only
of some half-dozen rude cabins, surrounded by
the primeval forest, in which wild animals of
all kinds roamed at will, furnishing sport and
the main supply of meat for the citizens almost
at their doors. Among his earliest and most
vivid recollections are the howling of wolves
after night-fall, from their haunts less than
one-quarter of a mile from our courthouse,
while bear, deer and smaller animals could be
frequently found by the hunter where now are
situated some Van Wert's most beautiful homes.
At the age of four he was sent to the village
school, which he attended regularly, as did
most boys, until arriving at the age of sixteen,
or thereabouts, when his father, having need
of his services in the saw-mill, his school days
came to a close, and his subsequent studies
were prosecuted at home during winter even
ings. Being passionately fond of music, after
acquiring a limited knowledge of the art, he in
1859 attended the Normal Musical institute at
Chicago for a term, and in i860, the institute
being then conducted by three eminent teach
ers — Dr. Lowell Mason, Wm. B. Bradbury
and Geo. F. Root — he remained under their
instruction a still longer period. Returning to
Van Wert he organized classes in vocal music,
and was engaged in teaching, when in the
spring of 1861, the first gun was fired on Fort
Sumter. Realizing' that the battles of the Union
must be fought mainly by the young men of
the north, and also recognizing the truth of
his illustrious namesake's sentiment — "the
Union, it must and shall be preserved " — he at
once lent his influence and aid to the cause,
and after the departure of one company of
three months' volunteers he assisted in organ
izing a reserve company, of which he was
elected second lieutenant, and assisted in drill
ing the company during the summer. After

the return of the three months' troops he en
listed, September 7, 1861, and helped to recruit
the first three years' company organized in Van
Wert, which was assigned to the Fifteenth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and became company
H of that organization. Being defeated as a
candidate for second lieutenant, he took his
place as a private in the ranks, serving in that
capacity until detailed at headquarters, Second
division, army of the Ohio, then at Munford-
ville, Ky. , as stenographer to the medical di
rector. Upon approaching the battle field at
Pittsburg Landing, feeling that his company
needed his services (and his duties at head
quarters being practically at an end) he fell in
as the company passed, and picking up an
Enfield rifle and accouterments on the battle
ground, he took part in the second day's bat
tle, until the rebel host was sent flying toward
Corinth. Remaining with his company there
after during the siege and capture of that rebel
stronghold, and the subsequent march of
Buell's army to Stevenson, Ala. ; he was pro
moted from private to second sergeant of the
company, and soon after detailed with a re
cruiting detachment of the regiment which left
for Ohio, just previous to Bragg's raid into
Kentucky, which caused the withdrawal of the
army of the Ohio to Louisville. Remaining in
Ohio until after the middle of October, he was
the first of the detail to report to the regiment,
which he did with fifteen recruits, all armed
and equipped, who were then at Saloma, Ky.,
the army then being en route forx Nashville,
Tenn. Having during his absence been pro
moted to first sergeant of the company, he at
once assumed the duties of that position, and
as such participated in the battles of Stone
River, Liberty Gap and Chickamauga. In
the last bloody conflict he was twice hit by
rebel bullets, the first, however, being so
nearly spent it did not disable; the last was
during the closing engagement of the first day,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

241

while he was in charge of his company, when
he was severely wounded, the ball passing
through the muscles of the right shoulder (in
front and rear, crossing the arm-pit), and com
pelling him to go to the rear. During the
next day's battle he remained most of the day
with other wounded on the field (the hospital
having been rendered untenable about nine A.
m. by rebel artillery), making his way to Ross-
ville that evening, and to Chattanooga next
day, proceeding by wagon train to Bridgeport,
Ala., (fifty miles), where his brother, Lieut.
J. A. Gleason, was stationed with a pontoon
train. His brother, having heard of his being
wounded, had just started for Chattanooga by
another road, and a messenger failing to over
take him, Sergt. Gleason and a wounded com
rade, who had accompanied him from the
battle field, were cared for by Lieut. Gleason's
brother officers, until his return. Being taken
to Nashville, he remained in the hospital there
a few days, when, with his comrade, he was
furloughed and at once left for home. Before
the expiration of his furlough he received a
recruiting commission, as second lieutenant,
conditioned upon his securing twenty recruits.
Owing to the fact, however, that the
first lieutenant of his company (who was
also wounded in the same battle) was also
working for a commission as captain, the ser
geant was unable to get over sixteen to his
credit, by the following March, when his com
pany, having veteranized, with a few excep
tions, and, having enjoyed the thirty-day fur
lough allowed, was returning to the front when
he resigned his recruiting commission, re-
enlisted as a veteran, and hastened to over
take his command, then en route for Chatta
nooga, Tenn., which he succeeded in doing at
Nashville, just as they were ready to leave
the city. Taking his accustomed place at
the head of his company as first sergeant,
although still feeble from the effects of his

wound and a severe cough contracted while
in the hospital, he marched through with
the regiment, arriving at Chattanooga in bet
ter condition than when he started. He was-
promoted to sergeant-major of the regiment
soon after, serving in that capacity during the
bloody battles of the Atlanta campaign, among
which may be mentioned Resaca, Pickett's
Mills, Kenesaw mountain and Atlanta (his
regiment being in Willich's First brigade,
Wfood's Third division, Fourth army corps,
under Howard and Stanley, until Atlanta was
besieged when he was commissioned second
lieutenant, and assigned to company A. He-
was with that company during the siege, the
subsequent flank movement to Jonesboro re
sulting in Atlanta's capture, the return move
ment to Tennessee under Gen. Thomas, and
the battles of Franklin and Nashville, Tenn.,
at the latter engagement being left in com
mand of the company by the death of Lieut.
Hanson, the commander, who was killed in
the first charge on Overton's Hill the second
day. He continued in command of the com
pany during the pursuit of Hood's scattered
legions into Alabama, and until the arrival of
the Fourth army corps at Huntsville, where a
winter camp was established. Here he re
ceived a commission as first lieutenant, and
was appointed adjutant of the regiment, par
ticipating in the subsequent advance into east
Tennessee, by Gen. Stanley, the rendezvous at
Nashville after the surrender of Lee and
Johnston, and the expedition to Texas in July,
1865. He was tendered a commission as
captain while at San Antonio, but declined
further promotion, being well suited with the
office he then held, and, realizing that the
regiment would soon be mustered out, pre
ferred to see junior officers promoted to the
vacant captaincies, to being advanced merely
for the honors attached to the title. After a
service of about four months in Texas his reg-

242

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

iment was mustered out at San Antonio, No
vember 21, 1865, and ordered to Columbus,
Ohio, for final discharge, which place was
reached December 25, Christmas day. The
enlisted men were discharged almost at once,
the officers remaining a few days to close their
accounts with the government, so that he did
not arrive at his home in Van Wert until the
last day of the year. In was a happy New
Year, indeed, to be reunited with friends in
his boyhood's home, after more than four and
a quarter years' service and exposure to the
hardships and dangers incident to army life,
and to be once more free, seemed like the
dawn of a new life — the past four years more
like a horrible night-mare than reality — the
present rather a bright dream than the truth,
although eagerly anticipated for months.
After a brief rest and reunion with his peo
ple, he packed his grip and betook himself to
Chesterfield, Fulton county, Ohio, where, on
the 28th of February, 1866, he was united in
marriage with Miss Adeline Disbrow, a lady
whose acquaintance he had formed before the
war, while her people were residing in Van Wert
county, and with whom he had corresponded,
but had not seen for nearly seven years. Re
turning to Van Wert soon after, with his
bride, he purchased a lot and built the house
on North Shannon street, in which he has ever
since resided. Mr. Gleason embarked in busi
ness with his brother soon after locating in
Van Wert, (at first with a partner) in the man
ufacture of wagon and carriage wood stock,
which has since been conducted by the firm
of J. A. Gleason & Brother, with a fair degree
of success, their product being favorably
known to the trade not only of our own coun
try but foreign countries as well, while the
money they have expended for raw material
and labor has helped to improve farms and
build up the city of Van Wert to its present
proportions.

Mr. Gleason is one of the safe and conserv
ative business men of the city of Van Wert, as
well as one of the most enterprising and benev
olent men of the city. He is a liberal con
tributor to all public enterprises, having as
sisted in organizing the Van Wert Hedge Co.,
with a capital of $40,000, and has been twice
chosen president of the company, which is
composed mostly of leading farmers of Van
Wert county. He cheerfully encourages that
which seems to be for the benefit of the city
and the county as well; was one of the early
trustees and for two years manager of the
beautiful Woodland cemetery, his term ending
by limitation in the spring of 1895. In mat
ters educational he is ever a strong promoter,
ever ready to encourage the young toward se
curing a good education. Politically, while
his early teachings were democratic, he has
been since the war a stanch republican, ever
ready to assert his principles and to assist in
carrying out the wishes of the people. He re
ligiously believes in the ultimate salvation of
the whole human race, although not being
classed as a member by any church; yet, feel
ing that an upright, blameless life is essential
to earthly happiness, and to prepare us for the
greater life to come, he willingly encourages
all religious denominations in attaining this
end, without regard to creed. Socially he is
a member and past grand of Van Wert lodge,
No. 251, I. O. O. F., a past patriarch of Ma
rion encampment, No. 61, was a charter mem
ber of Canton Van Wert, patriarchs militant,
member of Pearl Rebekah lodge, No. 53, I.
O. O. F. , is commander of William C. Scott
post, N. 100, G. A. R., having been chosen
representative to the Louisville encampment
in 1895, irom district No. 35, beside represent
ing his post in the department encampments
at Steubenville, Canton and Sandusky. He
is also present M. W. of Van Wert lodge, No.
47, A. O. U. W. , which body he has also at

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

243

different times represented in the meetings of
the grand lodge.
Dorothea Adeline Disbrow, wife of A. J.
Gleason, was born January 17, 1841, in La
Grange township, Lorain county, Ohio, being
second daughter of Orville Disbrow, and Fan
nie M. Buck, his wife, both of whom were
born in Delaware county, N. Y. , the latter
now residing in Chesterfield township, Fulton
county, Ohio, where her husband died in 1874.
About the year 1853 Mr. Disbrow removed to
Hardin county, Ohio, whence, after residing a
year, he removed to Van Wert county, pur
chasing the farm now owned by John Roberts
in Liberty township, on the Van Wert and
Willshire road, where the family resided until
1859, when they removed to Fulton county,
the present home. Mrs. Gleason received the
average education afforded by country schools
in those days, and, at the close of the war,
married her soldier lover and came to Van
Wert again to reside. Before her marriage
she was baptised and became a member of the
Desciples' church. She was a past noble
grand of Pearl lodge No. 53, Daughters of
Rebekah, I. O. O. F. , and delegate to state
assembly D. of R., also past president of Wm.
C. Scott corps, No. 18, W. R. C, being
twice elected as presiding officer by the corps,
and was very useful and active in both socie
ties, until forced by ill health to give up her
charitable work, which will long keep her
memory green among those who were asso
ciated with her, while it never in the least
caused her to forget her duty to her family.
In February, 1892, while caring for her afflicted
eldest daughter she herself was stricken with
a fatal malady, which baffled the best medical
skill procurable, and she steadily declined in
health until March 15, 1893, when she peace
fully expired, surrounded by her loved ones,
aged fifty-two years and two months. Her re
mains were followed to Woodland by both so

cieties of which she was a member, and by
many other sorrowing jfriends and relatives,
in whose hearts will long be left an aching void.
To Mr. and Mrs. Gleason, in their modest
home, were born seven children, of whom the
third, fourth and sixth died in early childhood.
Mariette, the eldest, born November 25, 1866,
was a graduate of the Union ^schools in 1885,
and afterward taught with marked success un
til a rule was adopted by the board of educa
tion barring relatives of its members from posi
tions as teachers (her uncle being a member of
the board). She was then elected a teacher in
theRushford, Minn., schools, where she taught
one year, after which declining health caused
her to abandon the vocation of teaching as
that of book-keeping, in which she engaged for
a time. After bravely resisting the steady ap
proach of the destroyer for many months, dur
ing which she bore her sufferings with great
patience and christian fortitude, and after her
beloved mother had preceded her only a few
weeks, she departed this life for the better land
April 30, 1894, and was placed beside her
mother in the family lot at Woodland. She
was a consistent member of the Methodist
Episcopal church of Van Wert for a number of
years, and dearly beloved by all who knew her.
Fannie M., second daughter, was born Febru
ary 9, 1868, and received her education in the
public schools of Van Wert, and resides with
her father on North Shannon street, being a
member of the First Methodist Episcopal
church, Epworth league, and a past noble
grand of Pearl lodge D. of R. Lilian M.,
wife of D. W. Armentrout, was born August
23, 1874, educated in public schools, married,
December 27, 1891, and is the mother of two
children, Ruth and Dorothea, she resides in
Van Wert, her husband being a fireman on the
C, J. & M. R. R. Nellie P., youngest daugh
ter, was born November 29, 1882, and is now
being educated in public schools.

244

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

BRANK J. GLEASON— It is with
marked satisfaction that' the biogra
pher adverts to the life history of one
who has attained success in any vo
cation in which he has directed his thought
and action, and such a life, whether it be one
of calm, but consecutive endeavor, or one of
meteoric accomplishment, must ever serve as
both lesson and incentive. The subject of this
review is distinctively one of the representative
business men of Van Wert, and has directed
his efforts toward the goal of maximum suc
cess, and there is particular interest attaching
to his career from the fact that he is a native
of the city where he has attained a position so
much to be commended, and, perhaps, envied.
Frank J. Gleason was born in Van Wert
on the 31st of May, 1842, being the son of
Joseph and Harriet (Brown) Gleason, whose
individual history is noted in detail under
special heading in this publication. He was
reared to manhood in the city of his birth, re
ceiving his preliminary education in the pub
lic schools, which in his youth were far differ
ent from the excellent system now in vogue, as,
at that time, Van Wert was but just emerging
from its status as a pioneer village. He first
attended school in a little log building which
stood on the present site of the Spencer house,
and then went to the new school building lo
cated on the McKim corner of Main and Wash
ington streets, and finished up his scholastic
training in the school building on the corner
of Linn and Woodland avenues. After leav-
school our subject entered into an association
with his brother, Abram B. , and rented the
saw-mill which was owned by their father,
paying him a stipulated price for each thous
and feet of lumber turned out from the mill.
This fraternal partnership existed until 1893,
when our subject retired from the firm, whose
successor was the Gleason Lumber company,
and he then effected the purchase of the

People's mills, a finely equipped plant for the
production of flour, and these mills he has since
conducted upon his individual responsibility,
having pushed the enterprise forward to a point
of most successful business operation.
When our subject and his brother began
their business career in the saw-milling indus
try their financial resources were represented in
the sum of $1.25, and they engaged in custom
sawing and also bought logs— our subject
operating the engine and his brother acting as
sawyer. The latter was finally elected sheriff
of the county, whereupon Frank J. assumed
the entire management of the saw-mill, super
vising all details. That success 'attended the
efforts of the young men was shown in the fact
that when they retired from the business our
subject was the owner of a fine stock farm of
163 acres in the county and valuable property
in the city. In connection with the business
eterprise, to which reference has already been
made, Mr. Gleason still continues his connec
tion with the stock farm, and has some of the
finest standard-bred horses, in this section of
the Union. He has in training twelve horses,
eight of these being young, and the other four
having secured records, which are herewith
noted: Blue Bell, 2:19!; Joe Hooker, Jr.,
2:24^ ; Abbie H., 2:26^; and Ashwood, a two-
year-old, with a record of 2:22^. He is also
owner of some exceptionally fine brood mares,
which are in keeping at Sunset stock farm.
Another fine individual owned by our subject
is Billie Davis, sire of Sunset, 2:15!, said
record being made at the age of three years.
On his stock farm Mr. Gleason also keeps a
fine herd of Jerseys and a flock of very valua
ble Shropshire sheep.
In politics our subject renders stanch alle
giance to the democratic party, and fraternally
be is identified with the Independent Order of"
Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.

FRANK J. GLEASON.

MRS. MARY E. GLEASON,
DECEASED.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

249

On the 24th of May, 1866, Mr. Gleason
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Elvira
Slade, who was born near Troy, N. Y., on the
ist day of February, 1842, the daughter of
Erastus Slade, and to this union three chil
dren were born, viz: Harry M., to whom indi
vidual reference is made immediately following;
Bertha M., wife of Clyde A. Purmort, and
Grace E., at home. The devoted wife and
mother was summoned into eternal rest on the
26th of January, 1892. In religion she was a
devout member of the Presbyterian church
and was a noble christian woman, whose death
was deeply lamented far outside the sacred pre
cincts of the home.

BARRY M. GLEASON.— Successs in
any line of occupation in any avenue
of business, is not a matter of spon
taneity, but is the legitimate result of
individual effort, and of the proper use of the
means at hand. The improvement of oppor
tunity and the exercise of sound judgment are
alike essential to the accomplishment of any
man's designs.* Wisdom is the proper adapta
tion of means to noble ends. In view of this
fact the study of biography becomes valuable,
and its lessons of practical use. The subject
of this sketch is one of the able, progressive
and representative young business men of the
city of Van Wert, and there is eminent con
sistency in according him attention in this
connection. Mr. Gleason is a native son of the city of
Van Wert, having been born here on the 18th
of August, 1867 — the son of Frank J. and
Mary Elvira (Slade) Gleason, to whom indi
vidual reference is made elsewhere in this vol
ume. Our subject received his preliminary ed
ucation in the excellent public schools of this
city, continuing his studies therein until 1883,
when he entered the Bryant & Stratton Busi-
12

ness college, at Chicago, where he completed
a four-months course, securing a thorough
theoretical knowledge of business forms and
methods, after which he returned home and
put his acquirements to practical test by de
voting his attention to office work. In this line
of endeavor he was engaged until 1893, when
he accepted the position as book-keeper in the
People's mills, where he has since served, dis
charging the exacting duties of the same with
signal capability and fidelity, and being recog
nized as an expert accountant and one of the
most discerning young business men in Van
Wert city.
Mr. Gleason was united in marriage, on the
1 6th of April, 1890, to Maude Winifred Hester,
who was born in Van Wert, on the 6th of Oc
tober, 1872, the daughter of U. H. Hester, a
well known commercial traveler. To this
union two children, Hannah Floy and Robert,
were born. Hannah Floy was born August
27, 1892, but survived only until November
lS< ! 893- and Robert was born April 7, 1895.
In his political adherency, Mr. Gleason is
an uncompromising democrat. In his fraternal
relations our subject is prominently identified
with the Knights of Pythias.

HBRAM BROWN GLEASON, a prom
inent business man of Van Wert and
an ex-county official, was born in the
county of Van Wert, April 10, 1840,
a son of Joseph Gleason, a notice of whom ap
pears elsewhere in these pages. Mr. Gleason
attended the schools of Pleasant township in
his youth, and while not educated in the sense
in which that term is usually accepted, he has
by long years of business contact with his fel
low-men in different capacities become the
possessor of a vast fund of practical knowledge,
such as schools and colleges fail to impart.
When but fifteen years of age he began work-

250

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ing in a saw-mill and grist-mill, where he found
employment until his twenty-first year.
On attaining his majority, Mr. Gleason
accepted the position of head sawyer and gen
eral manager with the proprietor of the afore
said mill, at a compensation of $1.25 per day,
and continued as an employee until 1866, his
wages in the meantime having been greatly in
creased by reason of his efficiency. In the
year last named, in partnership with his brother,
Frank J. Gleason, he purchased the mill,
greatly increased the capacity, and added
machinery for planing lumber, and operated it
jointly with his brother until 1893, doing an
extensive business in the interim. In 1893,
Mr. Gleason took as partners his son Earl
Gleason and F. H. Carper, thus forming the
well known firm, the Gleason Lumber company,
the subject retaining a half-interest in the en
terprise, which has become one of the largest
and most successful of the kind in Van Wert
county. In 1868 Mr. Gleason became interested in
real estate, especially farm lands, and he now
owns over 500 acres in the county of Van
Wert, the greater part of which is well im
proved. He became connected with the Van
Wert County bank May 25, 1869, as a stock
holder and director, and in March, 1883, be
came identified with the First National bank
of Van Wert, with which he has since been
connected in an official capacity. This is one
of the most substantial institutions of the kind
in Northwestern Ohio, and not a little of its
prosperity is due to the wise council and sound
financial foresight of the subject, who is one
of the most prominent and capable officials of
the institution. In addition to the business
enterprises referred to, Mr. Gleason is inter
ested in the Ohio Live Stock & Land company,
and the Van Wert Natural Gas company, and
for a period of five years was connected with
the Eagle Stave company; he was for- the

same length of time a prominent factor in the
Van Wert Stave company, and to him is
largely due the credit of establishing the first
building and loan association in Van Wert, a
successful financial enterprise, of which he was
for some years president. These associations
have found in Mr. Gleason an active promoter,
and he has served as a director of the same
since their organization.
In 1869 Mr. Gleason was elected, as a
democrat, sheriff of Van Wert county, which
position he filled most acceptably for two
terms, having been re-elected his own suc
cessor in 1 87 1. In the matter of internal im
provements Mr. Gleason early took the initia
tion, and he was one of the chief promotors of
the C. , J. & M. R. R., of which he served as a
director until it was changed from a narrow to
a broad-gauge road; and all other enterprises,
having for their object the material advance
ment of the county have found in him a liberal
patron. Financially Mr. Gleason'ssaccesshas
been commensurate with the activity and ability
displayed in the various enterprises, and his
standing in business circles, both local and
beyond the confines of his city and county, is
most enviable. He possesses marked business
ability, is thoroughly familiar with every detail
of the different enterprises with which he is
identified, and manages his affairs with a tact
and skill which mark him as a man of superior
judgment. His has, indeed, been an active
and honorable career, and while he has been
successful in the business world, he is highly
esteemed in the community for strict integrity
and the display of true manly qualities.
Mr. Gleason entered into the marriage rela
tion in the city of Van Wert, February 6, 1 862,
with Lucretia J. Fox, who was born in Colum
biana county, Ohio, daughter of Jacob and
Catherine (Zimmerman) Fox. Two children
resulted from the union — Lofnis E. , a partner
of his father, and Mittie E., who married Dr.

JULIUS A. GLEASON.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

253

W. T. Chambers, a well known dentist of
Denver, Colo. Mrs. Gleason died April i,
1867, since which time Mr. Gleason has made
his home with her people and with his son.

>y,ULIUS ALONZO GLEASON, of Van
A Wert, Ohio, second son of Joseph and
A 1 Harriet (Brown) Gleason, was born in
Manchester township, Ontario county,
N. Y. , June 9, 1834. When about three years
of age his parents removed to Van Wert
county, Ohio, locating, at first, six miles south
west of the village of the same name, near
the road leading to Willshire. Among his
earliest recollections are some incidents of the
trip by wagon from Van Wert village to the
new home in the unbroken forest. A road had
to be opened for the wagons by cutting logs
and small trees out of the way. Sleeping the
first night of their arrival in the wagons, the
next day temporary "shanties" were made of
poles covered with branches, which were used
until cabins could be built of logs, and covered
with split boards for shingles, when sleeping
quarters were made more comfortable. The
education of young Julius began with rudi-
mental instruction received from his mother
and sister at home and from attending a little
' ' play-school " kept by his Uncle Stephen
Gleason 's eldest daughter — so that at the time
of the removal to Van Wert in 1839 he could
spell and read moderately well. Afterward,
he attended the village schools (generally only
during the winter season) until he attained the
age of about sixteen years, when, having ob
tained a fair knowledge of the common
branches, his school education terminated.
Having early acquired a practical knowledge
of penmanship, he was of valuable assistance
to his father in the office of county recorder,
which office was held by Joseph Gleason for
several terms. He also assisted in the man

agement of the hotel of which his father was
proprietor for about fifteen years after the re
moval of the family to the village in 1839.
During the early part of this period he re
members of parties of Indian hunters being
encamped near by. They were generally civil
enough, except when they had imbibed too
much "firewater," at which time they be
came quarrelsome, but their quarrels were gen
erally among themselves.
Joseph Gleason, the father, having leased
the hotel property and embarked in the lum
ber business, found the services of his son,
Julius, valuable in the manufacture of lumber,
and for many years the latter assisted in oper
ating the saw-mill, generally as engineer.
Becoming imbued with a desire to see a little
more of the world than had yet come within
his ken, young Gleason made a somewhat ex
tended trip westward, proceeding via Chicago
to the Mississippi, arriving at Fulton, 111. , July
23, 1857. Then finding employment at Lyons
and Clinton, Iowa, as stationary engineer, he
remained in that vicinity until September,
when he made a voyage up Fever river to
Galena, 111., thence by railroad to Dubuque,
Iowa, where he worked for about three weeks,
after which, taking passage on an up-river
steamboat to Winona, Minn., he proceeded by
stage to Rochester and Oronoco, in the same
state, where he visited S. B. Clark, an old
friend of his boyhood. Remaining 'in this
vicinity, employed on a farm for a few weeks,
he returned to Van Wert, Ohio. Here he re
sumed work in his father's saw-mill as engineer,
and afterward associated as a partner in the
business with his brother, Andrew J., and
his father.
In January and February, 1858, young Mr.
Gleason was employed in the office of the
county recorder. March 3d he joined the
I. O. O. F. lodge, located at Van Wert, and
later the encampment branch of the same

254

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

order, in which he still holds membership.
During this period he took a great interest in
musical affairs — as choir leader and in assisting
to organize a glee club, etc., having also con
siderable practice in that line at home with
brothers and sisters. About this time, on set
tling with his father, he received a deed for a
building lot in west Van Wert, on which he
afterward built the residence now occupied by
himself and family. Having passed the re
quired examination, he taught a four months'
term of school in the district two and a half
miles southwest of Van Wert during the win
ter of 1859-60. In January, 1 861, he took an
agency for a work on Odd Fellowship and
made a tour, through central New York, New
Jersey and Pennsylvania, canvassing for the
same, and, returning westward, arrived at Van
Wert early in August, 1861.
The thundering of rebel guns against Fort
Sumter had now aroused a loyal and respon
sive protest in his heart and he was not slow in
offering his services in defense of the nation's
honor, enlisting as a member of company H,
Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, September
7, 1 86 1, and receiving official preferment as
second sergeant of his company, which he had
assisted in recruiting, to serve ' ' three years or
during the war'' — among its members being
some of his intimate friends and neighbors, his
brother, Andrew J., being included. Septem
ber 1 3 they boarded a train eastward, proceed
ing to Mansfield, where the Fifteenth was or
ganizing under Col. M. R. Dickey of that
place. After organizing, the regiment was
transported by railroad via Columbus to Camp
Dennison, near Cincinnati, and thence, after
being armed and equipped, via Cincinnati,
Ohio, and Covington, to Lexington, Ky., and
thence via Frankfort to Louisville.
On the morning of October 1 1 the started
southward on the Louisville & Nashville rail
way. At Lebanon Junction, twenty-eight

miles south, a bridge had been destroyed and
they were hindered two hours waiting for an
engine from the south. At Nolin Station, nine
miles south of Elizabethtown, they went into
camp late in the evening of October 1 1 ; re
maining in camp here until December 9, they
proceeded southward and arrived at Munford
ville, on Green river, December 11, 1861.
They remained here, taking the usual round of
camp duties, until about February 15, when.
they marched via Bowling Green, Ky., and to
Nashville, Tenn., arriving March 2, 1862.
Continuing their march from here (as a part of
Buell's army), they reached Columbia, Tenn.,
March 20. April 1 they continued the march
westward toward Savannah and Pittsburg
Landing, arriving in time to take part in the
battle of Shiloh on April 7, and in the follow
ing up of the rebel army toward Corinth, Miss.,
where they arrived about May 5 ; Corinth be
ing taken May 30, they remained encamped
near there until June 10, when the army
moved eastward and arrived at Iuka, Miss., on
the nth, and at Tuscumbia, Ala., June 15;
on the 22d it crossed the Tennessee river near
Florence, and, marching eastward through
northern Alabama, arrived at Stevenson July
13, and on the 18th went into camp near the
mouth of Battle Creek, Tenn., remaining in
camp there until August 23, when they learned
that Bragg's army had cut their communica
tions and got in their rear, heading for Louis
ville, Ky. August 23, 1862, their cracker line
being in the hands of the enemy, they were
allowed to forage from the country they passed.
through, and green corn, apples, peaches,
fresh meat, honey, etc., were found in abun
dant quantities to supply their wants. The
march was across the mountains via Tracy
City, Altamonte, Manchester and Murfrees
boro, to Nashville, where they arrived Sep
tember 9, 1862; continuing the march north
ward, they reached Munfordville, Ky. , Sep-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

255

tember 22, and the next two days made forced
marches- of twenty-four miles each day, via
Elizabethtown, to West Point, on the Ohio,
reaching Louisville, Ky.-, September 26. Mr.
Gleason here received his commission as sec
ond lieutenant, to date from May 26, 1862.
October 1 the Fifteenth marched from Louis
ville, via Shelbyville and Frankfort, thence
"via Lawrenceburg and Willisburg, to the bat
tlefield of Perryville, October 11, but was not
actively engaged in this battle, being held in
reserve. October 12th they marched, via Harrods-
burg, Danville, etc., to Crab Orchard, after
ward countermarching toward Munfordville
and thence via Bowling Green to Nashville,
arriving there November 7, 1862. November
19, Lieut. Gleason was detailed in command
of the pioneer detachment of the regiment and
was on detached service in the pioneer brigade
and pontoon train until January 29, 1864, when
he rejoined the regiment.
Lieut. Gleason commanded the regimental
pioneer company from April, 1864, during the
Atlanta campaign and the battle of Nashville,
December- 15-16, 1864; was promoted to first
lieutenant March 18, 1864, and captain Jan
uary 18, 1865. He was on detached service
as assistant provost marshal at San Antonio,
Tex., October 21, 1865, and was honorably
discharged with his regiment at San Antonio,
Texas, November 21, 1865, and after this he
returned to his home at Van Wert, where he
recruited his health, which had become some
what seriously impaired. Of the business
career of Capt. Gleason sufficient mention is
made in connection of the sketch of his brother,
Andrew J., with whom he associated himself
under the firm name of J. A. Gleason & Bro.,
and at this point it is sufficient to say that they
are identified with one of the leading industries
of the city, and that our subject is one of Van
Wert's representative men.

In politics Capt. Gleason exercises his
right of franchise in the support of the men
and measures of the republican party, and by
that party was elected auditor of Van Wert
county and served a term of two years from
November, 1872, until November, 1874. In
his fraternal relations the captain is identified
with the G. A. R., and has been a member of
the I. O. O. F. since 1855. Mr. Gleason has
maintained a lively interest in all that pertains
to the advancement and substantial up-build
ing of Van Wert, and has been a leader in
securing to the city its effective public school
system, having devoted no little attention to
matters germane to educational facilities.
On the 4th qf September, 1866, Mr. Glea
son was tinted in marriage to Margaret Clark,
who was born at Allentown, in Allen county,
Ohio, on the ist of May, 1838, being the
daughter of Samuel M. and Lydia (Daugherty)
Clark, and whose home has been in Van Wert
from her infancy; the offspring of this union
has been two ¦ children: Willard E., who is
second lieutenant of company C, of the Sixth
infantry; United States army, being now sta
tioned at Fort Thomas, Ky. , and being agrad-
uate of West Point; and Walter, who holds a
position as book-keeper of the Van Wert
Natural Gas company. On the 22d of April,
1 88 1, Mr. and Mrs. Gleason adopted a found
ling female child, supposed then to be two
months old, whose parents and name are yet
unknown, but to whom they gave the name of
Nora Marie. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason and
daughter, Nora Marie, are members of the
First Methodist church of Van Wert.
The Gleason family have been conspicu
ously identified with the history of this section
of the Buckeye state from the early pioneer
epoch, and any compilation purporting to give
even slight details in regard to those who have
occupied representative positions in connection
with the material progress and substantial de-

256

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

velopment of the city of Van Wert, would be
manifestly incomplete and incongruous were
there a failure to advert to this well known and
honored family. On other pages of this vol
ume the publishers have gladly given space to
very complete records touching the lives of the
several members of this family, and at this
point much satisfaction is felt in directing
attention to one of its representatives, whose
business career has been marked by scrupulous
honor and integrity and whose loyal service in
defense of the nation has been voluntary and
unstinted.

©EORGE W. TOLAN, of the Van
Wert Marble & Granite company,
Van Wert city, Ohio, was born in
Carrollton, Ohio, in July, 1849, a son
of James and Elizabeth (Crabbs) Tolan, the
former of whom was born in Pennsylvania June
8, 1806, and was a son of James Tolan, who
came from Scotland in an early day and lo
cated in Washington county, Pa., where he
was married.
Ja'mes Tolan, the father of George W.,
was the eldest of a family of eight children,
grew to manhood in Pennsylvania and there
learned the shoemaker's trade, which he fol
lowed until 1850; then engaged in the marble
business in Carrollton, Ohio, and there fol
lowed it until he came to Van Wert, in 1864,
where he continued in the marble business
until 1887, at which time he retired. He mar
ried in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1830, Miss Eliza
beth Crabbs, who was born in Jefferson county,
Ohio, in 181 1, and to this union were born
nine children, as follows: Thomas J., deceased;
William; D. H. ; Isaac, deceased; Andy; Mary
A., M. D. ; James; George W. , our subject,
and Hattie A., now the widow of John
Dunlap Irvin. Mr. Tolan was quite well to
do when he retired from business. In politics

he was a democrat, and while living in Carroll
county he served one term as county sheriff,
and as postmaster of Carrollton under Presi
dent Pierce. His death took place November
4, 1 891, and that of his widow December 3,
1894, and it is needless to say that their loss
was deeply felt by the community in which
they so long lived. James Tolan was a gentle
man of great public spirit, conscientious in all
respects, high-toned and honorable, and de
votedly attached to his family and friends. He
lived a life of strictly moral character and was
truly christian-like in all his acts.
George W. Tolan resided with his parents
in Carrolton until twelve years of age, when he
went to Delphos, Ohio, where he served five
years under his brother, Thomas J., as an ap
prentice at marble cutting. He then passed a
year and a half in Lima, Ohio, as a journey
man, and in 1869 came to Van Wert and
worked at journey work for his father until
1872; he next passed six months in Cincinnati
and eight months in Louisville, Ky. , working
at his trade, and then returned to Van Wert
and remained here until 1878; he next worked
in Saint Louis, Mo., for eight months; in Lit
tle Rock, Ark., three months; in Carthage,
Mo., four months; then again in Saint Louis
until 1880, when he returned to Van Wert and
worked for his father until 1887, following
with a four years' job in the shop of Rice
Bros. At the conclusion of this engagement,
Mr. Tolan and George W. Sidle united in the
marble business as equal partners in Van Wert,
still carry on their trade with uniform suc
cess, and now handle about $6,000 worth of
work each season. Mr. Tolan is also and ex
pert sign painter and letter draftsman, which
art materially assists him in tombstone and
kindred classes of sculpture. In politics he is
a sterling democrat, and socially he is a genial,
whole-souled gentleman. (See sketch of G.
W. Sidle.)

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

257

'HOMAS ERWIN, deceased, was born
near Staunton, Va., in November,
1 812, a son of Edward and Mary Er-
win, the former of whom was a large
planter and extensive slaveholder. In 1832
Edward Erwin brought his family to Ohio and
engaged in farming in Highland county. This
occupation he followed until his death, that
of his wife having taken place prior to his.
They were of Scotch-Irish descent, and in re
ligion were pious Presbyterians, in which de
nomination all his sons were elders. Their
family comprised eleven children, named as fol
lows: Stewart, John, Reuben B., Payton,
Hannah, Thomas, Harriet, Newton, Peachy,
Mary and Frank, all of wnom are deceased,
with the exception of Peachy, who resides in
Greenfield, Ohio.
Thomas Erwin, the gentleman whose name
introduces this sketch and a few events of
whose life it is our object to depict, was reared
on the old Virginia plantation, and was twenty
years of age when the family came to High
land county, Ohio. Here he was married, in
1835, to Mary Ann Wright, who was born in
Bourbon county, Ky., in 181 5 — a daughter of
Alexander and Mary (Patten) Wright1— and at
once engaged in farming in the same county,
a vocation which he followed for several years,
and then engaged in a fulling-mill, which he
followed for several additional years, when he
removed to Ripley, Brown county, Ohio, and
entered the grocery business, which he fol
lowed until the close of his days. In 1854 he
lost his wife, who was the mother of eight
children, named as follows: Mary M., wife of
S. C. Munger, of Waterloo, Iowa, and for
forty-four years teacher and principal of schools
in Ohio, Iowa and Nebraska; Alexander W. ,
who died in 1861; an infant, deceased; Han
nah J., also deceased; Sarah E., in Van Wert;
Catherine A., widow of James E. Morrison,
late county clerk of Van Wert county, of

whom mention is made in full below; Thomas
S., and John D., deceased. After the death
of the mother of this family Thomas Erwin
married, in 1854, Mary Campbell, a native of
Brown county, who died in 1856. Thomas
Erwin died December 12, 1872, a member of
the Presbyterian church, a republican in poli
tics and a Son of Temperance — a man of sterl
ing worth and of sound integrity. His daugh
ter, Sarah E. , who has made her home in Van
Wert since 1875, has devoted her life to teach
ing. She is also an artist, and has produced
some very fine specimens of her skill.
Mrs. S. C. Munger has two sons — one a
member of the legislature of Nebraska; the
other a- prominent young physician of Spencer,
Iowa. Alexander W. Erwin, deceased, was
married in Brown county, Ohio, to Araminta
Smith, in 1856, by whom he had one son, H.
K. Erwin, a prominent traveling man, of Saint
Paul, Min. Mrs. Arminta Erwin died in 1872.
James E. Morrison, late county clerk of
Van Wert county, was born in Franklin
county, Pa., November 27, 1839, a son of
Andrew J. and Sarah (Edwards) Morrison.
James E. was reared in Fort Wayne, Ind., to
which point his parents had moved when he
was quite a child; thence he removed to Co
lumbia City, Ind., while still a lad, and then
lived until he became of age; he then came to
Van Wert and engaged in clerking in the hard
ware store of A. B. McCurdy until the fall of
1862, when he enlisted in company K, Forty-
sixth Ohio volunteers, under Col. Alexander.
He was made orderly sergeant September 10,
1864, served until the close of the war, was
discharged in June, 1865, and then returned to
Van Wert. He was twice married; first, in
Mercer county, to Hannah Robinson, by whom
he had one child — Hannah M., wife of Wesley
Humphreys, of Montana. Mrs. Hannah Mor
rison was called away in 1870, and on the
twenty-first day of March, 1872, Mr. Morri-

258

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

son married Catherine Ann Erwin, daughter of
Thomas Erwin, of whom mention is made in
full. To this union was born one child — James
E. E. Morrison, who is now a clerk in the
store of D. R. Bonewitz. James E. Morrison
was very popular with the republican party,
and under its auspices served as county clerk
from 1865 to 1872, or two full consecutive
terms; he was a charter Mason, and also a
member of the G. A. R., and a genial, liberal
man, beloved by all who knew him. His
death occurred March 22, 1883. Mrs. Cath
erine A. Morrow, his widow, is a most esti
mable lady, and still has her residence in Van
Wert, beloved by all who know her.

WOHN DUNLAP ERVIN, deceased, was
A a native of Ohio, and was born in Hills-
A J borough, Highland county, November
~~~ 12, 1846, a son of Thomas Ervin.
John Dunlap Ervin was reared and educated
in Ripley county, Ohio; in 1877 he removed
to the city of Van Wert, and for twelve years
acted as chief clerk, or head salesman, for Mr.
Zimmerman; in 1889 he accepted a similar
position in the dry-goods establishment of Mr.
Seelburg, a situation he most satisfactorily
filled until December 16, 1893, when he was
called away by death. The marriage of Mr.
Erwin took place in Van Wert March 12, 1878,
to Miss Hattie Alma Tolan, who was born in
Carrollton, Ohio, July 4, 1856, a daughter of
James and Elizabeth (Crabbs) Tolan, and this
felicitous union was blessed by the birth of two
children — Mary G. and Catherine E. — who are
still living under the fostering care of their
amiable mother. Mr. Erwin was an elder in
the Presbyterian church for thirteen years, was
very prominent in church affairs, was con
nected with all the societies of his church and
very liberal in his contributions toward its sup
port. He was also a royal arch Mason, and

was interred under the solemn rites and beau
tiful ceremonies of that order. He was dili
gent and economical, and yet generous, and
left behind him a life insurance policy for
$6,000, and a fine residence and double lot, of
sixty-six feet front, on Washington street.
Mr. Ervin throughout life was a most con
sistent gentleman in every respect — in business,
domestic and social relations — and his native
intelligence, suave manners and well-schooled
mind led to his unvarying prosperity in the first
relation mentioned. He was a kind husband
and indulgent father, but ever kept his chil
dren in the way they should go, and his friend
ships were always warm and faithful. His an
cestral history will be found in the sketch of
his father, Thomas Erwin, in close proximity,
although, through some mutation, there is a
different spelling of the name.
Mrs. Ervin, a most estimable lady, resides
on the old home place, with her accomplished
daughters as her companions, and surrounded
by a group of admiring visiting friends. The
daughters, who are unusually bright and intel
ligent, are true ornaments of society, and
their acquaintance and companionship are
eagerly sought for by the younger members of
the community — and, indeed, by many of the
elder members.

HBIJAH GOODWIN, farmer of York
township, Van Wert county, is a na
tive of Madison county Ohio, and
was born February 23, 1834, the son
of Jacob and Delilah (Keeth) Goodwin, both
of Baltimore county, Md. Jacob Goodwin,
the father of our subject, was both a black
smith and farmer; he came to what is now
Van Wert county, Ohio, in the fall of 1835,
and entered forty acres of land in York town
ship, where he spent his remaining days. He
served as one of the first jurors, the court be-

\yC <t},&nU

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

263

ing held at Willshire. At the time of his death,
which occurred May 26, 1886, he owned 280
acres of land, and as a democrat served as
trustee of his township for several terms and
was also school director at the time of the
building of the first school-house of this town
ship. He was a member of the Church of
God, and his wife was a member of the
United Brethren in Christ. To this worthy
couple were born six children:' Abijah, our
subject, the eldest; Mary Ann, wife of Joseph
Johnstown, of Colorado; Elizabeth, wife of
Charles Kenipe, of York township; Sarah Jane,
and two sons that died in infancy. The mother
of these children passed away February 6,
1843,- and Mr. Goodwin was next married to
Martha Rice, three sons and two daughters
being born as follows: Elijah, a resident of
York township; Delilah, deceased wife of
James Book: Jacob, Edgar ond Isabella, all
deceased. The second s Mrs. Goodwin died
November 16, 1858, and for his third wife Mr.
Goodwin married Mrs. Margaret J. Sands,
widow of Jacob Sands, who has borne him one
daughter, Emma Nora, wife of Thomas Mor
ris, of Lima, Ohio. The widow of Jacob Good
win resides in Lima, with this daughter.
Abijah Goodwin, our subject, grew to man
hood on the home farm, but had only ordinary
school advantages, having educated himself,
though he avers he has felt the want of a
thorough education, as the final words of his
mother were "educate Abijah." He made
his first purchase of land in 1878, and on this
land the school-building now stands in Elgin.
In 1866 he bought his present beautiful farm
of 160 acres in the southwest corner of section
No. 35, York township, but which was then
an utter wilderness, our subject cutting the
first tree therefrom. In 1878 he built a fine
brick building, which cost $2,000, and tiled
the farm thoroughly, making it a finely im
proved farm.

In 1857 Mr. Goodwin married Catherine
Barber, daughter of Henry and Rebecca
(Bailey) Barber, and to this union have been
born twelve children, viz: Washington; Joseph;
Albert, deceased; Jacob Henry; Harriet, de
ceased wife of Charles Goodwin; Elias, de
ceased; Leonard; Abijah, Jr., deceased; Lillie,
wife of George Wagoner; Elijah, and Elida,
a twin sister of the latter, now deceased; Eva,
wife of Artie Coil and Charles. The mother of
these children died March 5, 1879, and Mr.
Goodwin next married Jane Roush, daughter
of Jacob M. and Elizabeth Roush, and to this
union have been born three children — William,
Johnzey and Ira — the latter named deceased.
Mr. Goodwin again had the misfortune of
losing his wife, March 23, 1889.
In 1867 Mr. Goodwin was elected to the
office of county commissioner, by a majority
of forty-two votes — while the state ticket was
a tie — and served for a period of six years.
As an evidence of his great popularity it may
be stated that he was re-elected in the fall of
1876 and served for three years. The court
house was built during his incumbency and he
is one of the commissioner who accepted the
building on its completion. He further served
as trustee of his township, school commis
sioner, supervisor, and in other official capac
ities. In July, 1894, he engaged in general
merchandising, in company with his sons,
Joseph Albert and Elijah, the style of the firm
being Goodwin & Son, which continued until
the death of his son, Joseph Albert, in August,
1895, when Mr. Goodwin sold the business.
Mr. Goodwin was commissioned postmaster
October 26, 1894, of. Elgin, and has filled the
office very satisfactorily until the present term.
In his church affiliations he worships at the
Church of God in the Union church, Mercer
county. Socially Mr. Goodwin and his family
mingle with the best people of the township
and county.

264

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

HSHER GREEN, one of the most well-
to-do farmers of Washington town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, de
scends from an old and patriotic
colonial family of Connecticut, and was born
in Belmont county, Ohio, January 30, 1824.
The grandfather of our subject was also
named Asher Green, was a pioneer of Belmont
county, Ohio, coming from Connecticut with
his wife, who bore the maiden name of
Holmes, and there passed the remainder of his
life, dying on his Ohio farm at the age of
eighty years. His son Daniel, the father of
our subject, was also a native of Connecticut,
but was married in Belmont county, Ohio, to
Jane Cree, a native of the county last named,
and born about 1803 — the union resulting in
the birth of five children: Asher, Isaac, Syl
vester, Nancy A., and Savilla. Mr. Green was
a farmer and owned a tract of land containing
160 acres, which he cleared from the forests of
Belmont county, and on which he died in 1832,
still a young man. His three sons were soldiers
in the late war — Isaac serving in company F,
Fifteenth Ohio infantry, and taking part in such
conflicts as those at Pittsburg Landing, Chick
amauga, Murfreesboro, etc., and being killed
near Marietta, Ga., during the Atlanta cam
paign; Sylvester was in the 100-day service,
took part in two battles, then enlisted in the
Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer infantry, was de
tailed as clerk of the military district of Ohio
at Columbus, and served until the end of the
struggle; the military record of Asher Green
will be given in a coming paragraph.
Asher Green, our subject, was educated in
Belmont county, reared on the home farm,
and there married, December 9, 1849, Miss
Eliza A. Wade, who was born in Muskingum
county, Ohio, February 22, 1832, daughter of
William and Elizabeth (Taylor) Wade — both
parents natives of Virginia, and the parents of
seven children — Thomas S., James F. , John

W., Eurana, Eliza, Eugenia and Hampton.
William Wade was a cooper by trade, lived to
be eighty years of age, and died in Wetzel
county, W. Va. He had four sons in the
Union service during the Civil war — Thomas,
John, James and Hampton. He and wife
were both closely connected with the Wade
and Tarelton families of Virginia, renowned in
the history of that state.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Asher
Green made their home in Belmont county,
Ohio, about twenty miles below Wheeling, W.
Va. , on a farm of eighty-four acres, which had
formerly belonged to Daniel Green, Asher's
father, and is yet in the family. Here Mr.
Green enlisted, September 7, 1861, at Pow
hatan Point, in company F, Fifteenth Ohio
volunteer infantry, for three years or during
the war. He fought at Pittsburg Landing and
Corinth. He was taken seriously sick and sent
to hospital at Hamburg, then to Louisville,
and finally to Camp Dennison, Ohio, and at the
latter place was finally discharged, March 17,
1863, on account of disability resulting from
typhoid fever. He then returned to Belmont
county, but later moved to Wetzel county, W.
Va. , and bought 249 acres of land, on which
he lived eleven years, and in November, 18S1,
settled on forty acres of his present farm in
Washington township, Van Wert county,
Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Green have been born
ten children, as follows: Oscar D. , Missouri
S. , Emma J. (who died after marriage), Helen
(who died at sixteen years of age), Estella,
Eveline, Isaac, Lydia and two that died young.
Mr. and Mrs. Green are devout members of
the Methodist church, and in politics Mr. Green
is a republican. He is highly esteemed as a
neighbor and as a useful citizen, and his integ
rity stands above reproach; he is charitable in
his sentiments relating to all subjects, and. is
equally free with his means in aid of all things
deserving aid.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

265

*W * EWIS GRAVES, grocery merchant
I | of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in
f ^ Whitley county, Ind., November 2,
1859, a son of Henry and Hetty
(Boyd) Graves, the former of whom was born
in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, November 15,
1805. Henry Graves was a son of James and
Amelia Graves, who were married in Coshoc
ton county, Ohio, where they were engaged in
farming until 18 12, when they moved.to Whit
ley county, where they continued to farm until
their respective deaths — he dying in June,
1853, at the age of seventy -two years, and she
in March, 1853, aged seventy-eight. They
were the parents of eleven children, of whom
four yet survive, viz: James, Henry, Tacy
and Maria. Both parents were devout Pres
byterians, and in politics he was a republican;
at the time of death they owned 300 acres of
good land. Their son, Henry Graves, was
reared in Whitley county, Ind., from the age
of seven, and remained with his parents until
his marriage, though he had prepared for this
event by the purchase of a farm of 140 acres,
and on his union with Hetty Boyd settled on
this farm and there has lived ever since. To
the marriage of Henry and Hetty Graves were
born six children, viz: Alexander and Wesley,
twins, who died in infancy; Lydia A., also de
ceased; James, a farmer of Whitley county;
Lydia, wife of John Wright, also a farmer of
Whitley county, and Lewis, the subject proper
of this sketch. The mother of this family
died in February, 1861, and Mr. Graves next
married, in 1862, Elmina Tucker, who has
borne him two children — -William and Cassie.
Mr. Graves, with his family, still reside, on his
Whitley county farm, in the full possession of
all his faculties, at the advanced age of ninety
years, honored by all who know him.
Lewis Graves was reared a farmer, and at
the age of twenty-one years engaged in buying
and selling timber at Coesse, Ind., for five

years, and for the next three years carried on
a livery businsss at Columbia City, Ind. ; he
then bought and shipped horses for two years,
and then, September 23, 1889, came to Van
Wert, Ohio, and was employed as clerk in the
grocery house of A. P. Wisman for four years;
was then a partner with Benjamin Yoh, under
the firm name of Yoh & Graves, for eight
months, when he sold his interest in this firm,
and in May, 1894, bought the business he now
controls. His place is well-known as the
"Hub Grocery," is a room of 22x65 Ieet> and
is stocked with a well selected assortment of
groceries and provisions valued at $4,000;
with a neat and well supplied meat market in
connection. Mr. Graves was married in Whitley county,
Ind., February 24, 1872, to Miss Sarah Ann
Lore, who was born in Pennsylvania, Cum
berland county, December 5, 1863, a daughter
of Joseph and Catherine (Henry) Lore, and to
this union have been born three children:
Vernie, deceased; Merley, deceased, and Carl
Dewitt. Mr. and Mrs. Graves are members
of the Christian church and in politics he is a
republican; fraternally he is a Canton member
of the I. O. O. F. He owns a neat and mod
ern home on South Franklin street, and is a
stockholder in the Van Wert Telephone ex
change. Mr. Graves is a wide-awake business
man, keeps well abreast of the times, and is
very popular as a merchant and citizen.

aHARLES F. GERMANN, a prominent
business man of Harrison township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, is a son of
Charles Germann, who was born in
Berweiler, Germany, and in 1834 came to
America, when a lad of thirteen, accompanied
by his father, Henry J. Germann, who first
located in Holmes county, Ohio, but in 1839
came to Van Wert county, where he taught

:266

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

school a few terms in Harrison township. At
the age of twenty-two years he married Eliza
beth Schmidt, daughter of Charles and Regina
Schmidt, which union was blessed with six
children — Henry, Charles F. (our subject),
Minnie, William A., Elizabeth and Louis J.
After marriage he engaged in farming, at which
he was very successful. He was a member of
the German Lutheran church and one of the
founders of that denomination in Harrison
township, of which he became an elder. In
politics he was a democrat, and served as jus
tice of the peace nine years, as county com
missioner six years and as county treasurer
two years. His death took place in 1878, at
about the age of sixty years. He had been
very prosperous during life, and died the owner
of 320 acres of fine farming land, all of which
was well tilled and improved in each and every
particular. Charles F Germann, the subject of this
sketch, was born in Harrison township Febru
ary 22, 1849, received a good common-school
education, and became a first-class farmer. At
the age of twenty-three years he married Miss
Hannah M., daughter of Louis and Barbara
(Pflenger) Schumm. Louis Schumm, a pio
neer of Willshire township, Van Wert county,
died in middle life in 1856, about thirty-six
years of age. He and wife were members of
the Lutheran church and the parents of nine
children. To the marriage of Charles F. Ger
mann and Hannah Schumm have been born
seven children, viz: Otto L. , Rosanna, Minnie
M., Felix E., Ette M., Emma P. and Mollie
C. After marriage Mr. Germann located on a
partly cleared farm of 160 acres in Willshire
township, on which he resided eight years, and
then passed four years near Van Wert in tile
making; in 1882 he came to his present farm,
then consisting of eighty acres, which he has
since increased to 180 acres and thoroughly
improved. In 1882, likewise, he began the

manufacture of tile on his farm, and in this
business he has also made a complete success.
Mr. Germann was one of the organizers, in
1879, of the Farmers' Mutual Aid association
of Van Wert county — a company designed to
reimburse loss in case of lightning or fire disas
ter — and of this association he was elected
secretary in the same year, and still holds the
position. The association now has a member
ship of 1,150 and is carrying risks amounting
to $1,850,000. Mr. and Mrs. Germann are
members of the Lutheran church, in which he
is an elder. He has served as justice of the
peace one term, is now re-elected, and in pol
itics is a democrat. He is a gentleman of fine
business qualifications, is well known through
out the county, and is noted for his sterling
integrity. Henry Germann, an uncle of Charles F.
Germann, mentioned above, is an old settler of
Harrison township, Van Wert county, Ohio.
He was born in Germany, a son of Henry
Jacob and Elizabeth (Reidenbach) Germann,
the former of whom was born January 22,
1790, and the latter June 10, 1787, and were
the parents of nine children, viz: Mary E.,
Annie E., Mary M., Jacob, Charles, Peter,
Henry, John P. and Maggie — the last named of
whom died at five years of age. In 1 830, Henry
Jacob Germann came to America, landed at
New York, made his way directly to Ohio and
bought 100 acres of land in Holmes county,
on which he lived five vears, then sold out,
and in 1839 came to Van Wert county and
settled on 160 acres he had entered in 1837,
and on which Henry Germann now lives. This
farm, all woodland, Henry Jacob wrested from
the wilderness and converted into a delightful
home, where he resided until his death, which
occurred January 6, 1873 — he being a devout
member of and elder in the Lutheran church.
Beside his farm in Harrison township, Henry
Jacob owned 160 acres in Tully town-

-

*

. -.*

/^, j^3r>^e^^^vX

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

269

ship, which he gave to his sons,- Peter and
Charles. Mr. Germannn held the office of
school trustee and was widely known.
Henry Germann was born February 4,
1825, was nine years of age when brought to
America and about fourteen when brought to
Van Wert county. He was here reared to
manhood and married Magdalena Bozer,
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Stamm)
Bozer. After his marriage he settled on the
old homestead, on which he still lives, and
which his only child Frederick, now manages.
Mr. and Mrs. Germann are members of the
Lutheran church, in which he is an elder, and
in politics is a democrat.

*w ¦* ENRY GERMANN, Jr., a well
l^\ known farmer and business man of
A .r Harrison 'township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a son of Charles and Eliza
beth (Schmidt) Germann.
Henry Germann, Jr., was born December
4, 1846, on a farm about a mile and a half
north of his present residence. Henry was,
like all neighboring farm lads, educated in the
school of his locality. At the age of thirteen
years he was set to work on the home farm and
inured to agricultural toil, learning the lessons
that he never after regretted in the life to come.
At the proper age he married Mary Hertz,
daughter of Peter Hertz, whose biography will
be found in full on another page. For a time
after marriage Mr. Germann lived on a farm
in Willshire township, but, giving up this home
of 160 acres in the woods, he removed to Har
rison township and purchased 160 acres, on
which he resided until 1878, when he came to
the old homestead of his father, Charles Ger
mann, mentioned elsewhere, and which home
stead now comprises 179 acres. Mr. and Mrs.
Henry German, Jr., are the happy parents of
three children, named Stephen E. , Martha M.,

and Thomas F. , and home is made still more
pleasant by their presence. In 1878, also, Mr.
Germann assisted in founding the Van Wert
County Farmers' Mutual Aid association and
became its treasurer. This association assures
against loss by fire, lightning, etc., has a mem
bership of over 1,150, and carries risks amount
ing "to over $1,850,000. In politics Mr. Ger
mann is a democrat and was two years treasurer
of his township, two years township trustee
and nine years justice of the peace; he has
also taken great interest in educational matters
and has been a member of the board of educa
tion seventeen years. In religion both he and
wife affiliate with the German Lutheran church.
Beside attending to his large agricultural inter
ests, Mr. Germann has successfully been en
gaged in raising and dealing in live stock, and
he has been instrumental in introducing some
of the best grades of Holstein cattle that have
ever been brought to Van Wert county. His
farm — the original Charles Germann homestead
most of which was cleared from the woods by
the father — is a model of neatness and com
fort, as well as productiveness. His stable
comprises some of the best horse flesh in the
county — one or more of the stallions having
cost as high as $2,500 each, and for the past
fifteen years he has never failed to carry off
prises at the county fair for speed, beauty and
endurance of his exhibit of stock. In 1890 he
bought of J. L. Thompson, of Indiana, a breeder
and importer, a flock of thoroughbred Shrop
shire sheep, of sixty-two head. Mr. Germann
is a wheel-horse in the democratic party and
is extremely popular, with his party.

£"V AMUEL J. HACKEDORN.— The pa-
•y^^fcT ternal grandfather of the subject of
hs^J this biography, David Hackedorn,.
was a native of Germany, and an
early pioneer of Tuscarora valley, Pa., where:

270

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

his death occurred in the early part of
the present century. He was a soldier of the
Revolution, and reared a family, one member
of which, David Hackedorn, father of Samuel
J., was born in Juniata county, Pa., in 1791.
When a young man, David Hackedorn, Jr.,
moved to Huntingdon county, Pa., where he
married Margaret Goshorn, a native of the
Keystone state, born in the year 1800. After
residing in the aforesaid county twenty-seven
years, David Hackedorn moved to Richland
county, Ohio, where he became owner of 160
acres of land; he held various local offices, was
an old-line whig in politics, and died in the
state of his adoption, in September, 1885; his
wife was called to her reward in 1892. The
following are the names of the children of
David and Margaret Hackedorn: Noah E.,
David A., Samuel J., George G. and Jacob R. ,
all deceased but the last named and the sub
ject of this sketch.
Samuel J. Hackedorn was born in Hunting
don county, Pa., January 27, 1827. His
schooling embraced a few months' attendance,
each year, in the primitive log-cabins, com
mon in his county in an early day, and, on
arriving at his majority, selected the pursuit of
agriculture for his vocation. He was married
in his native county and state, October 4, 1849,
to^Margaret Gray, daughter of Rev. George
and. Emma (Bey) Gray, a union blessed with
the birth of the following children: Mrs.
Florence McNiel.Mrs. Jennie Cramer, Alford A.
(deceased), Dolly (deceased), Mrs. Minta Balt-
zell, Clarissa (deceased), Carrie G. (deceased),
Ulyses O. (deceased), Howard H. (deceased)
David E., Otto G. and Maud A., the last
named a well known teacher of Paulding,
Ohio. Mr. Hackedorn, became a resident of
the county of Van Wert in 1866, and has
ever since been a well known resident of
the township of Liberty, where he owns a
good farm. Politically he is a republican, and

for some years has been class leader in the
Methodist church, with which denomination
his wife is also idedtified. The father of Mrs.
Hackedorn, Rev. George Gray, was a native
of Ireland, and a minister of the Presbyterian
church. He held pastorates principally in
Huntingdon county, Pa., where he exercised
the functions of his holy office for a period of
many years.

@EORGE A. HALL, of Van Wert,
elder bother of G. M. Hall, whose
biography will be found below, was
born September 17, 1836, was edu
cated in the schools of Germany and also
under his parents, who were highly intelligent
and well informed, and especially skilled in
music. April 2, 1853, our subject sailed from
Rotterdam, in the packet-ship Margaret Ems,
carrying a crew and passenger list reaching
600 souls, and landed in New York June 19,
of the same year. After a detention of four
days in that city, he went, via Albany, Buf
falo, and Sandusky city, to Carey, 'Wyandot
county, Ohio, then to Kirby, where he worked
on the P. , Ft. W. & C. road as- water boy, at $8
per month, from June till the latter part of
November, 1853, changing from point to point;
then as hostler at the Gault house in Carey
until February, 1854; April, 1854, he went to
Hancock county and there worked on a farm,
at $6.25 per month, until August, when he
was taken sick, when he went to an uncle,
Peter Rader, at Upper Sandusky, where he
remained until recovery; then went to Upper
Sandusky Plains, where he worked on a farm
until November 29, when he flagged the train
at Kirby, and finally reached Van Wert county,
Ohio, November 29, 1854, and worked for a
Mr. Hertel in Liberty township, for his board
and two months' schooling; then took jobs at
clearing and general labor until January 1,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

271

1856, from which time until 1859 he clerked
for T. S. McKim, of Van Wert, for $75 the
first year and $300 the second; he was then
sent to New York to buy a general stock of
merchandise, and was given a half-interest in
the store, and, under the firm name of McKim
& Hall, did business until late in 1863. In April,
1864, he enlisted in company H,One Hundred
and Thirty-ninth, O. N. G. for 100 days, was
elected second lieutenant of his company, and
served four months in the Shenandoah valley
and Point Lookout. On his return home he
was employed as book-keeper by A. B. Mc-
Curdy & Co., in 1865 and in 1866 — in the lat
ter part of 1 866, going to Vernon county, Mo. ,
and becoming interested in a saw-mill for a
year and a half; he then traded his interest in
the mill for 200 acres of land in that county,
and came back to Van Wert and re-entered
the employ of Mr. McKim, with whom he
clerked until 1871; he then clerked for J. S.
Brumback & Co. in 1871 and 1872, and again
for T. S. McKim from 1872 till 1880. In
the latter year he engaged in farming in
Pleasant township, where he resided two and
a half years, and from 1883 until August, 1888,
clerked with G. M. Hall ; he then went to
Paulding, Ohio, and engaged in the dry-goods
business, in which he still continues, although
he makes his home in Van Wert.
Mr. Hall was first married, in Van Wert
county, to Miss Emma Chaffin, on May 2, 1861,
the union resulting in the birth of two chil
dren — William, deceased, and Charles E.,
now in the real estate business in Hutchison,
Kans. Mrs. Hall died June 23, 1865, and Mr.
Hall was next married, January 26, 1869, to
Fannie Bennett, who bore three children, as
follows: Edward, of Utah; Leo, with his fa
ther, and Hattie V., at home. The mother
of these children was called home May 15,
1875, a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church; the third marriage of Mr. Hall oc

curred July 10, 1876, with Villa E. Little,
who was born in Greene county, Ohio, July
30, 1854, a daughter of Rev. Cyrus and Su
sanna (Dalby) Little, and to this union have
been born two children — James C. and Fred
erick H. Mr. Hall has been steward in the
Methodist Episcopal church for twenty-five
years and was organist eleven years; his wife
has been a member of the choir at least
twenty-five years, and of the latter his daugh
ter is also a member. He has been a member
of the I. O. O. F. since 1878 and is likewise
a member of the National Union. He is the
owner of six city lots and other valuable real
estate and stands high in social as well as in
business circles.

SI

'INFIELD S. GIFFIN, a young and
thriving farmer of Hoaglin town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born in Miami county, in the same
state, March 17, 1855, and was but three years
of age when his parents brought him to Van
Wert county. In the sketch of A. A. Giffin,
which immediately follows this, will be found
an extended account of our subject's ancestors,
to which the attention of the reader is invited.
Winfield S. Giffin received a sound education,
although, in the main, he is self-taught. For
some years he was a successful school-teacher
in Hoaglin township, but the greater part of
his life has been passed in the pursuit of agri
culture, and it has been a successful pursuit
also. His marriage took place October 10,
1878, to Miss Elizabeth Hymen, a sister of C.
H. Hymen, and an account of her genealogy
will be found in the biography of that gentle
man on another page. To Mr. and Mrs. W.
S. Giffin have been born three children, who
are still living to brighten their home and are
named as follows: Charles E., Martha L.
(twins), and Cyril Guy. After his marriage,

97-3

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mr. Giffin settled on his farm of eighty acres,
which is now in a splendid state of cultivation,
with snug farm-house and out-buildings of con
venient size and arrangements, and here he has
reared his children. In politics Mr. Giffin is a
republican and is the present township clerk.
In religion he is a Presbyterian, while Mrs.
Giffin is a member of the Evangelical associa
tion. He is recognized as one of the most
progressive young farmers of the township, is
popular with his fellow-citizens and political
associates, and he and family are greatly re
spected by a large circle of social friends and
acquaintances.

HDDISON A. GIFFIN, a young and
enterprising farmer of Hoaglin town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born in Miami county, Ohio, No
vember 26, 1850, of Scotch-English extraction.
His father, William Griffin, a native of War
ren county, Ohio, born December 26, 1802,
was naturally of a literary turn of mind and of
studious habits. His first wife, who bore the
maiden name of Julia A. Van Horn, bore to
him the following-named children: John and
Joshua W. , Elizabeth J., Phebe P., Samuel B.
and Reuben T. Of this progeny Samuel B.
enlisted in the late Civil war at the first call
for three-month men, made April 15, 1861; at
the conclusion of his service he re-enlisted, for
three years, in the Forty- fourth Ohio infantry,
served out his term, and again enlisted, this
time in the Eighth Ohio cavalry, and was
killed in a hand-to-hand conflict at Beverly,
W. Va. , in December, 1864. The parents re
sided in Miami county, Ohio, for some time
after marriage, and there Mrs. Julia A. Griffin
ended her days, and Mr. Griffin took for his
second wife Mrs. Martha Whittaker, daughter
of David and Nancy A. (Reed) McKee, the
former a prominent and wealthy farmer of

Miami county. To this second marriage were
born the following children: David J., Addi
son A., Isaac N., Winfield S. and Edward L.
— all still living. William Griffin was twice
elected surveyor of Miami county. In 1858 he
brought his family to Van Wert county, and
located in York township, where he resided
until 1 86 1, when he moved to Hoagland town
ship here he filled several township offices and
was twice elected county surveyor by the re
publican party. He was a member of the
Presbyterian church, had been for many years
a school-teacher in Warren, Miami and Van
Wert counties, and died June 17, 1881.
Addison A. Giffin received a very good
common-school education, learned the trade of
carpentering, in which he excells, and was, in
his younger years, very successful in the man
agement of a tile factory for four years, mak
ing money, where two predecessors had failed;
but agriculture has been the art which has
made him famous in his township and county.
January 13, 1875, he married Miss Elizabeth
J. Hattery, who was born April 13, 1853, a
daughter of Nathaniel and Ellen (Acheson)
Hattery, formerly of Hoaglin township. When
Mr. Hattery first settled here the county was
a dense wilderness, and he was compelled to
cut his way through — from the now city of Van
Wert, which at that time contained one log
cabin only, standing where McCurdy's block
now is. He became the owner of 320 acres
of cleared land and very prominent in the
affairs of the township, was a republican in
politics and a deacon in the Presbyterian
church, and died March 12, 1882 — his wife
having been called to her final rest August 10,
1876. The children born to Mr. and Mrs.
Hattery were named: Elizabeth J., Thomas
F., JohnE. (deceased), Clara (deceased), Mary
E., Hermia A., John A. (deceased), Maggie E.,
and Nathaniel F. The children born to Addi
son A. Giffin and wife were named Edward P.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

275

and Martha E., who both died at birth, and
Hermia A., born July 26, 1885. After mar
riage Mr. Giffin left Hoaglin township and
went to the city of Van Wert, where he was
employed at carpenter work a year; he then
returned to Hoaglin township and located on a
twenty-acre tract of land, but two years later,
in the spring of 1878, moved to Ottawa, Put
nam county, and from April until August was
superintendent of the River tile yard; then, in
company with H. L. Allen, purchased the
plant and operated it until the spring of 1879,
when Mr. Allen withdrew from the firm and
was succeeded by H. K. Vincent, of Hoaglin
township, and, under the style of A. A. Giffin
& Co., the business was conducted until 1 88 1 ,
when Mr. Vincent retired and James Acheson
became his successor; in 1882 Mr. Giffin re
linquished the business, and, again returning
to Hoaglin township, purchased his present
home — a farm of 100 acres, well improved and
cultivated. His barn, the finest in the county,
was built by himself after twelve years of plan
ning. It has a stone foundation, is 44x80 feet
ground plan, with a height of 28 feet 3 inches
to eaves, and 45 feet to comb; it is double
weather-boarded, with paper inter-lining, is
supplied with water by a distant mill, contains
an apartment for roots, bins for wheat, corn,
oats and other grain; hay, fodder, etc., are ele
vated by horse power; the threshing machine
is located on the second floor and its products
sent through chutes to the bins below. This
barn is so near perfection that Mr. Giffin
would make no change in it even if it were to
be re-constructed. In politics Mr. Giffin is a prohibitionist,
and in religion a devout Presbyterian. Form
erly he was a deacon in this church and a Sun
day-school superintendent in Union church,
Hoaglin township. For nine years he was a
director in the county agricultural association;
he has held office in grange No. 400 since its
13

organization, and for four years has held the
position of county lecturer, or pomona. Since
his marriage Mr. Giffin has kept a diary of
events, and also a strict account of income
and expenditure, down to a postage stamp,
and can tell the cost of a bushel of grain, each
year, on any field. In 1893 he filled the office
of superintendent of the cattle department for
the State Fair association, and in 1894 served,
by request, as superintendent of the swine de
partment, for the performance of which duties-
he received from the exhibitors an unsolicited
vote of thanks. He is now solicited to write
for the American Agriculturist on topics per
taining to farm industries. Mrs. Giffin has
been equally successful in the management of
her department of the farm, and from the prod
ucts of her chickens and cows has paid for
nearly everything that has come into the house
for years. Mr. Giffin was the nominee of the
prohibition party for the office of state senator
of the Thirty-second district, in the fall of 1895,
but, of course, his party*was too weak, numer
ically, to secure his election.

f\ EORGE M. HALL, a prominent dry-
¦ l^\ goods merchant of Van Wert Ohio,
^^W was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger
many, February 12, 1842, and is a
son of John N. and Elizabeth (Rader) Hall.
He was reared and educated by his maternal
grandparents until thirteen years of age, when
he was placed in the office of a general mer
chant, with whom he remained four years. In
Msy, 1 86 1, he left Bremen on a steamer, and
after a passage of twelve days was landed in
New York, friendless and alone. His stay in
that city was but brief, and he came almost
immediately to Van Wert, whither his brother,
G. A., had preceded him. Here he was em
ployed for two years by T. S. McKim, and in
August, 1863, he enlisted in company M, Sec-

276

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ond Ohio heavy artillery, and followed the
fortunes of his regiment until 1864, when he
was detailed as clerk at the headquarters of
George H. Thomas, and as such served until
honorably mustered out at Nashville in Sep
tember, 1865. On his return to Van Wert,
he was engaged as clerk by J. S. Brumback,
with whom he remained until 1882, when he
opened his present dry-goods establishment at
No. 10 West Main street. He carries a well
assorted stock of staple and fancy dry goods,
cloaks, notions, etc., valued at $20,000, and
from the start has done a very profitable and
prosperous trade. His store is 25x132 feet
in dimensions, and he also carries a duplicate
stock in the second story.
Mr. Hall's marriage took place in Van
Wert, May 29, 1873, to Miss Harriet L. Smith,
a native of Van Wert, Ohio, born March 18,
1852 — a daughter of Dr. Wm. M. Smith, of
whom a biography is given on another page of
this volume. To the marriage of Mr. and
Mrs. Hall five children have been born, in the
following order: Eva B., Jessie L. , Grace
M., Erma Joyce and Raymond Richard. Mr.
and Mrs. Hall are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church and strictly follow its teach
ings. In politics Mr. Hall is a republican, for
three years was a member of the school board
and still takes a lively interest in the educa
tional matters. Fraternally he is a master
Mason. His conscientious treatment of his
patrons has made his store a favorite resort
for buyers, and his meritorious conduct as a
citizen has given him a high social position.

t*S~\ ETER HALL, trustee of Union town-
I m ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, and
J^ an old and highly respected citizen of
the same, is a native of Muskingum
county, Ohio, and son of Peter and Sarah

Hall. The father was born in Fauquier county,
Va., in the year 1774, his ancestors having
been among the early English settlers of the
Old Dominion.
Peter Hall, Sr., was reared on a Virginia
plantation, early learned the carpenter's trade,
and about the beginning of the present century
moved, in company with another family, to
the county of Muskingum, Ohio, settling in
Zanesville, when that city was a frontier vil
lage of about a dozen log cabins. Here he
worked at his trade, until disabled by a fall
from a horse, after which he followed shoe-
making. His wife, whose maiden name was
Sarah Gutridge, was born about 1795, and she
bore her husband ten children, only three of
whom are now living, viz: Rebecca, wife of
James Gabriel; Peter, the subject of this sketch,
and Mrs. Abigail Rutan. In politics Peter
Hall was conservative, but generally acted
with the democratic party; he was a charter
member of one of the oldest Masonic lodges of
Virginia, and for many years was a member
of the Baptist church, to which his wife also
belonged; he died, in 1850, at the age of
seventy-six years; his wife survived him until
1878, at which time she departed this life at
the age of eighty-five.
Peter Hall, the immediate subject of this
biography, was born May 26, 1828. His ed
ucation embraced a few years' attendance in
the public schools of Muskingum county, and
when a lad in his teens learned the potter's
trade, at which he worked until his thirty-
second year, making frequent flat-boat trips
down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, in the
meantime, to dispose of his wares. In 1861
he came to Van Wert county, Ohio, and pur
chased 120 acres of woodland in the township
of Harrison, upon which he erected a small
log cabin and began the task of clearing the
almost impenetrable forest, by which his place
was covered. Here he lived for twenty-two

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

277

years, during which time he developed a good
farm, drained and otherwise improved his lands,
erected a modern residence and other build
ings, and made his place one of the best in the
neighborhood. In 1883 Mr. Hall disposed of
his farm in Harrison township, and purchased
his present place in the township of Union.
In 1862, Mr. Hall enlisted in the national
guards, company C, for five years' service, and
in May 1864, his company volunteered and
entered the regular United States army. His
command was at once sent to Point Lookout,
where he did guard duty the greater part of
the time until the expiration of his term of en
listment. In 1857, he was united in marriage
to Hannah Christy, daughter of William and
Rosanna (Hostler) Christy, of Mahoning
county, Ohio, a union blessed with the birth of
two children: Emerson, of Fort Wayne Medi
cal college, and Wilson, who lives on the
home farm. Mrs. Hall was born in the county
of Muskingum, Ohio, in 1826, and died in
1880. She was a consistent member of the
Presbyterian church, and had a large circle of
friends, wherever her lot was cast. In 1883
Mr. Hall wedded Mary Bryant, daughter of
Enos and Mary (Newman) Bryant.
Mr. Hall has been an active member of the
Presbyterian denomination for nearly forty
years, the greater part of which time he has
been an elder in the local congregation to
which he belongs. He is a prominent mem
ber of the Masonic fraternity, being a knight
templar Mason, and also is a leading Odd Fel
low, and an active member of the Patrons of
Husbandry. While somewhat conservative in
politics, he keeps well posted upon the great
political questions of the day, and supports the
democratic party's national platform, but in
local affairs votes for the man best fitted for
office, irrespective of party affiliations; he was
elected trustee of Union township in 1892,
discharged the duties of the position in a man

ner highly satisfactory to all concerned, was
nominated by acclamation, and re-elected, in
the spring of 1895, by a large majority.

Sp-rf ENRY C. HAMILTON, a popular
l^\ conductor on the Cincinnati, Jackson
I F & Mackinaw railroad, was born in
Montgomery, Franklin county, Vt.,
June 26, 1852. He is a son of Joshua C. and
Charlotte E. (Dunbar) Hamilton, natives of
Vermont, and respectively of Scotch and
English descent. It is well known that the
family of Hamilton is one of the most prom
inent in Scotland. Joshua C. Hamilton was a
son of Rufus Hamilton, a pioneer of Vermont,
and a citizen of that state. Rufus Hamilton
was a member of the legislature of Vermont,
for a number of terms, and likewise filled the
offices of magistrate and judge. So long as
the whig party existed he was one of its ardent
supporters, but when the republican party was
organized he enlisted in its ranks, and was
thenceforth until his death a leading republican.
He was one of the strong a nti-slavery men in
his day, and was one of the best of men in
every way. He died in 1871, mourned by all
that knew him.
Joshua C. Hamilton, son of Rufus and the
father of the subject of this sketch, was born
in 1827, lived most of his days in Montgomery,
Vt. , and there followed the business of stock
dealer the greater- part of his life. In politics
he was a republican of the pronounced type,
an uncompromising opponent of the extension
of slavery, and a devoted patriot until his
death, which occurred in 1880. His wife, the
mother of the subject, died in 1865, leaving a
family of five children, the youngest of whom
was adopted by a cousin living in Montreal,
Canada. The boyhood of Henry C. Hamilton was
spent at home on the farm in Vermont, and in

278

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

attending the public schools. While still a
young man Mr. Hamilton began to learn the
carpenter trade, but that trade not being in
accordance with his tastes he took to railroad
ing, and he has been thus engaged ever since.
At the age of twenty-six he left home and emi
grated to Detroit, Mich., accepting a position
as engineer on the old Canada Southern, now
the Michigan Central, railroad. This position
he filled eight years. He then went to Nor-
walk, Ohio, where he accepted a similar posi
tion on the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroad,
occupying it for one year. Then he removed
to South Lyon, Oakland county, Mich., and
accepted a position as conductor on a passen
ger train on the Toledo & Ann Arbor railroad,
which position he retained three years. From
South Lyon Mr. Hamilton moved to Van Wert,
taking a position as freight conductor on the
Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw railroad,
when the road was comparatively in its in
fancy. This position Mr. Hamilton held one
and one-half years, and was then promoted to
passenger conductor, which position he has
held ever since, and he is in point of service
the oldest conductor on the road.
Mr. Hamilton was married October 25,
1882, at Grosse Isle, Wayne county, Mich., to
Miss Ettie Groh, daughter of Charles and Julia
Groh, natives respectively of Germany and
Canada — the latter of French descent. Charles
Groh came to America at the age of eighteen,
and has been a resident of Grosse Isle fifty-
five 'years. He is still living at the age of
eighty-four, hale and hearty, and in the pos
session of all his mental faculties. All his
life, until within the last few years, he followed
farming, but now he is retired. His wife died
in 1885. To the marriage of Mr. Hamilton
and Miss Groh there has been born one daugh
ter, Charlotte, and the family is living in an
elegant home on First street, Van Wert, sur
rounded by a host of friends and kind neigh

bors, all of whom hold Mr. Hamilton and his
family in the highest regard. He is a member
of all the fraternities of Masonry of Van Wert,
and of Ivanhoe commandery, Knights Templar,
of Syrian Temple, or the Mystic Shrine, of
Cincinnati. Mr. Hamilton is an enthusiastic
republican, and has been a delegate of his
party to county and state conventions. In
religion both Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton are mem
bers of the Protestant Episcopal church, and
are active workers in the cause of religion.

WOHN J. HANBY, superintendent of the
A Van Wert county farm, is a native of
/• 1 Perry county, Ohio, and was born De
cember 9, 1856, a son of William W.
and Amanda (Overholt) Hanby, who were- the
parents of nine children, viz: John J., our
subject; Sarah A., wife of Jesse Mechling, of
Van Wert county; Joseph C. , of Licking
county; Alma F., wife of William Faller, of
Van Wert county; Lincoln, of the same county ;.
William G. , also of the same county; Benja
min T., of Perry county, and Alta B. and
David, with their father.
John J. Hanby grew to manhood on his
father's farm, attended the schools of his
neighborhood about sixty days each year until
he had reached his majority, and then was
employed for one year at farm work by the
month; he then rented his father's farm for
two years, and on September 1, 1880, was
married to his first wife, Miss Clara E. Zart
man, who bore to him the following children:
Josie Z., Vernon O., Chester A. and Clara
Elsie E. The mother of this family died De
cember 16, 1891, and in April, 1893, Mr.
Hanby, for his second wife, secured the hand
of Miss Mary E. McCabe, daughter of Joseph
and Margaret McCabe, of Van Wert county,
and this union has been blessed with one
daughter — Ella Ethel.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

281

Mr. Hanby came to Van Wert county in
1 88 1, and settled in Ridge township, where he
is recognized as a model farmer. He is a gen
tleman of strict integrity and a true Christian,
being a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, while his wife is a member of the
United Brethren congregation. In politics he
is a stanch republican, and in the spring of
1895 was appointed superintendent of the
county farm, succeeding Dallas Johns. The
institution, under his management, is kept
neat and clean, both as to buildings and
grounds, and the inmates are well cared for in
all respects. Fraternally, Mr. Hanby is a
member of lodge No. 251, I. O. O. F. , uni
form rank, which meets at Van Wert. So
cially, Mr. and Mrs. Hanby are held in as high
respect as any of the residents of Ridge town
ship, and the personal regard which is felt for
him is not confined to Ridge township alone,
but is extended throughout the county.

^"^EORGE S. FREEMAN, the genial
¦ ^\ and affable proprietor of the Hotel
^^W Marsh, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a
native of Flint, Mich., born Febru
ary 22, 1845. H.s father, Joseph Freeman,
was born in New Jersey, in 1804, left his native
¦state in 1836, and made his way to the town
¦of Flint, Mich., where he followed the trade
of carpentering. He was married in Flint,
Mich., in 1840, to Louisa Kimbal, who was
born in the state of New York in 1818, and to
this union were born three children, viz: Ellen,
wife of J. G. Fisher, a furniture dealer; George
S., our subject, and Delaskie D., a grocery
merchant of Flint, Mich. The father was a
republican in politics, and was a successful
business man, and died in 1871, a pious mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. His
widow became the wife of Horace Bristol, and
now resides in Milwaukee, Wis.

George S. Freeman was reared in Flint
until twenty-six years of age, when he engaged
as an assistant with Newell & Co., in the
manufacture of sash, doors and blinds, and
in 1872 went to Bellevue, Ohio, and there en
gaged as a machinist in a furniture manufactory,
where he remained until 1874, when he went
to Fremont, and for eight years was clerk in
the Ball Hotel; thence he went to Fostoria,
Ohio, where he had charge of the Hayes House
for two and a half years, when he returned
Fremont and for a year and a half was pro
prietor of the Ball Hotel; he next went to
Frankfort, Ind., and for six years was proprie
tor of the Coulter House, the leading hotel of
that city, and then again went to Fremont,
Ohio, and once more conducted the Ball Hotel
for a year; he then purchased the Hotel Marsh,
in Van Wert, and took possession thereof in
May, 1892. This is the finest hotel building
in the city, contains forty-five rooms, is steam
heated, and is now the best conducted estab
lishment of its kind in northwestern Ohio, its
tables being unsurpassed in any particular.
George S. Freeman was united in the bonds
of matri^nony, in Bellevue, Ohio, April 15,
1873, with Miss Dela Ford, who was born in
Bellevue, January 4, 1854, a daughter of John
and Thurza (Joint) Ford, and this union has
been blessed by the birth of four children, viz:
John, clerk in the Hotel Marsh; Harry and
Harold, deceased, and Florine. The family
are communicants of the Episcopal church,
and in politics Mr. Freeman is a republican.
Fraternally he is a Mason and a Knight of
Pythias.

*-»-> EVI HARNLY, deceased, was born
I | June 17, 1 83 1, in Richland county,
J^^^ Ohio, a son Christian Harnly. When
brought to Van Wert county Levi
was but a lad, and it was in this county that

282

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

he was reared to manhood and educated in
the public schools. In 1851 he bought forty
acres of land in Ridge township, upon which
he made his home until 1864, when he was
drafted into the army and was assigned to
company K, Seventy-eighth Ohio volunteer
infantry, Seventeenth army corps, and fear
lessly marched and fought with Gen. Sherman
to the sea, but on the triumphal progress of
the troops to take part in the grand review at
Washington, D. C, was drowned in Tar river,
N. C, about May 1, 1865. His estate was
worth about $2,000, and he had been a most
kind and loving husband; and his death was a
source of great grief to his sorrowing widow.
To her it is now proposed to devote the re
maining portion of this sketch.
Miss Milla Morse was born in Tully, Onon
daga county, N. Y. , May 24, 1831, and she is
a daughter of Barak and Rhoda (Gurney)
Morse, the former a native of Boston, Mass.,
and the latter of the state of Maine. Miss
Milla Morse was married to LeviHarnly in Van
Wert county, Ohio, April 14, 1859, the cere
mony being performed by Rev. W. A. Baker.
The events of her subsequent life will be re
lated further on in this sketch, a few words
being given first to the history of her parents.
After their marriage they located in Onon
daga county, N. Y. , where Mr. Morse entered
a tract of land, upon which he was engaged in
farming for several years; moving thence to the
town of Tully, in the same county, he kept a
hotel for a few years, and later became a con
tractor for the construction of a section of the
great Erie canal, which extends from lake
Erie to the Hudson river. Having fulfilled his
contract he retired to Tully, where he passed
the remainder of his life, making his home with
his eldest daughter, Mrs. Mary Strail. The
death of his wife occurred at Chenango Forks,
Broome county, N. Y. The children born to
the marriage of Barak and Rhode Morse, were

ten in number, as follows: John, deceased;
Mary, wife of R. Strail, of Tully, N. Y. ;
Rachel, deceased; Relief, widow of the late
Dr. P. J. Hines, of Van Wert; Rhoda, de
ceased; Phebe, deceased; Eliza, widow of L.
Russell, of Pennsylvania; William, deceased;
Milla, widow of Levi Harnly, and Maria, wife
of Peter Hire, of Middlepoint, Ohio. Mr.
Morse was in politics a democrat, and Mrs.
Morse was a member of the Methodist Episco
pal church. Both always appreciated to a
high degree the value of an education for the
young, and did all in their power to give the
best instruction to their children that they
could afford.
Mrs. Milla Harnly was but fifteen years of
age when she came to live with her sister,
Mrs. P. J. Hines, of Van Wert. Being well
educated in the public schools, she began
teaching when eighteen years old, her first
two terms being in Ridge township, for her
services there receiving $1.50 per week. This
was in the early history of Van Wert county.
That her success in this Ridge township school
was observed by those in charge of educa
tional matters is evident from her being called
to Van Wert, where she had charge of one of
the city school for several terms, after which
she went to Washington township and taught
there two terms. Then, after the death of
her husband, she taught two terms in Tully
township, and in 1868 moved to Van Wert to
educate her children. Soon afterward she es
tablished a select school, and in the following
year she was again employed in the union
schools of Van Wert, having charge of the first
primary grade for about twelve years, at the
end of which time she retired permanently
from school work.
Mrs. Harnly is the mother of three chil
dren, viz: Mary, wife of D. J. Cable, an at
torney of Lima, Ohio; Clara, deceased wife of
J. E. Montgomery, postmaster of Van Wert,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

283

and David G. , decsased. Since the death of
her daughter, Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Harnly
has taken charge of the three children thus
left without a mother, and has been in every
possible way a mother to them. She is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
was a leader in the woman's crusade at Van
Wert, of the W. C. T. U., and for eight years
was district secretary of the W. F. M. S., of
Lima district. She is the ownerof three fine res
idence properties in the city of Van Wert, and
at the age of sixty-five is passing her days
cheerfully and happily, still engaged in active
christian work. Mrs. Harnly has a most lov
able disposition, and is esteemed by all her
neighbors as one of the most intelligent and
gracious ladies of the city of Van Wert.
It will be noticed that David Harnley, a
brother of Levi Harnly, and whose sketch fol
lows, spells his name differently, and in his
sketch will be found further details of the
ancestry of Levi.

5>^AAVID HARNLEY, of the firm of
I I Collett & Harnley, grocers of Van
{A^/ Wert, Ohio, and a son of Christian
and Nancy (Reiff) Harnley, was
born near Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio,
November 17, 1833. Christian Harnley, the
father, was born near Manheim, in Lancaster
county, Pa., and by his marriage to Nancy
Reiff became the father to nine children, viz:
Maria, widow of A. Gilbert, of Kansas; Abra
ham, killed at the battle of Kenesaw mountain,
which took place June 27, 1864; an infant,
deceased; Levi, a sketch of whose life appears
above; David, the subject of this article;
Anna, of Kansas; Christopher, who was a
member of company H, Fifteenth Ohio volun
teer infantry, was wounded at the battle of
Pittsburg Landing, was taken thence to Saint
Louis, where he had his leg amputated, and

there died ; the ninth child was named Benjamin,
and is now a resident of Kansas, where he is
engaged in farming. The parents, on coming
from Pennsylvania to Ohio, located in Rich
land county, where the father was engaged in
weaving until 1848, when he came to Van
Wert county and purchased land in Ridge
township, where he farmed until his death.
They were both members of the Methodist
Episcopal church and in politics the father
was a republican. They left a finely cultivated
farm of eighty acres, beside other valuable
property. The father was a man of peace
and would sacrifice his own best interests
rather than have trouble. He was a great
friend of education and gave his children the
best he could afford.
David Harnley, the subject of this sketch,
at the age of twenty-one years, being released
from the legal control of his parents, began
learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed
until his enlistment, August 4, 1862, in com
pany A, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry,
which was assigned to the Fourth army corps,
then to the Twenty-third army corps, and then
to the army of Tennessee. He was first under
the command of Capt. William S. Scott, then
under Capt. W. T. Exline, and then, on the
consolidation of his regiment with the Fiftieth
Ohio infantry, was under Capt. Williams. Mr.
Harnley was appointed orderly sergeant in
1863 and held this rank until discharged at
Wilmington, N. C, March 4, 1865, when the
consolidation took place and all surplus officers
released from duty. The injuries sustained by
Mr. Harnley while fighting for his country
were caused by a sword-thrust in the groin at
Cynthiana, Ky., and by a gun-shot at Kenesaw
Mountain in June 1864.
On his return to Van Wert Mr. Harnley
resumed carpentering, which he followed until
the results of disabilities contracted during his
army life, mentioned below, warned him to re-

284

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

frain from hard labor. He then, in 1883,
formed a co-partnership in the grocery trade
in Van Wert, with William Collett, under the
firm style of Collett & Harnley, and since then
the firm has been doing an excellent trade at
their original stand on East Main street, hand
ling choice groceries, provisions, queensware,
tinware, and every thing pertaining to their
line of business.
The marriage of Mr. Harnley took place
November 6, 1856, to Miss Eleanor T. McCoy,
a native of Van Wert county, born March 17,
1836, a daughter of D. W. and Esther (Gil
lespie) McCoy, who were the parents of four
children, viz: Alexander, a farmer of Allen
county, Ohio; Sarah Jane, deceased; Cray ton
William, a stock dealer of Van Wert, and
Eleanor T. , the wife of our subject. The
parents of this family are now both deceased.
To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Harnley have
been born two children — Harriet Lucretia,
wife of William Smith, Jr. , and Abigail Franes,
wife of Sherman Allen, of the firm of Allen
Brothers, grocers of Van Wert. Mr. and Mrs.
Harnley are members of the Methodist Episco
pal church, in which he is a class leader, and
in politics Mr. Harnley is a prohibitionist. He
has been a member of the board of education
and also of the town council; he is an Odd
Fellow and a member of the G. A. R. , and is
highly respected throughout the community.

St

'ILLIAM HARP, a native of Van
Wert county, Ohio, was born in
1 86 1 on the farm he now occupies,
which farm his father settled upon
in the wilderness forty years ago. Here Will
iam Harp grew to manhood, assisting his
father, and in 1887 he married Margaret R.
Putman, daughter of Isaac and Sophia Put-
man, who were born and grew to manhood

and womanhood in Mercer county, Ohio, and
became the parents of the following children :
Hughey, Solomon, Alexander, Fidelia, wife of
Jesse King; Mary, wife of Date Krick; Rosa,
wife of Charles Agler; Margaret, wife of Will
iam Harp; Laura and Frank, both deceased.
To Mr. and Mrs. William Harp have been
born two daughters — Rosa, who died in in
fancy, and Blanche, now four years of age.
Mrs. Mary Harp at present makes her home
with our subject, her son. Mr. Harp is the
owner of 120 acres of very fertile land, eighty
acres of which lay in Liberty township; this
land is thoroughly underdrained, Mr. Harp
having laid over 2,500 rods of tile, the whole
being now under a high state of cultivation.
In politics Mr. Harp is an uncompromising
democrat. Jonas Harp, the father of William Harp,
our subject, is a native of Miami county. He
has always been a farmer, and married Mary
Putman, to which union were born five chil
dren, viz : Commodor; Rosanna, wife of
Henry Flager; Andrew, of whom an extended
notice is given elsewhere; Lydia, married to
Henry Brunni, William, who married Margaret
Putman. Jonas Harp first located here when
the country was a wilderness and here his
family were reared; he was in politics a demo
crat, was an honest, hard-working man, and
died on his farm December 25, 1861. The
Putman family were early settlers of this coun
ty, also, and were greatly respected by all the
pioneers. Mrs. Harp was born in Somerset
county, Pa., in the year 1829, and was but
eleven years of age when brought to Van Wert
county by her parents; she did all the work of
a man — grubbed, hoed corn, picked brush and
cooked by an old walnut stump that stood in
her present door-yard, and, having no table,
the family ate their frugal meals on an old
wooden chest. This lady is still living, vigor
ous in mind and body, and is still capable of

/WCc^a^^U^

CZ^^^OC CJ€^ZdM^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

289

doing a hard day's work. Of such material as
the Harp family were the early pioneers of Van
Wert county, who have wrought out through
hard toil — the toil of which their descendants
have but the faintest idea — the beautiful fields
that now embellish the country, and have
erected the elegant mansions that dot the land
scape as far around as the eye can reach.

^J^jTW9 ILLIAM FEASBY, one of the lead-
¦ ¦ 1 ing farmers of Tully township, Van
\JL>^ Wert count}', Ohio, descends from
an old English family of farmers,
and is an Englishman himself by birth, although
he has no recollection of his native land,
having from infancy been reared in the United
States. His father, Joseph Feasby, was born
on a farm in Yorkshire, England, and there
married Elizabeth Robinson, to which union
were born two children, Jane and William. In
1 85 1 Joseph Feasby brought his family to the
United States, and in June of the same year
settled on forty acres of land in the woods in
Tully township, which land he cleared up.
During the Civil war he removed to Van Wert
city, but died in Tully township, on the farm,
in 1889, at the age of seventy-five years. He
had been a democrat in his politics, and was
trustee of Tully and Harrison townships for
seven years; had been a trader in and shipped
live stock, and at one time was the largest
shipper of cattle in Van Wert county. He
was widely known as an excellent business
man, and was implicitly trusted in for his in
tegrity and straightforward dealing.
William Feasby, whose name opens this
biography, was born in Yorkshire, England,
July 28, 1848, and was a mere infant when
brought to this country by his father. He
received a fair education, was reared a farmer,
and January 3, 1878, married Anna Kirk, also

a native of Yorkshire, England, born June 26,
1856, a daughter of James and Mary (Elliott)
Kirk. James Kirk came from Yorkshire in
1870, and settled on a farm near Van Wert.
He now lives near Cincinnati, the father of
two children, Joshua and Anna, and a highly
respected citizen. After marriage, Mr. Feasby
settled on a farm of eighty acres, which he had
purchased in 1870, and had partly cleared,
and to which he has since added until he now
owns 280 acres, all cleared up and improved,
excepting forty acres. In 1889 he built his
present brick residence, which is two stories
high and very substantial. To Mr. and Mrs.
Feasby have been born thirteen children, as
follows: Mary E., born Sunday, September 7,
1878, at 1 o'clock A. m., and died September
23, 1878; James, born November 14, 1879, at
3 a. m., on Friday, and died August 20, 1880;
Mary J., born at 7 p. m. , Saturday, March 5,
1 881; Flora A., born at 6 a. m., Sunday, Feb
ruarys, 1882; Dorothea H., born June 7, 1883,
at 8 p. m., Thursday; Rosa E., born at 1 p. m.,
Tuesday, December 9, 1884; Joseph M., born
Friday, at 3- A. m. , August 21, 1886; First
Viola, born January 1, 1888, on Sunday, at 1
A. m. ; Joshua B., born 8 A. m., Wednesday,
July 24, 1889; Charles C, born at 1 p. m.,
Thursday, December; 25, 1890; Benjamin F. ,
born at 10 p. m., Monday, March 14, 1892, an
infant son, unnamed, born at 1 A. M., Tues
day, April 19, 1893, and died June 5, 1893,
and Willis, born June 6, 1895, at 1 a. m.
Mr. Feasby is a democrat in politics, and
has served as supervisor four terms, and has
been a member of the school board nine years,
and is yet serving; he is a member of the
I. O. R. M. of Convoy, and is highly respected
as a useful citizen. He has a good farm and
has been a dealer in cattle all his life, and is
widely and favorably known throughout Van
Wert county as one of its most successful
traders in live stock.

290

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

VyOrlN H. HARR, a deceased pioneer
A farmer of Van Wert county, Ohio, was
(• 1 born December 30, 181 8, in Fairfield
"""' county of the same state. His father,
John Harr, was born in Lancaster county, Pa.,
was of German descent, became an early set
tler of Fairfield county, Ohio, and there mar
ried Miss Martha, daughter of John and Cath
erine (Wise) Stolter. To the marriage of John
Harr and Martha Stolter were born two chil
dren — John H. , and Elizabeth. After mar
riage, John Harr, Sr. , located with his wife on
a farm in Fairfield county, where he resided
until his death.
John H. Harr, the subject of this sketch,
was reared on the home farm, but was a
young man when his father died. In 1843,
when twenty-five years of age, he came to Van
Wert county with his mother and her sister,
Fannie, making the journey with horses and
wagons. Here, in 1837, he had entered 160
acres in the woods, the deed being signed by
M. Van Buren, president of the United States,
in August, 1837. This land, after undergoing
the usual hardships and privations of frontier
life, he succeeded in converting into a bloom
ing farm, improved with modern and substan
tial buildings, that are furnished with all the
latest-invented conveniences. The property
has also increased to 180 acres, and it is all
under a high state of cultivation.
In December, 1850, Mr. Harr married Miss
Nancy Henney, daughter of William and
Mary (Sands) Henney. The father, William
Henney, was a pioneer of Van Wert county,
having settled in Tully township in 1838. To
Mr. Harr's union with Nancy Henney there
were born thirteen children, viz: William W.,
who died in infancy, and twelve that grew to
maturity and were named: Wilson R. , Cor
win, Uriah S., Alice L. , Abraham L. , Ada-
nirum, Franklin (deceased), Newton, Emma
John, Perry and Mary E. Of these, Wilson

R. married Etta Leslie, is now a resident of
Parsons, Kans., is a machinist, and the father
of two children; Corwin is the husband of
Della Bronson, and has one child; Uriah S.
married Bell Watters, is an employee in the
railroad shops at Parsons, Kans., and is the
father of four children; Alice L. is the wife of
Benjamin Brittson, a farmer of Harrison town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, and is the
mother of one child; Abraham L. , now on the
home farm, married Mary Seekings, who has
borne him four children; Adanirum, acarpenter,
married Nettie Lockman, who is now de
ceased, and is the father of one child; Frank
M., a photographer, died in Chicago, and
Mary E., is the wife of Ellsworth Snyder,
a farmer of Harrison township.
John H. Harr was a stanch republican,
always enjoyed the confidence of the people of
Harrison township, and for two terms served
them as township assessor. He was an hon
ored member of the Lutheran church for many
years, and for a long time an elder. He was
one of the founders of the Harrison township
congregation, contributed liberally towards its
church edifice, and was a member of the build
ing committee, His wife was also a devout
member of the same congregation. Mr. Harr
was one of the first auctioneers of his part of
the county and as such became widely and
favorably known. He was recognized as a man
of the strictest integrity and as a truly public-
spirited citizen. He died October 2, 1895,
deeply mourned by the community in which he
had so long lived and whom he had done so
much to serve.

St

9 ILLIAM CLARKSON HASTINGS,
B. S. , M. D. , a leading physician and
surgeon, of Van Wert, Ohio, is a
native of New Castle, Henry county,
Ind., is a son of William and Jane (Reece)

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

291

Hastings, and was born November 20, 1852.
William Hastings and Miss Jane Reece were
united in marriage November 30, 1831, and at
once located near New Castle, Ind. , and en
gaged in farming, and on their farm Mr. Hast
ings died, May 2, 1854. Mrs. Hastings re
tained her residence on the place until 1859,
when she removed to Richmond, Ind., in order
to avail herself of the educational advantages
of Earlham college for here hildren, her hus
band having assisted it financially in its early
history. Here Mrs. Hastings resided until
1873. She now resides with her son, Dr. S.
G. Hastings, of Muncie, Ind., a physician of
considerable note in that city. Her eight
children were born and named in the following
order: David, deceased; John R. , deceased;
Martha C; Rebecca J. ; Dr. S. G. ; Dr. A. H.,
of Winchester, Ind.; Sarah A., deceased, and
William C, the subject of this sketch. The
parents of this family were reared as members
of the Society of Friends, and in politics the
father was a whig. The latter was a man of
more than ordinary mental ability, took great
interest in educational matters, and was very
successful in his financial management.
Dr. W. C. Hastings received his iiterary
education at Earlham college, Richmond, Ind.,
for which purpose he was taken to that city by
his mother when he was about seven years of
age, and there he pursued his studies until
1873, when he was graduated from that insti
tution. He then entered the office of Dr. O.
P. Baer, of Richmond, under whom he studied
medicine until his graduation from the Pulte
Medical college of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1880,
when he located for practice in Winchester,
Ind., where he passed one year, and, in 1881,
removed to Van Wert, Ohio, where he has
since resided, meeting with encouraging suc
cess in his practice and being fully recognized
for his professional ability. The doctor was
happily married August 26, 1874, in Camden,

Ind., to Miss Anna Grisell, the accomplished
daughter of Albert and Rachel (Starbuck)
Grisell. Mrs; Hastings was born on the 13th
day of July, 1855, and is a lady of culture and
many excellent traits of character. The home
of Dr. and Mrs. Hastings has been brightened
by the birth of two intelligent boys: Albert
C, who was born December 26, 1879, and
Frederic W. , whose birth occurred on the
18th day of October, 1882. Politically the
doctor is a republican, and while taking an
active interest in public affairs is by no means
a partisan in the sense of seeking official posi
tion at the hands of his fellow-citizens, pre
ferring to devote his attention to his chosen
calling. He has established the reputation of
a successful physician, and has been rewarded
with a large and lucrative practice from the
beginning of his professional career. The doc
tor is a prominent member of the Homeopathic
State Medical association of Ohio and of the
American institute of Homeopathy, and as a
general practitioner his success nas been most
flattering. For the last ten years his practice
has been so extensive as to compel him to em
ploy an assistant, and at times two, to aid him
in his work. While eminent in his profession
the doctor is also a man of varied acquire
ments, of fine esthetic taste and culture, and
has done much reading in general literature,
having a liberal acquaintance with the best au
thors. He is a man of fine presence, being
above the average height and possessing a
well-knit frame, and impresses all with whom
he comes in contact by. his courteous and dig
nified bearing. Fraternally he is a member of
the F. & A. M., in which he has taken the
degree of sir knight, and for some years has
been prominently identified with the order of
Odd Fellows. In religion both the doctor and
his wife are devout Presbyterians, and their
social standing is on par with that of the fore
most citizens of Van Wert city and county.

'292

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

<V^V ATHANIEL F. HATTERY, a pro-
1 m Rressive young farmer, is a 'native of
J r Hoaglin township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, where he still keeps his resi
dence, and was born April 29, 1866. His
great-grandfather, Thomas Hattery, was a boy
when he came from France with his father,
who settled in Delaware county, Pa. Andrew
Hattery, grandfather of subject, was born in
Delaware county, Pa., and was married, in
Somerset county, to Rachael Smith, who bore
the following children, but not in the order
named: James, Eaton, John, Joseph, An
drew, Thomas, Edward, Josiah, Lydia,
, Rachael and Nathaniel. From Somerset
county, Pa. , the grandparents moved to Brooke
county, Va., and ten years later came to Ohio
and entered land in Carroll county, where they
resided until 1842, when they came to Van
Wert county and settled in Hoaglin township,
where their days were ended in the Presby
terian faith. Of their children, Nathaniel
Hattery, the father of our subject, was born
in J822 in Brooke county, Va. (now W. Va.),
and when he came to Van Wert county, Ohio,
with his parents, there were but nine families
in Hoaglin township. Here he entered land
and hewed out of the wilderness a farm which
finally contained 220 acres. January 22, 1853,
he married Ellen Acheson, and had born to
him the following children, named in the order
of birth: Elizabeth J., Thomas F. , John E.
and Clara (deceased), Mary E., Hermia, John
A. (deceased), Margaret E. and Nathaniel F
The father of this family was a very promi
nent man in the township, and for six years
served as township trustee, two years as town
ship clerk, and four years as township treas
urer. In politics he was first a whig, and later
a republican; in religion he and wife were
Presbyterians, and very regular in their church
attendance, and both were highly esteemed by
their neighbors. Mrs. Hattery was called

home August 10, 1876, and Mr. Hattery fol
lowed her March 12, 1882.
Nathaniel F. Hattery, our subject, has
been an agriculturist from his earliest days,
and most emphatically a progressive one. He
has himself cleared up his farm of forty-five
acres, which is a model of neatness and thrifty
care. It is improved with a good dwelling, a
barn of appropriate dimensions, and is well
ditched and highly cultivated. September 6,
1888, Mr. Hattery married Lydia C. Harvey,
daughter of Samuel B. and Martha (Carr)
Harvey, of Hoaglin township, and four chil
dren have come to bless the household, viz:
Arthur L., Walter, Hila O., and an infant not
yet named. In politics, Mr. Hattery is
strongly republican, and is an ardent advocate
of the cause of public education; he is liberal
in his aid to all religious denominations, is a
member of the Hoaglin grange, No. 400, and
socially he and wife bear a high reputation.

t>^VHILIP HOVERMAN, a well-known
I W farmer and manufacturer of lumber
j| and drain tile, is a native of Van Wert
county, Ohio, born October 18, 1858.
His father was born in Germany, October 8,'
1820, and there married his first wife, and af
terward immigrated to the United States, set
tling in New York. After the death of ' his
wife, which occurred in the aforesaid state,
the elder Mr. Hoverman moved to Marion
county, Ohio, where he engaged in farming,
and where he married his second wife, Eliza
beth Hoffman, mother of the subject of this
sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Hoverman resided in
the county of Marion until 1856, at which
time they moved to Van Wert county, locat
ing in Liberty township, where Mr. Hoverman
was engaged in farming the remainder of his
days; his widow still resides on the home
farm, but lives a part of the time with her son.

^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

295

Philip Hoverman was born in Van Wert
county, Ohio, October 18, 1858. Reared
a farmer, his early life was one of great indus
try, and he found means to obtain a fair En
glish education, embracing the branches usu
ally taught in the district schools. In addition
to agricultural pursuits Mr. Hoverman followed
the carpenter's vocation for a period of fifteen
years, and in 1891 engaged in the manufac
ture of lumber and draining tile, purchasing at
the same time a small farrh, upon which his
mill and factory stand. In a financial sense
he has met with success, and, by strict atten
tion to his various enterprises, has succeeded
in accumulating a comfortable competence,
which represents the labor of his own hand.
In addition to the mill which he first pur
chased, he is operating at this time a saw-mill
in Ohio City, and has recently bought a large
amount of standing timber in Van Wert county.
Mr. Hoverman is a local politician of the dem
ocratic party, as were also his ancestors before
him, and at this time he is filling his second
term as township trustee. He married Caro
line Emrich, daughter of Henry and Catherine
(Huffman) Emrich, and has a family of three
children — Otto, Charles and Edward. Mr.
Hoverman is a member of lodge No. 771, I.
O. O. F. , and with his family belongs to the
German Reform church.

BODNEY GRAHAM, one of the lead
ing farmers of Van Wert county,
Ohio, an old settler of Tully township
and the present township trustee, is
of sturdy Scotch-Irish descent and comes from
an old colonial Pennsylvania family. His
great-grandfather was a soldier in the patriot
army in the Revolutionary war and had his lip
shot off at the battle of Cowpers, in North
Carolina. William Graham, son of the above
and grandfather of our subject, was a" soldier

in the war of 18 12. When a young man he
came to Athens county, Ohio, where he mar
ried Nancy Cassel, and was one of the originali
pioneers and an organizer of the township of
Lee, where he had settled when there were
but three other white families within its limits,
but numerous vicious Indians, who often made
raids upon the settlement. He succeeded in
clearing up his farm and in acquiring a large
amount of land, and was well known through
out the country for his integrity and sagacity
as a business man. To himself and wife were
born twelve children, named as follows: Henry,
Sophia, William, James, Elias, Samuel, Wil
son, Hannah, Martha, Nancy, Ivy and Eliza
beth Graham.
Samuel Graham, one of the children above
enumerated and the father of our subject, Rod
ney, was born in Athens county, Ohio, June
12, 1 81 8, was reared a farmer and there mar
ried Miss Nancy Wheeler. The children born
to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Graham were eleven
in number and were named Rodney, Ivy, Mary
J., Sarah E., Lydia A., Samuel E., Martha,
Susanna, Armentha, Eliza, and one that died
in infancy. Samuel Graham continned his residence in
Athens county, Ohio, until 1846, when he
moved to Monroe township, Allen county, Ind.,
and settled on eighty acres in the wild woods,
where he eventually made a good home, greatly
increased his acreage, and still retains 160
acres of fine land. His first wife died in Mon
roe township, and for his second companion he
married the widow of Peter Crush, but to this
union no children have been born. Mr. Gra
ham is a member of the United Brethren
church, in politics is a democrat, and is one of
the most highly respected citizens of the county
of Allen, Ind.
Rodney Graham, whose name opens this
biographical notice, was born August 4, 1841,
in Athens county, Ohio, on the home farm.

296

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

At the age of five years he was taken by his
father to Allen county, Ind., and still remem
bers seeing that gentleman cutting his way
through the black swamps of Ohio. He re
ceived the usual education of the pioneer days,
was reared as farmer lads usually are reared,
and on April 10, 1862, was married in Monroe
township, Allen county, Ind., to Miss Nancy
J. Clem, daughter of Noah and Magdalen
(Ridenour) Clem. These parents, Noah Clem
and wife, were born in Shenandoah county,
Va. , moved to Champaign county, Ohio, and
thence, in 1840, to Allen county, Ind., where
Mr. Clem cleared up a farm and became quite
wealthy. He was one of the organizers of his
township, was the first justice of the peace, and
performed the ceremony for the first couple
married in Monroe. He and wife were par
ents of thirteen children, viz: Alfred, Benja
min, Mary, Margaret, Nancy J., Jacob, Noah,
Susannah, Elizabeth, Isabelle, John, Joseph,
and Joshua. Mr. Clem was born September
27, 1809, is a Jacksonian democrat, and still
survives. After this happy marriage of Mr. and Mrs.
Graham they resided in Monroe township,
Allen county, Ind., until 1865, when they
moved to his present farm, which then con
tained but eighty acres, in Tully township,
Van Wert county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Gra
ham, by their joint labor and by "pulling to
gether," have increased their acreage to 400,
and have, beside, given their son, William,
forty acres. Mrs. Graham is a member of the
Methodist church, and Mr. Graham has the
entire confidence of the people of Tully town
ship, whom he served four terms as township
trustee. Mr. and Mrs. Graham are the parents
of three children, viz: William J., who mar
ried Mary Bainbridge, and owns a market in
Chicago; Florence, who is married to Gilbert
Gyer, a farmer of Tully township, and Martha,
the wife of Augustus H. Schroeder, a taxider

mist of Atlanta, Ga., and the mother of one
child. Mr. and Mrs. Graham are among the
most honored of the residents of Tully town
ship and the county of Van Wert, he being
well known throughout the county for his ge
nial manners and unsullied business integrity
and sterling worth.

*-|-* EWIS A. HARVEY, the genial super-
¦ r intendent and manager of the Grange
I J warehouse of Van Wert, Ohio, was
born in Union township, Van Wert
county, August 31, 1851, a son of James and
Wilhelmina (Rees) Harvey, natives of Hoaglin
township in the same county, where Lewis A.
was reared on his_ father's farm. He made
his home at the residence of his parents until
1884, although for a number of year prior to
this date he had been employed in job carpen
ter work and bridge building. He was edu
cated in the country schools of his township
and also took private lessons in mathematics
of S. B. Devore for a year. In April, 1884,
he came to Van Wert and was employed as
superintendent of the Patrons of Husbandry
warehouse and held the position until 1887,
when he was elected auditor of Van Wert
county, assumed the office in September, 1888,
and most satisfactorily filled the position for
six years and five weeks, having been twice
elected by the democratic party, of which he
is a stanch member — the first time by a ma
jority of 198 votes and the second time by
891 majority, a fact which speaks for his in
tegrity and ability louder than words. Since
1888, also, he has been engaged as superin
tendent and manager of the warehouse, in
which he has two-thirds interest; in 1890 he
began to traffic in hay, and in 1894 handled
over 150 carloads; he is also connected with
the Ohio City warehouse and purchases grain
at Convoy, Scott, Dixon, Middlepoint and

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

297

Venedocia, and handles about 450 carloads
per year. He has been a member of the
Hoaglin grange since 1874, and in all respects
is a shrewd business man, with a reputation
that has never been impugned nor tarnished.
Fraternally he is a member of the Improved
Order of Red Men, and socially he holds a
very high position among the citizens of Van
Wert city and county.
James Harvey, of Hoaglin township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, is a son of William and
Sallie (Watson) Harvey, was born in Richland
county, Ohio, April 21, 1828, and was thir
teen years of age when brought to Van Wert
county. Since that early age he has been
identified, more or less, with the history of his
township. He was educated in one of the pio
neer log school-houses of his day, containing
the rudest and most primitive improvised fur
niture within, and surrounded without with
wild woods infested with savage beasts of prey
and abounding in game. He became an in
telligent and sturdy farmer, and married, Oc
tober 24, 1850, Wilhelmina Rees, born August
31, 1826, a daughter of Christopher and Char-
lotta (Quasy) Rees, natives of the kingdom of
Bavaria, in the empire of Germany. The
Rees family came to America in 1840, located
in Montgomery, Ohio, for a year, and then, in
1 841, moved to Van Wert county, where they
hewed out a farm of 280 acres. The children,
who were all born in Germany, were named
as follows: Frederick, Henry, Wilhelmina,
Lewis (died in Germany), Caroline, August
(died in Germany); those who reached this
country are now also deceased, with the ex
ception of Mrs. Harvey.
James Harvey was married in Union town
ship, lived there five years on a rented farm,
and then moved to Hoaglin township, where
Mr. Harvey now owns a fine farm of ninety-
nine acres, well drained and cultivated, and
improved with a good, new, modern, frame

residence, good barn and outbuildings, and
stocked as a specialty with registered Poland-
China hogs — all realized through his own hard
labor. Following are the names of the chil
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Harvey: Lewis
A., ex-county auditor for six years; George H. ;
Amanda and Miranda, deceased; James M. ;
Francis D. ; Clara A., and Perry H. In pol
itics Mr. Harvey is a stanch democrat. Of
the children enumerated above, James M. re
sides on the old homestead and cares for it
generally.

'w * ON. JAMES F. HIGGINS, mayor of
i^\ Van Wert, Ohio, is a son of Ralph
A .r P- and Laura M. (Doup) Higgins,
and was born in Shelby county, Ohio,
August 31, i860. Ralph P. Higgins was born
in Hamilton county, Ohio, December 28, 1823,
while his wife was born in Frederick county,
Maryland. They were married in Shelby
county, in 1852, lived on a farm until 1873,
and then removed to Piqua, Miami county,
where Mr. Higgins is now passing his declining
years in retirement. They had born to their
marriage three children, in the following order:
William H., deceased; Edward D., of Denver,
Colo., and James F. , whose name opens this
paragraph. The father is, as was his wife, a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church;
in politics he is a republican, is trustee of his
township and for many years served as justice
of the peace; he has been very successful in
life, still owns two farms, aggregating 260 acres,
in Shelby county, Ohio, and has always been
regarded, wherever he has lived, as an upright
and intelligent gentleman.
Mayor James F. Higgins was reared on the
home farm in Shelby county, Ohio, until thir
teen years of age, when, in 1873, he was taken
by his parents to Miami county and finished his
schooling at Piqua, after which he resided with

298

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

his uncle, E. R. Doup, in Brooklyn, N. Y. ,
and for two years remained with said uncle,
and in 1879 came to Van Wert, Ohio, in the
capacity of buyer and shipper of lumber for
the same gentleman, which position he held
until 1885, when, in connection with his
brother, William Higgins, then a resident of
New York city, he established the firm of Hig
gins Bros., lumber merchants, which continued
in the trade until the decease of William, in
1 89 1. In 1894, James F. Higgins was elected
mayor of Van Wert by the republican party,
with whom he stands high in favor, as he does,
indeed, with the public in general, and took
possession of his office April 13, of the same
year. His marriage took place in Covington, Ky. ,
to Miss Lulu E. Brown, a native of Memphis,
Shelby county, Tenn., and a daughter of Orlan
do and Josephene Brown, now deceased, and
this union has been gladdened by the birth of
one child, Ralph Pendry, Jr. Mr. and Mrs.
Higgins are members of the Methodist Episco
pal church and fraternally he is a Knight of
Pythias, whose ranks his fine appearance and
manly proportions greatly adorn. In all the
attributes of manhood and useful citizenship
Mr. Higgins stands conspicuous among his
fellows, and few men in Van Wert county have
as wide and varied acquaintance as he, or have
made as strong impression on the public mind.
In his early youth formed a determined pur
pose to succeed, and his position socially, and
his standing in the business world, are proofs
that so far in life this purpose has been fully
realized; and, judging by the past, it is safe to
predict for him a future of still greater honor
and usefulness. He is a man of positive con
victions, firm in its adherence to what he con
siders the right, and in the .performance of his
official functions has proved a most careful and
impartial public servant. Mr. Higgins is
characterized by a strong and vigorous person

ality, is dignified in bearing, and impresses all
with whom he comes in contact as a typical
representative of the sturdy and intelligent
manhood for which the great commonwealth of
Ohio has long been noted.

(D

RS. ESTHER A. FISHER, widow
of Samuel Fisher, late of Union
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
is a daughter of John and Hannah
Ferguson, and was born in Cecil county, Md.,
October 30, 1829 — the youngest of seven chil
dren, named as follows. George, deceased;
Mrs. Eliza Moore, of Michigan, deceased;
William; Margaret, deceased; Robert; Mrs.
Rebecca McVay, and our subject, Esther A.,
now Mrs. Samuel Fisher.
Mrs. Esther A. Fisher was educated in the
select school of her native state, and was first
married, February 25, 1847, to John F. Mc
Cullough, a son of John and Susan McCul
lough, to which union were born the following
children: Samuel H., May 30, 1848; Susan
J., January 22, 1850; George W., May 18,
1852; Harriet A., June 8, 1855; Margaret E.,
October 13, 1857; William C, April 8, i860.
Mr. McCullough, the father of these children,
was born in Lancaster county, Pa., August 14,
1827, and was a farmer. After marriage he,
with his family, lived on a farm in Lancaster
county for twenty-four years, and then moved
to York county, same state, and several years
later — about 1857 — came to Ohio and located
in Fairfield county, whence, in 1861, he came
to Van Wert county and purchased a small
farm in Liberty township, on which he located
his family, and in the same year enlisted in
company H, Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infan
try. At the battle of Pittsburg Landing he
was seriously wounded in the foot and was
consequentiy laid up in the hospital at Saint
Louis, Mo. , where he recovered, and, on re-

J. F. MCCULLOUGH.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

303

turning home, enlisted in the Fifteenth Ohio
volunteer infantry for the remainder of the
war. During his services in his two enlist
ments he took part in the severe campaigns of
Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia,
and at Dallas, Ga. , gave up his life, and now
rests in a grave among the unknown but gal
lant brave.
After Mr. McCuUough's death, his widow,
our subject, with the assistance of her sons,
managed the home farm in Liberty township
until 1869, when she sold the place and moved
to her present home in Union township. In
June, 1870, she was united in marriage with
Samuel Fisher. This lamented gentleman
was a son of Jacob Fisher, and was born in
Crawford county, Ohio, May 25, 1822, and
was reared a blacksmith, as well as to farming.
He first married Julia A. French, to which
marriage were born five children, all of whom
are now residents of Paulding county. Samuel'
Fisher was also a gallantsoldier in the late Civil
war and served in company H, One Hundred
and Thirty-second Ohio volunteer infantry,
of Paulding county. At the close of this
internecine struggle he resumed blacksmithing
and farming, and lost his wife in 1868. After
his marriage to our subject he retained his
residence on his farm in Paulding county for
twelve years, and there, with his second wife,
our subject, stood very high in the estimation
of his neighbors as a useful and valuable mem
ber of society. His untimely death took place
May 8, 1 892, in the faith of the Church of God.
In politics he was a republican and was an
honored member of the Grand Army of the
Republic. He held several local offices, hav
ing been quite popular with his party, and
being always recognized as an honest, intelli
gent and trustworthy citizen.
After the death of her lamented husband
Mrs. Fisher soon returned to her old home in
Union township, Van Wert county, where she
14

is now residing with her daughter, Susan J. ,
one of the children born to her first marriage.
Susan J. McCullough was married November
26, 1868, to Jacob Wise, a son of James and
Julia A. (Bartin) Wise, and has borne her hus
band three children, named as follows : James
H., of Middlebury, Summit county, Ohio;
Cora A., wife of Frank Rolsten, of Union
township, Van Wert county; and Zelma A.
Mr. Wise was born in Morrow county, Ohio,
April 11, 1847, is of Pennsylvania-Dutch
descent, and came to Van Wert, Ohio, with
his parents in his boyhood, and here his life
has ever since been identified with the agri
cultural interests of the county.
Mrs. Fisher, like her husband, is a devoted
member of the Church of God, in which faith
she has reared all her children. The relict of
two brave soldiers, she is passing away, a ven
erated and honored woman, the remaining years
of her life, awaiting only the call of the Being
after whom her church is named.

>*y» ARTHUR HINES, M. D., was born
A in Van Wert, Ohio, September 12,
rift 1 1842, and is now recognized as one of
the most experienced physicians and
surgeons of the county. His grandfather,
Jacob Hines, was a native of Maryland, and
for many years was an employee of the national
government, although he was by trade a tin
smith. He was the owner of a few slaves, but
for conscience, sake freed them before the
opening of the late Civil war. He passed
from 1840 to 1850, or ten years of his life, in
Van Wert county, Ohio, and while here was a
class leader in the Methodist Episcopal church,
in which he had always taken an animated in
terest. To him and his wife, Susannah, were
born three children, viz: Mrs. James W.
Barker, of Washington city; Philip J., father
of our subject, and Johanna R. , deceased.

304

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mrs. Susannah Hines departed this life, a sin
cere Christian, in 1835, at the age of forty-
nine, while Jacob, her husband, lived to the
remarkable old age of ninety-seven, dying in
1874. Philip John Hines, M. D., son of Jacob
and Susannah, and the father of Dr. J. Arthur
Hines, was born in Fredericktown, Md.,
August 11, 181 5, and was educated in Wash
ington, D. C, chiefly, and there read medicine
under the renowned Dr. Thomas Miller, who
was the attending physician of every president
of the United States, from Washington to
Lincoln. Mr. Hines then entered the Univer
sity of Maryland, from the medical department
of which he graduated in 1837. Dissatisfied
with the laws of the United States which dis
franchises the residents of the District of Col
umbia as far as national offices are concerned,
Dr. Hines came west in 1838, tarried for a
while in Bucyrus, Ohio, and then settled in
Van Wert, then a mere village of the back
woods order, and was one of the committee,
when the town was created the capital of the
county, appointed in 1839, to transfer the
county records .from the former county seat,
Willshire. He taught school and practiced
medicine in Van Wert, and being intel
ligent and popular, was elected and served as
representative in the state legislature in 1847
and 1 848. In 1 849 he was seized with the gold
fever, went to California, and remained there
until 1852, when he returned to Van Wert and
resumed the practice of medicine, served as
county clerk and as county auditor, and under
the administration of President Pierce as post
master of Van Wert from 1852 to 1856, when
he once more resumed practice, which he ad
hered to until 1869. He brought the first
stock of drugs ever seen in Van Wert, and
conducted a trade in this line until his death,
on September 12, 1884. His wife, Relief
Morse, whom he married March 6, 1841, was
a native of New York state, was the first fe

male teacher in Van Wert, where she taught
two years, and was also a member of the first
Methodist Episcopal church class organized in
the city. She departed this life October 20,
1886, the mother of the following-named chil
dren: J. Arthur,- M. D. ; Mary A., wife of W.
W. Hir.erman, of Springfield, Ohio; Robert,
deceased; Sarah A., deceased; J. B. and C. E.,
of Van Wert.
J. Arthur Hines received his preparatory
education in his native city, and in 1859 en
tered the Columbian National college, at Wash
ington, D. C. , where he remained, pursuing
his studies, until the building was taken pos
session of, among others, for hospital pur
poses, by the military authorities, when he
returned to Van Wert, remained until 1866,
and then went back to the District of Colum
bia, studied at and graduated from the med
ical department of Georgetown university, the
platform, on the occasion — graduation day —
being graced by the presence of President
Grant and numerous statesmen of national re
nown. Our young physician immediately be
gan practice at Van Wert, where his abilities
were at once recognized, and here he has met
with that tide of prominent life which has
" led on to fortune," his specialty being the
diseases of children and women. He has also
been unusually successful in his general prac
tice, and this success led to his appointment
as county physician to the poor, as well as his
appointment, September 15, 1893, as special
examiner of applicants for pensions, the doc
tor being a faithful and stanch member of the
democratic party.
The doctor was most happily married, on
the 6th day of September, 1874, in Van Wert,
to Miss Elizabeth J. Hayes, a native of the
state of New York, born April 22, 1857, and
daughter of James and Elmira (Down) Hayes,
natives of N. Y. , and to this union have been
born two children, viz: Frank H., a gradu-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

305

ate in pharmacy of the Ada Normal school,
and Mary Eva. Dr. and Mrs. Hines are de
voted members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and their daily walk in life proclaims
the sincerity of their belief in the faith. Fra
ternally the doctor is a council member of the
Masonic order and a member of the *L. O. O.
F., while in his professional sodality he is an
honored member of the Ohio • State Medical
society and the American Medical association.
His fine personal appearance makes him an
ornament to the social circle in which he
moves, and his intellectual mind sheds a luster
on all subjects which he cares to discuss.

aHISTOPHER R. HILLER, a much
respected farmer of York township,
Van Wert county, is a native of
Wurtemberg, Germany, was born
May 10, 1847, a son of Frederick and Anna
Mary (Smith) Hiller, Frederick Hiller being a
weaver by trade. Frederick and his eldest
son, also named Frederick, came to America
in the spring of 1853, and stopped at Dayton,
Ohio, where the father followed day labor for
a number of years. In the fall of the same
year Christopher and his mother and sister fol
lowed, and joined the father at Dayton.
Frederick and Anna Mary were the parents of
the following children: Frederick, who died
in early manhood; Mary M., the deceased wife
of John Berger; Christopher R. , our subject,
and Jane, who was born in Ohio, and is now
the wife of Joseph Buxton. Until 1870, Fred
erick Hiller was a renter, living a part of the
time in Indiana. In the year last named he
came to the farm now owned by our subject,
having previously purchased the same. The
family rented a room of a neighbor, which
they occupied for three months, while the
building of the cabin was in progress. It is
necessary to add that this tract of land was

entirely in the woods, containing nearly 100
acres, and here Frederick Hiller dwelt until the
time of his death, November 20, 1873; his
widow then married John Kuhl, who was killed
seven years later in a railroad accident. Mrs.
Kuhl then married John Roberts and died
August 13, 1895.
Christopher R. Hiller has given his entire
life, since coming to Van Wert county, to
farming, with the exception of four years
passed in the manufacture of tile. September
25, 1875, he married Margaret Daut, a daugh
ter of Leanhart and Anna (Britting) Daut, both
natives of Germany, who came to America in
1859, locating in Hamilton, Ohio, where the
father was drowned in the canal in May, 1862.
In 1864 Mrs. Daut wedded George Brill at
Dayton, Ohio, and to this union were born the
following children: George, a farmer of Van
Wert county; John, of Paulding county, Ohio,
and Anna, wife of James Miller, of Van Wert
county. Mrs. Brill died February 17, 1896.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hiller have been born nine
children, viz: John, George, Martha Louise,
Jacob, Margaret Carrie Victoria, Charles,
Leanhart (deceased) Rudolph Richard, Frank
lin William Otto, and Frederick Lee. Since
fourteen years of age Mrs. Hiller has been a
true Christian woman, she and her husband
being both devout Methodists. In politics Mr.
Hiller is a democrat, and socially he and fam
ily are highly esteemed as kind neighbors, most
desirable friends and are self-respecting citizens.

EENRY HIPSHER, a thriving farmer
of York township, Van Wert county,
is a native of Marion county, Ohio,
was born July 27, 1834, and is a son
of Asrom and and Mary (Myers) Hipsher, both
natives of Pennsylvania. Asrom was born
December 7, 1807, and Mary, his wife, March
8, 1 81 2, and their marriage took place March

306

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

24, 1832. Asrom Hipsher, who was afarmer,
miller, carpenter and joiner, came to Ohio in
1 83 1 and resided in Marion county until 1836,
when he brought his wife and son (our subject)
to Van Wert county. He first entered eighty
acres of land in Pleasant township, but four
years later removed to the village of Van
Wert, where he resided until December, 1848,
and then settled in York township, where his
death occurred April 24, 1850, and that of his
wife March 23, 1857. This couple were the
parents of the following children: Henry;
Eliza, wife of Peter Pixler; Martin, who mar
ried Sarah Traxler, and who enlisted in 1862
and died of measles in 1863; Rachel, deceased
wife of the late Mr. Wappinger; Daniel, who
for four years was a soldier, married Hester
Tuttle, and is now a resident of Brown county,
Kans. ; Nancy, wife of Joseph Tuttle, of York
township, Van Wert county, Ohio, and James,
who married a Miss Taylor and is a resident of
Michigan. Henry Hipsher, carpenter as well as farmer,
in 1868 purchased his present farm in York
township. The tract then included ninety
acres only, but by additional purchases he has
increased it to 154 acres, nearly all of which
he has placed under cultivation. In 1854 Mr.
Hipsher married Miss Mary Pixler, daughter of
Henry and Mary Pixler, to which union have
been born nine children in the following order:
Eli, deceased husband of Emma Nash, who
now resides near Ohio City; Josephine, who
was first married to the late Henry Thomas,
and is now the wife of Ismah Goodwin; Milly
and Alexander H., both deceased; Elihu, at
home; Amanda, wife of Richard Hughes;
Willis, at home; Rosina, now Mrs. Edward
H. Lamar, and one child who died in infancy.
August 2, 1862, Mr. Hipsher enlisted in
company K, Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer in
fantry, and for three years did faithful and
gallant service in defense of his country's flag.

He took part in the battles of Black River,
Jackson and Missionary Ridge, being wounded
in the groin, November 25, 1863, in the last-
named fight, and being assisted off the field
by his comrades, John W. Penn and Philip
Siler. For fifteen months he was confined to
the hospital, but was part of the time, during
his convalescence, detailed as nurse, and was
also part of the time in the commissary de
partment. July 14, 1865, he received an
honorable discharge and returned to his family.
In his politics Mr. Hipsher is an ardent repub
lican, arid he and family, in religion, are
earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, which he aids substantially from his
ample means. The social standing of Mr.
Hipsher and family is with the best families of
the township and county, by whom they are
fully appreciated as good and useful members.
of the community.

ISAAC GRUBAUGH, a deceased farmer
of Union' township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, and once a well-known citizen,
was a son of Jonathan and Margaret
Grubaugh, and was born in Morrow county,
Ohio, April 6, 1845. Jonathan Grubaugh, the
father, was born in Germany in 1780, and
when a boy was brought to America by his
parents, who settled among the hardy pioneers
of Richland county, Ohio, and there Jonathan
was reared to manhood on a farm, was twice-
married, and by the second marriage left as
his only progeny the subject of this sketch —
Isaac Grubaugh. His mature years were
principally passed in Morrow county, where
his death occurred in his ninety-sixth year.
During his long and useful life he cleared up
two wild farms from the forests of Ohio, and
was a factor in the redemption of the state
from the wilderness.
Isaac Grubaugh received his literary educa-

J^UIXL, J^JU^^^,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

309

tion in the schools of Morrow county and was
from his childhood till death a tiller of the soil.
September 24, 1877, he was united in marriage
with Miss Carrie Glover; in 1878 he came to
Van Wert county, and purchased the farm in
Union township where the family still resides,
and here died April 10, 1894. Mrs. Carrie Gru
baugh was born in Coshocton county, Ohio,
in 1 85 1, a daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Ends-
ley) Glover, and bore her deceased husband
five children, viz : Ora, wife of George Ben
nett; Olive M., deceased; William, Clark and
Jessie. Isaac Glover, father of Mrs. Grubaugh,
was also born in Coshocton county, Ohio,
where he followed school-teaching and farming
until 1853, when he moved to Paulding coun
ty, Ohio, and settled on a tract of wild land,
which had previously been entered by his
father. This land Isaac Glover cleared up and
improved, and on it made a home for eighteen
years, uniting his proiession as teacher with
the calling of a farmer; he then came to Van
Wert county and purchased a home in Hoag
lin township, where he died April 9, 1881, and
where his widow still lives. He was a mem
ber of the Royal Arcanum of Van Wert, a
member of the Presbyterian church, and as a
republican served as township trustee and jus
tice of the peace in both Paulding and Van
Wert counties, and was an upright and highly
respected citizen.
Mrs. Nancy Glover was born in Coshocton
county, Ohio, in 1839, and was married at
twenty years of age, bearing to her hnsband
the following children: Mrs. Carrie Grubaugh,
widow of our subject; Harriet, wife of Abra
ham Norris, of Union township; Jennie, mar
ried to Frank Bemer, of Hoaglin township;
Joel, who married Anna Ludwig, now in New
Mexico; Nancy, wife of Marcus Reed, of
Union township, Van Wert county, Ohio;
Cynthia, at home with her mother; Porter, of
Van Wert; Bettie, at home; Jessie, at home,

and Sarah, deceased. Mrs. Glover is also a
member of the Presbyterian church and now
makes her home on the old farm in Hoaglin
township, where she is highly esteemed by all
her neighbors and others who have the happi
ness of knowing her. Mrs. Grubaugh, is not
a member of any religious denomination, but
is, as was her husband, a free contributor to
the cause of religious as well as educational
organizations, and to all worthy enterprises
tending to the elevation of the moral and
material improvement of the community in
which he lives.
Isaac Grubaugh was one of the most re
spected of the residents of Union township.
He was a member of Scott lodge, I. O. O. F.,
by the members of which he was held in the
highest esteem; in politics, he was a republi
can without guile; as a citizen, he was active
and useful; as a father, gentle and indulgent,
and as a farmer, was skillful, industrious and
successful. His untimely death, in the prime
of life, suddenly occurred April 10, 1894, and
his loss was a deep affliction to his family as
well as a cause of sincere sorrow to the com
munity in which he had so many years led an
honorable life.

ISAAC HOAGLIN, an early pioneer of
Hoaglin township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, and a prominent farmer, is of
German-Irish extraction, but of descent
from a long line of American ancestors. His
grandfather, Aaron Hoaglin, was a native of
Jefferson county, Ohio, was reared to farming,
later moved to Richland county, where he be
came quite prominent, and finally died in
Wyandot county in the spring of 1849. He
was a hero of the Revolutionary war, in which
he served the unusually long term of eight
years, or during the whole struggle, and in
which conflict a brother sacrificed his life.

310

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Aaron Hoaglin, son of the Aaron mentioned
above, and his wife, Sarah (Emery) Hoaglin,
were born in Jefferson county, Ohio, his birth
having occurred November 6, 1800; he, also,
like his father, was reared a farmer. He moved
to Richland county with his father, and was
there married to Miss Sarah Emery, daughter
of David and Mary (Fisher) Emery, the result
ing children being named Rosella (Mrs. Har
vey), Nicholas D., David E., Isaac. Edith L.
(Mrs. Reese, now deceased), Elizabeth (Mrs.
Snow), Enoch, and Melissa (Mrs. Yoh).
The family came to Van Wert county in 1839
and settled on the land now owned by the sub
ject of this sketch. As Aaron was the first
settler in the region, the township on its erec
tion was named Hoaglin in his honor. He
felled the trees on. his land for a space
sufficiently large to put up a log cabin, but he
was more of a hunter than farmer, and had
killed as many as three deer before breakfast.
Those were the days of Johnny cakes and ven
ison and bear, and wild game of all kinds
abounded throughout the country. For the
first thirteen months of their residence here,
Mrs. Hoaglin never saw a white woman, and
when one did make her appearance she was
German, a langugge which Mrs. Hoaglin did
not understand. The father of Isaac, Aaron
Hoaglin, was a man of much endurance, and
on one occasion carried on his shoulder a sack
of flour weighing sixty pounds from Hog
creek, in Allen county, to his cabin, a distance
of forty miles. Aaron was trustee of his town
ship for many years; he and wife were charter
members of the United Brethren church, and
in the primitive days the congregation met at
their houses, but, to attend quarterly meetings,
rode a distance of forty miles on horseback. In
later life, however, Mrs. Hoaglin transferred
her membership to the Methodists, as their
house of worship was nearer to her abode,
and in this faith she died May 1, 1878.

Isaac Hoaglin, whose name opens this
biography, was born in Richland county, Ohio,
January 29, 1836, and was consequently but
three years old when he was brought with the
remainder of the family to Van Wert county
and Hoaglin township. He was of course
reared to all the hardships of pioneer farm life.
He became a leading man in the community,
financially and socially; has been steward of
the Methodist church, and for many years a
superintendent of the Sunday-school; he is a
Patron of Husbandry and member of grange
No. 400. October 4, i860, Isaac Hoaglin was
united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss
Sabina E. Rank, of whose family further men
tion will be found in the sketch of W. L.
Rank, her brother, of Van Wert city. The
children that have blessed the union of Mr.
and Mrs. Hoaglin were born in the following
order: William M., July 6, 1861; Sarah E.
C, January 14, 1867; Joseph E. , December
22, 1872 — died February 26, 1873; Rozillah
Cleona May, born May 20, 1877; Pearl N.,
August 6, 1879; Jeremiah C, June 24, 1881;
Sabina O., April 10, 1884. Mr. Hoaglin's
farm comprises eighty-six acres of fine arable
land, improved with a new modern residence
and barn, and other farm buildings containing
every convenience. In politics Mr. Hoaglin is
a strong democrat, but has never been a seeker
after office, being content to enjoy in quiet the
high esteem in which he is held by his neigh
bors and fellow-citizens throughout the county.

s>V^\ ICHOLAS D. HOAGLIN, deceased,
1 A and until late a prominent farmer of
§_ * Hoaglin township, and one of the
oldest of the pioneers of Van Wert
county, was born in Richland county, Ohio,
November 4, 1830. He was nine years old
when his parents brought him to Van Wert

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

311

county, and of this county he was a continu
ous resident until his lamented death, Decem
ber 21, 1895, at the age of sixty-five years.
During his residence in this county of nearly
sixty years, he saw it transformed from a place
fit only for the abode of wild beasts into a
beautiful and prosperous country, inhabited by
a highly civilized people. His life was spent
constantly on the farm, and farming was his
sole and constant occupation.
On July 3, 1856, he was married to Mary
Anderson, a daughter of Rugh and Catherine
(Drake) Anderson, who removed from Carroll
county to Allen county, Ohio, in 1840, where
Mr. Anderson purchased a farm of 160 acres
in Monroe township, upon which farm he spent
the rest of his life. At first Mr. Anderson was
a whig in politics, but later he became a re
publican. He and his wife had the following
children: Andrew, Rachel, Jacob, John, Jennie,
Abraham, W. T., Mary, David, Robert, and
Joseph. The mother of these children died
September 16, 1857, and the father died in
October, 1873.
Mr. Hoaglin after his marriage settled down
upon a farm in Hoaglin township of sixty- three
acres, and he made it what it is to-day — a good
farm. Afterward he purchased twenty-four
acres in Ridge township, and upon this farm
he erected good buildings, including house,
barn, and such other out-buildings as were
needed on a modern farm. In politics he was
a domocrat and took an active interest in the
success of his party. He served as township
trustee, as clerk and as assessor, holding each
of the last two offices six years. He was a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in
which he had been a class leader for thirty-one
years. Toward the support of his church he
contributed most liberally, in money and also
through moral and social methods. He and
his wife were parents of the following children:
Isaac W. ; Phoebe A. ; Joseph L., and John N.,

all well educated and all well known throughout
the township and county.
J. N. Hoaglin, son of our subject, was born
May 31, 1864. He spent his boyhood on the
farm until he was twenty years old, when he
went west, remaining one year. Mr. Hoaglin
when a young man took a special course in
penmanship and has taught several classes.
February 4, 1894, Mr. Hoaglin married Orpha
Lusk, daughter of R. G. and Louisa Lusk,
prominent people of Adams county, Ind. Mrs.
Hoaglin lived only nineteen months after mar
riage. She was born in Auglaize county, Ohio,
May 22, 1873. No children were born. Mr.
Hoaglin now makes his home with his mother,
having succeeded, on the death of his father,
to the management of the homestead. Mr.
Hoaglin is a member of the Methodist Episco
pal church, and in politics is a democrat.
Turning now to the ancestry of the Hoag
lin family. The grandfather of Nicholas D.
Hoaglin was Aaron Hoaglin. He was a native
of Pennsylvania, and one of the first settlers
of Jefferson county, Ohio. Later he removed
to Richland county, and still later to Van Wert
county. Here he entered 240 acres of land,
which was afterward settled upon and improved
by his sons. He died in Richland county in
1840, a highly respected citizen and one who
enjoyed the confidence and esteem of a large
circle of friends and acquaintances.
Aaron Hoaglin, his son, and the father of
the subject of this sketch, was born in Rich
land county, Ohio, and removed his family to
Van Wert county, in 1839, in a wagon, mak
ing the journey almost wholly through a new
country. His wife remained in Van Wert,
then a hamlet of only five cabins and on the
frontier, while Mr. Hoaglin erected a log cabin
for the reception of his family. This cabin
when completed stood in the primitive woods
surrounded by frog swamps. Nevertheless,
the family contrived to make themselves com-

312

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

fortable, and to permit therein the holding of
religious services, both Mr. and Mrs. Hoaglin
being ardent members of the Methodist Episco
pal church. Mr. Hoaglin aided his denomina
tion largely during those early days, not only
in the way of erecting their first house of wor
ship, but he also sustained the society in every
other way in his power. He was a democrat
in politics and held the office of township trus
tee for several terms. He was also honored
by his fellow-pioneers by being considered the
most prominent early settler in the township,
and in being recognized by them as a valuable
citizen and kind neighbor, in such a manner as
to perpetuate his memory by naming one of
the townships of Van Wert county in his
honor. His death occurred in 1864. His wife,
Sarah Emery, was born in 1807. They were
married in 1827 and she died May 1, 1878.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hoaglin were
as follows: Rosell A., wife of O. H. Harvey,
of Monroeville, Ind. ; Nicholas D., the subject
of this sketch; David E., a farmer of Union
township; Isaac, a farmer of Hoaglin town
ship; Edith, deceased wife of Henry Reese;
Enoch M., a farmer of Union township;
Melissa, wife of Benjamin Yoh, of Van Wert.
The mother of these children was a most
devoted member of the Methodist Episco
pal church.

>-j,OHN M. GARDNER, a farmer and ex-
A soldier of Hoaglin township, Van Wert
A 1 county, Ohio, is of good old colonial
stock, his ancestors having come from
England in an early day. From these hardy
colonists, descended Jesse Gardner, grandfather
of our subject, who was for many years a citi
zen of New Jersey, was a soldier in the war of
1812, and died in New Jersey.
Reuben C. Gardner, son of Jesse and father
of our subject, was born in Essex county, N.

J., February 28, 181 1, but was reared in
Orange county, in the same state, where he
served an apprenticeship of three years at shoe-
making. He was an unusually well-informed
man, although self-taught chiefly, receiving,
however, the meager advantage of the common
schools of his early day. He first married
Susan L. Myrick, who bore him the following
children: Lydia A., Jesse H. (died young),
Jesse W. (died while serving in the Thirty-
second Ohio volunteer infantry), Valera (died
young), Phebe I., John M. (our subject), Har
riet, Josephine and Susan. The mother of
these children died August 1, 1848, a devout
member of the Methodist church, and the
second marriage of Mr. Gardner was to Lydia
Roloson, daughter of Joseph Roloson, and to
this union were born, Sarah (died in infancy),
Seth, Joseph E. (died at twenty-one years),
Eunice, Jane (died at eighteen), Ciers, Lem
uel J., Martin L., Helen, Rueben P., Walter
and Ida M. — the four last named deceased.
The second Mrs. Gardner died April 1 1, 1888,
in the Presbyterian faith, and the third mar
riage of Mr. Gardner was with Lucy Baldwin.
Mr. Gardner has always been active and promi
nent in church work and was an elder and
exhorter in the Methodist church for many
years, but is now a member of the Presbyte
rian church, it being- nearer his home. He has
been living on his fertile farm of 125 acres in
Delaware county, Ohio, since February 16,
1855, where he enjoys the respect of the sur
rounding community. In politics he is a strong
prohibitionist. John M. Gardner was born in Delaware
county, Ohio, January 29, 1845, and has been
a farmer from his youth. August 22, 1862, he
enlisted in company K, One Hundred and
Twenty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and
served in the campaigns of Kentucky, Tennes
see and Georgia, participating in the battle of
Perrysville, Ky., and the skirmish at Triune,

R. C. Gardner J. M. Gardner. W. O. Gardner. O. M. Gardner.

'•¦%

,» *** as*

MRS. JESSIE MEDEORD J EN N I E M EDECRD. M RS. M ARY LEW , s. M RS. J . M . GARDNER.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

317

Tenn. ; and at Chickamauga, Ga. , on the second
day of the two-day fight, September 20, 1863,
was struck by a fragment of shell (2 by \
inches), which buried itself in the fleshy part
of his hip, and so disabled him that he was
unfitted for further service and was honorably
discharged May 30, 1865. He still retains in
his possession this fragment of shell and still
limps from the injury it inflicted. The mar
riage of Mr. Gardner took place December 18,
1868, to Miss Olive Lew_3, daughter of Mor
gan S. and Mary (Shoemaker) Lewis. The
father, Morgan S. Lewis, was born in Onon
daga county, N. Y., August 10, 1826, and the
mother, Mary Shoemaker, was born in Dela
ware county, Ohio, September 2, 1828; they
were married in Delaware county, where the
mother still resides. The father owned a grist
and saw-mill in Morrow county, Ohio, which
he successfully operated until a short time be
fore his death, December 30, 1887, a member
of the Methodist church, in which he had
long been a steward and class leader. In pol
itics he was a prohibitionist. The grandfather
of Mrs. Gardner, Morgan Lewis, also was
born in Onondaga county, N. Y., July 10,
1808, was likewise a miller as well as mill
wright, and married Cyrena Schofield, in
- Onondaga county, N.. Y. They both died in
Morrow county, Ohio. The great-grandfather
of Mrs. Gardner was Jonathan Lewis, who
was born and reared in Onondaga county, N.
Y. , but passed his latter days in Morrow
county, Ohio. The children born to Mrs.
Gardner's parents were named, Josep^-'-e,
Olive, Cynthia, Lester E., William J., n
J. and Cyrena, all still living.
Mr. and Mrs. John M. Gardner came to
their present home of 125 acres soon after
marriage, and have had born to them the fol
lowing family: Orson M., who has been a
teacher for six years, and is now engaged in
his profession in Mercer county, Ohio; Edith,

Jessie, Lewis, Ralph C, Mary and Agnes.
Mr. Gardner's farm is improved with a mod
ern-built residence and a substantial harn and
other suitable structures, and is excellently well
cultivated. In politics he is a republican and
has served in the position of township trustee;
he has long been steward and class leader in
the Methodist church and a Sunday-school
teacher; he is also a member of grange No.
1333, and is notable as an energetic and use
ful citizen. Subject's maternal great-grand
father was in the battle of Monmouth in the
Revolution.

^""¦^EORGE M. HOAGLIN, the popular
9 G\ superintendent of the public schools
\^^J and civil engineer of Scott, Ohio, and
a member of one of. the oldest fam
ilies of Van Wert county, was born in Hoaglin
township July 23, 1861, and is a son of David
E. and Elizabeth (Snyder) Hoaglin, a bio
graphical record of whom will be found in the
sketch ^f the Hoaglin family.
George M. Hoaglin laid the foundation of
his education in the common schools of his na
tive county, and supplemented this by enter
ing, in 1 88 1, the Northern Indiana Normal
school at Valparaiso, where he took a course
of scientific studies, including teaching and
civil engineering, and was graduated there
from in 1886. In the intervals between his
studies he taught in the common schools of
Van Wert county from 188 1 to 1886, and then
for a year engaged in book canvassing, which
proved an excellent school for a business train
ing. He then engaged in civil engineering in
the office of Geyer Bros., at Paulding, Ohio,
and while with this firm received the appoint
ment of school examiner for the county of Van
Wert, a position he resigned two years later,
in 1890, having been elected during the inter
val, in 1888, superintendent of the public

318

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

schools of Scott — which office he also resigned
in 1890. He then went back to Paulding and
engaged in civil engineering; in 1891 he was
elected city engineer, served until 1893, and
then returned to Scott, where he entered into
the hardware business with his brother-in-law,
Edgar C. Schnorf. The same year he was ap
pointed school examiner of Paulding county,
and still holds that position.
The marriage of Mr. Hoaglin took place
March 28, 1889, to Miss Jennie G. Schnorf, a
school-teacher, who was born in Preble county,
Ohio, March 5, 1870, a daughter of William
C. and Mary E. (Renner) Schnorf, now of
Paulding. To this congenial union have been
born two children — Burton R. and Georgia N.
The father of Mrs. Hoaglin, William C.
Schnorf, was born in Butler county, Ohio, in
1834, a son of Jacob, a native of Pennsylvania
and a pioneer of Ohio. He was a gentleman
of extensive means and was twice married —
his second wife being Mahala Brandon, of
Butler county, Ohio, who became the mother
of eighteen children, of whom William C. was
the third son. The father of this large family
died in Montgomery county in 1858, and hon
ored and respected citizen. William C.
Schnorf was reared a farmer and was educated
in the common schools of Montgomery county.
In 1 86 1 he married Mary E. Renner, who was
born in Preble county, Ohio, April 29, 1844, a
daughter of Emanuel and Sarah (Cecil) Ren
ner, the union resulting in the birth of four
children, viz: Doha, wife of Edward Hahn,
of Mandale, Ohio; Colfax, a hardware mer
chant of Cloverdale, Ohio; Edgar C. , of the
hardware firm of Hoaglin & Schnorf, Scott,
Ohio, and Jennie G., now Mrs. G. M. Hoag
lin. Mr. and Mrs. William C. Schnorf are
members of the United Brethren church, and
after marriage resided in Preble county until
1887, when they removed to Paulding county,
where they still reside, being among the most

highly respected members of their community.
Mr. Schnorf is a republican in is politics, and
as a farmer is recognized as one of the most
skillful in the county.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoaglin are prominent mem
bers of the Paulding Methodist Episcopal
church, and he is also an active member of the
Van Wert lodge of Freemasons. In politics
he is an ardent democrat, was elected mayor
of Scott in 1894, and May 6, 1895, was unani
mously re-elected superintendent of the schools
of Scott. He is an energetic and enterprising
gentleman, and has made a success of his
chosen line of trade, and holds the confidence
and esteem of all with whom he is associated.

HE HOAGLIN FAMILY of Van
Wert county, Ohio, descended from
Aaron Hoaglin of Pennsylvania, who
was among the earliest pioneers of
Jefferson county, and later of Richland coun
ty, Ohio, and still later entered 240 acres of
government land in Van Wert county, which
in after years was settled upon by his sons, he
dying in Putnam county about 1840. Aaron,
ssn of this pioneer, was born in Jefferson coun
ty, Ohio, in 1799, and lived in Richland
county until October, 1839, when he came to-
Van Wert county and settled on the wild land
entered by his father, there being at that time
only five log cabins in the present city of that
name. In his honor was the township of
Hoaglin so named. He was an active demo
crat, held many local offices, and died in 1864,
in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church,
of which he was a prominent member. His
widow, who had born the maiden name of
Sarah Emery, was born in 1807 and was mar
ried at the age of twenty years. She became
the mother of eight children, viz: One who
died unnamed, Rozella, Nicholas D. , David
E., Edith, Elizabeth A., Enoch M. and Me-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

319

lissa. She, also was an earnest worker in the
Methodist church and died in 1874.
David E. Hoaglin, father of -George M.
Hoaglin, was born in Richland county, Ohio,
in 1832, and when six years of age was brought
to Van Wert county by his parents. Here he
grew to manhood on his father's farm, and is
now the owner of 120 acres, which he has
cleared, underdrained and otherwise so im
proved that it ranks among the best farms of
its size in the county. In politics he is a
stanch democrat and has held the offices of
district clerk and township trustee, in both
positions giving entire satisfaction. He has
been three times married; first, January. 31,
1856, to Elizabeth Snyder, daughter of John
and Catherine (Nunnamaker) Snyder, and to
this union were born the following children:
Harriet A., wife of Haxton P. Borrow, of Van
Wert; William, deceased; Horace M., de
ceased; Catherine M. J., wife of James Davis,
a farmer of Union township; George M. ;
John A., deceased; Francis E., a farmer of
Union township; David M. , deceased, and an
infant, deceased. Mrs. Elizabeth Hoaglin
was a devout member of the Methodist
church, in which she took a deep interest, and
in the faith of which she passed away April
10, 1866, her loss being keenly felt by her fel
low church members and in the home circle.
February, 1873, Mr. Hoaglin chose for his sec
ond helpmate Miss Almira J. Curren, who was
born January 6, 1843, a daughter of Jesse and
Catherine Curren, of Morrow county, and to
this union were born five children, viz: Archie
E. , Jesse E. , Clyde L., Ada C. and Winona
M., all at school. This wife was also a con
sistent member of the Methodist church, and
died, much lamented, September 15, 1887.
The third marriage of Mr. Hoaglin took place
December 26, 1888, to Miss Maggie J. Haynes,
who was born January 1, 1846, a daughter of
Samuel and Nancy (Braddish) Haynes, natives

of Vermont and early pioneers of Hardin
county, Ohio. This lady also is a devoted
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
with which her husband has been identified
since early manhood, and in which he holds a
high position — contributing liberally of his
means to its support. Mr. Hoaglin is one of
the most enterprising farmers of Union town
ship; he is a useful citizen and holds the confi
dence and esteem of a large circle of friends
and of the public at large.

V-T*ACOB HOELLE, one of the most re-
A putable citizens of Convoy, Van Wert
(9 J county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier, is a
native of Germany, having been born
in Leidringen, Wurtemberg, February 2, 1834,
a son of Jacob and Mary (Stein) Hoelle. He
attended the schools of Wurtemberg until he
reached the age of fourteen years, and was em
ployed in rustic occupations until twenty,
when he came to America, in 1854, reaching
Miamisburg, Ohio, direct, where he at once
engaged at farm work. Here he married Mary,
daughter of John Jacob and Mary B. (Houser)
Rumple, to which union have been born eight
children, of whom four died while still young
and four lived to maturity, the latter being
named John G. , Jacob F., Christina H. and
Anna B. At Willshire, Van Wert county, he
enlisted, in September, 1862, and was mustered
into company G, Twentieth Ohio volunteer
infantry, October 6, 1862, for nine months,
under Capt. Uptegraff, and served until hon
orably discharged at Vicksburg, Miss., Au
gust 13, 1863, his term having exceeded ten
months. In August, 1864, he re-enlisted for
one year, or during the war, at Lima, Ohio, in
company F, Sixty-fourth Ohio infantry, under
Capt. Norman K. Brown, of Van Wert, and
served until his discharge at Camp Parker,
near Nashville, Tenn., in August, 1865, the

320

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

war being then closed. His service to his
adopted country reached the term of nearly
twenty-two months, including his two enlist
ments, and the engagements in which he took
part were those at Port Gibson, Raymond,
Jackson, Champion Hill, Columbia, Spring
Hill, Franklin and others. At Franklin Mr.
Hoelle's regiment went in with 397 men and
came out with 274, and this was the hardest
fight in which he had an experience. At this
battle, in a bayonet charge, to capture a bat
tery, a ball struck his knapsack and lodged in
a pair of stockings, and he was also clubbed
over the head with a musket and partially
stunned; with these exceptions he suffered no
other casualities, saving a confinement in the
hospital for two months from chronic diarrhoea
during his first term of service. After the
war was over, Mr. Hoelle returned to Van
Wert county and bought eighty acres of land
in the woods, two miles north of Convoy, of
which he cleared off twenty-seven acres, then
sold and moved into town, entered into mer
cantile business, made for himself a good name,
and considerable wealth, and is now retired.
He and wife are members of the Lutheran
church and in politics he is a democrat. He
has always been a straightforward man, and
has won the respect of all who know him.

^y w"ILSON FLETCHER HIRE, of Van
MM I Wert, Ohio, formerly a most exten-
\JL^ sive dealer in tobacco and cigars,
and now in the grocery trade, was
born in Van Wert county May 6, 1847, and is
a son of Jeremiah and Sarah (Summersett)
Hire. The father was born in Clarke county,
Ohio, February 22, 1818, and was a son of
Abraham Hire, a native of Germany, the for
mer born in 1795. He and wife came to
America separately, met in New York, and
were there married in 181 2, and located in

western Pennsylvania, where they lived on a
farm until 1834, when they came to Van Wert
county, Ohio, and cleared up a farm in Wash
ington township, on which they resided until
called from earth. They were the parents of
six children, named Mary, Jeremiah, John,
Elijah, Peter and Josiah.
The father of our subject, Jeremiah Hire,
was sixteen years old when he came with his
parents to Van Wert county, and here he re
sided with them on the frontier farm until
twenty-one years of age, when he went to
farming in Washington township, worked hard
until 1892, when he retired to Van Wert and
died in peace in May, 1894, leaving 120 acres
of finely improved land. His marriage took
place in Washington township, 1843, to Sarah
Summersett, who was born in West Virginia
January 13, 1822, a daughter of John and
Rachael ( Shillenbarger ) Summersett, and by
this union were born the following children:
Mary J., wife of Charles Davis, of Ridge
township; John A., deceased; Wilson F., our
subject; Loraine E., married to Charles Crosby,
a merchant of Van Wert; Rachael A., wife of
John Addison, an employee of the Standard
Oil company at Van Wert; M. R., a stave
manufacturer; William G. , chief clerk for
Lewis Graves, proprietor of the "Hub" gro
cery; Frances, deceased; Lucy, wife of James
Davis, of Ridge township; and Lincoln, Sulli
van and Ophelia, all three deceased. The
mother and father of this family died respect
ively January 27, 1870, and May 15, 1894,
both respected members of the Methodist
Episcopal church.
Wilson Fletcher Hire was reared on the
farm in Washington township and remained
with his parents until 1865, and then went to
work in the Eagle Stave works, laboring until
March, 1885, when, with a capital of $25, he
embarked in the tobacco business in a small
room on North Washington street; July 15,

WILSON F. HIRE.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

323

1887, he moved to South Washington street,
and in May, 1894, secured the fine large room
adjoining the Marsh hotel, where he carried a
stock valued at $1 5,000, and did a large whole
sale trade in northern Ohio and eastern Indi
ana, and also a retail trade that required the
constant attention of one salesman. Mr.
Hire was first married in Van Wert, April 7,
1872, to Mary C. Bowers, a native of Allen
county, Ohio, born April 6, 1851, and to this
union were born three children, viz: Carrie
C. (deceased), Lola (deceased), and Hazel.
The mother of these children was called to her
last rest January 15, 1892. Mr. Hire is a
member of the I. O. R. M., of the National
Union and of the I. O. O. F., and in his poli
tics is a republican. He has been industrious,
enterprising and sagacious in his business; now.
owns considerable real estate, and is emphatic
ally a self-made man. On June 6, 1895, Mr.
Hire sold his tobacco business, and November2.8
purchased one-half interest in the grocery arid
provision trade with L. E. Crosby, and under
the firm name of Crosby & Hire. March 18,
1896, Mr. . Hire was united in marriage with
Elizabeth M. Erler, a native of Van Wert.

5>^VELCINA C. HOGHE, widow of
1 I Clement R. Hoghe, and daughter of
/A^J William A. and Nellie (Jones) War
ner, is a native of Tennessee, where
her birth occurred March 22, 1843. The
father was a native of North Carolina and a
son of Frederick Warner, a descendant of an
early English family of that state and a tailor
by occupation. William A. Warner was
reared and educated at Winston, N. C, and
when young learned the tailor's trade with his
father, who was a skillful workman. After
becoming proficient in his trade he went to
Sullivan county, Tenn., where, in 1841, he
married Nellie Jones, who bore him the follow

ing children : Delcina C. ; Penelope A., wife
of Gideon Miller; Decatur F., of Richmond,
Ind.; Mrs. Mary Miller and William A., all
deceased except Decatur and the subject of
this sketch. In 1848 Mr. Jones returned to
his home in North Carolina, where he spent
the remainder of his life, dying in the town of"
Winston in 1852. He was a man of deep re
ligious convictions, belonged to the Methodist
Episcopal church, and succeeded well in his-
business affairs, leaving his family a comforta
ble share of this world's goods. In 1857 Mrs.
Nellie Jones entered into the marriage relation
with Thomas Fetter, of North Carolina, by
whom she had one child, a daughter, Alice
(deceased). 'Mr. Jones was born about the
year 1820 and\was called from the scene of his
early labors in March, 1868.
Delcina C. Warner received a good educa
tion at Salem academy, Winston, N. C, and
after the death of her father, which sad event
occurred when she was ten years of age, made
her home for some time with-an uncle, Henry
Runnager In June, 1865, she went to the
town of Hope, Ind., where the year following
she was united in marriage to Clement R.
Hoghe, a union blessed with the birth of seven
children, whose names are as follows : - Harry
W. , of Van Wert; Carrie W., of Pleasant
township; Perry R. . who resides on the home
farm; Nettie E. ; Terry D. ; Abraham C. and
Princess L.
Clement R. Hoghe was born in Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, in 1843, and was a son of Abra
ham and Eliza (Caldwell Hoghe, both parents
of German descent and early pioneers of the
above county. When a small boy Mr. Hoghe
was brought by his parents to the county of
Van Wert, in the common schools of which he
acquired a fair English education, and, until
the breaking out of the late Civil war, assisted
his father on the farm. In 1862 he entered
the army, enlisting in October of that year in

324

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

company B, Tenth Ohio cavalry, with which
he served for sometime in the eastern army
and afterward saw much active service in
Tennessee, Georgia and other states. During
his period of service he participated in some of
bloodiest battles of the war, including Gettys
burg, Nashville, Jonesboro, Chickamauga, Lost
Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, and numerous
other engagements of the Atlanta campaign, in
all of which his conduct was that of a gallant
defender of the nation's honor. He was early
wounded at Mossy Creek, and at the close of
the war was honorably discharged in 1865. On
quitting the service Mr. Hoghe returned to
Van Wert county and engaged in the pursuit
of agriculture, which he followed with en
couraging success until his death, which oc
curred on the 2 ist day of November, 1893. In
all the essentials of true manhood Mr. Hoghe
was not wanting, and few citizens of Pleasant
township stood as high in the estimation of the
people as he. He wielded an influence for the
democratic party, the principles of which he
ever intelligently defended, and more than
once was honored by his fellow-citizens with
official positions, in the discharge of the duties
of which he proved himself worthy of the con
fidence reposed in him. He belonged to the
G. A. R. , was an active worker in the Van
Wert grange, of which his wife was also a
member, and in his death his family lost a kind
husband and indulgent father, and the com
munity one of its most esteemed and highly
respected citizens.

>T-*AMES M. HOMAN, grocer, flour and
J feed merchant, of Van Wert, Ohio,
A 1 was born in Wayne county, Ohio, May
8, 1855, a son of Emanuel and Salome
(Yockey) Homan, natives of Washington
county, Pa. Emanuel Homan was one of the
pioneers of Wayne county, where he followed

the vocation of stationary engineer until his
death in 1877, having lost his wife February 1,
1870. Of the ten children born to these par
ents, seven still survive, viz: Eber (of In
diana), Martha, Eliza, William J., Henry,
Caroline and James M. The parents were con
sistent and active members of the Methodist
Episcopal church; in politics the father- was a
republican and served 100 days in the Union
service in the late war.
James M. Homan left his parental roof in
Wayne county at the age of fourteen years,
went to learn the miller's trade with Reuben
Sellers, at Dalton, Ohio, and with him re
mained until he was twenty years of age, hav
ing become proficient in his trade; he then
went to Toledo, Ohio, where he was employed
in milling until 1877, when he went to Massil-
lon, Ohio, where he was employed in a mill
until 1 88 1, when he moved to Warsaw, Ind.,
where he lived until 1885, and then came to
Van Wert, and was employed in the Union
mills until 1894, when he opened his flour,
feed and grocery store on Main street, in the
old court-house building, where he has built
up a good trade, carrying, as he does, a well
selected stock of general groceries.
The marriage of Mr. Homan took place at
Dalton, Wayne county, Ohio, December 15,
1878, to Miss Minnie J. Stager, who was born
in Jonestown, Lebanon county, Pa., August
15, 1862, a daughter of Henry and Mary
( Roebuck )' Stager. This happy marriage has
been blessed by the birth of three children,
born in the following order: Roy C, Septem
ber 23, 1879; James Frank, August 11, 1881,
and Mary E., March 30, 1886. Mr. and Mrs.
Homan are sincere members of the Methodist
Episcopal church; Mr. Homan is a member of
the Improved Order of Red Men, in which he
has passed all the chairs, and for the past five
years has been secretary of the order; he is
also a member of the Knights of Maccabees.

WILLIAM HEATH.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

325

He owns a nice home at the corner of First
and Walnut streets, where his leisure hours are
passed in domestic felicity, and in the enjoy
ment of social intercourse with his numerous
intimate friends.

SI

9 ILLIAM HEATH, an experienced
and respected farmer of York town
ship, Van Wert county, is a native
of Auglaize county, Ohio, and was
born December 29, 1824, son of John and
Nancy (Tomlin) Heath. John Heath came to
what is now Van Wert county, in the year of
1836, and entered 240 acres of land in the
wildest of wildernesses, which he succeeded in
converting into one of the finest farms of the
township, now owned by our subject. Eighty
acres, however, on which our subject now re
sides were entered by an uncle, John Tomlin.
William Heath, our subject, relates that his
father caught many wolves, on his settlement
here, and made it aprofitable business, as the
government was at that time paying $4.25 for
wolf scalps, although Mr. Heath was a farmer
and followed that vocation until his death at
the age eighty-nine years, his wife having
reached four-score years. This worthy couple
reared a family of four sons and five daughters,
who were named, in order of birth, as follows:
Lovis, Betsy, James, Jane, Melchia, Mary,
Joseph, William and John, all- now deceased
with the exception of our subject (William),
and Betsy, widow of John Bevington.
At the age of twenty-six years William
Heath, the subject of this sketch, wedded
Adeline Crook. She was a true and faithful
helpmate and died a sincere Christian. In
February, 1889, Mr. Heath took for his second
wife, Mellie Devoe, and to this union were
were born six children, named in order of
birth as follows: Nancy, William, Harrison,
Emma (deceased), Reed and James. Mr.

Heath is a prosperous farmer, now owning
1,160 acres of land, the greater portion of
which he has brought to a high state of culti
vation. Mrs. Heath is a member of the Meth
odist Episcopal church, with which Mr. Heath
also affiliates. In politics Mr. Heath is a re
publican, and considers it his duty to vote for
his party at each and every election, although
he is by no means an office seeker. Mr.
Heath has been one of the most enterprising
citizens of York township, and has won the
respect of all with whom he has come in con
tact, being especially esteemed for his honesty,
and for his interest in all enterprises that
would tend to the public good.

Sf

ILLIAM HENDERSON, a retired
manufacturer of Van Wert, Ohio,
was born near Cannonsburg, Wash
ington county, Pa. .September 28,
1 8 14, a son of William and Elizabeth (Harpe)
Henderson. The father, William, was also a
native of the Keystone state and was reared in
Washington county, there learned the wheel
wright's trade, and there married Elizabeth
Harper, a native of Ireland, by whom he
became the father of five children, viz: Robert,
deceased; William, our subject; Jane, Elizabeth
and John, deceased. Mr. Henderson followed
his trade in Pennsylvania until 181 5, when he
came to Ohio and settled in Jefferson county,
where he died in 1857 and his wife in 1837,
both devoted members of the United Presby
terian church.
William Henderson, the subject of this
biographical notice, was but six months old
when his parents settled in Jefferson county,
where he was reared, until nineteen years of
age, on the home farm; he then apprenticed
himself to learn carriage and wagon making,
for three years, to George Hott, his compen
sation for the whole term to be $100 and board

326

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and washing. When he had finished his ap
prenticeship he had saved $85 of' his $100.
He then assisted on the home farm for a year,
and the following two years he engaged in car
riage making on his father's place; he then
moved to Martinsburg, Knox county, Ohio,
where he was successfully engaged in carriage
and wagon manufacturing from 1840 until
1872, when he came to Van Wert county, and,
in company with William Scott, established a
stave and heading manufactory at Convoy,
which was profitably conducted until the spring
of 1873, when the partnership was dissolved,
and Mr. Henderson purchased the ground and
erected the fine residence which he still makes
his home, at the corner of Wall and Caroline
streets, in the city of Van Wert. In 1874
Mr. Henderson, whose nature would never
permit him to lead a life of inactivity as long
as health and strength were his, and being a
man of foresight and enterprise, established a
factory for the making of wooden stirrups at
Van Wert, which he conducted until he had
the misfortune to lose his wife, when he retired.
Mr. Henderson was married in Knox coun
ty, Ohio, February 14, 1841, to Miss Rachael
Kerr, a native of Washington county, Pa.,
and a daughter of John and Sarah (Scott)
Kerr. Four children were born to this union,
but the fell destroyer, Death, invaded the
household and carried away three of the chil
dren in infancy, and the eldest child, Sarah
E., at the age of forty-six years. The wife
and mother was called away in 1882, dying in
the faith of the United Presbyterian church, of
which she was a pious member, and to which
church Mr. Henderson also belongs.
In his earlier days Mr. Henderson was a
Jacksonian democrat, but later changed his
views and became an ardent republican; yet he
has never been an office seeker. Mr. Hender
son formerly owned large tracts of land in
Ohio, Iowa and other states, but these he has

disposed of for other real or personal property.
His present real estate consists of forty acres
in Van Wert county and valuably city prop
erty, and he takes much interest in the build
ing and loan association of the city. Mr. Hen
derson has always been an enterprising and
energetic ^business man, and is public spirited
and philanthropic, and no undertaking designed
for the well-being of the people of the city or
county goes without help from his willing hand
or assistance from his freely opened purse.

^V^VANIEL FORTNEY, a prominent
i I citizen of Van Wert city, a pioneer
/M^_J of Van Wert county, and a success
ful farmer, was born in Union coun
ty, Pa., September 1, 18 17. He is a son of
Samuel Fortney, who was born in New Jersey,
in 1798, and who, when he was ten years old,
moved with his father's family to Beaver
township, Union 'county /"'^Pa., where lived
about twelve years. His education was lim
ited to the ordinary branches of a Common-
school training, including nothing of the higher
branches; but notwithstanding this he was
naturally bright and intelligent, and quick to
pick up the essential points of any occupation
or trade' with which he came in coritact.
However, he appearedte^bave a stronger pre
dilection for the carpenter trade than for' any
other, and acquired thi&jj|rade at an early age.
His natural mechanical ability enabled him to
readily master, if,1 and in it he was very suc
cessful. In Union county. Pa., he was mar
ried to Miss Catherine Mowery, a native of the
state, and with his family he removed in 1821
to Wayne county, Ohio. Here he bought a
farm upon which he lived the rest of his life.
following farming as well as his regular trade,
which he found of great use to him in the
then new country. Politically he was a dem
ocrat, though official honors had no attraction

DANIEL FORTNEY-

MRS. CHRISTINA FORTNEY.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

331

for him. Both he and his wife were members
of the German Presbyterian church, and they
both lived true to their religious convictions of
right and duty. They were a noble pioneer
couple, industrious, economical and courage
ous, seeming to court rather than to shun pio
neer hardships and dangers. They reared
their children according to the Bible precept,
in the way that they should go, so that when
they became old they would not depart there
from. Of these children there were eleven,
named as follows: Daniel, Adam, Margaret,
Mary, Samuel, Elizabeth, Catherine, Sarah,
George, Leah and Delilah. Daniel is the only
one yet living. The mother of these children
died in Adams county, Ind., in 1854, and the
.father died in Wooster, Ohio, in 1866.
Daniel Fortney, the subject of this sketch,
is now in his seventy-ninth year. He was
reared on his father's farm, and hence farm
life came to him naturally in after years. How
ever, like his father, he was very handy with
all kinds of tools, and could do anything well
that came to his hand to do. When his father
removed his family to Ohio Daniel was four
years old, and he remained at home assisting
on the farm for the next nineteen, years. He
then, in 1 840, began life for himself, marrying,
on June 25, of that year, Miss Christina Snow-
barger. After his marriage he remained in
Wayne county four years, and then removed
to Van Wert county, reaching here in 1844.
On the journey from Wayne, to Van Wert he
removed all his household and other goods in
a wagon, which was drawn by one team of
horses, and the actual worth of which was not
more than $300. Arriving in Van "v¥ert county,
he purchased eighty acres of timbered land in
Liberty township, and settled down upon it
with the view of making it his home for life,
for without a fixed abode owned by himself a
man is without a home. This timbered land
he immediately began to clear, and after many
15

years of clearing, draining, improving and
building upon, he made it one of the best farms
in Van Wert county. His ambition, however,
was not satisfied with the possession of eighty
acres of land, and hence at three different
times he purchased forty acres more, each
forty, like the first eighty covered with timber.
There three forty-acre tracts, added to his
original eighty, made the farm consist of 200
acres of excellent land, for which Van Wert
and the surrounding counties are noted. This
200-acre farm Mr. Fortney still owns. Neither
was he satisfied with the ownership of farm
lands, and hence he purchased and now owns
three separate and valuable properties in the
city of Van Wert, and one similar property in
Ohio City, about six miles south of Van Wert.
All of this property, which is at the present
time very valuable, Mr. Fortney has acquired
by his own efforts, industry and careful man
agement. Some years since Mr. Fortney
thinking he had done his share of labor re
tired from the farm to one of his pieces of
property in Van Wert, where he now resides
in comparative ease and comfort, free from all
cares and anxieties, for with his own hands he
has won a competency for his later years. Polit
ically he is a democrat and is a man of liberality
in his views and opinions. He is also chari
tably disposed, always ready to help the poor
and needy, where the poor and needy are
worthy of assistance, which in a certain sense
is not always the case. Both he and his wife
are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, prompt in its support and faithful in
the discharge of their religious duties. Mr.
and Mrs. Fortney are the parents of five chil
dren, as follows: Mary Jane, born September
20, 1843, married John Burton, and died in
1864; Melissa, married Coleman King and lives
in Mercer county; Lucinda, died April 1, 1857;
Lacy A., married Milton B. Evers, May 9,
1886, and is living in Van Wert county, and

332

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Emma married Newton Putnam, ^and is living
on the homestead farm in Van Wert county.
Christina Snowbarger, wife of Mr. Fortney,
was born May 15, 1824. Her father, David
Snowbarger, was born in Pennsylvania, and at
an early age learned the trade of weaver, at
which he worked during his entire life. In
early manhood he removed to Wayne county,
and there lived until his death, which occurred
in 1844. He was a democrat and a member
of the Dunkard church. He married Rachel
Horn of Pennsylvania, who was a member of
the same church as himself, and died in 1861,
in Steuben county, Ind. They were the par
ents of eight children, as follows: Samuel,
Jacob, David, Elias, Christian, Elizabeth,
Mary and Susan. Four of these children are
dead, viz: Samuel, Jacob, Elizabeth and Mary.
Christina Snowbarger was born in Pennsyl
vania, and resided with her parents until her
marriage to Mr. Fortney, since which time she
has resided in Van Wert county. She is a
most excellent lady, kind hearted and sympa
thetic, and of a most lovable disposition. She
is unfortunately afflicted with rheumatism,
which keeps her in retirement, but she bears
her sufferings with patience and resignation,
and it is possible that her naturally sweet and
patient disposition shines all the more brightly
because of her affliction, on the principle that
the fragrance of the crushed rose is more
powerful and penetrating than when the flower
is still flourishing on its parent stem. Mr.
Fortney's entire family is highly respected by
all the citizens of Van Wert, and by all their
large* circle of acquaintances and friends.

>^* OHN HEFFELFINGER, a highly re-
A spectable resident of Jackson township,
A J Van Wert county, Ohio, and an ex-
""""" soldier of the late Civil war, is of Penn
sylvania-Dutch descent and stands at the head

of a most respectable family in the township
mentioned. Philip Heffelfinger, grandfather of the sub
ject of this sketch, was a farmer of Pennsyl
vania and of his children are remembered the
names' of the following: Jacob, Benjamin,
Michael and Martin; of these, Martin, the
father of our subject, was born on a farm near
Pittsburg, Pa., and was taught the trade of a
carpenter. He was married to Mary Boner,
and soon afterward came to Ohio and located
in the town of Iberia, in Morrow county, where
he passed his remaining years. His children
were twelve in number, and were named in
order of birth as follows: Leitia, Margaret,
Sarah, Matilda, Martin, Samuel, James, John,
Hibberd, Elizabeth, Annie and Candace — all
of whom were born at Iberia, except Leitia,
who was born in Pennsylvania. He died at
the age of seventy years, a member of the
Methodist church, in which he was a class
leader, and of which his devoted wife was also
a leading member. In politics he was a dem
ocrat, but had five sons in the Civil war —
Samuel, Martin, James, John and Hibberd —
all in Ohio infantry regiments excepting Martin,
who served in an Indiana regiment. These
brothers all served fully three years, and James
went all through the war — making a splendid
record for one family.
John Heffelfinger, the especial subject of
this biography, was born in the town of Iberia,
Morrow county, Ohio, March 11, 1841. He
was educated in a pioneer school, learned farm
ing, and when about twenty-one years of age,
enlisted, at Iberia, in company I, Eighty-
seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three
months, and was enrolled at Camp Delaware,
Ohio, October 3, 1862. He took part in the
battle at Harper's Ferry, was taken prisoner,
held ten days and paroled. On his return
home he entered, at Iberia, company K, One
Hundred and Seventy-fourth Ohio volunteer

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

333

infantry, September 10, 1864, to serve one
year, and was honorably discharged June 28,
1865, at Charlotte, N. C. , having served until
the close of the war. His severest experience
was at Nashville, Murfreesboro, and in a hand-
to-hand fight near Tullahoma, Tenn., and at
Kingston, N. C, and of course took part in all
the battles and skirmishes in which his regi
ment was engaged. At Murfreesboro, in the
winter of 1864, he was badly frozen while on
duty, was taken in an ambulance to the hos
pital, was confined two weeks, and came out
a confirmed rheumatic, having been laid up
thirteen months at a time since his return
home, and still being a sufferer from this
disorder. „
The marriage of Mr. Heffelfinger took place
in Morrow county, August 31, 1867, to Miss
Margaret A. Derr, who was born in Morrow
county August 9, 1850, a daughter of George
and Rebecca (Stein) Derr, natives of Pennsyl
vania and the parents of seven children, viz:
Sarah, Susannah, John, William, Clinton,
Mary and Margaret A. George Derr was of
Scotch descent, early came to Morrow county,
Ohio, for a number of years kept a hotel, and
died at about seventy-two years of age. He
gave all his sons to the salvation of the Union
— John, William, and Clinton — of whom
William served in the Ohio infantry, and
Clinton in the Missouri infantry.
After his marriage, Mr. Heffelfinger resided
in Morrow county until 1868, when he came
to Van Wert county and settled on forty acres
of land in the woods of Jackson township; of
this he cleared twenty acres, and then traded
for his present property, which he has cleared
entirely from the woods, and has also cleared
much land for other persons, including thirty
acres for P. Snyder. He has now a most
comfortable home and is recognized to be one
of the most practical agriculturists of the
township.

To Mr. and Mrs. Heffelfinger have been
born six children, viz: George, Cora, Elizabeth,
William, Ward and Christian — the first three
of whom were born in Morrow county, and the
last three in Van Wert county. In politics
Mr. Heffelfinger is a republican, and frater
nally is a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic — and no family stands in higher re
pute than his.

SI

9 ILLIAM HERTEL, dealer in boots
and shoes on West Main street,
near North Jefferson street, Van
Wert, Ohio, was born in Opholter-
bach, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, July 12,
1832, a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Helman)
Hertel. The father was a brewer and died in
the old country in 1836, followed by his widow
in 1846. They had a family of eight chil
dren, born in the following order: Benjamin
and George, deceased; Elizabeth, wife of
George M. Wise; Emily, deceased; Adam, a
farmer of Van Wert county; William, our sub
ject; Philip, of Van Wert county, and Marga
rita. The parents were members of the Ger
man Lutheran church, and in worldly matters
the father was quite successful, dying worth
about $25,000.
William Hertel, whose name is at the head
of this biography, acquired a fair education as
a lad in his native town, and at fourteen years
of age was apprenticed to a shoemaker. Hav
ing learned the trade, he worked as a journey
man in the old country until 1852, when, in
October, he sailed for America, and after a
voyage, lasting five weeks, was landed in New
York; thence he went to Pittsburg, Pa., and
three days later to Canton, Ohio; there he
tarried three weeks, and then walked the long
200 miles to Van Wert, arriving with not a
cent in his pocket, but twenty-five cents in
debt. Here he worked the first year for a

334

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mr. Coffin, next for James Clark three or four
months, and thence went to Delphos, Ohio,
and worked for Mr. Sheeter a year, when he
returned to Van Wert and started a shop
about four miles out in the country, which he
occupied for two years. At this period, Feb
ruary 28, 1857, he married, in Wells county,
Ind. , Matilda Allen, who was born in Mercer
county, Ohio, August 8, 1837, and to this
union have been born twelve children, of
whom eight survive, namely: Lizzie, wife of
William Pfingstay; Jennie, married to Philip
Pfingstay; William, Jr., a dealer in poultry
and eggs at Van Wert, and George, Adam,
Frank, Charles and John, living with their
parents, who are members of the Lutheran
Evangelical church.
Upon his marriage Mr. Hertel bought a
farm of 160 acres, in Liberty township, Van
Wert county, on which he resided seven years,
when he sold his property and returned to the
city of Van Wert, and in 1866 resumed the
boot and shoe trade in the same building
that he still occupies. His stock is now val
ued at $5,000 and he is engaged, also, in mak
ing and general repairing. He owns, in addi
tion to his store and stock, a farm of 160 acres
in Hoaglin township, Van Wert county, and
several lots in the city. He has been indus
trious in all his undertakings, upright in all his
dealings, and judicious in the investments of
his earnings, and thus stands high in the es
teem of his fellow-citizens. In politics he is
a democrat.

^7^|* ILLIAM HENRY HIESTAND, an
mm 1 experienced and expert blacksmith
\JL^ of Van Wert, Ohio, and a success
ful mechanic, was born in Darke
county, Ohio, August 12, 1853. His father,
Daniel Hiestand, a native of Lancaster county,
Pa., married, in that state, Charlotte Menden-

hall, nee Brown, a native of Maryland, widow
of Noah Mendenhall. Daniel Hiestand was a
farmer, and about 1847 came over the mount
ains to Ohio, and was engaged in milling in
Clarke county until 1848, when he removed to
Darke county, where he followed farming until'
his death, in 1857. His widow survived until
July 27, 1889, when she, too, passed away,
leaving five children, viz: Mrs. Charlotte Ann
Lintemuth, of Big Rapids, Mich.; Horace D.,
of Van Wert, Ohio; Henrietta, wife of G. W.
Brown, of Darke county; Martha R., wife of
Oscar McCabe, also of Darke county; and
William H. , whose name opens this paragraph.
The Hiestand family were Dunkards in their
religion, while the Browns were members of
the Disciples church. In politics Daniel
Hiestand was a whig. He was a very indus
trious man, much attached to his home, and
was greatly respected wherever known.
William H. Hiestand was but four years of
age when his father was laid in his grave, and
until eight years old lived with his mother;
then lived with his sister, Mrs. Lintemuth,
until twelve years old; then made his home for
a year with his brother, Horace D., of Arcanum,
Ohio, and was then employed at the same
place by H. A. Kepner for two years; he
bound himself with his brother, Horace D., as
an apprentice for three years at blacksmithing,
and when he had finished his time worked for
two years for his brother as journeyman until
the spring of 1874, when he, with Horace D.,
united in partnership and carried on black
smithing for five years, when Horace D. was
elected sheriff of the county. Our subject
then became sole proprietor of the business,.
which he still operates, owning a lot 22 x 66
feet on North Jefferson street, and also owning
a neat residence on Maple avenue.
Mr. Hiestand is an accomplished musician,
having begun the study of music in 1 866. At
Arcanum he became a leader in 1871, and

WILLIS M. HUNTER, M. D.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

337

soon after coming to Van Wert organized
Hiestand's band, with nine pieces, and this
number he has increased to twenty pieces; he
also organized the Willshire band, and in 1877
the Middlepoint band, and in addition, in
structed a choral band in Van Wert; besides
these, he organized and instructed the band at
Delphos and a number of others. Since 1884
he has also been a member of the Fort Wayne
city band. It is thus quite evident that Mr.
Hiestand is thoronghly proficient in his art.
The marriage of Mr. Hiestand took place in
Van Wert, Ohio, October 28, 1882, to Miss
Mary Jane Mcintosh, who was born near Co
lumbus, Ohio, October 8, 1857, a daughter of
Robert and Margaret C. (Murch) Mcintosh,
the fruit of the union being two children, viz :
Norma and Jean C. Mr. and Mrs. Heistand
are members of the Presbyterian church, in
which he is a trustee, and the family is highly
respected among all classes of Van Wert
citizens.

sr

¦ILLIS M. HUNTER, M. D., a
prominent and rising young physi
cian of Middlepoint, Washington
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born in York township, in the same
county, March 29, 1867. His grandfather,
Dr. John Hunter, came from France, became
one of the most eminent of the physicans of
West Virginia, was a slave owner, and lived
to be quite an aged man.
William H. Hunter, the only child born to
Dr. John Hunter and the father of our sub
ject, was born in West Virginia March 1, 1844,
and two weeks later lost his mother; he was.
then placed by his father, the doctor, with the
family of Hesekiah demons, the compensa
tion being and worth $2,700, for the rearing of
the motherless child. In 1845, Mr. demons
removed to Greene county, Ohio, taking with

him his young charge, then but a year old,
and the latter here received a common school
education. At the age of about seventeen,
William H. Hunter enlisted from Greene
county in company I, Thirty-first Ohio volun
teer infantry, for three years or during the war,
served out his time and received an honorable
discharge. Among the many hard-fought
battles in which he participated were Mission
ary ridge, Stone River, Lookout Mountain, and
although he was active in the performance of
his duty in each and every march, campaign,
battle and skirmish in which his regiment was
engaged, he was neither sick nor wounded, nor
taken prisoner.
He came from Greene county to Van Wert
county, Ohio, and, May 22, 1866, the marriage
of Mr. Hunter took place, in Van Wert county,
to Miss Eliza J. Demint, who was born in
Greene county, Ohio, February 20, 1850, a
daughter of James and Mary (Hillyard) Demint.
James Demint was a soldier in the Seventy-
fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, was transferred
to company B, Seventh reserves, August 12,
1863, and died at Nashville, Tenn., in hos
pital, September 6, 1864, while in the service,
leaving the following children: Jesse, John,
Cynthiana, Eliza J., and Susanna. To this
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hunter have been born
three children, viz: Willis M., Frank J., and Ida
E. Both parents are devoted members of the
Methodist church. In politics Mr. Hunter is
a republican, and is a member of Zeller-Ham-
ilton post G. A. R., No. 260, at Middlepoint,
and is also a charter member of the Willshire
lodge of I. O. O. F.
After the war had closed, in 1865, he set
tled on forty acres of wooded land in York
township, Van Wert county, Ohio. This
tract he cleared up and sold, and then moved
to Washington county and purchased eighty
acres; this tract he also cleared up and sold,
and then, in 1890, moved to Willshire town-

338

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ship, where he has now a fine farm of 180
acres, under excellent cultivation and improved
in every essential. He is a gentleman of high
social position, and is prominent as a citizen,
and in this capacity is as faithful to his duty
as he was as a soldier during the dark days of
the Rebellion.
Dr. Willis M. Hunter was educated pre-
paratively at the Western Ohio Normal school,
at Middlepoint, began the study of medicine
with Dr. L. E. Ladd in 1888, and next at
tended the Baltimore Medical college, of Balti
more, Md., from which he graduated in 1892.
He immediately began the practice of his
chosen profession at Wren, Van Wert county,
where he was very well received, and remained
six months; then sought a broader field, and
for two years and a palf was in active practice
at Worstville, Paulding county; he there met
with phenomenal success, was elected coroner
of Paulding county in 1894, on the republican
ticket, with a plurality of 746 votes, and finally
located in Middlepoint, where he has a large
scope for the exercise of his skill, and where
his professional abilities are now fully recog
nized. Dr. Hunter is here associated with his
former preceptor, Dr. L. E. Ladd, and their
success is most flattering. In politics Dr.
Hunter is a republican, and socially he has
drawn about him a host of friends.

^"^AMUEL B. HERTZ, a popular hard-
tt^r%^* ware dealer of Van Wert, Ohio, was
^^ j born in Union county, Pa., August 3,
1832. His parents, John and Mary
(Keim) Hertz, were born in the same county
in 1798 and 1800 respectively, and were there
married in 1822, settled on a farm and there
passed away their lives. They had born to
them a large family of children, of whom seven
grew to maturity and were named as follows :
N. W. , a physician now deceased; Joseph, a

farmer of Van Wert county, Ohio; Samuel B.,
the subject of this sketch; Ann, wife of J. H.
Heinly of Kansas; Mary, now Mrs. Moses
Spacht, of Pennsylvania; Lydia, deceased wife
of David Spangler, of Van Wert, and John L.,
a merchant of St. Paul, Minn.
Samuel B. Hertz was reared on the home
farm in Pennsylvania, and was educated in the
pioneer schools of his native county, acquiring
a very fair stock of knowledge, by which he
was enabled to teach school in his own and
neighboring counties for nine years during the
winter, the summers, as usual in such cases,
being passed on the farm. In 1863 he came
to Van Wert and united with his brother, Dr.
U. W. , in the hardware trade, which they
carried on together for three years, when our
subject bought out the entire stock, and has,
since that time, conducted the business on his
sole account, carrying a large and well selected
assortment of glass, oils, paints, sash, doors,
blinds, general hardware, both shelf and
heavy, and all the modern labor-saving agri
culture implements. For several years, also,
Mr. Hertz has been connected with his brother-
in-law, J. R. Heinly, in the lumber trade.
Mr. Hertz was united in marriage at Mil
ton, Pa., October 4, 1855, with Miss Ellen
Rank, who was born in Union county, Pa.,
January 18, 1837. Her grandparents settled
on a farm in Union county in 1794, and this
farm is still in the family, and in 1894 Mr. and
Mrs. Hertz were there present at the celebra
tion of the centennial of the Rank family in
the county. In 1883, Mr. and Mrs. Hertz
adopted, as their own, Edna Rank, then four
years of age whom they have reared to almost
womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. Hertz are mem
bers of the Lutheran church and in politics
Mr. Hertz is a republican. Fraternally he is
a member of the I. O. O. F. , in which order
Mrs. Hertz has taken the Rebekah degree.
Mr. Hertz owns his business block on the

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

339

southeast corner of Main and Jefferson streets,
and has done business on the same site ever
since he came to the city. He also owns two
business places on West Main street and his
neat residence on North Jefferson street. His
integrity as a business man has never been
brought into question, and socially he and fami
ly stand among the best circles of Van Wert.

aHARLES E. HEUSCHKEL, a promi
nent business man of Van Wert, Ohio,
is a native of Saxony, Germany.
John Frederick Heuschkel, father of
the subject of this sketch, was also born in far-
famed Saxony, Germany, in 1801. Being the
son of a farmer, he was reared on a farm, and
followed the noble calling of an agriculturist
during his entire life. He was a man of the
highest moral character and in matters re
ligious was a member of the Old German
Lutheran church, always living in accordance
with its precepts. In 1824 Mr. Heuschkel was
married to Miss Hannah Neundorf, by whom
he had six children: Christiana, Fritz, Charles
E., Gottlieb, Amandus and Wilhelmina, all of
whom are living with the exception of Chris
tiana, who died in 1854. Fritz, the second
born, still lives in Germany; Charles E., is a
resident of Van Wert, Ohio; Gottlieb lives in
Indiana, and Amandus is married and lives in
Fort Wayne, Ind. Wilhelmina, like Fritz,
still remains in her native land.
Charles E. Heuschkel, the subject of this
sketch, followed the trade of miller in his na
tive country for seven years. In 1854, having
heard much of the opportunities of making a
fortune in the United States, he came to this
country, landing in New York, in which city
he remained two years, emigrating thence to
Cleveland, Ohio. From this time until the
breaking out of the war of the Rebellion Mr.
Heuschkel followed boating on Lake Erie, and

then, like thousands of others of his native
countrymen, believing that the Union should
be preserved, he enlisted as a member of com
pany K, Seventh Ohio infantry, in which regi
ment he served two years. Then, after a short
furlough, he re-enlisted, becoming a member
of the Mississippi marine brigade, and served
in this organization until 1865. Though never
wounded during the war, he was on the sick
list four months. Among the numerous battles
in which he was engaged were those of Cross-
lane, Va,, and Richmond, Miss. While he was
serving on a gunboat on the Mississippi river,
an incident occurred which Mr. Heuschkel re
calls with much satisfaction, as to that inci
dent he owes his existence on the earth to
day. He was standing with his gun pointing
through a port hole ready to fire on any rebel
that might appear in sight, when Sergeant
Vaughn came along and asked him to remove
his gun and let him look through the port hole,
so that he could get a view of the rebels.
Scarcely had the sergeant taken his position at
the port hole when he received a bullet in the
head, which killed him instantly. Mr. Heusch
kel is kindly remembered by the government
for which he risked his life by the receipt of
$14 per month as a pension. Being mustered
out of the service Mr. Heuschkel settled in
Van Wert, Ohio, and has been engaged in busi
ness here since 1 866, and he has by industry
and fair dealing accumulated a competency for
his declining years.
Mr. Heuschkel was married, in 1866, to
Miss Albertina Geyer, who was born in 1835.
Frederick Geyer, her father, was a native of
Saxony, born September 28, 1809. By trade
he was a tailor, beginning to work at this trade
at an early age. Mr. Geyer was married in
August, 1834, to Miss Ethel Beyer, by whom
he was the father of nine children, viz: Al
bertina, Wilhelmine, Albert, Edward, Ferdi
nand, Charles, Robert, Mary and Rosa All

340

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of the children are living, except Albert and
Rosa. Frederick Geyer was a man of most
excellent character, a consistent Christian and
a liberal man, kind to all and charitable in
thought and deed. Politically he was a mem
ber of the democratic party from his arrival
(with his entire family) in this country in 1852.
Albertina, wife of Mr. Charles C. Heuschkel,
was born in Saxony, Germany, as has been
intimated before, and when brought to the
United States by her parents she was seven
teen years old. From New York, where she
landed, she went to Marion county, Ohio, and
thence came to Van Wert. Mr. and Mrs.
Heuschkel have no children of their own, but
in 1869 they adopted Miss Minnie Huffman,
who is now the wife of Charles Scheidt, a
prosperous business man of Van Wert. Mr.
and Mrs. Heuschkel are members of Saint
Peter's Evangelical church of Van Wert, and
are highly esteemed and consistent Christians.

kJ^\ OBERT HUFFINE, a farmer of Lib-
I ^Z erty township, is a son of Samuel and
I_P Catherine Huffine, the father born in
Westmoreland county, Pa., in 18 15,
and the mother, who was the daughter of John
and Elizabeth (Fletcher) Gilliland, and de
scended from one of the early families of New
Jersey. Shortly after the marriage of Samuel
Huffine and Elizabeth Gilliland they settled in
Westmoreland county, Pa., thence moved to
Greene county, that state, where they spent
the remaining years of their lives. They were
both devout members of the Methodist church,
and in politics Mr. Huffine was an old-line
whig. Their children, in order of birth, are
as follows, Harriet, Robert, Sarah Jane, Mary
E., Minnie, Zacharias, Hiram, Hettie, Nancy
and Samuel.
Robert Huffine, the immediate subject,
was born January 18, 1844, in Westmoreland

county, Pa. He was reared a farmer, early
chose that useful calling for his life work, and
his education embraced the branches usually
taught in the common schools. He remained
at home, assisting his father with the labor of
the farm, until 1865, in March of which year
he enlisted in company A, Sixth Pennsylvania
calvary, with which he served until August the
year following, participating, during his period
of service, in the campaigns of Maryland, Vir
ginia and Kentucky.
After his discharge Mr. Huffine returned to
his home in Pennsylvania, where, on the nth
day of February, 1869, he was united in mar
riage to Zelda Sidle, whose birth occurred
March 23, 1850. Shortly after his marriage,
Mr. Huffine and wife came to Van Wert
county, Ohio, locating in Liberty township,
where they now own a good farm, substan
tially improved and eontaining many of the con
veniences which render country life desirable.
Mr. Huffine is a good farmer and exemplary
citizen, and is numbered among the substantial
men of the township of Liberty. Politically
he is an uncompromising supporter of the re
publican party, and fraternally belongs to the
Scott post, No. 100, G. A. R. He and wife
are Methodists and active workers in the local
congregation to which they belong. The fol
lowing are the names of their children: Gussie
L. , John B., Katie K., Effie J., Frank, James
O., Lawrence and Harry — all living.

HOMAS HUGHES, a prosperous
farmer of York township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, is a native of Wales,
was born October 14, 1818, and is a
son of Edward and Elizabeth Hughes. At
the age of twenty-eight years, in 1845, Thomas
Hughes, his wife and one child, Dorothy,
came to America, and passed a year near Em-
mittsburg, Md., where he pursued his trade of

MRS. CARRIE GRUBAUGH.
MRS, ORA B. BENNETT.
BYRON G BENNETT

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

345

masonry; he then went to Armstrong county,
Pa., where he remained a year and a half, and
then passed a year and a half in Cincinnati,
Ohio, whence he came to Van Wert county,
where he had previously entered 160 acres of
his present farm, all then in the wild woods.
This land he has cleared and improved and
added to until he owned 280 acres, but of this
he has disposed of eighty, keeping 200 for his
own use; he married Margaret Thomas, daugh
ter of Richard and Elizabeth (Jones) Thomas,
the union being blessed with ten children, viz:
Dorothy, the wife of Obadiah Hundly, a
farmer of Washington county, Ore. ; Richard
T. , a conductor on the Panhandle railroad,
married to Nancy Clover, and residing at Brad
ford, Ohio; Elizabeth, who died August 16,
1879, at the age of thirty years. Edward,
who was also a conductor on the Panhandle
railroad, married Rachael Tomlinson, made
his home at Columbus, Ohio, and died Febru
ary 5, 1892; David, who resides on a farm
joining his father's, was married December 4,
r879, to Sarah Slentz, who died February 2,
1892, David next marrying Jane Baltzell;
Joseph, who owns a farm joining that of his
brother David, and was married to Ellen Kig-
gens; John, who married Martha Archer, and
is now superintendent of his father's farm;
Mary, wife of Samuel Simpson, of Van Wert;
Martha E., the wife of Thomas Miller, a
farmer of Union township, Mercer county,
Ohio; and Margaret, the wife of William George,
a farmer of York township, of Van Wert
county. For twelve years Thomas Hughes has
held office as trustee of his township, and has
also served as land appraiser and assessor.
Mr. Hughes and his family have been strict
supporters of the Calvinistic church, of which
he has been treasurer for twenty-three years
and deacon seventeen years. Mr. and Mrs.
Hughes are the grandparents of forty-three
children and eight great-grandchildren. Mr.

Hughes is one of the honored and most re
spected citizens of Van Wert county, is a man
who never knew guile, and whose character is
spotless as newly fallen snow. Mr. Hughes is
like many other of his nationality, who are
noted for their industrious and economical
habits as well as for being good citizens. He
is a moral, upright man, and at all times found
to be in the right, and casts his influence in
behalf of the education of the rising gener
ation, as well as the up-building of the morals
of the community. Socially he and wife are
very popular wherever known, and their home
is noted for the hospitality they dispense at
their beautiful home in York township.

ISAAC N. GLOVER, deceased, in his
day one of the leading and influential
agriculturists of Hoaglin township, Van
Wert county, was born in Crawford
county, Ohio, April 17, 1829, a son of Joel
and Elizabeth (Shannon) Glover. The father,
Joel Glover, was probably born in Jefferson
county about 1800, and was a son of Josiah
Glover, a native of Maryland. After his mar
riage Joel resided in Crawford county, a short
time, then followed farming the remainder of
his days in Coshocton county. His fifteen
children were born in the following order;
Israel, Isaac N., Josiah, William, Samuel,
Sarah J., Cuthbert, Sarah E., Thomas Harri
son, Nathan, Shannon, Joel C, John, Cyn
thia, and Mary. The father was very success
ful as a farmer and very popular as a republican,
being frequently elected by his party to township
offices. He was, for many years, an elder in
the Presbyterian church, to which denonination
his wife also belonged, and in the faith of
which the latter died in 1885, and he in 1887.
Isaac N. Glover was reared to farming,
and on November 8, 1849, was united in wed
lock with Miss Nancy Endsley, daughter of

346

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Thomas and Matilda (Carr) Endsley; the chil
dren born to this happy union were as follows:
Mrs. Carrie Grubaugh, whose sketch appears
on another page; Mary E., who died at the
age of thirteen; Harriet, wife of Abraham
Norris; Mary Jane, married to Frank Beamer;
Joel T., of New Mexico; Nancy B., wife of
Marcus Reed; Cynthia E., at home; Isaac P.,
of Van Wert; Bettie S. and Jessie. Mrs.
Nancy Glover was born in Coshocton county,
Ohio, April 2, 1829. Her father, Thomas
Endsley, was born August 23, 1801, was one
of the early pioneers of Harrison county, was
a farmer, and married Matilda Carr, a daugh
ter of John and Nancy ("Welch) Carr; to this
union the following children were born: John,
Robert (drowned in his youth), Mrs. Nancy
Glover, James, Andrew and Thomas B. (de
ceased), William, Samuel C. (deceased), Mrs.
Mary J. Love, of Lee, 111., an infant that
died unnamed, and Ella (deceased). Shortly
after his marriage, Mr. Endsley settled in
Coshocton county, where he followed farming
until his death, which took place September
8, 1894, he being then an elder in the Presby
terian church, in the faith of which, also his
wife died in 1855.
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac N. Glover settled, after
marriage, on a small farm in Coshocton coun
ty, but three years later Mr. Glover sold his
place and in 1853 purchased a piece of wild
woodland in Paulding county. There he built
a house of logs and began clearing off the
forest, teaching school meanwhile, as he had
done while in Coshocton county. In 1855,
his house, with its entire contents, was de
stroyed by fire, and the next two years were
passed in Coshocton county; in 1857 he re
turned to his farm in Paulding county, rebuilt
his dwelling, and until 1871 was prominently
identified with the agricultural interests of his
township. During the interval, however, he
enlisted, in May, 1864, in company H, One

Hundred and Thirty-second Ohio volunteer in
fantry for 100 days, at the expiration of which
time he resumed farming. In 1871 he pur
chased the present homestead in Hoaglin
township, Van Wert county, where he passed
the remainder of his life, dying April 8, 1881;
with his wife he was a member of the Presby
terian church; he was also a member of the
Royal Arcanum and politically was a republic
an, by which party he was held in the highest
esteem, and by it honored with an election to
every township office within its gift wherever
he chanced to reside, and was also made coun
ty school examiner while residing in Paulding
county. He was a successful farmer, and as a
citizen was esteemed as a gentleman whose in
tegrity was beyond the shadow of suspicion.
His widow, with her three daughters, resides
on the homestead, in Hoaglin township, hon
ored and respected by all the community.

p V^\ OAH HYATT, a prominent citizen
1 I of Van Wert, and an ex-soldier of
j§ _y the Union army, was born October
20, 1840. His father, John Hyatt,
was of Irish descent, and was born in 1820 in
Pennsylvania on a farm, was educated there
in the common schools, was reared a fanner,
and followed agricultural pursuits until his
death, which occurred in 1880. John Hyatt
was a republican in politics, and was married
in Pennsylvania to Miss Nancy Lawhead of
that state. She was a member of fhe Christ
ian, or, as it is sometimes called, the Camp-
bellite church, and died in Clinton county,
Ohio, in 1845. John Hyatt, when he removed
from Pennsylvania to Clinton county, Ohio,
came with an old gray horse and twenty-five
cents in his pocket. With this small capital,
behind which, however, was plenty of energy
and pluck, he began life there for himself.
At first he purchased a piece of timbered land,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

347

srventy-five acres, entirely on credit, which
would be a difficult thing to do at the present
time. This land he cleared, improved arid
paid for, and lived upon it till his death. By
his marriage to Miss Nancy Lawhead he be
came the father of the following children:
John Henry, married and living in Iowa; Noah,
the subject of this sketch; Mary Ann; Sarah
Jane; George W. ; Marshall and Elizabeth.
Of these six, two are still living, viz: Noah
and Sarah Jane. After the death of the
mother of these children, John Hyatt married
Miss Myra Winpigler of Clinton, Ohio, by
whom he had the following children: Barney,
married and living in Illinois; Emma, married
and living in Clinton county, Ohio, and Louis,
deceased. Noah Hyatt, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Clinton county, Ohio. Educated
in the common schools, he remained at home
with his father on the farm until the breaking
out of the war, when he enlisted in company
F, Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry,
under Maj. Stiles, on July 4, 1863, and served
until July 4, 1865, precisely two years. Dur
ing these two years of service he saw much
hard fighting, and did a great deal of march
ing. In 1864 he was taken sick and was in
the hospital three months. His disease was
measles, and afterward varioloid, which left
him paralyzed to some extent, and he has
suffered from paralysis ever since. For his
services and disease he is receiving a pension
from the government of $6 per month.
After returning from the war he went to
Clinton county, he began farming and was
married to Miss Eliza Emry Anson Moore of
that county. To this marriage there were born
three children, viz: Eliza Marion, born March
23, 1872; Harris, born in March, 1873, and
Jennie, born in 1878. In 1872 Mr. Hyatt
came to Van Wert county, settled on a farm,
and worked it .until old age and infirmities com

pelled him to retire from active life. He is a
republican and a member of the Christian
church. Caleb Moore, father of Eliza Emry Anson
Moore, was born in Pennsylvania. By occupa
tion he was a farmer, and followed that calling
all his life. He removed from Pennsylvania to
Clinton county, Ohio, where he bought a farm
on which he lived the remainder of his life.
He was the father of the following children:
John, William, Harris, Ellen, and Emry, all
of whom are living but Ellen, who was mar
ried to David Osborn and was a member
of the Quaker church. Those that are living
are all married. The first wife died, and Mr.
Moore then married a Miss Miller, of Clinton
county, Ohio, and to this marriage there were
born two children, viz: Lena, married and
living in Canton, Ohio, and Herbert, married
and living in Iowa. The second wife of Mr.
Moore died in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1885.
Mr. Moore is a republican and takes great
interest in public affairs, realizing that it is
necessary for all good men to look to the wel
fare of their party, in order that those who are
not so good shall not control its destinies,
which in all cases means defeat to the party.
He is a member of the Friends' church, and
adheres strictly to the precepts of his religion
in his daily life.

aHARLES H. HYMEN, a successful
young farmer of Hoaglin township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, is of German
extraction and was born in Huron
county, Ohio, October n, 1857. His father,
who spelled the name Heymann, was a native
of Nassau, Germany, born November 24,
1825, and came to America when a young
man, settled in Sandusky county, Ohio, mar
ried Catherine, daughter of Matthias Paulen,
who died in Germany. The father and mother,

348

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

after nine years of farming life in Sandusky
county, came to Van Wert county in 1863,
where the father first bought forty acres, to
which, by hard labor, he added forty, and was
entirely a self-made man. He died September
23, 1888, a member of the Evangelical asso
ciation; his widow still resides on her own
farm of forty acres, a part of the original
homestead in Van Wert county.
Charles H. Hymen was reared a farmer
and also learned carpentering — a trade which
he followed eight years. He married Susan
M. Rumble, daughter of Henry and Paulina J.
¦(Leech) Rumble, November 17, 1880, and the
attention of the reader is called to the sketch
of the life of Mr. and Mrs. Rumble at the con
clusion of this mention. Mr. Hymen and his
wife have resided on their present farm ever
since their marriage, and he has been closely
identified with the interests of the county since
he reached his majority. His children were
born in the following order and are named
Henry Ray, Shirly G. and Gladys M. His
farm consists of eighty acres of fertile land, all
well ditched and in a high state of cultivation,
the improvements, which are excellent in their
character, having been chiefly made by him
self — the farm also having been acquired
through his own hard labor — and may well be
termed a model. In politics Mr. Hymen is a
stalwart republican, and has held the office of
township clerk for four years. He is liberal in
his aid financially to the churches, and is
¦earnest in his promotion of the cause of public
education. Fraternally he is a member of
Pequod tribe, No. 102, I. O. R. M. ; and so
cially he and family enjoy the esteem of a wide
circle of acquaintance.
Henry Rumble, a retired farmer of Hoag
lin township and the father of Mrs. Hymen,
was born in Fayette county, Pa., April 3,
1825. His great-grandfather, Jacob Rumble,
with his wife, came from Germany and was

among the earliest settlers of Fayette county,
Pa. Henry Rumble, his son and the grand
father of the present Henry, was born in Fay
ette county, Pa., was a farmer and soldier,
and married Elizabeth Hague, a native of the
same county. He was a soldier of the war of
18 12, was a Jacksonian democrat, and died
in his native county, a member of the Presby
terian church, after a life of great usefulness.
Jacob Rumble, son of above Henry, and
father of Henry Rumble of Hoaglin township,
was born in Fayette county, Pa., January 1,
1795, and died January 1, 1832. He married
Susanna Gans, a daughter of Jacob and Ros-
anna (Rumble) Gans, the former an early set
tler and a wealthy farmer of Fayette county
and also a patriot of the war of 181 2. The
children born to this union were named Eliza
beth (Samrriiens), Henry, Catherine (Watkins),
Alexander, and Bashdy (Guinn). The father
of this family was a democrat in politics, a
Baptist in religion, and was carried away by
that fell disorder, small-pox, January 1, 1832;
the widow, however, kept her family of chil
dren together and reared them to lives of use
fulness and to respectability. She was born
January 1, 1800, and died January 1, 1868.
Henry Rumble, of Hoaglin township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, was reared to farming in
his native county of Fayette county, Pa., re
ceived a solid common-school education, and
November 14, 1849, was first married to Pau
line Leech, daughter of Jesse and Susan Leech,
the marriage resulting in the birth of the fol
lowing children: Bruce W., Annie B., Alex
ander C, Susan and James W. The mother
of this family died February 1, 1875, a de
voted member of the Methodist church, and
sincerely mourned by her husband, children,
and an extensive circle of faithful and loving
friends. The husband mourned her loss until
January 31, 1884, when he married Leah
Schott. See sketch of Henry Rumble.

#> M

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

351

BHODA C. JONES, widow of Samuel
B. Jones, who was a highly respected
citizen of Pleasant township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, was born in 1825
near West Milton, Miami county, Ohio, a
daughter of Samuel and Mary (Miles) Coate.
Samuel Coate, father of Mrs. Jones, was a na
tive of South Carolina, born in 1799, and a
son of Henry Coate, who was born in the same
state in about 1771, of English parentage.
Henry Coate was a blacksmith and farmer,
married Mary Hasket and became the father
of Samuel Coate, mentioned above, who was
the second son. About 1805 the family immi
grated to Ohio, coming in wagons and con
suming six weeks' time in making the journey.
Henry Coate took up 200 acres of government
land in the wilds of Miami county, built a log
cabin and settled his family among the wild
men and wild animals of the region. Indeed,
on their way hither a young brother of Henry
was captured by the savages; he adopted their
dress and manners, and never returned to civ
ilization; another child of the family was sub
sequently murdered by the Indians, while in
its mother's arms. Henry Coate was a pious
Quaker minister, and was held in high esteem
by the pioneer neighbors, among whom he
died, in 1848, in his seventy-eighth year.
Samuel Coate, the father of the lady whose
name opens this sketch, was reared, on the
pioneer farm of his father and received but a
limited commonrschool education. Under his
father he learned the blacksmith's trade, at
which he worked until failing health warned
him to seek other employment; he therefore
engaged in merchandising in Newton town
ship, Miami county, Ohio, a business he fol
lowed the remainder of his life. In 1824 Sam
uel Coate was united in marriage with Mary
Miles, a daughter of Jonathan and Mary
(Pearson) Miles, the fruit of this union being
one child — Rhoda C, named, above. Mrs.

Coate was born in South Carolina in 1804,
but at the age of two years was brought to-
Miami county, Ohio, by her parents, who-
were among the earliest settlers of the county.
This family was also of English extraction and
of royal blood. Jonathan Miles was well-
known in Miami county, where he was an
honored citizen, and where he died, in 1868,
in his ninetieth year.
Mary (Miles) Coate, the mother of the sub
ject of this sketch, was reared on the home
place of her parents in Miami county, received
a fair common-school education, became an
active worker in the Friends' church, and
died May 10, 1891. Samuel Coate also was
a member of the Friends' church, and in poli
tics was a stanch republican, filling several
local offices under the auspices of that party.
His death took place in 1847 — honored and
respected by all who knew him. Rhoda C.
(Coate) Jones was also educated in the com
mon schools of Miami county, and in 1843,
was united in marriage with Samuel B. Jones,
of Miami county, and this union was blessed
by the birth of ten children, viz: Dr. Henry
W. , of Van Wert; Laban J., deceased; Rev.
Ephraim M. , deceased; Roswell B., of Troy,
Ohio; Samuel C. , lawyer of Columbus, Ohio;
Rev. Barton K., Charles F., John W. and
Josephine J., all four deceased, and Lambert
W. , a lawyer of Van Wert. The father of
these children was born in Miami county,
Ohio, in 1820, a son of Philemon and Naomi
(Tucker) Jones, early emigrants from Tennes
see. Samuel B. Jones was reared a farmer
and was identified with the agricultural inter
ests of Miami county until 1876, when he came
to Van Wert county and purchased the farm
on which his widow still resides; with his wife
he was a member of the Friends' church, and
in politics he was a stanch republican, being
frequently honored with local offices. He
was a practical and successful farmer, a useful

352

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and public-spirited citizen, honorable in all his
dealings, and held the confidence and esteem
of his fellow-men until his lamented death,
June 26, 1889, in his sixty-ninth year.

*S~\ ICHARD JARVIS, the subject of this
I ^Z sketch, is a native of Wales, where
A .F his birth occurred in the year 1822.
His father, James Jarvis, was a farmer
of that country, and a man well known in the
neighborhood where, he lived. By his first
wife, whose maiden name was Mary Evans,
he had six children, as follows : Laura, de
ceased wife of John Humphreys; John, died
in 1895; William, who lives in Wales; Richard,
subject of this sketch; James, died in 1893;
and Ellen, who died after reaching woman
hood. The mother of these children departed
this life when the subject was a lad of seven
summers, and about the year 1831. James
Jarvis entered into the marriage relation with
Anna Griffiths, who bore him a daughter —
Jane. James Jarvis died in his native country
at the advanced age of eighty-nine years.
Richard Jarvis grew to manhood in his
native country, was reared a farmer, and at the
age of twenty-one married Miss Mary Bebb,
who was born August 2, 18 19, relative of
William Bebb, formerly governor of Ohio.
To this union were born nine children. Rich
ard, whose first anniversary of birth was cele
brated on board the vessel, while the parents
were making their voyage to the United States;
he is now in the real estate business in the city
of Minneapolis, Minn. The second in order of
birth was Margaret Ann, who first married
William Owen, after whose death she became
the wife of Richard Chapman; her third hus
band is Morgan H. Morgan, one of the most
influential and prosperous farmers of Jennings
township. She was the first Welsh child born
in Venedocia, and was also first to receive

baptism in the church of that place. The
third child, Laura by name, married Joseph E.
Thomas; James, the next, died at the age of
thirty; Mary Ellen; and Mary Jane, wife of
William Meredith, to whom she was married
February 27, 1896. The mother of these chil
dren, a most excellent woman, noted for her
piety and many good works, was called from the
scene of earthly labors January 2, 1891, her
death being not only a sad bereavement to her
her husband and children, but a great loss to the
neighborhood, where she is held in kind and lov
ing remembrance. She was a member of the
Calvinistic Methodist church, and exemplified
her religious profession in her daily life.
Mr. Jarvis, in the fall of 1847, engaged in
the boiler-makers' trade in Cincinnati, and was
thus 'employed until 1848, in the spring of
which year he came to Van Wert county and
located on a tract of sixty acres of land in the
township of York. Upon his arrival he found
himself considerably in debt, and the aforesaid
land was deeded him by William Bebb, who
required pay for the same in labor. The land
was densely wooded at the time, and required
an immense amount of toil to be cleared and
fitted for cultivation. Mr. Jarvis was equal to
t/he task, however, and in due season had the
place fairly well improved, but disposed of the
same in 1858 and purchased his present farm,
consisting of 200 acres, lying in Jennings town
ship. Subsequently he disposed of a part of
the latter place and made many substantial
improvements on the part retained, and now
has one of the finest and most valuable places
the township of Jennings. He has been a suc
cessful farmer and stock raiser, and as a citi
zen stands high in the estimation of the com
munity where he resides. His life has been
characterized by honorable and upright deal
ing, and his reputation is without a blemish.
Mr. Jarvis is a remarkably well-preserved man,
and inherits many of the noble traits, both

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

353

physical and mental, of his respected ancestors.
For many years he has been an active mem
ber of the Calvinistic Methodist church, in
which he held the office of trustee for three
years, and for some time served as superin
tendent of the Sunday-school. He has filled
other positions of public trust, among them
that of school director. He believes that the
liquor traffic should be suppressed by the
strong arm of the law, and hence is a prohibi
tionist in politics.

IRA W. JOHNS, a farmer and assessor
of Pleasant township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, was born April 23, 1854, the
youngest son of Jacob W. and Eliza J.
(Houston) Johns, natives of Pennsylvania, and
of Welsh and Irish extraction, respectively.
The paternal grandparents were married in
Wales, and on coming to America first located
in Keystone Valley, Pa., and later came to
Ohio. Jacob W. Johns was born June 5,
1 8 16, and in early youth accompanied his par
ents from New Athens, Penn., to Richland
county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood,
was educated, and followed farming there until
his marriage, June 10, 1837, with Mrs. Eliza
J. Ellar; the following October they came
with ox teams to Van Wert county, Ohio,
where, reaching the Auglaize river, Mr. Johns
cut his road through the forest to Harrison
township. This incident occurred when there
were but two houses in what is now the city of
Van Wert, and after reaching their destination
Mrs. Johns did not see a woman's face for over
three months, their nearest neighbor being
seven and a half miles distant. They lived in
their wagons until Mr. Johns could cut the
timber and build a log cabin, and for food they
lived, in the meantime, on a 500-pound bear
Mr. Johns was so fortunate as to kill soon after
arrival. He had brought with him a drove of

sixteen fine hogs, which persisted in laying
around the cabin, and Mr. Johns, remembering
an old saying, threw in their midst a paw of
the bear he had killed, and the sixteen fine
hogs, in accordance with the saying, were soon
lost to his sight and future profit.
'Mr. Johns lived eighteen months on this
entered tract of eighty acres, and in 1839 sold
out and bought eighty acres, on which his
widow and youngest son still live, and thus for
the second time cleared up a home from the
forest. There was an abundance of game in
those early days, and Indians were numerous,
but peaceable. Wolves also abounded and
were destructive of young stock, and on one
occasion Mrs. Johns had the temerity to face
the depredating beasts and rescue from them a.
young calf and carry it into the cabin. Mrs.
Johns carded and spun the linen and wool for
making into clothing for the family, and thus
all the hardships, as well as pleasures, of fron
tier life were experienced. But Mr. Johns
prospered and became the owner of 160 acres
of good land, of which he sold eighty acres,
reserving eighty acres for a homestead. He
bought and sold furs and pelts, became later
quite an extensive dealer in live stock, and in
prime of life, March 23, 1865, was called away
from his sorrowing family — a member of the
Baptist church, and in politics a democrat.
He was a free contributor to his church, and
assisted to build the first Baptist house of wor
ship that was erected in his township. His
children comprised six sons and six daughters,
who were named as follows: Margaret Ann,
Alfred D., Sarah L., Dallas W., Ivan D.,
Lucy A., Caraline, Ira W., a deceased infant,
Clara A., Mary E., and William Crayton. Of
these, Margaret A. became the wife of Andrew
Flutter, of Fort Wayne, Ind. ; Sarah L. , the
wife of R. J. Wyburn; Lucy A., the wife of
E. R. Baker, Van Wert; Dallas W. married
Frances Gaylord, of Columbia City, Ind., and

354

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

then Julia Wyburn, of Fort Wayne, Ind.;
Clara A. is the wife of Louis 'Keihm, of Mil
waukee, Wis., and Mary is married to Jerry
Kreider, of Van Wert, Ohio.
Mrs. Eliza J. Johns was born December
13, 18 1 8, in Beaver county, Pa. a daughter of
Alexander and Peggy (Feasel) Houston, and of
German parentage; these parents passed their
lives in Beaver county, Pa. , where Mrs. Hous
ton, the mother, died when her daughter, Mrs.
Johns, was but three or four years old, leaving
the latter to be reared, to the age of sixteen,
by her grandmother, Elizabeth Houston, at
which age she was first married at Mansfield,
Ohio. After locating in Pleasant township,
Van Wert county, she united in the Baptist
church, of which she is still a faithful and
devout member, at the age of seventy-seven
years. The first marriage of Mrs. Johns was
with Frederick Ellar, to whom she bore one
daughter, Lucinda, now Mrs. Jonathan Tum-
bleson. Mr. Ellar died about twenty-seven
months after his marriage, and soon after that
event his wife became Mrs. Jacob W Johns,
the mother of our subject. Mrs. Johns has
borne thirteen children, is the grandmother of
forty-four children, and the great-grandmother
of twenty-nine children.
Ira W. Johns, whose name opens this biog
raphy, was born on the farm on which he is
now living, and was educated in the common
schools of his township. At the age of twenty
years he began life for himself, moving to
Lafayette, Ind. , where he worked he worked
on the Wabash railroad for ten years — two
years as brakeman and eight years as con
ductor. October 1, 1877, he married Miss
Virginia Colegrove, who was born in Lafayette,
January 9, 1859, a daughter of James and
Louisa (McNeal) Colegrove, of German arid
Irish descent. To this union were born five
children, of whom three are living — Guy V.,
Edna A. and Robert A. , and two who died in

infancy— Myrtle'P. and Lucy B. In January,
1884, Mr. Johns abandoned railroad work and
located on the T. S. Gilliland farm, on the
Ridge road, northeast of the city of Van Wert,
where he resided six years, and then .returned
to the old homestead, to care for his mother.
In politics Mr. Johns is a democrat, and in
the spring of 1895 was elected assessor by a
majority of twenty-nine in a republican dis
trict; fraternally he is a Knight of Maccabees.
For four years he has been most favorably
known throughout the county, having been an
auctioneer of note for several years.
James Colegrove, father of Mrs. Johns, was
a very prominent citizen of Tippecanoe coun
ty, Ind., and died in the prime of life, while
serving his third term as county sheriff. Mrs.
Johns has two brothers — Alonzo, a farmer near
Lafayette, Ind., and William A., an engineer
on the B. & O. railroad, living at Garrett, Ind.
These three now constitute the sole representa
tives of the Colegrove family.

«w ¦«* ENRY GUNSETT is a native of
Y~\ Tuuy township, Van Wert county,
i F Ohio, was born December 3, 1S41,
and is a son of Henry and Catherine
(Smith) Gunsett, the former of whom was one
of the original pioneers of the county.. Henry,
the father,, was born in -Germany, and when a
lad of eleven years came to America with a
brother, from whom, in some way, he became
separated in New York city arid never again
met. Henry first located in Pennsylvania, in
Schuylkill county, in which state he was mar
ried and had born to him five children — Anna,.
Josiah, Harriet, Henry and Jacob, of whom
the first three were born in the Keystone state,
the inference being that the parents settled in
Van Wert county about 1839 or 1840. He
first located in the thick woods in the western
part of Tully township, where he cleared up a.

^KjMIA ¦SsmiMtt'

MRS. HENRY GUNSETT.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

359

small farm, and then moved to the eastern
part of Harrison township, where he bought
1 20 acres, which he mostly cleared up, assisted
by his sons, and made into a good home. He
lost his first wife, and for a second, married
Magdelina Stamni, who bore two children —
John and Magdelina — the latter of whom died
at the age of eight years. Mr. Gunsett lived
to be over sixty years old and died on his
farm, a member of the Lutheran church and
an honored citizen.
Henry Gunsett, the immediate subject of
this biography, was educated in the log school-
house of his early day and was trained to the
toil of farm life, and also learned the trade of
a carpenter. July 11, 1863, he enlisted, at
Van Wert, in company K, Eighty-eighth reg
iment, Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three
years, or during the war, under Capt. Walter
T. Davis, but served two years only, being
honorably discharged on account of the clos
ing of hostilities. His services were rendered
chiefly at Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio,
guarding prisoners, and being held in readi
ness, with the troops, to suppress any attempt
at disturbance on account of draft, or any that
might be made by the Knights of the Golden
Circle. During his term Mr. Gunsett was
sick with typhoid fever for three months, from
September, 1863, and from January, 1864,
was laid up with small-pox until May follow
ing, and he still feels these attacks. On his re
turn to Van Wert county he bought forty
acres of the home farm, and on January 15,
1867, married Catherine, daughter of Jacob
and Fanny (Anthony) Zimmerman, an old
pioneer family of the county. In 1877 Mr.
Gunsett sold his original farm, and in 1881
bought his present pleasant home of eight
and a half acres. He and wife are devout
members of the Lutheran church, and in pol
itics Mr. Gunsett is a republican. He has
been a member of the board of education
16

three years and has filled several vacancies in
the town council of Convoy, and has always
been a hard-working and respected citizen.
Jacob Zimmerman, father of Mrs. Gunsett,
was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, De
cember 15, 1809, of German parents. His
first wife, Christina Schnolenberger, was born
in Germany, December 31, 1809, and was mar
ried to Mr. Zimmerman in Columbiana county,
Ohio, May 9, 1837, and to their union were
born five children, of whom four died in infancy,
the survivor, E. W., being now a farmer of
Van Wert county. After the death of his first
wife Mr. Zimmerman married Miss Fannie E.
Anthony, who was born July 9, 1848, and
bore her husband three children — Catherine,
Lydia A. (who died at thirty-eight years of age,
a married woman), and David (who died
at the age of twelve). Mr. Zimmerman
settled in Van Wert county about 1839,
when there was about one house in the
city of that name, and the county was one un
broken forest — the house mentioned belonging
to the Buckingham family. Mr. Zimmerman
entered eighty acres in the dense woods, and
with many hardships succeeded in clearing up
a farm. He endured more than the usual
hard lot of pioneers, as his first wife was an
invalid and he himself in very poor pecuniary
circbmstances. He was obliged to work out
at day's work in order to gain means on which
to live while clearing up his land, and to leave
his sick wife at home with no companion save
a little son, E. W., at her bedside. After his
day's work for Gordon Gilliland, a well-known
pioneer, he would repeat his walk of eight
miles to his home; harrowed with the thought
that his wife might have perished during his
absence with no attendant, save this little four-
year old son. He suffered, also, the added
hardship of a scanty supper of food, and was
accustomed to sift the coarse home-made flour
and to use the finer part for making gruel for

360

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

his sick wife, while he converted the bran into
bread for himself and child. Finally, Mrs.
Zimmerman passed away, as many another
pioneer wife and mother in the county had
done, through the privation and hardship of
frontier life. Soon after his deprivation, Mr.
Zimmerman married, as indicated, Miss An
thony, in whom he found a noble and energetic
helpmate. She was a native of Pennsylvania
and of Scotch-Irish descent, was a woman of
good management, as well as great force of
character, and capable of the hard work needed
to make the pioneer home a success, which
she aided in doing beyond a doubt, as, when
Mr. Zimmerman died, he owed no man a
dollar and owned a good farm of 120 acres,
improved with substantial buildings. He was
a straightforward and industrious man of the
strictest integrity, of whom it was always said
that his "word was as good as his bond, any
day." The lamented death of Mr. Zimmer
man occurred, at the age of sixty-eight years,
on January 10, 1877, revered and honored by
a host of friends.
Mr. Zimmerman sprang from Holland-
Dutch stock. His father, John Zimmerman,
married Catherine Callahan, and in Columbiana
county, Ohio, of which he was a pioneer,
reared a family of twelve children, named as
follows; Jacob, Henry, Mary, John, Lewis'and
Elizabeth (twins), Christian, David, Thomas,
Catherine (died at the age of twenty-one),
Frederick and Conrad — all of whom reached
maturity without a doctor ever having been
called in to render his professional services.
The father of John Zimmerman and the grand
father af Mrs. Gunsett, on first coming from
Holland, located in Canada, but later settled
in Columbiana county, Ohio, with eleven other
families, in the early history of the state, and
in their conflicts with the hostile Indians ten
men from the number of incomers met with
death.

>nr»OHN A. JOHNSON, an enterprising
A and well-to-do farmer of Ridge town-
Al ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born
in Butler county, Ohio, June 15, 185 1,
a son of William and Ellen (Burcaw) Johnson,
both natives of the Buckeye state. On March
8, 1856, William Johnson came from Butler to
Van Wert county, and settled in Ridge town
ship, where he purchased 160 acres of farm
land. He brought with him his family, which
was then comprised of his wife and six children
named as follows: Joseph, now a farmer of
Van Wert county; Martha, now married to
Peter Kessler, of Illinois; Wesley, a farmer of
Van Wert county, Ohio; John A., the subject
of this sketch; Amos, farmer, now in Van
Wert county, and William, farming in Ridge
township. Another son, Frank, was born
after the arrival of the parents in Van Wert
county, and now owns a part of the original
homestead. After improving his 160 acres,
and, indeed, during that process, William
Johnson added adjoining acres, and other lands,
until he became the owner of nearly 500 acres,
which he subsequently divided among his chil
dren. In politics Mr. Johnson was an ardent.
republican, and at one time held the office of
infirmary director. He was popular in the
community, was public spirited and enterpris
ing, and died in 1882, honored and respected
by all who knew him; his widow survived until
September, 1894.
John A. Johnson, being but five years of
age when brought to Van Wert county, re
ceived his education in the common schools of
Ridge township and was reared to manhood on
the home farm, becoming a thorough agricul
turist. August 10, 1876, he was united in the
bonds of matrimony with Miss Clara Weaver,
daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Price) Weaver
— the former a native of Pennsylvania and the
latter of Butler county, Ohio. Samuel Weaver
was brought to Ohio when a lad of eight years,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

361

and subsequently became one of the most
prosperous farmers of Butler county. He
reared a family of nine children, who were born
in the following order: John E. , of Butler
county, Ohio; George, a farmer of Clinton
county, Ind. ; William A. , now on the old home
stead in Butler county, Ohio; Sarah, deceased
wife of William H. Stout; Silas, of Butler
county; Laura, who died when but two years
of age; Mary (twin of Martha, whose name
follows), wife of William Johnson, Jr., whose
biography appears first in order after this
sketch; Martha, (twin sister of Mary as above),
wife of William Bell, of Clinton county, Ind.,
and Clara, wife of John A. Johnson, our sub
ject, as has been previously stated. To the
happy marriage of John A. and Clara Johnson
have been born the following children; Lewis
Ambrose, William Samuel, Frederick L. , Ora
Homer, Blanche Viola, Daisy Edith, (who died
in early childhood), Clara Etta and Goldie
Gladys. Mr. Johnson is one of the most in
telligent, and consequently one of the most
thriving agriculturist of Ridge township, and
his farm of 217 acres, adjoining the county
farm, and his tasty and elegant dwelling — his
substantial barns and other out-buildings and
orchard, and well tilled fields — are a sight to
gladden the eye of every passer-by. He is in
politics a republican, but has always ignored
any offer of public office. He is large hearted
and public spirited, and may always be relied
upon when any project designed for the public
welfare needs a helping hand.

>^T* K. P. JOHNSON, a skilled a prosper-
k ous farmer of Ridge township, Van
A I Wert county, Ohio, was born in Butler
county, Ohio, November, 19, 1844,
and is the youngest son of Joseph and Eliza
beth (Mustard) Johnson, of whom a detailed
sketch is given in the biography of Joseph

Johnson, also of Ridge township, and which
precedes this sketch. Mr. Johnson, our sub
ject was disciplined in the severe school of
agriculture as well as in the common schools
of his native county, where, in 1869, he was
united in wedlock with Miss Emma Yakel,
daughter of Michael and Susan (Troutman)
Yakel, of whom the father was a Pennsyl-
vanian by birth and the mother a native of
North Carolina, both of whom are now de
ceased. They had born to them a family of
seven children, as follows: A son that died in
infancy; David, who died in middle life; Mary,
the widow of William Bell; Elizabeth, wife of
James Beckett, of Butler county, Ohio; Julia,
married to Robert Stevenson, of the same
county; Katie, deceased wife of Seth Shierd,
and Emma, now Mrs. J. K. P. Johnson. The
parents of these children are both deceased.
In the year 1870, shortly after his marriage,
Mr. Johnson came from Butler county to Van
Wert county and settled on that part of the
estate of Mr. Yakel that had been inherited by
his daughter Emma (now Mrs. Johnson),
where he has since made his home, To the
marriage of Mr. Johnson and Miss Yakel have
been born eight children in the following order:
Harry, who died in infancy; Charles, Susie,
Willard, Nellie, Herman, Alonzo and Rush.
In religion Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are Luther
ans, to which denomination the parents of
Mrs. Johnson also belonged, and in politics
Mr. Johnson is a democrat.
As stated, Mr. Johnson is a skilled agricul
turist, and the products of his farm equal those
produced on any farm in the township. He is
open-hearted and generous in his support in
all measures of merit that tend to the public
good, and is a warm friend of public education
— the bulwark of American liberty. As an
agriculturist he ranks among the foremost of
the township of Ridge, and in his social rela
tions is respected by all who know him.

362

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

iHE GILLILAND FAMILY.— The
Gilliland family is of Scotch-Irish de
scent, and their home was in county
Down, in the north of Ireland. There
were eleven in the family, seven sons and four
daughters. Their names were as follows : John,
Thomas, Hugh, Adam, Andrew, Robert,
James, Jane, Mary, Sarah and Catharine.
Three of the elder brothers came to the United
States first, all the rest apparently intending
to follow, and were on board the vessel when
it was getting ready to sail; but when the sig
nal was given to take in the gang-plank, Cath
arine ran ashore, and refused to accompany
her brothers and sisters. Soon afterward, to
the great sorrow and indignation of the rest of
the family, who were all Presbyterians, and
whose ancestors, on both sides (the Gillilands
and the Gordons), were also Presbyterians, she
married a Catholic, and her name was never
again mentioned in the family.
At an early age, John Gilliland, the father
of the Van Wert branch of the family, in com
pany with one of his brothers, went into north
western Pennsylvania, and there took up what
was known as a "tomahawk right;" that is,
they blazed the trees around a piece of land,
and this gave them a title to it. On their re
turn they were pursued for thirty miles by
Indians. Upon reaching the top of one hill
and looking back, they could see the Indians
coming over the next hill behind them, and the
pursuit was only abandoned when they were
in sight of Fort DuQuesne, now Pittsburg.
John Gilliland, in his flight, killed a fine horse,
and was so disgusted with the results of the
trip that he never returned to claim his ' 'right, "
but gave his interest to one of his brothers,
who improved it; but his descendants are quite
numerous in northwestern Pennsylvania and
southwestern New York at the present day.
Two of the brothers went south, married
and became slave-holders, much to the regret

of the rest of the family, who were greatly
opposed to the holding of human beings in
bondage. One peculiarity of the family is this
—that both males and females retain the family
name; and wherever there are Gillilands found,
they are Presbyterians, if in reach of a church
of that denomination. Of more than fifty
families, some in New York, some in Pennsyl
vania, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ten
nessee, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Washington,
Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, all trace their
ancestry back to some one of the ten brothers
and sisters whose emigration has been described
in the beginning of this sketch.
John Gilliland, after his escape from the
Indians, returned east and lived in Maryland.
He served in the Revolutionary war, was at
the battle of Yorktown and at the surrender of
Cornwallis, being then but little over eighteen
years of age. He married Jane Briggs, by
whom he had a family of nine children, viz :
James, Gordon, John, Thomas, Adam, Robert,
Hugh, Nancy (Mrs. Peter Wills), Sarah (Mrs.
George Guy) and Jane (Mrs. Theopilus King).
John Gilliland was born in 1763 and died in
1826, and his wife was born in 1775 and died
in 1858. James Gordon Gilliland, named after Lord
Gordon, of Ireland, was born May 7, 1800, at
Hagerstown, Md. , where he lived until he was
twenty-two years of age, when he learned the
trade of millwright. After his father's death
he removed his mother's family to Adams-
county, Pa. There he worked at his trade,
and afterward learned that of miller, which he
followed until he moved to Ohio. In 1828 he
married Margaret Lawson, who is still living
(1896) in Van Wert county, at the age of
eighty-seven years. To them were born nine
children, viz : Elmira Frances (Mrs. W. H.
McCoy), Ann Eliza (Mrs. James Montgomery),
Thaddeus Stevens, Harriet (Mrs. J. J. McMil
len), Susan Mary (Mrs. G. G. Parrott, of Mer-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

363

cer county), Josephine (Mrs. D. S. Patterson,
of Crestline, Ohio), Oscar Lawson (died in
1866, aged twenty), Phebe Ophelia (Mrs. J. M.
Ocheltree, of Homer, 111.), and Amanda (wife
of D. P. Dunathan).
In 1833 James Gordon Gilliland, in company
with a man named Wise, with whom he had
worked at the millwright trade, came west to
look up a location for homes for themselves,
walking from Gettysburg, Pa. , to Fort Wayne,
Ind., and back again, averaging over thirty
miles per day for the entire trip, and one day
walking forty-five miles.. They thought for a
time they would locate at Findlay, Ohio, but
they found that the settlers' great dread, milk
sickness, was there, so they pushed on to Fort
Wayne. There they selected a location, and
returned home to make arrangements for the
removal of their families. Mr. Wise concluded
to remain east, and Mr. Gilliland was two years
in making his arrangements. All his goods
and his family he brought with him as far as
Bucyrus, Ohio, in a one-horse wagon. There
he traded his horse for a yoke of oxen, but
soon found that he had made a poor bargain,
as one of them had the trembles (milk sick
ness). He therefore left his family at Bucyrus
and started on to Fort Wayne, but on account
of high water in the streams was unable to
reach Fort Wayne, and he concluded to enter
land in Ridge township, and returned to Bucyrus
for his family. The land he selected was the
east half of section No. 9. It was covered with
black walnut, white ash and hard maple, and
as the Indians burned the woods over every
year, there was no underbrush, and on the
whole it was calculated to captivate a home-
seeker. He also entered 160 acres east of the
infirmary, now owned by William Johnson. Of
this he gave eighty acres to Robert and Hugh, his
brothers, for keeping their mother and sisters,
and sold the other eighty acres to Adam Gilli
land on time. The next spring they sold the

160 acres for $1,000, and bought the half-
section now known as the Adam and Hugh
Gilliland farms.
After reaching his new home, on the last
day of July, 1835, he still found trials and
hardships to encounter. His stock of provisions
running short, he went to Allen county and
bought roasting ears, took them home and
grated them on a grater made out of a tin
bucket. Later in the season he went to Piqua
to mill, that being the nearest point, and
bought corn at a dollar a bushel, being a week
in making the round trip with his ox-team. On
one occasion he went on horseback to Findlay
to buy some crocks and dishes. On his return
he lost his way in the woods; lay down to
rest and sleep until the moon should rise, and
was awakened by some animal smelling of his
face. Springing to his feet, a wolf ran away,
and set up a howl that made his hair stand on
end. When the moon rose he found his way
home. After this a mill was built at Fort
Wayne. He and his brothers then cut a road
through to that place, and for several years all
the milling was done there, only four days be
ing required to make the round trip, if the
milling were properly done; but some times,
on account of the great number of persons col
lecting at the mill at the same time, a man
had to wait two weeks. On an occasion of
this kind at Fort Wayne, when the ground
around the mill for acres was covered with
teams waiting for their turn, Mr. Gilliland, by
going down town and buying a gallon of
brandy, which he quietly hid in the bran, in
forming the miller of the fact, succeeded in
getting his own grist ground during the night,
notwithstanding the pretended opposition of
the miller, and was on his way home by day
light next morning.
Mr. Gilliland was afterward elected treas
urer of the county, and when he made his
settlement with the state, traveled to Colum-

364

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

bus and back on horseback. Money being
then very scarce, he adopted a system of cur
rency of his own, viz. : taking all kinds of furs
at their market value in place of money.
Sometimes three-fourths of the week's receipts
for taxes were in furs. The money that was
collected for taxes he carried about his person,
or secreted it where no one but himself knew
the place.
Not long after coming to the county, Mr.
Gilliland, Smith Hill and John Marks, together
with their wives, organized a church, and had
services each Sunday, the meeting being held
in their respective houses. On one occasion
Mr. Gilliland and his wife, having started to
Hill's to attend class, it occurred to him that
he had better return and conceal what money
he had on hand — several hundred dollars in
gold. The money was secreted by being placed
under the puncheon floor of his house. Upon
returning from class meeting he discovered
that the chest, in which he had been in the
habit of keeping the money, had been broken
open and emptied of its contents, but of course
the money had not been found. Upon looking
round he saw the imprint of a peculiarly shaped
hand-made shoe, and not long afterward found
out who wore the shoe, in this way discovering
the would-be robber; but he never informed
the public who the thief was, he and his broth
ers being the only ones that knew. .However,
he never had anything to do with the man who
wore the peculiarly shaped shoe, though neigh
bors for twenty years.
Notwithstanding that the county was demo
cratic and he was a whig, he was elected sev
eral terms county commissioner, without oppo
sition. Oliver Stacey, one of the early settlers,
having some business to transact with the
commissioners, on one occasion, when he came
out of the court house, remarked: "Well,
we've got ioo commissioners in our county!"
On being asked to explain, he said that he had

' ' found Gordon Gilliland doing all the business,
and the other two sitting round doing nothing,
and that if one and two naughts did not make
ioo, he could not count !"
Mr. Gilliland was very fond of hunting, but
would never take his fall hunt until the last
load of corn was in the crib. He always
brought home with him, from a hunting trip, a
goodly stock of honey and venison. One day,
when appraising land, he shot four wolves, and
at another time he killed a bear within ioo
yards of his house. He had many warm friends
among the Wyandot Indians, and they seldom
returned to Van Wert county without making
him a visit. He was also equally popular
among his white neighbors, and it may be
truthfully said that few men pass through life
with as many warm friends, and as few ene
mies, as he. He was a member of the Presby
terian church, and a most earnest worker for
the cause of religion. His death occurred
October 2, 1862, when he was sixty-two years
of age.

HADD.EUS STEVENS GILLI
LAND, a highly respected citizen of
Van Wert, Ohio, a son of James Gor
don and Margaret Gilliland, was born
October 27, 1834, in Adams county, Pa., and
came to Ohio with his parents in 1835; they
settled in Ridge township, Van Wert county,,
where his boyhood days were spent on the
farm. He attended the district school three
months every two years — part of the time
walking three miles night and morning during
the winter. In 1853 he entered Farmers col
lege at College Hill, near Cincinnati. The
college was conducted by the Carys — Freeman
and Samuel F. During that year Freeman
Cary resigned the presidency of the college
proper to accept the presidency of the farm
department, and Isaac J. Allen was elected

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

365

president. After leaving college he taught
school two winters in Van Wert and Allen
counties, and spent two years in the dry-goods
trade in Elida, and in 1857 returned to Van
Wert county and engaged in clearing up a
farm in Ridge township. November 12, 1857,
he was married to Ruhannah Baker, daughter
of Jacob S. Baker, of Allen county. During
1858, 1859, i860, he taught school in Van
Wert town and left the school-room to enter
the army on the first call of the president for
volunteers in April, 1861, enlisting for three
months. He was chosen orderly sergeant of
company E, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry,
and served under Gen. McClellan in West Vir
ginia until the expiration of the term of enlist
ment. He was engaged in the battles of Phil-
ippi, Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford, and at
the latter battle he was in command of the
company. After being mustered out of service
he returned home, and with W. C. Scott re
cruited company H, of the Fifteenth regiment
Ohio volunteer infantry, of which company
he was made captain and served under Gen.
Buell in Kentucky and Tennessee. He was in
command of his company in the battle of
Pittsburg Landing, in the second day's fight,
and was in the last charge that drove the
enemy off the field, charging past the old
Shiloh church.
At the close of the war he engaged in the
grain and produce trade in Van Wert, in Which
he has been engaged ever since. He has paid
out more money to the farmers and given em
ployment to more people than any man in
the county. His business for several years
amounted to over $300,000 a year, and his
pay-roll frequently reached over $150 a week.
He always made it a rule to pay his hands ev
ery Saturday. He united with the Presbyte
rian church in Van Wert in 1854, and was
chosen an elder in 1863 ; was made a Mason in
1855, in Lima lodge, No. 205, F. & A. M.

He has seen the red men driven from their
hunting grounds in the county; the bear,
wolves and deer disappear, and fine farms
come into existence where once was an almost
impenetrable forest. He well recollects when
it was forty miles north without a house, and
when their nearest neighbors were fifteen miles
away; when the nearest mill was at Piqua, and
they had to go to Sandusky city for salt;
when coonskins passed as currency; saw the
first canal boat, the first stage-coach, and the
first railroad train that came into the county;
can recollect when a school-teacher could get
a certificate if he could read, write, and had
been tHJOftgh the first four rules in arithmetic
and could bound the state of Ohio; recollects
when Morse invented the telegraph and how
the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper made fun
of the idea that men could talk to each other
over a wire forty miles long, He was captain
of company H, Fifteenth regiment Ohio vol
unteer infantry, during the Rebellion, and a
colonel of the Ohio militia, and served two
terms as mayor of Van Wert.
Ruhannah (Baker) Gilliland, wife of T. S.
Gilliland, is the daughter of Jacob S. and
Mary Baker and was born in Allen county,
Ohio, July 27, 1839. Her parents came to
Allen county from Fairfield county, Ohio,
about 1835 or 1836, and were formerly from
Pennsylvania. Her girlhood was spent on the
farm and teaching school until her marriage,
in 1857, when she moved with her husband to
Van Wert county.

m*~f OHN JOHANTGEN has been a success-
A ful farmer of Ridge township, Van Wert
Al county, Ohio, since 1872, and a resi
dent of the Buckeye state since 1837.
He was born in Prussia, in 1834, a son of
Francis and Mary Jane (Dietz) Johantgen, who
came to America with their three sons— -Nich-

366

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

olas, Peter and John — in the year last named,
and for two years, the father followed his trade
of saddler in Dayton, Ohio, whence he moved to
Shanesville, where he lived two years, and then
returned to Dayton and followed his trade five
years longer. He now bought a farm ten miles
north of Dayton, on which he lived eight years;
and then returned to Dayton, where he died Jan
uary 2, 1874, having lost his wife in the same
week in 1873. After arriving in America these
parents had born to them one son, Francis, who
now resides in California. Nicholas the eldest
brother, was a blacksmith and died January
30, 1895, and Peter, the second in the family,
is a shoemaker and makes his home in Dayton.
John Johantgen, the subject of this sketch,
early learned blacksmithing, which trade he
followed a few years only, and then turned his
attention to brickmaking and contracting. In
1864 he first married, in Dayton, Miss Mary
Jane Swaningle, and in 18.72 came to Van
Wert county and purchased his present farm,
which then was comprised of eighty acres, but
to which he has since added twenty acres. To
John and Mary Jane Johantgen were born six
sons and three daughters; viz: Edward John,
who grew to manhood and died in 1888; Car
rie Augusta, wife of George Duprey; Walter
Charles, in the stave business at Mill Shoals,
White county, 111.; Horace, at home; Flora
Alvy, wife of Homer Gilliland; Hayes Wheeler;
Nannie; Francis and Robert Grant. The
mother of this family was called to rest Octo
ber 28, 1888, and on the 16th of March, 1893,
Mr. Johantgen took for his second wife Ma
linda, widow of James H. Bennington and
daughter of William and Lydia (Harp) Hooks.
William Hooks was a native of Ohio, al
ways followed farming, and died December
19, 1 88 1, on his seventy-first birthday; his
widow is now in her eighty-third year. Be
sides Mrs. Johantgen, Mr. and Mrs. Hooks
were the parents of four sons and one daughter,

viz: Reuben, a resident of Liberty township,
Van Wert county; Inman, who lives near
Ohio City; Mary Ann, wife of Philip Miller,
of Liberty township; Abraham, residing near
Rockford, Mercer county, Ohio, and Frank,
who died in February, 1894. Mrs. Johantgen
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church;
in politics, Mr. Johantgen is a republican and
has filled the office of township trustee two
terms. Mr. Johantgen has been very success
ful as a farmer, is also interested in the stave
business in Mill Shoals, 111. , and has won the
respect of the entire community. Within the
past year he has drilled for oil on his farm and
has struck a well that is producing in paying
quantities, thus proving that his farm is in the
Ohio oil belt.

«V^V AVID J. HALE, dealer in agricul-
I I tural implements in the city of Van
/A\^J Wert, Ohio, was born in Cumber
land county, Pa., February 28, 1838.
At the age of eighteen years he came to Ohio
and bought a farm of eighty acres in Wyandot
county, on which he lived until April, 1881,
pursuing the peaceful vocation of the agricul
turist. He married in Wyandot county, Feb
ruary 2, 1858, Miss Sarah A. Snyder, a
daughter of Jesse Snyder, a pioneer of the
county, the union resulting in the birth of four
children, viz: Mary E., deceased; Jesse S.;
and Cinderella G. and Stephen L. , both de
ceased. May 2, 1864, he enlisted in company
A, One Hundred and Forty-fourth Ohio vol
unteer infantry, and was assigned to guard duty
at Baltimore, Md., and faithfully served until
the expiration of his period of enlistment. On
leaving his farm in Wyandot county he located
in Monterey township, Putnam county, pur
chasing a farm on the line dividing Putnam
and Van Wert counties, and there resided un
til 1 89 1, when he came to the city of Van

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MRS. DAVID J. HALE.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

371

Wert and here became local agent for The
Van Wert Hedge Fence company, and also
engaged in the sale of agricultural implements,
handling the Piano binder, the Jones chain
mower, the Birch hand plow, the Brown
wagon, the Hocking Valley loader and tedder
and the Brown wagon Manufacturing com
pany's products in general. Mr. Hale owns
a beautiful home at the corner of Wall and
George streets in the Third ward, and is also
owner of 240 acres on the county line of Put
nam, as mentioned above.
In politics Mr. Hale is a republican, and
in November, 1894, was appointed city coun
cilman, to fill out the unexpired term of O. A.
Balyeat. He is a member of William T. Scott
post, No. 100, G. A. R. , at Van Wert, a
member of the A. P A., and is a class leader
in the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Hale
stands high socially, and is respected for his
quiet, unassuming deportment, and his general
usefulness as a citizen who understands his
duties and never fails to perform them.

ST

'ILLIAM JOHNSON, Jr. , one of the
most thriving and skillful farmers of
Ridge township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is the sixth child born to
William, Sr. , and Ellen (Burcaw) Johnson,
was born in Butler county, Ohio, October 1,
1854, and was consequently but a mere infant
when brought to Van Wert county by his par
ents, who settled in Ridge township March 8,
1856. In the biography of John A. Johnson,
which immediately precedes this sketch-, will
be found fuller details of the life of William
Johnson, Sr. , to which the attention of the
reader is respectively invited, these sketches
being arranged according to seniority. In this
brief memoir are given only the salient events
in the life of William Johnson, Jr. , which may
be summed up as follows:

William Johnson, Jr., was reared on the
home farm and early inured to the toughening
ordeal of that laborious but health-giving vo
cation, and thoroughly instructed in all the
minutiae and arcana of agriculture, so that he
later became one of the most skillful and suc
cessful husbandmen of R'idge township and of
the county — being both practical and intelli
gent. He enjoyed, in youth, the usual school
advantages, and being apt and quick to learn,
soon absorbed all the knowledge which his
teachers were competent to impart — the school
being, of course, what is usually denominated
a " country school." He devoted his working
hours as an able assistant to his father until
1877, when, on September 22, of that year,
he married Miss Mary Weaver, a daughter of
Samuel and Lydia (Price) Weaver, then
highly respected and influential residents of
Butler county, Ohio, but now deceased. To
the congenial union of William and Mary John
son have been born the following children, in
the order here named: Allie May, Effie,
Flora, Sadie, Lendel, William Franklin and
Martin. It may be here mentioned that the
name of Lendell was selected from a half-
hundred suggested by the students of Middle-
point Normal school, which Mr. Johnson's
elder children were then attending, and thus it
was that the fifth child was so christened.
When Mr. Johnson began housekeeping he
located on an eighty-acre tract a short distance
west from his present beautiful home, in the
southeast quarter of section No. 12, Ridge
township, but resided there three months only,
where he moved to a 100-acre farm two miles
north, on which he applied his agricultural skill
during his residence there of nine years; he
then moved to his present site, which he has
improved with an elegant dwelling and first-
class barns and other substantial out-buildings,
and so tilled the land that the farm easily com
pares with, if it does not out-rival, the best in

372

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the county. His possesions now comprise
244 acres of very fine land — not all in one
body, but all within easy access of his home
stead. Mr. Johnson has handled Jersey stock
to some extent, and also some blooded horses,
from which he has derived considerable reve
nue, but husbandry i's his chief employment.
He is a "broad-gauge" and progressive citizen
in all respects, and is giving his children the
best school advantages — a fact in itself indic
ative of a high order of interest on the part of
the parent. His daughter, Allie May, became
proficient in music under the tutorship of Prof.
Owen. This gentleman, it will be remembered,
was awarded the first prize — a medal — at the
Columbian exposition, or "World's" fair, for
his class in vocal music, it being the best
trained of any that contested for superiority
on that historical occasion. Mr. Johnson is a
Knight of Pythias, and is a charter member of
Normal lodge, No. 680, at the organization of
which there were sixty members. In politics
Mr. Johnson is a republican, but has never
been an office seeker. He is content to act
the part of a goon citizen, and, indeed, no
person is more readily recognized as such than
William Johnson, Jr.

<y^V AN S- JOHNSON, superintendent of
I 1 Woodlawn cemetery, and an ex-
S^^f soldier of the Union army, was born
in Orleans county, N. Y. , December
13, 1836. He is a son of Amos C. Johnson,
who was born in Vermont in 1801, was reared
a farmer, and was a farmer all his life. He
married Miss Elizabeth Hix, of New York,
and in 1841 left Orleans county, N. Y. , and
removed to Williams county, Ohio, where he
followed farming until his death, which oc
curred in 1844. He was a democrat in poli
tics, and a member of the Free Will Baptist
church. He was in every way a good man,

was very liberal with his means, and donated
much to public enterprises, but, through mis
fortunes of different kinds, he lost a great deal
of money, and at his death left his family in
rather poor circumstances. He and his wife
were the parents of nine children, as follows:
Jane B., Stephen V., William C, Dan S.,
Harriet M., Matilda M., Carlos B., Sarah M.
and Amos C. Sarah died in 1842; the rest
are living and are all married. The mother of
these children died in 1873, aged sixty-three
years. Dan S. Johnson remained at home with
his mother eleven years, and then worked for
different individuals until the breaking out of
the war, when he enlisted in company G,
Forty-fourth Indiana volunteer infantry, Sep
tember 2, 1 86 1. He was in the battle of
Shiloh, and that of Stone river, and in that of
Chichamauga, and in the latter battle being
wounded twice — first by a piece of shell and
second by a musket ball, which struck him in
the face. This was on September 19, 1863.
He served in the war four years and twelve
days. Mr. Johnson was raised from ranks in
a series of promotions and was mustered out
as captain. Four of his brothers also served
in the war for the Union, and all came out
safely, and are now alive and well.
After being discharged from the army
Mr. Johnson went to Steuben county, Ind.,
where his mother was then living. After
ward we went to Kansas, in which state he
bought a farm, and, returning to Steuben
county, was married to Miss Hena, Hubbell.
He then returned to his Kansas farm and there
remained two and a half years, following
farming on his land. Selling this farm he re
turned to Indiana, where he lived until June 3,
1873, when he came to Ohio, locating in Van
Wert county, where he has since remained.
In politics Mr. Johnson is a strong republican,
and he is a member of the Methodist Episco-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

373

cal church. He is a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic, William C. Scott post,
No. ioo; and of Ben Hur Gasper Court No.
10, K. of P. He is receiving a moderate pen
sion from the government, which he appre
ciates, yet it is poor pay for the sacrifice and
hardships endured from a monetary standpoint;
yet Mr. Johnson is one of the many that are
proud of the title of a soldier, feeling that he
did nothing but his duty in defending the flag.
In 1878 Mr. Johnson was appointed street
commissioner and filled that office five years,
and in 1891 was elected to the same position
for two years, but at the end of one year he
resigned to accept the position of superintend
ent of Woodland cemetery at Van Wert, a po
sition which he still retains.
By his marriage to Miss Hubbell he is the
father of the following children: Caroline L. ,
born in Kansas; Mary V., born in Indiana;
Earl R. , who graduated with the class of 1896
from the Van Wert high school; Hugh C.,whr
is a member of the Epworth league, and Flor
ence M., all three born in Van Wert county,
Ohio. Florence M. died in Monroeville, Ind.,
•in 1886; Caroline L. is the wife of Philip
Krick, formerly of Monroeville, Ind., Miss
Hena Hubbell, wife of the subject of this
sketch, was born in Knox county, Ohio, No
vember 24, 1 847. She is a daughter of George
B. Hubbell, who was born August 21, 18 19,
also in Knox county. He was reared on a
farm and received his education in the common
schools, and afterward studied medicine with
an uncle in Cincinnati. After becoming thor
oughly qualified to practice medicine he estab
lished himself in Knox county, and practiced
there for some time, and removed thence to
Delaware county, and later to Steuben county,
Ind., and still later returned to Knox county,
Ohio, and all through his professional career
he was unusually successful. He was married
to Miss Nancy Fox, of New Jersey, by whom

he was the father of the following children:
Burton, Charles, Hena, Ordemas, and Lo-
dema. Ordemas died in 1850. George B.
Hubbell was a republican, a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and a very liberal
man in every way, freely giving of his means
to the support of his church and to all worthy
enterprises. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are among
the best people of Van Wert county, honest
and upright, true to all their duties in the vari
ous relations in life, and are highly respected
by all who know them. The family are all
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Johnson owns a residence property on
South Walnut street. Mrs. Johnson and
daughter Mary are members of the Relief corps,
No. 18, Van Wert, Ohio.

m^J* BROUGH JOHNSON, son of Davis
A and Susan A. Johnson, was born August
Al 17, 1863, in Van Wert county (see
sketch of Davis Johnson). He was
educated in the schools of Van Wert, reared a
farmer, and on the 17th day of August, 1886,
was united in marriage to Laura F. Ferguson,
daughter of James K. and Henrietta Ferguson.
Shortly after his marriage Mr. Johnson built
his present home in Van Wert, where he has
since resided. He is engaged in farming and
stock-raising, in both of which his success has
been most encouraging. He is a public-spirit
ed man, quiet, but progressive, one of the
prominent citizens of Van Wert, and his home,
on North Washington street, is the abode of
plenty and true-hearted hospitality. While a
republican in politics, he has never been an
aspirant for official position; contributes to his
party's success, state and national, but in
local elections votes for the man best fitted for
the office, irrespective of party affilitiation.
The father of Mrs. Johnson, James K. Fer
guson, was born in Richland county, Ohio,

374

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

about the year 1822, and was married, in
1846, to Henrietta Stout, and reared a family
consisting of the following children : Will
iam, painter of Van Wert; Mary, wife of George
Torrey, of Union township; Laura; John, who
resides in Van Wert; Celina, teacher in the
public schoolsof Van Wert; Charley, a printer,
and Maud, teacher of music — the last two liv
ing in the city of Van Wert. When a small
boy, James K. Ferguson accompanied his par
ents to Kenton, Ohio, where he remained un
til 185 1, at which time he came to the county
of Van Wert, and engaged in cabinet-making,
and later, for a number of years; followed the
painter's trade in the city and throughout the
county. Originally, he was an old line whig
in politics, later became a republican, and is
still living, being at this time, perhaps, the
oldest member of the Masonic fraternity in the
city of Van Wert. Mrs. Ferguson was born
about 1825, in Maryland, and was the daugh
ter of a hero of the war of 18 12, whose birth
occurred about the year 1792, in Berks coun
ty, Pa. Grandfather Stout served as sheriff
at Hagerstown, Md., prior to the late war,
and died about eighteen years ago at the age
-of eighty-four.

K^\ ENJAMIN JOHNSON, a highly re-
1''^ spectable and prosperous farmer of
^A\J Willshire township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a native of Pennsylvania and
was born June 1, 1839. His father, Elias
Johnson, was born in Brooke county, Va. ,
was reared a farmer, and was married in his
native county to Miss Jemima Dimmit, daugh
ter of Jacob Dimmit. To this couple were
born the following children: Benjamin, Wil
son, Elizabeth, Jacob, Mary C, Marietta and
Annetta. The parents of this family settled in
Willshire, Van Wert county, Ohio, in 1850,
and here the father died June 11, 186 1, his

wife having departed in September, 1859,
greatly venerated by their neighbors as pio
neers and as members of the United Brethren
church. Benjamin Johnson was but ten years of age
when his parents settled on a part of his pres
ent farm in Willshire township; since then he
has become one of the prominent agriculturists
of the county and has assisted in converting
the township from a wilderness into a garden.
His marriage took place June 24, i860, to
Delilah Morehead, daughter of Vinton and
Phebe (Heller) Morehead, and to this con
genial union have been born the following chil
dren: Wilson W. , Rosa, Melvin A., Annie,
Callinda A. and Benjamin F. (deceased) and
an infant, also deceased. Of the above, Wil
son W. was married December 21, 1887, to
Miss Nellie Mason, daughter of Gustavus and
Mary (Trunky) Mason — the former a farmer of
Defiance county, Ohio. The home farm of
Mr. Johnson contains 180 acres, is well ditched
and well stocked, and no better-kept farm of
its size exists in the county. In politics Mr.
Johnson is a republican, and in religion is a
pillar in the radical branch of the United
Brethren in Christ. He has seen a mighty
change made in Van Wert county, since, when
a child of ten years, he sat on the puncheon
slabs that formed the seats of the old-fash
ioned log school-house. Mr. Johnson is one
of the hard-working, thorough-going, upright
men, and is most favorably known throughout
the county of Van Wert.

ORLAND W. JOHNSTONE, the ac
commodating passenger and freight
agent of the C, J. & M. R. R. com
pany at Van Wert, Ohio, was born
in Marion, Ohio, September 23, 1859, a son
of John C. and Louisa (Baker) Johnstone, of
whom the former was born in Wayne county,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

375-

Ohio, January 25, 1830, and the latter in
Marion, Ohio, May 21, 1836; they were mar
ried in Marion in 1856, when they located in
Van Wert, where John C. practiced law until
1859; thence they removed to Marion, where
Mr. Johnstone has since continued the practice
of his profession, now ranking among the best
attorneys of the state. They are parents of
three children, to-wit: Genevra, recognized
as one of the most accomplished vocalists in
America, and wife of R. W. Bishop, M. D.,
of Chicago, 111.; Orland W., subject of this
sketch, and Homer C, secretary of the Ohio
Coal company, at Saint Paul, Minn. The
father is a member of the I. O. O. F. and is
a K. of P. ; in religion he is a Methodist, while
his' wife is a devout Baptist. He has acquired
considerable property in Marion, and also holds
a large interest in an Arizona ranch, located
on the irrigating canals and stocked with
horses and mules and also devoted to the
growing of fruit.
Orland W. Johnstone was reared to man
hood in his native city and there received his
preliminary education; in 1871 and 1872 he
attended the Lincoln (Neb.) Military school,
and in 1873-74-75 was a student in Oberlin
college, Ohio; in 1876 he attended the Hills
dale college, and for the three following years
was employed in school-teaching in Wyandot
and Marion counties, Ohio; he then eagaged
with the Hocking Valley Railroad company,
at Toledo, Ohio, as extra agent along its line,
and filled the position for ten years; thence he
went to Portland, Ore., where he acted as
train dispatcher for the Portland & Willamette
Valley Railroad company for eight months,
and then, in September, 1889, came to Van
Wert and entered upon the performance of
the duties of passenger and freight agent for
the C, J. & M. R. R. company, which posi
tion he has since filled to the satisfaction of
the company and the general public. The

marriage of Mr. Johnstone took place at Mor-
ral, Marion county, Ohio, June 12, 1882, to
Miss Emma L. Fowler, who was born at Lit
tle Sandusky, Ohio, November 27, 1863, a
daughter of S. P. and Martha A. (Coon) Fow
ler, and this happy union has been blessed by
the birth of two children — Marguerite and
Genevra. Mr. and Mrs. Johnstone are mem
bers of the Universalist church, and frater
nally Mr. Johnstone is a knight templar Mason;
in politics he is a strong and prominent repub
lican. He is also one of the organizers of the
Van Wert Hedge Fence company, and has an
enviable reputation as a business man in gen
eral. Both he and wife enjoy a large and pleas
ant social acquaintance.

>j'OHN L. JONES, now a thriving farmer
A of Washington township, Van Wert.
A 1 county, Ohio, was born in northern
Wales, May 20, 1830, and is a son of
Lewis and Eliza (Lewis) Jones. Lewis Jones,
the father, died when our subject was but two
years old, leaving four children, viz: Evan L. ;.
William, who died at the age of twenty-five
years; Lizzie, and John L. Mrs. Jones re
mained a widow and died in Wales without
further issue.
John L. Jones was reared to farm work,
receiving but a limited education, and that was
obtained in the Sunday-school of his native
parish. In 1855 he came to America and
found employment in a boiler shop in Cin
cinnati, Ohio, until the breaking out of the
Civil war, when he enlisted, in May, 1864, in
company A, One hundred and Thirty-eightb
Ohio volunteer infantry, for 100 days, and
served on guard duty in Maryland, at Point
Lookout, and performed his duty promptly and
cheerfully, but was greatly exposed and endured
considerable suffering. He received an hon
orable discharge in July, 1864, at Cincinnati,

376

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

but was much debilitated by chronic diarrhoea.
He returned to work in the boiler shop, and
May 2, 1866, married Margaret E. Evans, who
was born March 11, 1838, in southern Wales,
a daughter of Evan J. and Mary (James) Evans,
this union resulting in the birth of five children,
viz: Mary Jane, Elizabeth, Anna, Evan (who
died at one year of age), William Henry and
Margaret Esther.
To Evan J. Evans and his wife, the par
ents of Mrs. John L. Jones, were born nine
children, named as follows: Elizabeth, Mary,
John, Evan, Edward, Ann, Jane, Murgaret
and James — all born in Wales, Mr. Evans
was a carpenter by trade, but became a farmer
by buying forty acres of land in the wild woods
of Jackson county, Ohio, which by dint of in
dustry he converted into a fertile farm, on
which he lived in peace and comfort the latter
years of his life, and died at the age of seventy-
two years, a member, and also a Sunday-
school teacher, of the Methodist church, of
which his wife was also a devotee. He was a
remarkably industrious man and held the re
spect of his fellow-citizens, who elected him to
several local offices, such as supervisor and
school director, and gave many other demon
strations of the esteem in which they held him.
Mr. Jones, after marriage, continued to
work at boiler-making in Cincinnati for about
five years, and then removed to Dayton, Ohio,
where he followed the same business a year or
more, and then, in 1873, came to Van Wert
county, and bought eighty acres of land in the
woods of Washington township, where he
cleared up a space for a log cabin, and under
the advice and assistance of his kindly neigh
bors soon made an excellent farm, and now has
a tasteful and substantial residence and a home
that compares favorably with any in the
neighborhood. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are mem
bers of the Calvinistic Methodist church, and
in politics is a republican. They have reared

a family of respected children, and they them
selves are greatly respected for their industry,
kindly actions as neighbors, and consistent
walk through life as sincere Christians.

eDWARD T. JONES, of York town
ship, Van Wert county, is a native of
Jackson county, Ohio, was born in
June, 1843, and is a son of Thomas
T. and Mary (Edwards) Jones, both natives of
Wales. Thomas T. Jones, the father, lived to
be eighty-four years of age and was then killed
by a runaway horse; his wife died at the age of
ninety years; they were the parents of the fol
lowing children : Ann, deceased wife of
Thymas Allan; Thomas, who grew to man
hood but is now dead; David T., who died at
the age of fifty years; Ebenezer, who lives in
Jackson county, Ohio; Margaret, wife of Owen
Morris, of York township. All the above chil
dren were born in Wales; the following are na
tives of Jackson county, Ohio: Elizabeth, wife
of Evan Williams, also deceased; Edward T. ,
our subject; Elizabeth, who died in girlhood,
and for whom the first grave was made for
any of the Welsh people of Jackson county,
Ohio; she was buried in the wood where after
ward was erected the Calvinistic church; John,
the next born, grew to manhood and died in
Jackson county, and Mary, the youngest child,
resides in Columbus, Ohio.
October 25, 1866, Edward T. Jones was
united in marriage with Jane Owens, a native
of Van Wert county and a daughter of David
and Sarah (Griffith) Owens, both of whom
were born in Wales, came to Ohio in 1837,
and in 1848 settled in Venedocia, Wan Wert
county, on land now occupied by William J.
Bebb. Mrs. Jones' father brought with him
from Wales his wife and one son, David, who
enlisted in the late Civil war and died while in
the service with typhoid fever; Mary became

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

377

the wife of John M. Jones and died in 1877.
The children born in America were Thomas
M., who died in infancy; Sarah, who died
about the age of twenty years; Elizabeth, who
died in girlhood; Jane, wife of our subject;
Hannah, who died in babyhood; John C. , died
after reaching manhood in Kenton, Nebr, and
Richard E., commonly known as "Dick."
The beautiful farm of 160 acres, now owned
by our subject, was a gift from his father; it
was however, at that time an entire wilder
ness and has since been cleared up by Mr.
Jones. Here he and his wife have flourished
and raised a family of eleven children, viz :
Sarah Ann, wife of D. R. Owens; Thomas T.,
married Miss Anna J. Owens; and David Owen;
May Elizabeth, who died in early childhood;
Mary; John Newton and Margaret J., twins;
Ebenezer and a twin sister, the later deceased;
Everett; Edward Oliver, deceased in infancy.
The family worship at the Calvinistic church
and in politics Mr. Jones is a republican. His
farm is one of the best improved in the town
ship and he also owns a fine farm of 166 acres
in Washington township, and no family of
York township is more highly respected than
that of Edward T. Jones.

eVAN L. JONES, one of the old set
tlers of Washington township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, is a Welshman
by birth and is a son of Lewis Jones,
who was a son of Lewis, a butcher of Wales,
who died at the extreme age of eighty-four
years. Lewis Jones, the father of our subject,
was a weaver by trade, also a miller, and mar
ried Elizabeth Lewis, to which union were born
three children — John L., William and Evan
L., our subject; the father died when his son,
our subject, was but a little boy.
Evan L. Jones was born in the village of
Raden Melton, Montgomeryshire, Wales, Au

gust 3, 1832, and learned to read his mother
tongue in his native land, and to write in Cin
cinnati, Ohio, after his days's work was done.
He had been reared on a farm in Wales to the
age of fourteen years, and then, the last of
May, 1 846, in company with his younger brother,
William, the about ten years old, came to
America, with a colony of twenty-five of their
young countrymen. They sailed from Liver
pool, England, in the good ship Elizabeth
Barclay, and after a voyage of thirty-three
days, landed in New York July 1. Coming to
Ohio, Mr. Jones found work in the rolling-mills
at Cincinnati, there being many Welshman in
the iron business in that city, and finally be
came an adept puddler — a calling he followed
for twenty-five years. In May, 1 861, in Cin
cinnati, Mr. Jones was united in marriage with
Miss Jane Bruce, also a native of Wales, who
came to America with her grandparents, who
were pioneers of Venedocia, Ohio. Mrs. Jones
survived her wedding day about one year, when
she died in Cincinnati, leaving no children, and
for many years Mr. Jones mourned her loss.
Preparatory to and during the early part of
the Civil war, Mr. Jones was employed in roll
ing iron plates for the United States gunboats,
and in 1863 made a trip to California, sailing
from New York to Panama and thence to San
Fransisco, whence he went to the Sierra Ne
vada mountains, and for twelve years was
engaged in gold mining, at which he met with
acundant success. At the end of the period
mentioned he returned east, and in 1880 came
to Van Wert county, Ohio, here he purchased
a tract of 160 acres of woodland in Washington
township, and by dint of hard labor of which
he is capable, has cleared up his land and
made a farm and home equal to any in the
township. The second marriage of Mr. Jones was
solemnized, in 1886, with Mrs. Ann Davis,
widow of Edward B. Davis, a pioneer of Van

378

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Wert county, and this happy union was blessed
by the birth of four children — Daniel, Mar
garet, Maria and Annie. He and wife are
consistent members of the Methodist church,
and in politics he is a republican". He is made
of the metal of which the citizens of a republic
should be constituted, with thews and sinews
to match. He has had a varied experience,
and it may be said has endured some suffering.
At one time, while crossing a valley in the
Sierra-Nevadas, at Fremont pass, he and two
companions, having met with no water for
many days, came near dying from thirst; their
tongues were swollen almost to an extent suffi
cient to produce suffocation and blackened
through want of circulation, and when water was
at last obtained, its use in itself produced an al
most unendurable, although temporary, agony.
But Mr. Jones survived it all, and has lived to see
the day when he has become a substantial citi
zen, in the enjoyment of the fruits of his early
industry and frugality, and surrounded by a
host of friends who delight to do him honor.

eLIZABETH HATTERY, widow of
Josiah Hattery, late of Pleasant town
ship, Van Wert county, was born in
Columbiana county, Ohio, April 27,
1822, a daughter of Joseph and Anna (Mont
gomery) Ritter. The father was a native of
Pennsylvania, born in 1787, of Dutch parent
age. He was educated in his native state and
in early life learned the trade of a millwright,
and subsequently owned and operated a mill.
About the year 18 12 he married Anna Mont
gomery, daughter of James and Anna (Brady)
Montgomery. To their union were born the
following children; Martha, deceased wife of
Hezekiah Bennett; Elizabeth, of this mention;
John, deceased; Sarah, widow of James Hoghe;
Joseph, deceased. The mother of these chil
dren died in 1854 and the father in about 1884.

Elizabeth Hattery, subject of this memoir,
was reared on a farm, and received a limited
education in the common schools of her early
days, and in 1841 was united in marriage to
Josiah Hattery; to them were born the follow
ing children; Martha, wife of Jacob Mohr of
Hoaglin township; Joseph S., of Waterloo,
Iowa; Mary, now at home with her mother;
Dr. John E., of Celina; Esther E., widow of
John Montgomery; Thomas, of Dubuque, Iowa.
Josiah Hattery, the husband and father,
was born in Virginia, in 1821, the son of An
drew and Rachael (Smith) Hattery, of old Vir
ginia stock. When a boy Mr. Hattery came
with his parents to Carroll county, Ohio, in
wagons, by an overland route, and here was
educated in the common school, and in early
manhood learned the trade of cabinet-making.
For three years following his marriage he lived
in Carroll county, where he followed his trade.
In 1844, ne moved to Van Wert, then a small
village,, and soon established himself as the
first cabinet-maker of the town, and there car
ried on the business for a number of years, until
failing health compelled him to abandon his
trade and adopt farming as the means of a
livelihood. About 1854, he purchased the
farm on which his family now resides, then a
strip of wild woodland. This he proceeded to-
clear and improve, and from that time until
his death he was associated with the agricultural
interests of ths county, in addition to which
he was a contractor and builder, and many of
the better buildings of his home community
are monuments of his handwork. Mr. Hattery
was one of the progressive and enterprising
men of his day, a thorough agriculturist, and
one in whom the confidence of the people was
never betrayed. Politically he espoused the-
cause of the republican party and was a stanch
supporter of the principles he advocated. He
took an active interest in the welfare of the
community in which he lived, and no enter-

&£'c^cu^^ /r^zZ&y?^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

383

prise that was for the good of the community
or county at large passed by him without his
endorsement and support. He was a skilled
workman and was quite successful in all his
pursuits in life, upright and honorable in all
his dealings with men, and had the respect and
esteem of all who knew him. His death oc
curred January 27, 1880, and in his death, a
kind and indulgent father and husband was
taken away, as well as a good citizen. He and
his wife were worthy members of the Presby
terian church. Mrs. Hattery still resides upon
the old home farm with her daughters, having
passed the alloted period of three score and
ten, and with complacency looks back upon a
long and useful life.

WOHN J. JONES, a substantial farmer
A of York township, Van Wert county,
A 1 was born in Jackson county, Ohio,
~~ September 16, 1853, a son of John H.
and Mary (Edwards) Jones. In company with
his brother, D. J. Jones, he came to Van
Wert county, in 1876, and purchased a tract
of land, in which his brothers and sisters were
equally interested, the tract comprising 160
acres, entirely without improvements. July 4,
1879, ne felled the first tree to clear a space
for his dwelling, and erected thereon a resi
dence much superior to those of the locality
and times. The forest was so dense and
crowded so closely upon him that he made it a
business to burn his brush at night, in order to
keep better trace of the straying sparks.. In
three years from the date of his settlement he
had widened his little patch of sunshine until
sixty-three acres of his forest home were trans
formed into fertile fields, yielding him the
reward that honest toil assures to the diligent.
Not only is his farm now improved with com
modious and modern buildings and wind-
engine, but Mr. Jones has laid therein more
"17

than 9,000 rods of tile; his farm will now
compare most favorably with any of its size in
the township and leave a rich reward for the
labor bestowed upon it; not only is Mr. Jones
a thoroughly practical farmer, but is also a
wide-awake and competent business man. He
has the agencies for the Star wind-pump, the
Nicholos thresher, and the Mast Wild Fence
company, with his office on South Washing
ton street, Van Wert, at the hardware store
of Mr. Kime.
October 23, 1879, Mr. Jones was united in
marriage with Mary Elizabeth Pritchard, and
this union was blessed with the following chil
dren: Mary Elizabeth, Annie Jane, Johnny,
Edna, and Unice, who died in infancy. The
mother of these children died October 10,
1889, and Mr. Jones subsequently married Mary
Ann Davis, a daughter of David and Elizabeth
Davis. One child, David Oswald, has come
to bless this union, shedding a new light in
the household, Mr. and Mrs. Jones are ear
nest christian people, and so deport themselves
as to gain the honor and respect of all their
neighbors. Mr. Jones has served as trustee of
the township of York, has always been indus
trious and enterprising, and few men of the
township stand as high as he, either as a farmer
or business man.

>-t»OHN M. JONES, a resident of York
A township, Van Wert county, is a native
A 1 of Cincinnati, Ohio, born October 10,
1849, a son of Hugh F. and Mary
(Morris) Jones, both natives of Wales, and
who came to America in their single days, and
wedded in Cincinnati, where his father was
employed as head sawyer. Hugh F. Jones
was born in 18 19 and reached Cincinnati in
1846; then in 1850 he came to Van Wert
county, bearing a son, John M., on his back
from Spencerville, Ohio. He had, however,

384

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

previously entered eighty acres of land near
Jonestown, York township, where he settled
in the thicket, and at once set about clearing
away the forest. He afterward added to this
tract 142 acres, and later purchased 160 acres,
120 of which are now owned by John M., our
subject. The children born to Hugh F. and
Mary Jones were named as follows: John M. ;
Elizabeth; Margaret, wife of T. M. Jones, of
Missouri; David, also of Missouri; Jane, de
ceased wife of David E. Lewis; Sarah, wife of
Evan A. Davis, of Marion, Ind.; Edward R.,
of York township, and Mary C. , residing on
the old homestead. Hugh F. Jones, the father
of John M., died April 10, 1890, aged seventy
years, eight months and seven days. His com
panion had been called to her last resting
place February 2, 1870.
John M. Jones, our subject, labored faith
fully on his father's farm until attaining his
majority; he had good educational advantages,
and quit the school to begin teaching, which
profession he followed for fifteen winters; after
quitting the public schools, however, he at
tended the normal school at Delphos, and
later at Van Wert. February 24, 1884, he
was united in wedlock with Miss Maria Will
iams, a native of Portage county, Ohio, but
a resident, at the time of her marriage, of Ma
con county, Mo. She was an accomplished
lady and a teacher in the high schools of New
Cambria, Mo. ; her parents were Moses and
Mary (Evans) Williams, both deceased. In
the spring of the same year Mr. Jones began
the cultivation of his present farm. The chil
dren born to John M. Jones and wife were
named as follows: Ada Mary, Hattie Jane,
and Hugh Moses.
In politics Mr. Jones is a stanch member
of the republican party, has served as town
ship assessor two terms, and in April, 1896,
was elected township clerk— 7his father having
been treasurer for more than a quarter of a

century, twenty-three years of this time hav
ing been passed in office continuously. His
father died honored and respected by all who
knew him, he and wife having been for many
years consistent members of the Welsh Pres
byterian church. Hugh F. Jones also served
as trustee and assessor of his township, as
well as land appraiser for two terms. John
M. Jones is a highly honored citizen of the
township, is industrious, pious, and is a most
excellent citizen in all respects.

^V* D. JONES. — Among the well known
A citizens of Jennings township, Van
A J Wert county, Ohio, entitled to specific
mention, is J. D. Jones, who was born
of Welsh parentage in Jackson county, Ohio,
on the Sth of August, 1859. His parents,
David S. and Ann (Morgan) Jones, came to
America in 1857, and located in Jackson
county, Ohio, where for a number of years the
father was employed in the Jefferson furnace.
They had a family of children, whose names
are here given: J. D., subject of this sketch;
Mary, wife of D. H. Edwards; and Rachel,
wife of John Pritchard, of Chicago. About
the year i860 David Jones brought his family
to Van Wert county, and located on the farm
in Jennings township where his son, J. D.,
now resides. As is well known, the south
ern part of the county at that time was
not very highly improved, and Mr. Jones
found his land almost as nature had made it.
He erected a small cabin, which in time was
replaced by a more comfortable and preten
tious structure, but the first modest dwelling
served Mr. Jones as a home until his death,
which was caused by the explosion of a mill.
His widow subsequently became the wife of
Morgan H. Morgan, and died September 24,
1883. J. D. Jones, like the majority of men who

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

385

came to Van Wert when the country was new,
passed the early years of his uneventful life
amid the rugged duties of the farm, and he
early selected agriculture for his life work.
He was married, in 1 88 1 , to Margaret Evans,
daughter of Zachariahand Jane (Jones) Evans.
The parents of Mrs. Jones were born in north
Wales; they came to the United States a
number of years ago, locating on what is known
as Paddy's Run, Butler county, Ohio, and in
1845 moved to the county of Allen, locating
near the town of Gomer, where the father died
in 1886, his widow following him to the grave
two years later. Zachariah and Jane Evans
were the parents of five children — May, Anna,
Margaret, Thomas and Richard — the last
named dying in childhood. Mr. Jones owns a
splendid farm with fine improvements, includ
ing good barns and a commodious dwelling,
supplied with many modern conveniences.
He is, in every respect, a self-made man, and
has forged his way to the front by-overcoming
obstacles that would have discouraged men
with less will and determination. His reputa
tion in the community is a most excellent one,
and he numbers his friends by the score, and
although still a young man has won for him
self a conspicuous place among the substantial
citizens of the township in which he resides.
He is a member of the Calvinistic Methodist
church, to which his wife also belongs, and is
active in all church work. He has decided
opinions relative to the liquor traffic, and
believes that prohibition is the only sure
remedy for this gigantic evil; accordingly, he
supports with his ballot the prohibition party.

Sr— * ENRY KANNEL, a prosperous farmer
i^\ of Pleasant township, Van Wert
A .r county, is a son of Joseph and Peggy
(Welsh) Kannel, and was born in
Richland county, Ohio, in 1848. Joseph, the

father, was born in Adams county, Pa., in
181 5, and was a son of Jacob, who was born
in Germany about the year 1770, and when a
young man settled in the Keystone state.
About 1832 Jacob came to Ohio, located in
Stark county, where he passed four years, and
then removed to Richland county, where he
died in 1845. Joseph Kannel, the youngest
son of Jacob by a marriage to a lady who bore
the maiden name of Hoover, came to Stark
county with his parents, and learned the trade
of carpenter and builder. In 1853 he moved
to a farm he had long previously purchased in
Crawford county, and there died February 2,
1890. Miss Peggy Welsh, whom Joseph Kan
nel married December 6, 1839, m Richland
county, bore to her husband seven children,
viz: Mary and James, who died in childhood;
Margaret; Henry, the subject of this sketch;
Sarah J. ; a deceased infant, and John, who
still lives on the homestead in Crawford
county. The mother of these children was
born in Richland county, Ohio, April 14, 1817,
and is still living on the farm in Crawford
county, a member of the United Brethren
church, of which her husband had also been a
member. Henry Kannel, the subject of this sketch,
was educated in Crawford county, Ohio, first
attending the little log-cabin school of his
neighborhood, and later attending a seminary
at Lexington, Richland county, and for two
terms an 'institution of learning in Ashland
county. In his early youth he had learned
the carpenter's trade, but preferred teaching
for a livelihood, and in 1869 entered upon his
vocation in Crawford county. For eleven
terms he followed the profession, and of these
eleven terms three were taught in Seneca
county. The marriage of Mr. Kannel took
place December 25, 1877, to Miss Lucy A.
Briegel, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth
(Shaffer) Briegel, and to this union one daugh-

386

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ter has been born and named Alvira C. Mrs.
Lucy A. Kannel is a native of Crawford county,
Ohio, and was born in 1853. Her father was
born in Baden, Germany, about 18 12, and
when twenty-one years old came to America
and settled in Pennsylvania, where he married
Elizabeth Shaffer, who bore eleven children to
the union. After his marriage Mr. Kannel
lived in Bloomville, Seneca county, about
eleven years, following his trade, that of a car
penter. In 1886 he purchased the farm on
which he still lives, in Pleasant township, Van
Wert county, where he has since been engaged
most successfully in agricultural pursuits. Mr.
and Mrs. Kannel are members of the Meth
odist Episcopal church, and by their daily
walk through life give full evidence of their
sincere belief in its teachings. In politics Mr.
Kannel is a republican, and, though no office
seeker, never fails to show his loyalty to his
party through the exercise of his franchise.

aALEB JOSEPH, a veteran of the
Civil war, who lost a leg in the serv
ice of his country, and is now a resi
dent of Van Wert, Ohio, is a native
of Lawrence county, Pa., is a son of William
and Lydia (Brown) Joseph, and was born
April 6, 1842. The maternal grandfather of
our subject, William Tindall, was a soldier of
the Revolutionary war, and the Joseph family
were of very old Pennsylvania stock. William
Joseph was a miner by occupation, and was
the father of seven children, viz: Marinda,
John, Caleb, Joshua C, Mary, William and
Eleanor. The father, William, when about
forty years of age, was killed in a stone quarry,
in 1 85 1, by the premature or accidental dis
charge of a blast. Three of his sons served
in the Civil war, viz: John, who was in the
One Hundredth Pennsylvania infantry a short
time; Caleb, whose services will be related be

low, and Joshua C, who served over four
years, and who, during his term, was shot
through the lung at Chickamauga, and after
his recovery was placed in the invalid corps,
where he had a leg broken; he eventually died
at Convoy, this county, of the combined effects
of his injuries.
Caleb Joseph, our subject, received the
usual common-school education, and was be
tween nineteen and twenty years of age when
he enlisted, August 27, 1861, at New Wilming
ton, Lawrence county, Penn., in company B,
One Hundredth Pennsylvania infantry, under
Capt. M. E. Dawson, to serve three years or
during the war, but on account of wounds re
ceived, was honorably discharged December
13, 1862, at Hilton Head, S. C. He fought
at Hilton Head and James Island, and at the-
latter place was struck by a piece of shell in
the left leg, the lower part of which was left.
hanging by the tendons; he was at once taken
to the field hospital, where the limb was am
putated, and was then sent to the general hos
pital at Hilton Head to be nursed and cared
for, and was there under treatment over two-
months. After his return home to Pennsyl
vania he learned shoemaking, and married,
September 26, 1864, Rachael Stevens, daugh
ter of Moses and Levina (Howe) Stevens. Mr.
Joseph, after marriage, resided at New Castle,
Lawrence county, Pa., until about 1870, when
he came to Van Wert county, Ohio, and pur
chased forty acres of land, on which he made-
his home for thirteen years and then sold, be
ing unable to attend to it on account of his
army disabilities, and for a number of years.
thereafter passed much of his time in travel
and in the recreation of hunting and fishing.
He has three times visited Puget sound for the
purpose of hunting deer, elk and moose, and
engaging in salmon fishing, Mrs. Joseph being
his companion. They have passed seven years
on the Pacific coast and have visited British

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

387

Columbia, Manitoba and Canada, and they
own a nice estate on Puget sound. To Mr
and Mrs. Joseph no children have been born,
but they have adopted a daughter, whom they
have reared from eleven months of age, and
who is named Florence Jones. She has been
well educated and is now the wife of William
W. Walls, a farmer of McMurray, Puget sound,
and is the mother of one child.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph are members of the
Methodist church, in which he has been a
Sunday-school superintendent many years; in
politics he is a republican and has twice been
a member of the republican county conventions
at Puget sound, affiliating with the party of
the same name at that point; he is a member
of Capper post, G. A. R. , at Convoy, Van
Wert county, Ohio, and was a strong man
when he entered the army, but has been a
constant sufferer since the loss of his leg; nev
ertheless, he possesses a genial temper and
pleasant manners and a character pure and
unsullied.

iy~\ ENJAMIN KELTNER, a respectable
l^^ik farmer of Washington township, Van
^A^J Wert county, Ohio, is a native of this
state, and was born in Darke county
February i, 1842, where his earlier days were
passed upon the home farm. His father,
Michael Keltner, was born in Schuylkill county,
Pa., of German descent, August 23, 1805, and
is now living with his son in Hoaglin township,
Van Wert county, Ohio.
Michael Keltner, when a boy, was brought
to Ohio by his parents, who settled in Warren
county, where the boy became a man and first
married Miss Susan Wertz, of Pennsylvania-
Dutch descent, to which union were born five
children — William, Ira, Martin, David and
Sarah. After his marriage, Mr. Keltner farmed
in Warren county until 1838, when he moved

to Darke county and cleared up eighty acres
from the woods on his own account, beside
doing a large amount of work for other parties.
There his wife died, and there his second mar
riage took place to Sarah Wolfe, who was of
Scotch-Irish ancestry. This union resulted in
the birth of ten children, who were named
Benjamin (our subject), Louis, Nathaniel,
Robert, Eli, Edward, Harriet, Catherine, Ellen
and Jennie. In 1862 Mr. Keltner came to Van
Wert county and is now retired from active
life, making his home, at the extreme age of
ninety-two years, with his son, Louis. In re
ligion he is of the Evangelical faith, although
originally a German Baptist. In politics he
was first a democrat, but after three of his sons
had volunteered in defense of the Union he
became a republican. Of these three sons,
Louis served about ten months in the Forty-
seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, and Nath
aniel, for a year, in the Forty-sixth Ohio. The
military record of the eldest, Benjamin, will be
detailed in a coming paragraph.
Benjamin Keltner, with whose life this
sketch is most concerned, after leaving his fa
ther's farm, was for a year or so a clerk in a
grocery store, and afterward began his busi
ness life as a cattle dealer, which he carried on
quite extensively on his own account. He was
still a young man when he came to Van Wert
county, in October, 1859, and in i860 bought
forty acres across the line in Paulding county,
to which he subsequently added by purchase
another tract of 160 acres. Making sale of
this property, he bought eighty acres in Jack
son township, Van Wert county, cleared this
tract up and made another good farm.
The enlistment of Mr. Keltner took place
in Darke county, Ohio, September 19, 1861,
in company F, Fortieth Ohio volunteer in
fantry, for three years, and in October, 1864,
he was honorably discharged at Louisville, Ky. ,
as corporal. He served in Kentucky, Tennes-

38S

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

see and Mississippi, chiefly on guard duty, but
took part in many skirmishes, including those
at Clarksville, Fort Donelson, Cumberland
Shore, Clifty Creek, Fort Burnside and Fish-
i:;-g Creek, Ky. His only indisposition was an
attack of measles, which confined him to hos
pital for three months. After the war he came
to Van Wert county, and March 26, 1868,
married Mrs. Julia Hamilton, who was born
January 1, 1841, was a widow, and a daughter
of Phillip and Margaret Caton. Mr. Caton
was a native of Ireland, was a farmer, and
was married in Liverpool, England. About
1830 he came to America and settled near Co
lumbus, Ohio, but in his latter days came to
Van Wert county and resided with his children,
who were four in number and named Margaret,
Richard, Mary and Julia. He lived to the ex
treme age of eighty-nine years and died in the
faith of the Catholic church at the residence
of our subject. After his marriage, Mr. Kelt
ner settled on his present farm in Washington
township, and here have been born to him
seven children, viz: Rosie, James, John,
Florence, Louise, Josie, and Homer. Mr. and
Mrs. Keltner are pious members of the Meth
odist church, in which he was a class leader,
in the younger days. In politics Mr. Keltner
is a republican. He is a substantial farmer,
owning 137 acres, and has been very exten
sively engaged in stock raising and dealing, and
is widely known as an upright and industrious
man, and a highly respected citizen.

EATHAWAY KEMPER, prominent as
an attorney at law, of Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Dayton, of the
same state, October 11, 1852, and is
a son of Rev. James S. and Frances L. (Gas
per) Kemper, the former of whom is a well-
known Presbyterian divine, but now retired
from active life, in his eighty-second year, with

his residence at Dayton. Hathaway Kemper
was reared and educated in Dayton until 1870,
when he entered the sophomore class of La
fayette college of Easton, Pa., from which in
stitute he graduated in 1873, and then com
menced the study of law under Conover &
Craighead, attorneys of note in the same city,
and with this firm he pursued his studies until
admitted to the bar in January, 1876; he be
gan the practice in Van Wert, April 21, 1876,
and for eighteen months held a partnership
with W. H. Cunningham ; he then practiced
alone until 1881, and then for a year in con
junction with F. P. Edson, since which time
he has been alone in the profession, making an
enviable reputation.
The marriage of Mr. Kemper was solemn
ized, at Van Wert, December 23, 1885, with
Miss Minnie J. Scott, born October 9, 1861, a
daughter of W. L. and Mary E. Scott, and to
this felicitous union have been born three chil
dren, named James S., W. L. and H. G. Mr.
and Mrs. Kemper are consistent in their mem
bership of the Presbyterian church, and in pol
itics Mr. Kemper is a republican. He is pres
ident of the Van Wert Building & Savings
company, and as a lawyer and citizen is
deservedly held in high esteem.

HOMAS C. KENSLER, a well known
and experienced farmer of Ridge
township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is
a native of Delaware county and was
born March 29, 1828, a son of John and Sally
(Longwell) Kensler. John, the father, was
born in Pennsylvania, and was a boy when he
was brought to Delaware county, Ohio; Salby
(Longwell) Kensler was a native of Delaware
county, and by her marriage with Mr. Kensler
became the mother of eight children, viz:
Elizabeth, wife of Henry Valentine, of Indiana;
Thomas C, our subject; Catherine, wife of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

389

Gideon Alspach, of Miami county, Ind. ; James;
Louis; Harrison, who died in childhood; Will
iam, who also died young, and Matilda. The
mother of this family died in June, 1843, an<f
in November of the same year John Kensler
married Louisa Flemming, and to this union
were born the following named children: Sally
Mona, John, David, Alfred, who died young,
and Martha. In 1851, John Kensler went to
Fulton county, Ind., and bought a farm, but
in 1855 removed to Madison county, Iowa,
where he bought another farm, on which he
resided until his death, in November, 1859.
Thomas C. Kensler was reared on the
home farm until he was nineteen years of age,
when he went out to work, at $12 per month;
three months later he hired out by the year,
at $1 10 for the first year, and at $120 for the
next three years following. At about the age
of twenty-five years he had saved some money,
and he then purchased a small piece of land in
Delaware county, Ohio, and also rented a farm
of his uncle; at the age of thirty years he was
married, April 8, 1858, to Miss Phebe Ketcham,
which union was blessed by the birth of three
children: John W. , who married Irene Cramer,
who became the mother of Fred, Ray, Wil
bur, Thomas and Virgil; the second child born
to our subject was named Charles, and died at
the age of twenty years, and the third child,
Eva, died in childhood.
In 1863, Mr. Kensler came to Van Wert
county, having previously purchased eighty
acres of wooded land in Ridge township and
also eighty acres in Jackson township. His
possessions now comprise 180 acres in Van
Wert county, as he has disposed of a part of
his original purchases. Mr. Kensler, on his
first coming to his present home, found it
necessary to labor hard one-half day in order
to chop a pathway within his building site.
The cabin that first sheltered his little family
on this farm yet stands in his doorway.

March 10, 1882, Mr. Kensler had the sor
rowful misfortune to lose his helpmate, who
had been a devout member of the Methodist
church from twelve years of age — of which
church, also, Mr. Kensler has been a com
municant since 1875. Mri Kensler has served
his fellow-citizens as infirmary director, filling
the position six years, and also served as
township trustee for three terms. He is a
gentleman in whom the people of Ridge town
ship place every reliance and feel that they
can implicitly trust, as there has never been a
word uttered that would in any way impugn
his honor or integrity. He is, as will be per
ceived, an entirely self-made man, and well
deserves the confidence which is placed in him
by all who know him.

£V*AMUEL KESLER, deceased, of late
•^^fchT one of the most experienced and well-
h<_y to-do farmers of Ridge township, Van
Wert county, was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, in July, 18 12. His parents,
Peter and Elizabeth (Bowman) Kesler, were
natives of Pennsylvania and had born to them,
beside Samuel, the following-named children:
Abraham, who settled on a farm in Allen
county, Ohio, and there died in 1890 or 1891;
Polly, who died in early womanhood; Jakey,
who died in boyhood; Barbara, now the wife
of Reuben Timbers and residing in Ridge
township; Milly, now Mrs. Zeigler of Illinois;
Eli, who died about the year 1881 ; John, who
was a soldier in the late war and died from
disease; Anna, wife of Charles Sterling, of Illi
nois; Betsey, who died in early childhood, and
Peter, who still resides in Fairfield county,
Ohio. About the year 1852, the parents of
our subject, who had settled in Fairfield
county, Ohio, made a trip to Allen and Van
Wert counties to see their boys, and shortly
after their return to Fairfield county, while

390

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

preparing on a Sunday to attend church, their
horse, which was being held by Mrs. Kesler,
suddenly became unmanageable and broke
away, throwing the lady to the ground. The
wheels of the vehicle to which the animal
was attached passed over the prostrate form
of Mrs. Kesler, inflicting injuries which resulted
in her death, and shortly thereafter the dis
consolate husband moved to Allen county and
there made his home with his eldest son, Abra
ham, until he was himself called away.
The first marriage of Samuel Kesler took
place, when he was twenty-two years of age,
to Miss Louisa Frazier, and for four years
after this event worked by the day on his
father's farm and elsewhere; he also farmed
on rented land in his native county until 1840,
when he came to Van Wert county, and
entered 160 acres in a dense forest in Ridge
township — a part of his present farm. His
first care here was to erect a cabin in which
to shelter himself, his wife and three children.
After that time more than 1,000 acres were
bought and sold by him, and at his death he
was still owner of a magnificent farm of 295
acres. To Mr. and Mrs. Kesler were born the
following children : Jacob, who was a soldier
in the late war, served a little over two years,
and died in 1865; Peter, who was also a
soldier, now lives in Illinois; Barbara, is the
wife of George Workman; Mary Jane, who
was twice married, is now deceased; John is
a resident of Van Wert county; Louisa is the
wife of Mr. Griswold, of Fort Wayne, Ind. ;
Sarah is married to Thomas Hyers, of Van
Wert county, Ohio; Martha is the wife of
Emanuel Baker, also of Van Wert county,
and Ellen, who became the wife of Loren
High, is now deceased. The mother of this
family having died, Mr. Kesler married, in
1885, the widow of Benjamin Fisher. Mr.
Kesler was a member of the Lutheran church,
stood high in the good opinion of the people

of the township and county, and in the Lutheran
faith. Mr. Kesler was called away November
20, 1895. In politics Mr. Kesler was a dem
ocrat and for two terms served as township
trustee. His respected widow still resides in
Middlepoint, Van Wert county.

S^^VETER HERTZ, an early pioneer of
|i m Harrison township, Van Wert county,
M Ohio, was born January 31, 1820, in
the village of Becher, Coburg, Ger
many, and is a son of Peter and Anna (Klein)
Hertz, who were the parents of two children —
Mary and Peter — and who came to America in
1837, and located in Holmes county, Ohio,
October 13, of the same year, but a month or
six weeks later moved to Van Wert county,
and settled in Harrison township on the 160
acres, where Peter, our subject, now resides.
August 28, 1838, a log cabin was erected, and
here the father, Peter, died the year following,
at the age of sixty-nine years, his widow sur
viving a few years and dying at the age of
seventy-one — both members of the Evangelical
church. Peter Hertz, our subject, it will be seen,
was between seventeen and eighteen years of
age when the family settled on the Harrison
township farm. The father dying a year later,
the work of clearing devolved on our subject,
who, being in humble circumstances, was
obliged to do as much work for others as he
did for himself. However, he succeeded in
bringing the entire place under subjection, and
in adding to his possessions until he owned 290
acres, beside 100 acres he has given to his son
Peter. January 17, 1840, Mr. Hertz married
Mary M. Germann, daughter of Henry and
Anna (Reidenbach) Germann, natives respect
ively of Hesse and Homberg, Germany, who
came to America three years prior to the com
ing of the Hertz family and settled first in

PETER HURTZ, JR.

MRS. PETER HURTZ, JR.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

395

Holmes county, and in Van Wert county about
1839. Mr. Germann finally made a good farm
of 160 acres, and died at the age of seventy
years, a steward in the Lutheran church. His
children were named: Annie, Elizabeth, Mary,
Jacob, Charles, Peter, Henry, John; one also
died unnamed.
After his marriage, Mr. Hertz settled down
on his homestead, where to him and wife have
been born the following children: Annie G.,
Mary, Margaret, Jacob and Peter. Mr.
Hertz is now the oldest resident of Harrison
township, there being no one now living who
was here when he settfod in 1838. He is well
and widely known and has served his fellow-
citizens as township trustee two terms and as
township treasurer four years. He has been
active in securing good schools and good roads,
and has been supervisor and member of the
school board, and later a member of the in
firmary board. He is a member of the Evan
gelical church, while Mrs. Hertz is a member
of the Lutheran congregation.
Peter Hertz, Jr., son of our subject, was
born October 12, 1844, on the old Hertz home
stead in Harrison township, was well educated
for' his time and was reared a farmer. May 1,
1873, he married Miss Mary E. Scaer, daugh
ter of Philip Scaer, and there have been born
to his marriage seven children, viz: Jacob, at
Saint John's Lutheran college, Winfield, Kans.;
Otto, Anna, Karl, Theodore, John P. and
Arthur W. Mr. and Mr. Hertz are members
of the Lutheran church, in which he has been
a deacon for three years, and in politics Mr.
Hertz is a democrat. He has served as town
ship treasurer seven years, as town clerk four
years, as supervisor seven years, and was
elected treasurer for Van Wert county in 1892
and served two years. Mr. Hertz is the owner
of a fine farm of 100 acres, and the entire fam
ily is favorably known throughout the whole
township.

Philip Scaer, one of the most substantial
farmers of Harrison township, Van Wert
county, was born September 8, 1825, in Prus
sia, Germany, a son of Philip and Catherine
(Trase) Scaer. The senior Philip was a farmer
and was the father of two children — Catherine
and Philip; he came to America with his son,
Philip, and died in 1886, at the age of eighty-
six years, a member of the Lutheran church
and a republican in politics. Philip, father of
Mrs. Hertz, married in Germany Christine
Reidenbach February 28, 1847, and in 1852
came to America, bringing his family with him
— including his father. He made choice of
land in the woods of Van Wert county, Ohio,
and his original purchase consisted of eighty
acres of his present magnificent farm of 200
acres — all brought out through his own indus
try, skill and good management, and improved
with convenient, substantial and handsome
buildings, and here he has reared his five chil
dren — George, Catherine, Elizabeth, Charles
and Jacob. Mr. Scaer is a devoted member of
the Lutheran church, to which all his family
also belong. His son Charles is a graduate
from the Tri-State Normal college of Angola,
Ind., and is a professor in the Saint John's
Lutheran college at Winfield, Kans. George
Scaer married, first, Anne Hoffman, who bore
four children and then died; he next married
Emma Germann, who has borne one child;
Catherine is married to John Gunsett, a farmer
of Harrison township, and has six children;
Elizabeth is married to Peter Hertz and has
seven children; Prof. Charles Scaer, of Kan
sas, married Hanna Morelock, and is the
father of two children; Jacob married Lizzie
Miller, who has borne three children. In pol
itics our subject is a democrat and has served
as school director of his township. He is
widely known and stands deservedly high in
the esteem of the citizens of the community in
which he is a resident.

396

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

>nr'OHN KESLER, a substantial farmer of
A Tully township, Van Wert county,
A J Ohio, is a native of the county and was
born March 22, 1841, a son of Samuel
and Louisa (Frazier) Kesler. Samuel Kesler
was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, was reared
a farmer, and early in 1841 settled in Ridge
township, Van Wert county, where he entered
160 acres of land, which he subsequently in
creased to 310 acres. He and wife became
parents of thirteen children.
John Kesler received a fair education in the
common schools, was reared to manhood on
the home farm, and December 3, 1865, mar
ried Hannah S. , daughter Job and Lydia A.
(Cavett) DeCamp, of French origin. Job
DeCamp, however, was born in Licking county,
Ohio, a son of John DeCamp, of Pennsylvania.
Job DeCamp came to Ridge township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, in 1840, and here entered
160 acres of woodland, which he succeeded in
clearing and converting into a farm that
equaled any in the township. His family com
prised ten children, named as follows: John,
Mary E. , William H., Andrew E., Joseph W.,
James (deceased), Hannah S., Newton A.,
Arrilla, and Thomas P. The father of this
family was called to his long home at the age
of sixty-six years, dying an honored and re
spected citizen. After marriage, Mr. Kesler
settled on a farm of eighty acres on the Defi
ance road, where he lived until he bought his
present farm of 120 acres. To his marriage
have been born two children — Joseph E. and
Almeda. Joseph E. Kesler, the son, married
Sarah J. Harris, of Union township, and has
had born to him one child. John Kesler has
been very successful as a farmer, and his
dwelling and grounds give evidence of skillful
cultivation and thrifty progress. He is highly
respected in the community in which he lives,
has afforded his children all the educational
advantages within his power, and has proven

himslf to be a first-class and progressive citi
zen, well deserving the high esteem in which
he is held by his neighbors.

HARON KEVER, a substantial farmer
of Tully township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is of Pennsylvania-German de
scent, mixed with an Irish extraction.
Jacob Kever, father of Aaron, our subject, was
born in Pennsylvania and came to Ohio when
a young man, settling in Tuscarawas county.
He there married Anna Hoagland, daughter of
Aaron and Elizabeth Hoagland, and became
the father of eight children — Amy, James,
William, Elizabeth, Aaron, Margaret, Susan
and Matilda. In 1840 Jacob Kever came to
Vau Wert county and settled in Tully town
ship, bought and cleared eighty acres of land,
assisted in the latter task chiefly by his son,
Aaron, and died at the age of about fifty-six
years, after having been bed-ridden for about
five years.
Aaron Kever, the subject proper of this
sketch, was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio,
February 13, 1828, resided for a time in Rich
land county, and when about twelve years of
age was brought by his parents to Van Wert
county. He is now the oldest resident in
Tully township, and one of the most respected.
In March, 1850, he married Miss Sarah A.
Clem, and for two years afterward lived on the
home farm with his mother. In 1852 he
bought eighty acres of his present farm, and
by the exercise of the most assiduous industry,
aided by the lessons he had learned in agricul
ture in his earlier days, he has wrought out
from the heavy timber a homestead that any
farmer might be proud of, and has also in
creased his estate to 1 50 acres. In politics he
is a democrat, and has held the office of town
ship trustee four terms. His wife is a daugh
ter of Samuel and Susan (Ridenhour) Clem,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

397

the former of whom was a prominent farmer
of Monroe township, Allen county, . Ind., and
had born to him eight children, viz : Andrew,
Sarah A., William, David, Malinda, Henry,
Samuel and Adam. The father of this family,
in his later days, became a Lutheran clergy
man, and did good and faithful service in the
vineyard of the Lord until his death, at the
age of seventy-three years. To the marriage
of Aaron Kever and Sarah A. Clem have been
born eight children, in the following order :
Samuel; Alexander, who died at twelve years
of age; Henry; William; Ellen, who died at
the age of two years; Susan, Matilda and
Mary E.

SI

9 ILLIAM KIMMELL, the subject of
this sketch, was born in Pennsylva
nia in January, 1820, and was a son
of John Kimmell, who was also a
native of Pennsylvania, born in 1792. John
Kimmell was of German descent and was
reared by his parents on a farm. Upon
arriving at the proper age he was married to
Miss Rachel Gregory, also a native of Penn
sylvania, and in 1845 removed to Holmes
county, Ohio, remaining there until 1850,
when, with his family, he removed to Mercer
county, where he resided until his death. He
was a very liberal man, always ready to aid
progressive enterprises and gave freely of his
means to charitable purposes; but, notwith
standing all this, at the time of his death he
left his family in comfortable circumstances.
During the greater part of his life he was a
consistent member of the Lutheran church,
and politically he was a member of the demo
cratic party. He and his wife were the par
ents of five children, viz : William, Elizabeth,
Sarah, John and Rachel, the last named being
the only one now .living, and who is a widow,
living in Paulding county, Ohio.

William Kimmell, like his father before
him, was reared upon a farm and received as
good an education as was then afforded by the
district schools. For several years before
attaining his majority he taught in different
country schools, making more full and accurate
the knowledge obtained therein as a student,
and at the age of twenty-one he removed from
Pennsylvania to Ohio, in which state he fol
lowed the profession of teaching with gratify
ing success, being especially adapted to the
work because of his bright and active intel
lectual character. Mr. Kimmell was married
May 30, 1847, in Holmes county, to Miss
Eliza Fry, a native of that county. During
the same year he removed upon a farm in
Mercer county, and, being an industrious man,
met with unusual success in agriculture, as he
had done in teaching school. Removing to
Massillon in 1853, he there engaged in busi
ness as a dry-goods merchant, in which he was
likewise very successful. After six years thus
spent, on ' account of failing health he was
compelled to retire from business and removed
to Michigan, where he remained for eighteen
months, when he removed to Van Wert, Ohio,
and was there engaged in business as a dry-
goods merchant for seven years, at the end of
which period he engaged in the sale of
machinery for the sake of the exercise in the
open air. Not long afterward he was elected
superintendent of the Van Wert county in
firmary by a large majority. Filling this
position with extraordinary credit to himself
and satisfaction to the people of the county
for one term of four years, they insisted upon
his re-election to the place, notwithstanding
his desire to retire, and he was again elected
by a handsome majority, but afterward retired
on account of ill-health. It has ever since
been generally conceded that Mr. Kimmell was
one of the best, if not the best, infirmary
superintendents Van Wert county ever had.

598

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

In business he was always straightforward and
honorable, and as a natural result of fair deal
ing was uniformly successful, and at his death,
which occurred. July 23, 1893, his family were
left in comfortable circumstances. Politically
he was an uncompromising democrat. Besides
being a. most enterprising man, he was un
usually liberal and free to aid all charitable
works. He and his wife were the parents of
three children, viz : E. G., M. J. and J. F.
E. G. was married in 1862 to Ellen Heath,
and now lives with his widowed mother; Jen
nie was married to Mr. J. F. McGather and
died in 1878 in Van Wert county, and Frank
married Catherine Heath in 1877 and is a
prosperous young farmer of Van Wert county.
Mrs. Eliza Fry, the widow of William Kim
mell, was born October 24, 1829. Her father,
Frederick Fry, a native of Pennsylvania, was
born in 181 1. A shoemaker by trade, he con
ducted a shoe store and met with great suc
cess. In 182 1 he married Miss Catherine
Holderbaum in Holmes county, and by her
had the following named children: Eliza,
Amanda, Maria, Josiah, John, Jacob, Michael,
Julia, Joseph, Rachel, William and Lucinda,
five of whom are deceased. Mrs. Kimmell is a
highly respected lady, is a consistent member
of and a faithful worker in the Presbyterian
church, and has numerous friends. She now
resides in her beautiful home in Van Wert,
where she is passing the evening of her days in
the consciousness of a life well spent in devo
tion to the welfare of her fellow-beings.

EENRY H. KING, carpenter and livery
man of Willshire, Van Wert county,
is a son of Jesse and Catherine (Sivey)
King, and was born in Franklin
county, Ohio, February 3, 1842.
Jesse King, father of Henry H., was born
in Franklin county, in 1805, and was a son of

Philip King, of German descent and a native
of Pennsylvania. By occupation Philip King
was a farmer and married Miss Leah Wright,
by whom he had six children, of whom Jesse
was the second-youngest child. Philip King
emigrated to Fairfield county, Ohio, when
Jesse was but a small boy, and there he spent
the remainder of his life. During the war of
1812-15, he served as a soldier in defense of
his country, and in politics he was an old-line
whig. He having died, his widow removed to
Van Wert county, where she died in 1850 at
the home of her son. Jesse King was reared
upon a farm in Fairfield county, and in 1830
married Catherine Sivey, daughter of John and
Phoebe (Holler) Sivey. Jesse King and his
wife were the parents of six children, viz: Will
iam, deceased; Solomon, a retired farmer and
and owner of valuable coal mines in Kansas,
— was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion
and served in company A, Thirty-fourth Ohio
volunteer infantry for two years; John, de
ceased, served in the war as a member of the
Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry; Philip,
was a soldier in company F, Ninety-ninth
Ohio volunteer infantry, served three years
and was killed at the battle of Nashville, in
December, 1864; Henry H. is the subject of
this sketch; Jesse is a prosperous farmer of
Black Creek township, and Franklin, who died
in infancy. The mother of these children was born in
Richmond, Va., in 18 16, and while yet young
removed with her parents to Franklin county,
Ohio. Her father, John Sivey, was a native
of Virginia, and of German ancestry. By trade
he was a miller, and was one of the early set
tlers of Franklin county, remaining there until
1 824, when he removed to Adams county, Ind.,
where he built a mill at what is now called
Pleasant mills, and there passed the rest of his
days. He served as a soldier in the war of
1 812 in the same company as did the paternal

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

399'

grandfather of our subject. He and his wife
were parents of four children, viz: William,
Jonathan and Levi, all deceased, and Cath
erine, mother of the subject.
A few words more are due in this sketch to
Jesse King and his wife. After their marriage
they located in Franklin county, where Mr.
King followed farming until 1844. They then
removed to Mercer county, and there he en
tered 300 acres of land from the government,
160 acres of which are still owned by his son,
Jesse. Upon this 300-acre tract Mr. King
erected a log cabin, cleared his land and lived
there until his death, which occurred in March,
1867. He was one of the prominent farmers
and citizens of his day; filled the office of
justice of the peace for eighteen years, was
township trustee a number of times, and also
held other and minor offices. In politics, to
ward the latter part of his life he became a
republican, and he was an active member of
the United Brethren church, holding at differ
ent times all its offices. His wife, equally as
devoted a Christian as himself, was a member
of the same church, and died in 1878.
Henry H. King, of whom it is now designed
briefly to treat, was educated in the common
schools, was reared on his father's farm, but
learned the trade of carpenter, and has fol
lowed that trade all his life. In August, 1862,
he enlisted for three years in company F,
Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and
served in his regiment down to the battle of
Stone River, where he was shot through the
ankle and had to be sent to the hospital at
Nashville, from which he was discharged in
December, 1863. He participated also in the
battle of Cumberland Gap, which took place
previously to that at Stone River.
In October, 1863, Mr. King was married
to Miss Margaret Slusser, daughter of Jacob
Slusser; but she lived only seven months after
her marriage, dying in her twenty-second year.

On August 10, 1865, Mr. King married Miss
Miranda Jolly, who was born June 6, 1844.
To this marriage were born four children, viz:.
William H., born August 5, 1866, now deceased;.
James W. , of Convoy; John W., of Willshire,
and Charles F., September 26, 1873. The
mother of these children died in 1877, and Mr-
King married, for his third wife, Miss Anna L.
Conklin, daughter of Theodore and Jane
(Dawkins) Conklin. To this marriage there-
has been born one daughter, viz: Frances-
Marie, born March 18, 1880.
Miss Anna L. Conklin, the third wife of
Mr. King, was born in Fort Wayne, Ind.,
February 21, 1848. Her father was a native
of New York, was a wagon-make by trade, and
located in Fort Wayne in 1843. At Fort
Wayne he worked at his trade and also founded-
an art studio. He was an able and industrious
man and was well thought of by all that knew
him. In politics he was a republican and
served as justice of the peace one term. He
was a member of the Presbyterian church, as
also was his wife. He died April 1, 1880, in
his sixty-eighth year. Her mother was born
in Kent county, England, but came to the
United States when thirteen years of age, and
married here. Her children were three in
number, viz: Frank, wife of George Martin,
of Chicago; Kate, wife of Michael Bixler, of
Hudson, Steuben county, Ind., and Anna L. ,
wife of Mr. King, already mentioned. The
mother of these three children died when Mrs.
King was seven years of age.

>--t'AMES W. KISER, manufacturer of
J tile, living at Dull station, Van Wert
A 1 county, Ohio, was born in Bureau
county, 111., October 22, 1848. His
grandfather, George W. Kiser, was born in
Pennsylvania, of German parentage, and
moved many years ago to eastern Ohio, where

400

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

his death occurred. Lewis Kiser, son of
George W. and father of the subject, was also
a native of the Keystone state and a farmer
by occupation. He married Elsie Spake,
daughter of James Spake, and reared a family
of five children, viz: Sarah J., Tabitha,
James W. , Mary M. and Byron. After their
marriage, Lewis and Elsie Kiser moved from
Ohio to Bureau county, 111., where they lived
for several years, thence emigrated to the state
of Missouri. Still later, Lewis Kiser lived in
Iowa and Nebraska, and followed agricultural
pursuits for a livelihood. He served three
years in the late war, participated in a number
of bloody battles, and earned a reputation for
bravery and gallantry of which any soldier
might feel deservedly proud. Mr. Kiser and
wife were members of the Christian church
and highly respected people.
The immediate subject of this sketch,
James W. Kiser, spent the first twenty -six
years of his life with his father on the farm,
and then began assisting in the manufacture of
tile, to which business he has since devoted
his attention. About the year 1878, he em
barked in the business upon his own responsi
bility in Van Wert county, Ohio, and during
the past fifteen years has operated the factory,
which he now owns, at Dull station, it being
one of the largest and most successful enter
prises of the kind in the county, representing
a capital of over $4,000. Mr. Kiser manufac
tures a superior grade of tiling, which finds a
ready sale in Van Wert and adjoining coun
ties, but he frequently ships to more remote
markets. His success has been most encour
aging, and he is classed with the well-to-do
business men of the township of Liberty.
Politically he is a democrat, but while taking
an active interest in the success of his party,
has never been an aspirapt for office.
Mr. Kiser was married in Whitley county,
Ind., to Miss Louisa Gleason, daughter of

Stephen and Amanda Gleason, to which union
two children, Ora M. and Hattie M., have
been born, the former deceased. The parents
of Mrs. Kiser were married in the state of New
York, and were among the early pioneers of
Van Wert county, Ohio, settling in Pleasant
township, where Mr. Gleason was one of the
leading farmers.

Mvj1 OHN KETZENBARGER, an enterpris-
A ing young farmer of Hoaglin township,
A 1 Van Wert county, Ohio, was born No-
* vember 28, 185 1, a son of Sebastian
and Rachael (Cramer) Ketzenbarger. Sebastian
was born in Germany in 1823, and was but
twelve years of age when brought to America
by his parents, Michael and Eve (Staungy)
Ketzenbarger, the former of whom died in
Hancock county, Ohio, in 1858, and the latter
in Wood county, Ohio, in 1874, at the age of
eighty years. Sebastian was reared to farm
ing, and about 1847 married Rachael Cramer,
daughter of Philip and Christina (Harmon)
Cramer, to which union were born nine chil
dren, viz. : Belle, John (our subject), Sarah
(deceased), Andy, Rene, George, Ella (de
ceased), Oliver and Mrs. Mary Hammon.
Philip Cramer was a native of Pennsylvania
and in youth was brought to Ohio by his par
ents, who located in Fairfield county, where
Philip grew to maturity and was married, the
the six resulting children being named Adam
(deceased), Daniel, Jacob (deceased), Rachael
(Mrs. Ketzenbarger), Christina and Peggy
(both deceased). Rachael, subject's mother,
was born in Fairfield county about 1818, and
died in Hancock county in 1893, a member of
the United Brethren church.
John Ketzenbarger, our subject, was born
in Hancock county, Ohio, was reared a farmer
and educated in the common schools of his
township. In 1872 he married Miss Mary

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

401

Fackler, daughter of Henry and Nancy (Bear)
Fackler, whose biography is attached hereto.
To this union have been born five children,
viz.: Homer M., Hermi I., Florence E.,
Alice J. and Earnest J. Mrs. Ketzenbarger
was born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1853,
and was married in Wood county, where her
husband had located in 1866, and where he
followed farming until 1890, when he came to
Van Wert county and purchased his present
home, which is one of the finest farms in
Hoaglin township. In February, 1893, Mr.
Kentzenbarger met with a serious accident on
the Pittsburg railroad, near Columbus City,
two coaches, in one of which he was a passen
ger, being precipitated down an embankment
about twenty-five feet deep, killing one passen
ger outright and injuring some thirty others.
In this disaster Mr. Ketzenbarger had a shoul
der dislocated and sustained a number of.other
injuries, from which he has not yet fully re
covered. In politics Mr. Ketzenbarger is a
democrat, and holds the office of township
treasurer; fraternally he is a member of Van
Wert lodge, No. 251, I. O. O. F., and is rec
ognized by the community at large as a
straightforward, upright gentleman; as a
farmer he is progressive and prosperous, taking
an active interest in the welfare of his county
and aiding in every public enterprise designed
for its advancement.
Henry H. Fackler, a prominent farmer of
Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in Dauphin
county, Pa., in 1823, to Abraham and Barbara
(Hough) Fackler. Abraham Fackler was born
in the same county in 1777, and was a son of
Wentle Fackler, who was born in Germany,
in 1746. At the age of seventeen years
Wentle came to America, and was sold or ap
prenticed, on the streets of Philadelphia, for
three years to reimburse the funds necessary to
defray his passage expenses, but by the time
his term had half expired he was released by

his master and employed at regular laboring
rates. Two .years later he returned to his
native country for his mother and two brothers,
his father having, been killed in battle. On
his return to America he served three years in
the Revolution under Washington, enduring
the hardships of Valley Forge and encounter
ing Burgoyne in the north and Cornwallis in
the south. He then bought a tract of land
from the government and hewed out a home.
He married Anna Rank, and to this union
were born ten children, of whom Abraham was
the eldest son, and departed his life in 1823, a
member of the Presbyterian church.
Abraham Fackler, father of Henry H., was
reared on his father's farm, and also learned
the trade of weaving. He took an active part
in the war of 18 12, and fought, among other
places, in the battles of Buffalo, N. Y. , and
Baltimore, Md. In early life he was a Pres
byterian, but later became a German Baptist,
and married, March 30, 1801, Barbara Hough,
daughter of Henry Hough, who was a Revo
lutionary officer, and to this marriage were
born fourteen children, of whom two only are
still living — Wentle and Henry H. The
mother of these was born in 178 1 , of German
parentage, was also a member of the German
Baptist church, and died May 10, 1844 — the
father surviving until January 12, 1866, when
he died in Richland county, Ohio.
Henry H. Fackler was reared a farmer,
and became quite accomplished in both the
German and English languages. In 1840 he
came with his father from Pennsylvania, in
wagons, to Richland county, Ohio, and here
began farming for himself on an eighty-acre
tract, which he drained and improved with
good and substantial buildings, but in 1868
sold and bought land in Wood county, Ohio,
where he lived nearly twenty-two years. In
1890 he sold this farm, increased to 200 acres,
and bought his present home of 239 acres, in

402

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

addition to which he has given homes to his
children. On September 7, 1843, Henry H.
Fackler married Nancy Bear, who .was born in
Dauphin county, Pa., in 18 19, a daughter of
Henry and Maria (Nisley) Bear, and this mar
riage has been blessed by the birth of the fol
lowing children: Jacob, deceased; Solomon,
farmer of Union township, Van Wert county;
Emanuel, deceased; Mary, wife of John Ketz
enbarger, of Hoaglin township; Leah, de
ceased; Sarah A., married to Addison Fry, of
Union township (deceased); Alice, married to
William Young, a farmer of Union township.
In his politics Mr. Fackler is conservative,
voting for a good man rather than for a party
nominee.

EON. HENRY PAGE HOLMES, pro
bate judge of Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born in Richland county, of the
same state, March 1, 1840, a son of
Samuel and Clarissa M. (Page) Holmes. The
father, Samuel Holmes, was also a native of
the Buckeye state and was born in Harrison
county in April, 18 14, a son of Jacob Holmes,
a native of Virginia who early settled in Har
rison county, Ohio, but later removed to Craw
ford county, where he passed his years in farm
ing, and where he died, the father of eight
children, viz: Mary, Samuel, Thomas, Abra
ham, Elizabeth, John, Barrick and William.
Samuel Holmes was reared a farmer and car
penter, and followed the latter vocation until
1853, when he engaged in the hotel business
in the city of Van Wert, for the first two years
conducting the American house, which then
stood where the Hall dry-goods store now
stands, then keeping the Saint Charles house
for a year, after which he built the Vant Wert
house and conducted it for five years, when he
sold out and carried on the Avenue hotel for a
year, when he retired from active life and

passed away September 12, 1889, well remem
bered for his genial disposition and unfailing
urbanity. He was married in Richland county,
Ohio, February 14, 1839, to Clarissa M. Page,
who was born in Windsor county, Vt., Febru
ary 9, 1820, a daughter Harry and Celina (Ives)
Page, and to this union were born four chil
dren, viz: Henry P., Mary E., Celina E.,
and Emma A. The mother of these chil
dren now resides in Van Wert, a highly re
spected member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Henry P. Holmes was a lad of twelve years
when brought by his parents to Van Wert, and
here he attended the city schools until, at
fifteen, he entered the Bulletin office to learn
the printing business. Here he remained five
years, serving in every capacity and learning
every detail of the trade. In April, 1861,
however, the call to arms aroused his patriot
ism, and he enlisted in company H, Fifteenth
Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months, and
was sent to the front in western Virginia, where
he took part in the battles of Philippi, Gar
ret's Ford and Laurel Hill. Returning to his
native state, he for three months attended
school at Leesville, and then re-enlisted, en
tering company A, Ninety-ninth Ohio volun
teer infantry, for three years; he went out as
orderly sergeant, was promoted to second lieu
tenant January 2, 1863, January 9, 1863,
was promoted to first lieutenant, and on
January 15, 1863, was made captain of
company E, of the same (Ninety-ninth) regi
ment, and with this company he remained
until the consolidation of the western army —
with which the regiment had been identified
from the beginning — when he was mustered
out on December 31st, 1864. Capt. Holmes-
then came home and engaged in the milling
business for two years; he then married and
settled down to farming in Union township,
where he still owns 320 acres of fine land, and

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

407

where he was peacefully, but actively, em
ployed until 1892, when he was elected pro
bate judge of the county by a majority of forty-
four. The marriage of the captain occurred
in Van Wert county August 16, 1867, Miss
Emeline Burt being the bride. This lady is a
daughter of Daniel Burt; was born in Tuscara
was county, Ohio, in 1857, and is now the
happy mother of seven children, viz: Burt,
Elizabeth, Harry, Catherine, Walter, Grace
and Anna. Capt. Holmes is a member of the
Grand Army of the Republic and of the Pa
trons of Husbandry, and no gentleman of the
county is more highly esteemed.

M^f OSEPH KLINGER, an experienced
A farmer and practical carpenter, of Wash-
A 1 ington township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, was born in Hocking county June
12, 181 5, and is of sturdy Pennsylvania-
Dutch stock.
John Henry Klinger, father of the subject
of this biography, was a native of Pennsyl
vania and came to Ohio in 1812. He entered
eighty acres of land in Hocking county, and
married, in Fairfield county, Elizabeth Bresler,
the union resulting in the birth of nine chil
dren, viz: Lydia, Joseph, John, Henry, three
that died in infancy, Tinnie and Phebe: After
clearing up a part of his eighty acres, here he
lived to be seventy-one years, six months and
eleven days of age, died a respected citizen,
and was in politics a democrat.
Joseph Klinger, our subject, was reared on
a farm and learned the carpenter's trade in
Hocking county. When about nineteen years
of age he married, July 8, 1834, Eliza E.
Crist, who was born October 19, 1812, the
prolific union resulting in the birth of fif
teen children, viz: Two, who died in infancy;
John W. , who died at the age of four years;
William; Jacob and Jackson, twins; Daniel
18

P., Isabel, Mary A., Eliza A., Tinnie; Matilda,
died at the age of eleven; Joseph, Asa and
Ella. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Klinger
resided on an eighty-acre farm in the woods of
Hocking county, which he partly cleared up
and then sold; he next lived on rented land
until September 6, 1853, when he came to
Van Wert county and bought a farm of 120
acres in Washington township, deep in the
woods; this farm he soon denuded of its forest
growth, made a fine home, and did, beside, an
immense amount of clearing for others.
At Delphos, Ohio, in 1863, Mr. Klinger
enlisted in company A, One Hundred and Fifty-
first regiment, Ohio National guards, for 100
days, under Capt. Edward King, was on duty
at Washington, D. C. , was present when the
rebels made their attack on the works, and
after a service of 120 days was honorably dis
charged, with the compliments of his captain
for his faithful performance of his duty. Mr.
Klinger then returned to his farm, which he
has never since had occasion to leave. Mr.
Klinger also had two sons in the war — Jackson
and Daniel P. — both in the One Hundred
and Eighteenth Ohio infantry; also one
brother, Daniel, in an Ohio regiment, and also
a half-brother, Fred Smith, in an infantry regi
ment from the same state, who was for a long
time a prisoner in four different prisons — among
them Andersonville.
June 21, 1892, Mr. Klinger had the mis
fortune to lose his devoted life companion and
helpmate, at the age of fifty-nine years. She
was a true woman and mother, and died in
the faith of the Methodist church, of which
she had been for many years a pious member;
of this church Mr. Klinger was for a long time
class-leader, steward and Sunday-school super
intendent, and a constant attendant until ad
vancing years, with accompanying infirmities,
precluded his further mingling with his breth
ren in their house of worship. In politics Mr.

408

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Klinger was first a democrat, but changed his
proclivities and joined the republicans in the
infancy of their organization, and voted for
their first nominee for president of the United
States — John C. Fremont. He has always
held the respect of his party and of the citi
zens, and has held the usual township offices.
In the days of vigor and strength that graced
his youth and earlier manhood, he was an in
dustrious and a willing worker, and his mellow
middle age was still marked by diligence and
well directed toil. He has always been liberal
in his support of enterprises designed for the
public welfare, and stands before his fellow-
men an honored citizen, father, patriot and
man.

t>^V ANIEL P. KLINGER, one of the ex-
h I soldiers of the late Civil war- and
/^^_^ a respected farmer of Washington
township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is
a son of Joseph and Eliza Klinger, of whom
further mention is made on another page, and
was born in Hocking county, Ohio, February
10, 1 841. He was quite well educated in his
native county up to the age of thirteen years,
in the meantime being inured to the hardships
of a boy's farmer life. At the age named he
was brought by his parents to Van Wert county
and here reared to manhood on the home
farm, and became an expert agriculturist. At
Delphos, in this county, he enlisted, August
22, 1862, in company F, One Hundred and
Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served
until honorably discharged, at Salisbury, N. C. ,
June 24, 1865, through general orders, and a
few weeks within the expiration of the term of
his full enlistment, which was for three years,
or during the war. He fought in the battles
of Mossy Creek, Tenn., and Buzzard's Roost,
and was in all the fights of the Atlanta cam
paign, except Resaca, in which his regiment

participated — in this campaign being for nearly
three months under fire night and day. Later
he fought at Dallas, Pumpkinvine Creek, Kene
saw Mountain, and still later in the battle in
front of Atlanta; was in the pursuit of Hood,
and finally was with Sherman when Atlanta
fell, September 2, 1864. He was also at the
battles of Columbia, Duck River, Spring Hill,
Franklin, and the two days' fight at Nashville,
Tenn. ; he was also at Fort Anderson, and so
held on, a brave and faithful soldier, until a
victorious peace was reached.
At the conclusion of the Civil war Mr.
Klinger retired to Van Wert county, Ohio, and
here married, February 18, 1866, Sarah J.
Carpenter, who was born April 21, 1843, in
Fairfield county, Ohio, a daughter of James
William Carpenter, a pioneer of Washington
township. Van Wert county. James W. Car
penter was of Virginia birth and of English
descent; his grandfather, John Carpenter, was
a soldier of the Revolution, and his son,
William R. Carpenter, who was born in Vir
ginia, February 3, 1792, served in the war of
18 12. He married Catherine Brewer, whose
only child, James William, was born near
Richmond, Va. , where he was first married
and where his first wife died. Later he moved
to West Virginia and married Betsey Barnes,
who bore three children, two of whom died
young. John Carpenter eventually settled
near Rushville, Fairfield county, Ohio, an
honored member of the Baptist church.
James W. Carpenter, father of Mrs. Klin
ger, was born near Richmond, Va., February
20, 1 82 1, and was about five years of age when
he was taken to West Virginia by his father,
and thence brought to Ohio. He married,
April 28, 1842, in Fairfield county, Susannah
Ream, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
May 7, 1823, a daughter of Jacob and Rebecca
(Clines) Ream, the union resulting in the birth
of thirteen children, viz: Sarah J., Charles

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

409

W., Mary A., Rebecca E., David S., Margaret
E., Emma C, Clarissa P., Alvira, Wilson H.
L., Minerva I., Lucetta and Iga O. — the first
six born in Fairfield county and the remainder
in Van Wert county, Ohio. Mr. Carpenter
lived in Fairfield county until 1851, and then
came to Van Wert county, where he bought
and has cleared up 120 acres from the woods,
and stands among the most respected residents
of the township. He has held the offices of
township trustee and steward of the United
Brethren church, and in politics is a repub
lican. His son, C. W. Carpenter, was a gal
lant soldier in the Civil war, and for seventeen
months endured all the miseries of a rebel
prison. After marriage Mr. Klinger settled on his
present farm, which then consisted of forty
acres Only, but which he has since cleared
foom the woods and increased to eighty acres,
improved with every possible convenience. To
his marriage have been born eight children,
viz: J. W. S., who died at the age of twenty-
seven years; David E., who died at twenty-
one; Irena, Reuben, Irella I., John G., Lola
and Elva. The parents of this family are de
voted members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which Mr. Klinger is a trustee and
Sunday-school superintendent. In politics
Mr. Klinger is a republican, is one of the most
honored citizens of Washington township, and
is rearing his children to become, like himself,
worthy and useful members of society.

>-T*OHN H- KOCH. — Prominent among
A the younger farmers of Liberty town-
A J ship is the well-known man whose
name introduces this paragraph. The
father of the subject, John H. Koch, was born
in Hanover, Germany, in July, 1824, and re
ceived a good education in his native country.
After coming to the United States John H.

Koch married and rented land in Cuyahoga
county, Ohio, but in i860, became a resident
of the county of Van Wert, settling in Liberty
township, where he became owner of a farm
consisting of 120 acres. He was a Lutheran
in his church affiliations and in politics sup
ported the democratic party; he died June 17,
1888; but his wife had preceded him to the
grave, departing this life in 1875. To John
H. Koch and wife were born the following-
named children: John H., Louisa, Mary,
George L.and Charles F. , all living at this time.
John H. Koch, Jr., was born in Cuyahoga
county, Ohio, May 19, 1858, but from the
age of two years has been a resident of the
township in which he now resides in Van
Wert county. He was educated in both the
English and German languages and early de
cided upon the useful calling of agriculture for
his vocation, and since beginning life for him
self has devoted his time and energies to the
same. His success has been commensurate
with his industry and good judgment, and he
is now the possessor of over 300 acres of valu
able farm land beside other property, and is
comfortably situated financially.
Mr. Koch has served two terms as mayor
of Ohio City, and at this time is discharging
the duties of the second term of justice of the
peace, having an office in the aforesaid town.
He also represents the Columbia Building &
Loan associations, and does a remunerative
business in real estate, loans and collecting;
in politics he is a democrat. Mr. Koch was
married October 11, 1890, to Emrettie Al-
baugh, daughter of George and Ann Eliza
(Grove) Albaugh. Mrs. Koch's parents were
born in Stark county, Ohio, where they were
also married. In 1856 they came to Van
Wert county and settled in Liberty township,
where the father's death occurred October 22,
1872; the mother is still living on the home
farm. The following are the names of the

410

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

brothers and sisters of Mrs. Koch: Hannah
J., Ellen, Samuel and Laura, all deceased ex
cept Laura.

@EORGE W. KOHN, the able editor
and manager of the Van Wert Times,
is a native of Paulding county, Ohio,
and was born October 8, i860, a son
of Samson and Margaret H. (German) Kohn.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was
born in Virginia and was an early settler of the
Buckeye state. He died while his son Samson
was still quite young, after which sad occur
rence his widow removed with her family to
the Middle Creek settlement, in Paulding
county, where her son Samson (who was born
at Central College, Franklin county, Ohio) was
reared to manhood and was married.
In 1870, Samson Kohn came to Van Wert
county, and purchased his present farm in
Pleasant township, close to the Van Wert city
boundary, where he has since been prosper
ously engaged in the buying and shipping of
horses and cattle, at the same time looking
after his farming interests. His marriage has
been blessed by the birth of five children,
named George W. (our subject), Mrs. Mary C.
Morton, Thomas H., Lucy A., wife of H. G.
Bergert, of Chicago, 111.), and Miss Emma J.
Kohn. Politically Samson Kohn is a stanch
democrat, and in his religion is devotedly at
tached to the Methodist Episcopal church, and
to the support of which he is a liberal contrib
utor, and in the faith of which his lamented
wife was laid to rest July 17, 1891.
George W. Kohn, whose name stands at
the head of this biographical notice, received
his elementary education in the public schools
of Van Wert city and was advanced to the
high school, from which he was graduated in
June, 1877. The next year he entered the
Ohio Wesleyan university, Delaware, Ohio,

and from this institution he graduated with the-
class of 1882. He chose the law as a pro
fession, read under the auspices of Estep,.
Dickey & Squire, of Cleveland, Ohio, and in
June, 1884, was admitted to practice at the-
bar. Returning to Van Wert, he formed a.
partnership with Saltzgaber &. Glenn and con
tinued in practice two years, when he with
drew from the firm and organized, in July,
1886, a stock company, which purchased the-
Van Wert Times establishment, and of this
newspaper Mr. Kohn has been editor and,
manager up to the present time. In this capac
ity he has made the Times a newsy and pop
ular journal, and as an organ of the democratic
party has placed it at the head of the influen
tial papers of the state of Ohio.
The marriage of Mr. Kohn was solemnized,
November 22, 1892, with Miss Carrie' Boyd,.,
daughter of Robert Boyd, of London, Madison
county, Ohio, and this, felicitous union was.
crowned by the birth, July 3, 1894, of a daugh
ter — Margaret Alice.

OLIVER KOOGLE.— The family of
which the subject of this biography is.
a representative is of German origin.
His grandfather, Jacob Koogle, was a
native of Maryland, and early immigrated to-
Ohio, settling, about the year of 181 9, in the-
county of Ashland, where he took possession
of a small log cabin, on the Black Creek, in
which, a few years previous, a family by the
name of Seymore, had been murdered by In
dians. By occupation Jacob Koogle was a.
blacksmith, and did much of the work for the
early pioneers of Ashland county, among
whom he settled. In religion he was a Lu
theran, in politics, a democrat, and in all things,
a first-class citizen. He was a hero in the war-
of 1 8 12, and died in January, 1.87 1; his de-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

413

voted wife preceded him twenty years, dying
in 185 1.
Daniel Koogle, father of the subject of this
sketch, was born September 25, 18 14, in
Frederick county, Md. , and at the age of five
years accompanied his parents to Ohio, where
he grew to manhood. He received his educa
tion in the log cabin school-house, common in
the early days of Ohio, and on the 14th day of
April, 1837, was united in marriage to Susan
nah Swoveland, daughter of John and Chris
tian (Mesenheimer) Swoveland, to which union
were born three children — Tobias, George W. ,
and Oliver. Daniel Koogle and family moved
to Van Wert county, in 1854, and settled on a
farm near where their youngest son, subject of
this biography, is at present residing. He
made a farm of 240 acres, and for eight years
operated, during a part of the summer seasons,
a threshing machine, having first commenced
that business in the county of Richland. He
brought to Richland county the first separator
ever operated in the county; he was treasurer
of his township for eight years, was a demo
crat in politics, and like his ancestors, for
several generations, subscribed to the creed of
the Lutheran church. He died June 22, 1894;
his widow, at this time, makes her home with
the subject of this sketch.
Oliver Koogle was born in Ashland county,
Ohio, March 27, 1846, and there remained
until the family's removal to the county of Van
Wert, in the year mentioned in a preceding
paragraph. Mr. Koogle has always been a
tiller of the soil, and ranks with the best farm
ers of his township. He was first married to
Sarah Wise, who died within two years of the
celebration of the nuptials, and April 12, 1877,
he married Sarah E. LeBlond, daughter of
Christopher and Charlotte ( Cooper ) LeBlond.
Mrs. Koogle's father was a native of Knox
county, Ohio, born November 16, 18 14. He
married in that county, but soon afterward

moved to the county of Mercer, locating in
the town of Celina, where he followed the
carpenter's trade for some years, thence moved
to Liberty township, Van Wert county, where
for Some time he was similarly engaged. His
father was Everah C. LeBlond, born in Paris
May 22, 1789, and came to the United States,
from France, when seventeen years of age,
and settled in Knox county, Ohio, where he
married and reared a family.
The following are the names of Mr. and
Mrs. Koogle's children: Myrtle A., Clyde P.,
Otis O., Charles F. and Catherine M. Mr.
Koogle is a progressive farmer and trustworthy
citizen. In partnership with his brother he
owns 240 acres of land, which is well improved,
and, in addition to agricultural pursuits, he
pays considerable attention to dairy farming,
having upon his place quite a number of fine
Guernsey cattle. In matters educational he
has always taken a deep interest and has given
his children good advantages in that direction;
politically he wields an influence with the
democratic party, and in religion is liberal, not
being indentified with any church organization.

*y» EONARD KUHL, an old and well
1 r known resident of Van Wert county,
JL^ Ohio, was born in the county of Tus
carawas, Ohio, November 20, 1834,
son of John and Anna (Dilp) Kuhl. The father
was born in Germany in 1801, and the mother's
birth also occurred in the same country, in
1794, and their marriage took place about
1829. Shortly thereafter, they left their na
tive land, and, immigrating to the United
States, settled in Pennsylvania; thence, a few
years later they moved to Tuscarawas county,
Ohio, where Mr. Kuhl engaged in farming.
Subseqnently, he became a resident of the
county of Richland, where he remained a few
years, and then moved to Van Wert county,

414

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

settling in Liberty township, where, for some
time, he farmed a place for a part of the pro
ceeds; later he purchased a place, made a good
home and died in December, 1893; his wife
had preceded him to the grave, departing'this
life about 1881. Mr. Kuhl was twice married,
his second wife, to whom he was untied in
1886, being a Miss Ellory, who died in Sep
tember, 1895. The following are the names
of the children born to John and Anna Kuhl :
Henry, Leonard, Philip, Daniel, John, Anna
M., deceased; Hulda, wife of John Snyder;
Sarah A. and Jesse. By a previous marriage
with Adam Smith, Mrs. Kuhl had two chil
dren — John H., deceased, and Adam, of
Liberty township, Van Wert county.
When two years of age, Leonard Kuhl was
taken by his parents to Richland county,
later accompanied them to the county of Van
Wert, was reared to agricultural pursuits, and
received his education in the common schools.
May 10, 1863, Mr. Kuhl enlisted, in Miami
county, Ohio, in company G, Forty-seventh
Ohio volunteer infantry, for ninety days, but
was not discharged until September, 1863. In
1865 he married Phebe Hardenbrook, daughter
of Peter and Mary Hardenbrook. Mrs. Kuhl
was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, August
25, 1827, and was eight years of age when her
mother died. Her father was born in New
Jersey, in 1801, the son of James Harden
brook, who came to the United States from
Germany in the time of the colonies and set
tled in one of the eastern states. Peter Har
denbrook emigrated with his parents to Hamil
ton county, Ohio, in 18 19, and was married
in 1825, to Mary Wagner, whose birth oc
curred in Virginia, in 1804; she died in 1839,
in Illinois. Peter Hardenbrook lived in Hamil
ton county, Ohio, until 1837, when he moved
to Illinois, thence two years later returned to
Hamilton county, Ohio, remained there until
1845, when he moved to Miami county, Ohio,

where his death occurred in 1866. In the
meantime, 1841, he married his second wife,
Susan Merrill, who departed this life in 1864.
To the marriage of Peter and Mary Harden
brook were born the following children: John
B., Phebe, Mrs. Rebecca F. Smith, Mrs. Leah
Buckles, Mrs. Mary A. Eisley and Laura.
In 1866, the subject of this sketch moved
to Miami county, Ohio, where he farmed his
father-in-law's place four years, and in 1870
purchased his present farm of eighty acres in
Pleasant township, Van Wert county, where
he has since resided. He is a member of the
United Brethren church, a republican in poli
tics and one of the progressive citizens of the
community. To the subject and wife have
been born five children — Albert; Clara, wife of
P. Stump; Edgar, killed at the age of twenty-
seven by a runaway team; Jodey, died in in
fancy, and Ward, deceased.

*W * ENRY KUNDERT, one of the well
l^\ known farmers and citizens, and an
A . r ex-Union soldier, of Washington town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born in the republic of Switzerland June 7,
1844. His father was Jacob Kundert, who
brought his family to the United States in
1854. He first located near Kendallville,
Noble county, Ind., where he remained one
year, and then moved to Delphos, Ohio, where
he lived for a year or two. He then bought a
small place near Delphos, and then, in 1864,
purchased a farm of eighty acres in section No.
12, Washington township, Van Wert county,
and moved on it, where he lived until 1872,
when he returned to Delphos, where he now
resides, being in his eighty-first year. His wife
is still living, being in her seventy-eighth year..
They are members of the Lutheran church. To
these parents four children were born, all in
the old country, of whom Bertha is the wife-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

415

of John Vogt, of Washington township; Henry
and Christ, the latter a farmer of Washington
township, are two of the sons. Henry Kun
dert received his schooling in the old country
and in Delphos, getting both a German and
an English education, and remained with his
parents until he went into the Union army, en
listing in January, 1864, in company E, Fifty-
seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, under Col.
Rice. He was mustered in at Lima, and then
went to Camp Dennison, near Dayton. They
then went to Louisville, Ky. , and thence to
Nashville, Tenn. , being in Logan's Fifteenth
army corps, and was also with Sherman on
his famous march to the sea. His first engage
ment was at Resaca, where a man on each
side of him was killed, but he escaped injury.
He was next in the battle at Dallas, Ga., then
at Kenesaw Mountain, then at Atlanta, where,
on the 22d day of July, he was captured. He,
with other prisoners, was then taken to Ander
sonville prison, where he was held until the
22d day of September, when he was exchanged.
While in prison he was seized with neuralgia-
and scurvy, which ruined his health, and when
he was exchanged he was too sick to go with
the army, and there was no way for him to be
sent home on a furlough. When Sherman
left Atlanta Mr. Kundert was too weak to walk,
and so was given an old mule to ride for a
couple of weeks, after which time he was able
to march. He went with the army to the sea,
thence through South and North Carolina. He
was at Savannah, his division capturing Fort
McAllister at that place. He was also at Co
lumbia, S. C. , when the town was captured
and destroyed by fire. He was also at
Goldsboro and Bentonville, N. C. , the battle
of Bentonville being the last fight. After the
surrender of Johnston the army went to Peters
burg and Richmond, Va., and then on to
Washington to the grand review. They went
to Louisviile, Ky. , and his division was taken

to Little Rock, Ark., where they remained two
months, and were there discharged August 28,
1865. He then came back to Columbus, where
they were paid off, and then he came to Del
phos. He then stayed with his father for a
few years, and then, in 1869, he married Kate
Binder, bought the place where he now lives,
and began farming, at which he has since con
tinued. He has eighty acres, fifty of which
are improved and all under fence, and has a
good residence, which he built in the spring
of 1895. To Mr. Kundert and wife twelve children
have been born, all living, as follows: Charles,
John, Jacob, Elizabeth, Christ, Kate, Henry,
William, Fred, George, Oscar and Lucy. Mr.
Kundert and family are members of the Lu
theran church.

WOHN C. LAMERSON, janitor of the
A high school building at Van Wert, was
A J born in Hunterdon county, N. J., Jan
uary 16, 1 84 1, and is a son of John and
Catherine (Aller) Lamerson, both natives of
New Jersey and of English descent. John
Lamerson is a farmer, still residing in New
Jersey. John C. Lamerson remained at home until
he was twenty-two years of age, in the mean
time securing a fair English education. In 1 863
he removed to Van Wert county, where he has
since resided. For some time after reaching
this county he followed stationary engineering,
but later engrged in the manufacture of staves,
stave factories at that time abounding in this
part of Ohio, and he became an expert in
stave jointing. This branch of industry he
followed until 1885, at which time he became
engaged as janitor at the high school building,
which position he still retains, and in which he
gives universal satisfaction. He has eighteen

416

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

rooms to care for, and, in addition, the five
acres of ground surrounding the building.
On December 8, 1872, Mr. Lamerson mar
ried Mary Elizabeth Heckathorn, a daughter
of Henry and Esther (Hartle) Heckathorn, na
tives of Winchester, Va., and of Georgetown,
Pa. , respectively. When a young man Mr.
Heckathorn came to Ohio, and died in Wyan
dot county, in 1852, at the age of forty-two
years. Mrs. Heckathorn with her family re
moved to Van Wert in 1868, and is still living,
at the age of seventy-seven, her home being
with her daughter. Mrs. Hechathorn is a
granddaughter of Capt. Andrew Poe, a pioneer
of Pennsylvania, noted in American history as
the man who killed Big Foot, and his com
panion, two Indians that attacked him on his
travels through the woods, he being engaged
for years in purchasing at Pittsburg and caus
ing them to be transported to the western
pioneers, and having, during those years, many
hair-breadth escapes, it being necessary for
him to travel alone at all hours day and night.
Every school-boy is familiar with the name
and fame of Andrew Poe. Mrs. Heckathorn
is a first cousin of the celebrated poet, Edgar
Allan Poe, whom certain English writers con
sider the finest and most original poetical
genius yet produced in America. George Poe,
father of George, Andrew and Adam Poe, was
one of the nobility of Germany. Mrs. Hecka
thorn is also a descendant of the Paton, Capt.
Andrew Poe's wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Paton Poe,
was of the lineage of the great missionary,
John G. Paton, whose books on his life and
labors among the savages of the New Hebrides
thrill all who read them.
Mrs. Heckathorn's only son, John O., saw
three years' hard service during the war of the
Rebellion in the One Hundred and Twenty-
third Ohio volunteer infantry, was a prisoner
of war two months at Belle Isle and three
months in Libby prison. He was with Gen.

Grant through the campaign in the Wilderness,
and was present at the surrender of Lee, April
9, 1865. He brought home with him a por
tion of the famous apple tree at Appomattox
court house, which Mrs. Heckathorn still has
in her possession, the tree being that under
which the terms of surrender were agreed
upon. He came home broken down in health
and died in Van Wert in 1874. Mr. and Mrs.
Lamerson live in a comfortable home on Dick-
erson avenue, in Van Wert, with their three
children, Charles Edgar, Maude Hazeltine and
Gracie Marie. One child, Orlenthus Albert,
is dead. Mr. Lamerson is a republican, and
both he and his wife are members of the Pres
byterian church.

>^ OSEPH JOHNSON, one of the pioneer
A farmers of Ridge township, Van Wert
A 1 county, Ohio, is a native of Butler coun
ty in the same state, was born January
2, 1826, and is a son of Joseph and Betsy
(Mustard) Johnson, who in all probability were
also natives of Butler county, and born, re
spectively, October 23, 1794, and December
11, 1804. Joseph, Sr., inherited some land
from his father, Eli, (grandfather of our sub
ject), and thus had a fair start in life. The
brother and sister of Joseph Johnson, our sub
ject, were born and named in the following
order : William, deceased, who came to Van
Wert about the year of 1856 and became a
large land owner; Eli, who reared a large fami
ly, and in middle life, while threshing, fell
dead on a straw stack; John, deceased; Joseph,
our subject, is next in order of birth; Nancy,
widow of George Morton, of Liberty, Ind. ;
Thomas, a resident of Butler county, Ohio;
Ruth, widow of Michael Weaver, also of But
ler county;Elizabeth, who died in maidenhood;
Jason, who served in the late war, and now re
sides in Butler county; Daniel, who was also a

&&aat/a &***/&,

'&H^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

421

soldier, died of small-pox; Elijah died in boy
hood; Bennet reared a family and died in But
ler county; James, the youngest of this family,
owns a farm in Ridge township, Van Wert
county, having come herein 1870.
Joseph Johnson, whose name opens this
sketch, was reared on the home farm in But
ler county and had but meager educational ad
vantages, but his preceptive powers were keen,
and his memory retentive, and he readily ac
quired a knowledge of men and things in prac
tical life that he could never have gained in the
school-room. He first became the owner of
realty in 1859, then he came to Van Wert
county and purchased 160 acres in Ridge town
ship, about five miles southeast of the city of
Van Wert, on which he has made many sub
stantial improvements and brought under a
state of cultivation that will place it on a
favorable comparison with any farm of its size
in Ridge or any of the surrounding townships.
The marriage of Joseph Johnson took place
in Butler county, Ohio, in the year of 1849,
to Magdalene Forlow, daughter of John and
Catherine (Wallsmith) Forlow, and the result
of this union has been the following children :
William, a farmer and justice of the peace, of
Ridge township; Delilah, at home with her
parents; Margaret Ann, wife of Stephen Wal
ter, a farmer of Shelby county, 111. ; James,
who wedded a Miss Palmer, and died in 1893;
Richard M. , of Ridge township; Thomas, a
farmer of Liberty township, who married Eliza
beth Hertel; Jason L., who wedded Eve Gam
ble, and resides in Ridge township; Harvey
Allen, who married Minnie Longwell, and re
sides in Shelby county, 111. ; Daniel Edward,
who married Samantha Dunifon, and lives on
the old homestead in Ridge township; Amos
Irvin, also a resident of Ridge township and
married to Laura Sanders; Scott E., at home;
Joseph Perry, a clerk in the city of Van Wert
and married to Teressa Faber; and one child

that died in infancy. In politics Mr. Johnson
is a republican and has for several terms served
as township trustee, and in 1882 was elected
infirmary director. He has also been popular
with his fellow-cizens, and is known to be a
man of sterling- integrity. That he is a man
of indomitable will and untiring, is proven by
the fact that he is what is generally called a
self-made man, and while his wealth was hard
to obtain, he is free and generous in its expend
iture for all projects intended to be of benefit
to the public at large or for the improvement
of the township and county.

WOHN C. LAMPE, now deceased, but
A once a most prosperous farmer and re-
A J spected citizen of Van Wert county,
Ohio, was born in Westphalia, Prussia,
in 1 8 14. He received a very good education
in his native land, was reared to farming, and
in 1840 came to America, landing in Balti
more, Md., and making his way at once, via
Pittsburg, Pa., to Zoar, Tuscarawas county,
Ohio, where he worked for six years in an iron
furnace. In 1847 he came to Van Wert
county, Ohio, and purchased a farm in the
woods of York township. This farm he im
mediately proceeded to clear up and otherwise
improve, and at the end of four years sold the
property, removing to Mercer county and pur
chasing another tract. For twenty-five years
he lived on this farm, which he thoroughly
cleared up and improved, every rod of it show
ing the marks of his care and manipulation.
In 1877 he disposed of his carefully cultivated
Mercer county property, came to Pleasant
township, Van Wert county, and purchased
the present home of the family, on which his
death took place April 15, 1877.
The marriage of Mr. Lampe was solemnized
in October, 1844, with Miss Mary Marbough,
daughter of John and Mary (Garber) Mar-

422

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

bough, natives of canton Berne, Switzerland,
but residents at this time of Tuscarawas
county, Ohio. To the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Lampe were born five children, namely :
Mary C, wife of Jacob Hartel, of Dixon, Ohio;
John G. , who died in infancy; Annie E., who
lives with her mother on the old home place;
and Henry and Christian F. , who constitute
the well-known firm of Lampe Brothers, stock
breeders of Van Wert county. Mrs. Mary
Lampe was born in canton Berne, Switzerland,
in 1823, and when eleven years of age was
brought to America by her parents, who
located in Starke county, where they resided
until 1838, and then moved to Tuscarawas,
where the father continued farming until his
death, in 1841, in the fifty-fifth year of his
age. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lampe were active
members of the Evangelical church, and politi
cally Mr. Lampe was a democrat. He was
prominent as a Freemason, and as a member
of the Patrons of Husbandry he did much to
advance the agricultural interests of the county,
being a progressive and successful farmer, as
well as a patriotic and public-spirited citizen.
He was conscientious, upright and honorable
in all his dealings, and won the confidence and
esteem of all who knew him. Mrs. Lampe
has now passed her three score and ten years,
and can look back on her life with com
placency, she ever having lived in the exercise
of the Christian virtues and in the performance
of her duties as a true woman.
Mrs Mary C. Hartel, elder daughter of John
C. and Mary (Marbough) Lampe and their eld
est child, was born in Tuscarawas county,
Ohio, in 1845, grew to womanhood in the
country home of her parents and received a
good common-school education. To her mar
riage with Jacob Hartel, of Van Wert county,
have been born eight children, namely: Cath
erine E., wife of Burt Dibble, of Tully town
ship; Mary E., wife of Leo Stover, of Mercer

county; William N. and Joseph C, of Dixon,
Ohio; Emma S., Cora A., Henry E. and Olie
I. Miss Annie E. Lampe, the younger daugh
ter of John C. and Mary Lampe, was born in
York township, Van Wert county, and resides
with her mother on the old homestead in
Pleasant township.
William H. Lampe, of the live stock firm
of Lampe Brothers, was born in Mercer
county in 1856, and the foundation of his edu
cation was laid in the village school of Men-
don. He was reared a farmer, and this nat
urally led to stock breeding, in which pursuit
he has become quite famous. September 9,
1 89 1, he was united in marriage with Miss
Sadie Baker, daughter of E. M. and Mary
Baker, and one child, Ruth B., came to bless
this union, but was early called away. In
politics Mr. Lampe is a democrat and is a
member of the state board of agriculture, in
the transactions of which he takes a deep and
active interest. Christian Frederick Lampe,
the youngest member, of the family, was born
in Mercer county, October 30, 1858, was edu
cated at Mendon village and was reared on the
home farm. At the death of his father he
associated himself with his brother, William
H., in the breeding of thoroughbred horses
and swine, and the firm now rank among the
most successful breeders in the state and com
mand a large patronage. January 27, 1892,
Christian F. Lampe married Gertrude Hays,
daughter of Morgan and Eliza B. (Larrimer)
Hays, of Fayette county, Ohio, and this union
also has been blessed with one child — Willard
M. Mrs. Gertrude Lampe was born in Fay
ette county March 8, 1867, her father having
been born in the same county in November,
i820;WilliamHays, fatherof Morgan Hayswas,
was a native of Fayette, county, Ky., and was of
English descent. Morgan Hays and Eliza B.
Larrimer were married in 1844 and became the
parents of ten children, as follows: Almeda, wife

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

423

of Abel H. Janes, of Fayette county; Mary D.,
who died in childhood; Edmond, a farmer of
Illinois; Harlan, farmer of Fayette county,
Ohio; Jane, wife of L. E. Parrett, of Fayette
county; William, farmer of Illinois; Thomas
L. , of Fayette county, Ohio; Letitia, wife of
Frank Dill, of Fayette county; Scott, on the
old home in Fayette county, and Gertrude,
now Mrs. Lampe. The mother of this family
was born in Pennsylvania in 1825 and came
when a child to Ohio with her parents. She
was an active and devout member of the
Presbyterian church, and died in that faith
October 1, 1879. Mrs. Gertrude Lampe is a
consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, but her husband is not a communi
cant of any church, although he takes a deep
interest in every thing that tends to elevate
the morals of the community or promote its
welfare. In politics he is a republican. He
is a careful and progressive farmer and stock
breeder, and few men of his years can be con
gratulated on making so successful a business
career.

^j»OHN D. LARE, one of the successful
A and substantial farmers of Tully town-
A ¦ ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born
January 31, 1853, on the family home
stead in this township, where he has lived all
his life. John Lare, his father, was a native
of Westmoreland county, Pa., born October
3, 1817, and was a son of Samuel and Mary
Ann (Leap) Lare, parents of five children —
John, Mary A., Maria (died young), Elizabeth
and William, all born in Westmoreland county.
Samuel was a shoemaker by trade, but came
to Ohio in 1833 or 1834, bought eighty acres
of land in Crawford county, and farmed until
his death, at eighty years of age. John Lare,
father of subject, was married in Crawford
county December 24, 1840, farmed on rented

land for three years, and* then came to Tully
township, Van Wert county, where he had
entered forty acres of land prior to his mar
riage to Susannah Roop, daughter of Peter and
Elizabeth (Eshelman) Roop, of Crawford
county. In 1844, John Lare and wife came-
with their two children, Sarah and Elizabeth,
to Tully township, and settled on this farm,
which was deep in the woods, cleared up the
land sufficiently to form a space for a log
cabin, and by hard labor Mr. Lare increased
his property to 360 acres, and made as- good a
farm as there was in the county. In politics
Mr. Lare was a know-nothing, a free-soiler,
then a democrat, and finally a republican; he
was the first postmaster in Tully township
(now Convoy postoffice); he was township
trustee, an early member of the school board,
and of the board of education. To him and
wife were born eight children, viz: Sarah A.,
Elizabeth, Peter (died young), Rebecca, Joseph
P., Susannah, John D., and Mary A., who
died when but one year old. The father of
this family lived to be seventy-six years of age,
and died on his farm September 25, 1823,
respected by the entire community.
John D. Lare was reared to farming, but
received a very good education in the district
schools and in the schools of Convoy, and for
two terms taught school in Tully township.
December 27, 1877, he married Miss Mary
Tracy, daughter of Elijah Tracy, of whom
mention is made on another page. Mr. Lare
then farmed on the old homestead until he
purchased his present farm, which then con
sisted of eighty acres, covered with timber,
brush and swamps; but he retrieved his farm
from this wilderness, and added to it until he
now owns 160 acres of as fine farm land as
may be found in the township, and all cleared
and improved (with the exception of a twelve-
acre wood-lot), with a fine, commodious resi
dence built in 1889, and drained with 2,000

424

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

rods of tiling. To Mr. and Mrs. Lare have
been born four children, viz: Ira, Jay, Iris and
Ray. The parents are members of the Meth
odist church, in which Mr. Lare has been a
class leader since the organization of the con
gregation in Tully township. In politics he is
republican, and has served as assessor one
term; he is a member of the grange and is
deputy master of the county, he being a prac
tical and most skillful agriculturist, and his
farm being a model of itself. Mr. and Mrs.
Lare stand very high in the esteem of the com
munity in which they live, are giving their chil
dren every advantage of the educational privi
leges afforded by the enlightened system of the
present day. The personal character of Mr.
Lare has never been impeached, and he has
fully maintained, in his own person, the integ
rity of character that characterized his father,
who was one of the pioneers of Tully township.

(D

AGDALENA KLINE, widow of
Adolphus Kline, was born in Baden,
Germany, April 2, 1838.* Her
father, John Christopher Exley,
was a native of Baden and an owner of a large
stone quarry. He was a contractor and builder
of several large buildings and one cathedral in
the fatherland, but was a farmer after coming
to this country. The mother's name was
Catherine Fischer, also a native of Baden.
When thirteen years old Mrs. Kline came to
this country and settled in Bucyrus, Ohio,
where she remained for four years, and then
moved to Van Wert, where she has since re
sided. January 1, 1862, she was married to
Adolphus Kline, now deceased, who was born
in Ottweiler, Prussia, October 26. 1824. His
parents were Conrad and Caroline (Wagoner)
Kline both of whom died in Prussia.
In 1848 Adolphus Kline came to America

and settled in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he re
mained until 1854, when, on November 9, he
enlisted in company Four, Second regiment of
dragoons, U. S. A., Capt. Alfred Pleasonton
commanding. He served in the Indian terri
tory for four years, when, on account of rheu
matism and asthma, he was obliged to quit
the service before his five years of enlistment
were up. He was discharged in accordance
with instructions from the adjutant-general's
office, dated September 7, 1857, and received
the same in camp near Salt Lake City, Utah,
on July 1, 1858, was signed John B. Villepigue,
first lieutenant Second dragoons, and P. St.
George Cooke, lieutenant-colonel, Second
dragoons. After his discharge Mr. Kline re
turned to Fort Wayne, where he remained but
a short time and then moved to Van Wert,
where he remained until his death, May 9,
1884. He was a quiet, unassuming man and
a tanner by trade. He was the father of seven
children: Julia, born. November 25, 1862, a
graduate in the Van Wert High schools, who
has taught in the public schools in Van Wert,
Ohio, and in Plymouth, Ind. ; she was married
August 28, 1895, to Jerry Blaine, a prominent
business man of Plymouth, Ind. ; Charles, born
December 12, 1864, now a resident of Van
Wert and a printer by trade; William Robert,
born September 4, 1868, now a carpenter in
Van Wert and married to Rebecca White of
Payne, Ohio, on July 1, 1894; John Chris
topher, born June 2, 1871, now a stone-cutter,
residing in Van Wert; George W. , born April
25, 1874, now a clerk in D. L. Clippinger's
grocery, Van Wert, a graduate of Van Wert
high school in 1896; Adolph, born May 21,
i 876, graduated from the Van Wert high school
in 1895, and is now employed' in a bicycle
factory in Plymouth, Ind. ; Byron, born May 2,
1879, who is now attending high school at Van
Wert. Mrs. Kline is a spiritualist, and is the
leader of the organization in Van Wert which

I - ¦%'¦'

*>

v-

MRS. MAGDALENA KLEIN.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

42T

is known as the "Society of the Faithful."
She delivers a lecture to the society twice every
week, and has published a book on spiritualism
entitled " The ' Everlasting Gospel." She is
quite eloquent in her addresses and is the
means of keeping this unique organization to
gether. She has attended a number of the
conventions of Spiritualists of the United
States, and is recognized as a leader among
them. Mrs. Kline is not, however, what she terms
a radical Spiritualist. She is altogether con
servative, but still maintains that the radicals
are doing good, that they are filling, their niche
in the development of thought and the world
of humanity. She is what she terms a " Chris-
tain Spiritualist," and in her lectures, and in
private conversation, frequently alludes to
" orthodoxy, " in terms altogether too kindly
for the radicals. The divinity of Christ is one
of the principal doctrines of her teachings; but
that divinity was in no sense physical, but was
only spiritual in its origin, its character and its
power over the spiritual forces of the universe.
This power was greater than that exercised by
any other spirit or of any angel, and was next
to that of the Deity 'himself — the Supreme
Mind, from which all intelligence, of which
there is an infinite number of classes of degrees,
draw their intellectual and spiritual supplies.
From some one of theseclasses of intelligences
mediums receive their inspiration, the class
depending upon the intellectual and spiritual
elevation the medium. Christ, being superior
to any other medium that was ever on the
earth, was able to draw upon the highest
spiritual elements for his strength, and was
thus better, purer and stronger than any other
individual that has ever lived, to secure such
benefits to all humanity for time and eternity,
as no other can. His mission was not under
stood when he lived on earth. He says in
Saint John 16:12, "I have yet many things to

say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.'"
They have never been told, but will be given
now, for he has prepared the world by his
constant and powerful manipulation of nature's-
silent but active force, thereby making the
revelation and demonstration of his mission to-
humanity possible.
On the night of February 8, 1870, Mrs..
Kline says that she received her first visit from
the "Justice Band," which communicated to
ller their mission, which was to induct her
into the position of a meduim for them. In
1874, the "Society of the Faithful ' was or
ganized to carry forward the publication of a
monthly journal, called " The Morning Star,"
which had been published the preceding year
by Mr. G. A. McConahy and his son, James,
under the advice of the Justice Band. In 1879-
this society began holding public services for
adults, and a lyceum for children; but the
lyceum feature was found impracticable, ow
ing to the intense prejudices of a portion of
the community. But services for adults have
been held regularly ever since. The society-
was chartered in the year 1893, by the state
of Ohio, under the name of the " First Society
of Christian Spiritualists," and while it has
not accomplished all it could have desired, yet
it feels that it has gained much knowledge and
experience that will be of great Value in com
ing years, and it feels much encouraged to go
on with its work, as the conditions necessary
for its complete success will improve steadily
as time rolls on.

*W * ARLAN F. LaRUE, one of the most
l^\ successful educators of Harrison
A . r township, Van Wert county, is a son
of Joseph LaRue. Harlan was born
September 15, 1 861, on his father's farm in
Harrison township. He was educated in the

428

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

district school and at the Worthington (Ohio)
Central normal, and for two years, also, was
an attendant at Denison university, at Gran
ville. In 1880 he began the work pertaining
to the profession in which he became so prom
inently identified as the seasons passed by.
The Center school district, No. 5, Harrison
township, was the second scene, for four
months, of his initiatory triumph, followed
next by two terms in his home district; and
then the school in district No. 8, Pleasant
township, was under his charge one year; next,
in the same township, No. 6 was taught under
him for a year; then he returned to district
No. 6, and devoted another year to that
school, following which he taught two years in
his home district; for the period of two years
following he taught in the Central high school
of Harrison township, and then took a neces
sary rest for a year; the following two years he
had charge of district No. 2, thus making the
longest record of any other instructor in Har
rison township. Mr. LaRue has been an active
member of the Van Wert Teacher's institute.
He is not a believer in corporal punishment,
but has never failed to maintain an effective
discipline by other and milder methods.
The marriage of Mr. LaRue was celebated
March 31, 1887, with Miss Mary Louisa Baus-
erman, who' was born September 25, 1863, a
daughter of Jacob and Jane (Harvey) Bauser-
man, who were of Irish descent and the par
ents of four children: Ruth, Eliza, Mary L.,
and Allie. Mr. Bauserman was a farmer of
considerable consequence, owned 120 acres
of land, which he pre-empted and died in July,
1865, a member of the Presbyterian church.
After his marriage, Harlan F. LaRue passed
two years in Pleasant township, and then set
tled in Harrison township, where he now has
a most pleasant home on a farm of forty acres
(belonging to his wife, being purchased with
money she inherited) which he has partly

cleared from the woods. The children born
to Mr. and Mrs. LaRue were named according
to birth, as follows: Ethel Leora, February
,7, 1888; Vere Princess, November 6, 1890;
Zora G., May 14, 1892, and Frank Irving,
November 15, 1894. In their religious affilia
tions Mr. and Mrs. LaRue are Baptists. Po
litically Mr. LaRue is a republican. For one
year he was a lecturer for the Patrons' of
Husbandry. Joseph LaRue, father of Harlan F. LaRue,
a substantial farmer of Harrison township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, is a son of Lambert and
Jane (McBride) LaRue. His paternal grand
father came from France, settled in Virginia,
and was a soldier in the war of the Revolution.
Alexander McBride, the maternal grandfather
of Joseph RaRue, was of Scotch-Irish descent
and was also a patriot of the Revolutionary
war. Lambert LaRue, grandfather of our sub
ject, was born in Washington county, Va., was
reared on a farm, was a soldier in the war of
1 81 2, was married in his native state, and
thence came to Ohio, where he located, first
on Long Island, some forty miles below Wheel
ing, then moved to Richland county, where he
cleared up a good farm, and finally came to
Van Wert county, in 1854, and settled on a
farm of eighty acres in Pleasant township, and
here died in November of the same year, at
the age of about sixty-two years. To Lam
bert LaRue and wife were born ten children,
as follows: Alexander, Jane, John, Abraham,
Elizabeth, Margaret, Martha, Mary, Joseph,
and another. Mr. LaRue was for many years
an elder in the Presbyterian church, of which
his wife was also a devout member; in politics
he was a whig.
Joseph LaRue was born in Richland county,
Ohio, July 24, 1836, received the ordinary
education and was reared to farming and also '
to the carpenter's trade. He came to Van
Wert county with his parents, and April 30,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

429

1857, married Miss Matilda Eller, who was
born June 16, 1839, in Richland county, a
daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Hilburn) Eller,
who were of German and Irish descent respect
ively, and the parents of nine children, viz:
Polly, John, Frederick, Betsey, Sarah, Jere
miah, Matilda, Miriam and Rachel. Jacob
Eller was a son of Abraham Eller and came
from Richland county to Van Wert county in
1 849, cleared up eighty acres of land in Pleas
ant township, and here died. Two years after
marriage Joseph LaRue came to Harrison
township, in the spring of i860, settled on a
forty-acre farm, on which he lived about twelve
years, and later increased it to eighty acres.
May 2, 1864, Mr. LaRue enlisted, at Van
Wert, in the 100-day service and served until
honorably discharged, at Camp Chase, Ohio,
August 28, 1864. He then veteranized, Sep
tember 1,1864, in company B, Seventy-eighth
Ohio infantry, and in June, 1865, was mus
tered out, on account of the close of the war,
at Columbus, Ohio. He saw service at Point
Lookout, Md. , was with Sherman on his cele
brated march to the sea, and at Milton, Ga.,
was injured by an iron rail falling on him while
tearing down a railroad water-tank; but he con
tinued on the march, although he could not
always carry his knapsack, and eventually
reached Washington, D. C, with the victori
ous troops and witnessed the grand review of
May 23-24, 1865.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. LaRue
have been born seven children, in the follow
ing order: Sarah J., Harlan F., Col. Ells
worth, Orland Sherman, Almon V., Iona D.
and Viola M. Mr. and Mrs. LaRue are mem
bers of the Baptist church, and in politics is a
republican. He is also a member of the G.A.
R. , Capper post, No. 231, at Convoy, and
likewise a member of the grange. His social
standing, it is needless to add, is among the
most respectable families of Harrison township.

*w ¦* ARRISON LEATHERS, a prominent
|f\ farmer and miller of Ridge township,
A .r Van Wert county, is a native of Fair
field county, Ohio, and was born Oc
tober 31, 1834, a son of Christian and Cather
ine (Shupe) Leathers, the former of whom was
born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Mary
land, and each was about four years of age
when brought by their parents to Ohio. Chris
tian Leathers became quite well to do, through
inheritance, and died in Van Wert county,
honored and respected by all who knew him,
September 17, 1864, a member of the English
Lutheran church. Mr. Leathers came to Van
Wert county in 1852, and of his family of eight
children, brought with him, the survivors are
three sons and two daughters. The eight
alluded to were named, in order of birth, as
follows: Noah, who died in infancy; Louis,
who grew to manhood and reared a family,
who are now all deceased; Eliza, deceased wife
of Job Fowler; Mary, wife of Asa Pollock;
Harrison, our subject; John F. , who reared a
family of his own, and died in 1894; Abraham,
a Lutheran clergyman, and Sarah, wife of S.
R. Moneysmith. The father of this family made
his first purchase of land in Van Wert county
in section No. 34, of Ridge township, part of
which land is now in the possession of the sub
ject of this sketch.
Harrison Leathers was reared on his father's
farm and also enjoyed the usual school advan
tages. April 15, 1858, he was united in wed
lock with Miss M. A. Cummings, daughter of
Emanuel and Mary (Redman) Cummings —
the former a native of Logan county, Va.,
and the latter of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Cum
mings had born to them a family of ten chil
dren, as follows : Mrs. Leathers, called Ade
line by her friends; Lucretia E., who died in
childhood; May Margaret, deceased wife of
William Hill — also deceased, having been
killed in battle; James Wesley, who died at

430

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the age of eight years; Rebecca Jane, widow of
David Hart; Susannah, who died when three
years old; Sarah, who also died in childhood;
Nancy, died an infant; Malissa Ann, is the wife
of George Null, and William Jefferson, who
lives in Noble county, Ind. The mother of
this family died December 27, 1855, and Mr.
Cummings next married the widow of Judge
Beard; this lady bore the maiden name of
Eliza Jane Scott. After the death of this lady,
Mr. Cummings took for his third wife Rachael
Margaret Todd, who bore him two daughters —
Irene and Maggie — and she, too, was called
away, by death. Mr. Cummings next married
Susan Bell, now also deceased, and he himself
died December 28, 1887. To the marriage of
Harrison Leathers and Miss Cummings have
been born four children, viz : E. A., residing
on a farm near his father's, and wedded to
Jennie Bell; W. C. , in the employ of the Cin
cinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad com
pany, and who first married Ella Young and
then Jennie Leslie; Delora Virginia is the wife
of W. C. Gilliland, and Florence Emma Bell,
the youngest child born to Mr. Leathers, is the
wife of J. G. Prill.
At the age of twenty-eight years, Harrison
Leathers enlisted in company A, Ninety-ninth
Ohio infantry, in August 1862; he was in a
number of raids and battles, was on one oc
casion disabled and confined some time in a
hospital, but served until the close of the war,
receiving an honorable discharge, and on his
return home re-engaged in farming. Mr. and
Mrs. Leathers are members of the Lutheran
church, in which he has been an officer the
past thirty years, and also for many years has
been a superintendent of the Sunday-school.
Politically, Mr. Leathers is a republican, and
has served as clerk, trustee and assessor of his
township. Mr. Leathers is the owner of 172
acres of fine farming land in Ridge township,
beside some valuable lots in Middlepoint, and

is doing a large grain business. His social
standing is as excellent as his business relations,
and his integrity and strictly honest methods
of dealing have won for him the respect of all
who know him. He is also a member of the
I. O. O. F., No. 251, Van Wert, Ohio.

K*f~\ ENJAMIN JONES, one of the most
I f^L progressive farmers of Willshire town-
JA^J ship, Van Wert county, was born in
Richland county, Ohio, now known
as Ashland county, January 17, 1837, and is
descended from one of the oldest Welsh fami
lies in America. His great-grandfather, also
named Benjamin, came to America with a
colony, that settled in Maryland on land at
present partly occupied by the city of Balti
more, and there died. James, a son of Ben
jamin, was born in Baltimore, but soon after
reaching his majority came to Ohio and located
in Columbiana county in 1808, being a pioneer
in the full sense of the word. He had married,
in Maryland, Rachael Arnold, and with his
family moved from county to county, including
Stark, Wayne, Medina and Richland — dying
in the last-named county in 1840, and his
widow in 1845. James Jones, father of our
subject, was born in Maryland, near Baltimore,
in December, 1807, and in Medina county,
Ohio, in July, 1834, married Miss Catherine
Deweese, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth
(Shaffer) Deweese, and to this union were born
the following children: Joseph (deceased),
Benjamin (our subject), Elizabeth (deceased),
Uriah (deceased), Daniel (deceased), John and
James. The parents lived successively in
Medina and Richland counties, Ohio, and in
Adams county, Ind., where the father died, a
member of the Catholic church and in politics
a democrat; the mother is still living, in Will
shire township, Van Wert county,. Ohio.
Benjamin Jones was early inured to farm

BENJAMIN JONES.

MRS, BENJAMIN JONES,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

435

labor on his father's place, was educated in an
old-fashioned log school-house, and in August,
1 86 1, enlisted in company A, Forty-seventh
Indiana volunteer infantry, and served in Ken
tucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Louis
iana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas,
taking part in all the marches, skirmishes and
battles in which his regiment was engaged, in
cluding Fort Madden, Mo., Jackson, Miss.,
Grand Couteau Bayou, La., Muddy Bayou,
La., Marksville and Atchafalaya, La., Spanish
Fort and Fort Blakley, Ala., and Mobile, Ala.
He was also at the siege of Vicksburg, Riddle
Point, Pemberton, Port Gibson and Champion
Hill, Miss. , and in all these fights escaped in
jury, with the exception of being hit by a spent
ball, which caused a slight fracture of the skull,
but was still a " close call." He was appointed
sergeant October 30, 1862, and was honorably
discharged November 1, 1865, after a service
of over four years.
The marriage of Mr. Jones took place
December 24, 1865, with Miss Mary Dailey,
who was born November 12, 1846, a daughter
of James and Mary (Johnson) Dailey, natives
of Athens and Harrison counties, respectively.
James Dailey was born September 23, 1819,
and his wife was born in September, 1823;
they were married in Van Wert county, owned
600 acres of fine land, and died, respectively,
February 27, 1863, and December 4, 1886,
highly honored by all who knew them. Mr.
and Mrs. Jones, at their marriage, settled on
their present farm, then not much improved,
but now containing 290 acres, with a fine brick
residence and three barns. The soil is well
drained and cultivated, and everything denotes
the control of a master mind. The children
born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones were named as fol
lows: Emma, Eva, Dailey D., Esaias T.,
Oscar B., James (deceased), Charles J., Har
vey H., Mary A., Harry O., Clarence C, Fred
C. and Clara A. Of these, Dailey and Esaias
19

attended Middlepoint Normal college, and have
both taught school. In politics Mr. Jones is
a republican and is a member of the G. A. R.
post at Willshire. He is devoted to his family,
and for his helpmate, who has done so much
toward aiding his progress through life, there
is no limit to his affection.

V^EORGE LAWHEAD, a carpenter
¦ G\ and conservative business man, was
\^J born in Clinton county, Ohio, July
25, 1836, and is a son of John and!
Phoebe (Hibben) Lawhead, both natives of
Fayette county, Pa., and respectively of
Scotch-Irish and English extraction.
His paternal ancestors came to America
about 1745 and settled on an English land
grant in the colony of Virginia, where they
lived until the breaking out of the Revolutionary
war, when the grandfather of the subject of
the present sketch enlisted in the patriot army
under Gen. Washington and served throughout
the entire period of that struggle. Although
only a boy in years at the time of enlistment
he endured all of the hardships of the winter
at Valley Forge and took part in the famous
campaign in which the Continental troops
forced a passage through the icy Delaware
river, and although badly frozen, he was in
the front ranks with his regiment at the battle
of Trenton. After the war ended he married,
and in a few years removed to Pennsylvania.
Mr. Lawhead's forefathers on the maternal
side were also of old colonial stock, the Hibben
family coming to America from England about
1750. Joshua Hibben, although quite an aged
man, shouldered a musket in defense of the
country of his adoption and for four years fol
lowed the destiny of the colonies in their
struggle against the mother country. At the
beginning of the present century his descend
ants removed from Virginia to Pennsylvania,

436

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and in 1812 Mr. Lawhead's grandfather en
listed in the service of the young republic in
its war with Great Britain. John Lawhead
and Phcebe Hibben were married in Fayette
county, Pa., and came to Ohio, in 1820, set
tling in Clinton county, where they followed
farming until his death in 1865. In early life
John Lawhead was an old-line whig, but be
came a republican upon the organization of
that party, remaining a member of the same
the remainder of his life. In his religious
views he was a Presbyterian. His wife died in
1 87 1, a life-long" member of the Christian
church. She and her husband were the parents
of six children.
George Lawhead is the youngest of these six
children. He was educated in his native
county, where he spent the earlier part of his
life, and there was married, October 7, 1856,
to Eliza J. Mathew, and continued to reside in
that county until 1867. Miss Mathew is a
daughter of Jonah and Sarah (Stokesberry)
Mathew, both natives of Culpeper county, Va. ,
and respectively of Welsh and English ex
traction. Both came to Ohio with their par
ents in 1 81 2, these parents entering land
grants in Clinton county, and as soon as their
families were comfortably settled in their new
homes the male heads of each volunteered to
serve their country in the war then going on
between this country and Great Britain. Peace
being soon declared, they returned to their
families in Ohio. Jonah Mathew died in Clin
ton county in 1865, aged seventy-two years,
and his wife died in 1890 at the age of eighty-
eight. Both were members of the Christian
church. George Lawhead enlisted in the Union
army May 1, 1864, in company K, Forty-ninth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and immediately went
to the front. His regiment participated in the
battles of Perryville and Monocacy Junction.
Mr. Lawhead was deprived of any further

privilege of fighting the rebels by being detailed
to the quartermaster's department; yet he
served out his time and was honorably dis
charged in September, 1864. In 1867 he
removed to Van Wert county and settled in
Pleasant township, where he lived on a farm
until 1 87 1, when he removed to the city of
Van Wert, where he has since resided. While
he is a carpenter by trade, which he learned
in early manhood, he has not and does not
follow that trade exclusively. Soon after
coming to Van Wert he was elected sexton of
Woodland cemetery, being the first to hold
that position, and it is but justice to him to
say that to him perhaps more than to any
person is due the credit of converting this
beauttful spot from the dismal swamp and
forest to the lovely Woodland of to-day. In
politics Mr. Lawhead is a republican and does
not belong to any secret society.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawhead are both members
of the Society of Friends' church and are
highly reputable members of society, and have
many friends. They are the parents of six
children, as follows : Loretta, deceased;
Emma T., wife of C. M. Smith, of Van Wert;
Charles E. and Matthew J. , both of Van
Wert; Harvey H. , deceased, and Millie M. , who
still resides with the parents at their home on
North Elm street.
Emma T., the eldest living child, was edu
cated in the Van Wert public schools and ob
tained an enviable reputation as a successful
and competent teacher in the county schools.
She followed this vocation until her marriage
to C. M. Smith, of Van Wert, April 2, 1882.
They live in a pleasant home on Tile street in
southwest Van Wert.
Mathew J. also received the. benefits of an
education in the Van Wert schools and a prac-.
tical business education in actual commercial
life, having spent several years in the restau
rant business in Latty and Lima, Ohio, where

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

437

he was well known as a popular caterer to the
wants of his customers. At present he resides
on West Jackson street, Van Wert. His es
timable wife, formerly Miss Orpha Cook, of
Latty, Paulding county, Ohio, was a popular
and successful teacher in the public schools of
that county.
Miss Millie M. , the youngest child, is a
graduate of the Van Wert high school, and for
the past two years has been engaged as a
teacher in the primary department of the same
school. She is an accomplished young chris
tian lady, noted for her earnest work.
Charles E. Lawhead, the eldest son of
George and Eliza J. Lawhead, was born near
New Antioch, Clinton county, Ohio, October
i, 1862, and was five years old when his par
ents moved to Van Wert county. He received
a common-school education for a limited time.
At the age of fourteen he commenced work in
the timber factories of Van Wert, and finished
his studies in private night schools. He
worked at the house-painting trade from 1881
to 1884, when he became book-keeper in the
wholesale cigar and tobacco store of F. C.
Arnold. He continued to act in that position
until 1889, when he became the traveling
representative of the firm, then largely en
gaged in the manufacture of cigars ; filled that
position until 1892, since which time he has
been engaged in business of his own at No. 16
North Washington street, Van Wert. Believ
ing in the principles of untiring industry and
strict business integrity, he has been success
ful. Politically he is a stanch republican.
Mr. Lawhead was married October 7, 1883,
to Miss Jessie F. Allen, who was born in Van
Wert, June 6, 1865, and who is a daughter of
Harvey E. and Louisa (Van Horn) Allen. To
this marriage have been born two sons — Fred
C. and Edward W. Mrs. Jessie Lawhead is
and for years has been a devout member of
the First Methodist Episcopal church of Van

Wert, and is a lady of many excellent and at
tractive qualities. Born and reared in Van
Wert, she enjoys the respect and friendship
of a wide circle of warm personal friends and
acquaintances.

WOHN LEESON, at the head of the ex-
A tensive cooperage firm at Van Wert,
A 1 Ohio, known as the Leeson Cooperage
~ company, was born near Montreal,
Canada, July 20, 1837, a son of Edward and
Mary ( Quigley ) Leeson. The father was born
in England in 1800, was a soldier in the Brit
ish army, was married in England, settled in
Canada in 1830, and was there engaged in
farming until his death, which occurred in
1873, being followed to his grave by his widow
in 1878. Both were members of the Episco
pal church. The seven children born to Ed
ward and Mary Leeson were named Margaret,
Anna, Maria, John, Elizabeth, Thomas and
Fannie. John Leeson was reared and educated in
Canada and there learned the machinist's
trade. Early in i860 he came to the United
States and followed his trade at Peoria, 111.,
until July of the same year, and then worked
in the railroad shops at Fort Wayne, Ind. , un
til 1864, as a journeyman; he was then made
assistant foreman and filled that position until
1880, when he was promoted to the general
foremanship, which he held until 1882, when
he came to Scott, Van Wert county, lived
there two years, and in 1884 came to the city
of Van Wert, where he has since made his
home. In 1882 he purchased the hoop factory
at Dawkins, Ind., moved it to Scott, Ohio,
operated it until 1888, and then formed a stock
company, composed of H. Butler, L. Dorin,
and himself, for the manufacture of hoops,
staves, headings, etc.; in 1889, the company
was reorganized, the stockholders being Mr.

438

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Leeson, G. H. Marsh, and J. B. Smith, under
the title of the Leeson Cooperage company, of
which Mr. Leeson is the manager. Mr. Lee
son is also interested in a cooperage plant at
Mill Shoals, 111., and owns a farm of 248 acres
in Van Wert county, Ohio; he is also inter
ested, with others, in 300 acres in Van Wert
county, and 1,000 acres in Paulding county;
likewise he owns 1, 140 acres of timber land in
Hamilton county, 111. He also has valuable
town property in Fort Wayne, in Van Wert,
and in Mill Shoals. Mr. Leeson, with his
family, of whom mention will directly be
made, is a member of the Presbyterian church.
In politics he is a republican, and for four
years served as a member of the city council
of Van Wert, and has also served as a mem
ber of the board of health; fraternally he is a
Thirty-second degree Mason — it being as high
a degree as any of the brethern of that order
care to reach.
John Leeson was united in matrimony, at
Fort Wayne, Ind., June 11, 1863, with Miss
Mary P. Tower, a native of that city, born
January 5, 1840, and a daughter of Benjamin
H. and Catherine (Paul) Tower. Her father,
Benjamin H., was born in Hamilton county,
N. Y. , and her mother, Catherine, was a
native of New York city. They were married
in Detroit, Mich., January 9, 1837, an£l to
their union were born eight children, viz:
Mary P., wife of Mr. Leeson; William H.,
deceased; Margaret A., of Fort Wayne; Ben
jamin H., of Toledo, Ohio; Katie, deceased;
Agnes, deceased; Mack, a machinist of Fort
Wayne; and John, deceased. The parents
settled in Fort Wayne after marriage, and
there for many years Mr. Tower followed cab
inet making. Mrs. Catherine Tower died in
that city July 6, 1856, and Mr. Tower, Sep
tember 23, 1872 — both members of the Pres
byterian church. In politics Mr. Tower was
a democrat, and for some years was a council

man. The children that blessed the union of
John Leeson and his wife, Mary P., were five
in number and born and named as follows:
Kate E., born October 19, 1864 — died March
27, 1 881; Benjamin B., born April 14, 1873,
— a medical student in Philadelphia, and a
member of the Masonic order; Margaret A.,
born June 1, 1874 — died January 16, 1878;;
John Alexander, born March 27, 1876 — died
March 24, 1878, and Mary L., born July 28,
1879. Mrs. Leeson is one of the twelve mem
bers of the Van Wert library association, and
one of its most active workers, while Mr. Lee
son, it is needless to add, is one of the most
useful citizens of Van Wert. The elegant family
residence is at the corner of North Washington
and West First streets, where domestic happi
ness may be found, if found anywhere in this,
wide world.

WOHN PETER KLEIN, deceased, was
£ born in Outenberg, Bavaria, Germany,
A j June 17, 1 84 1. His father, Andrew
^~" Klein, was born in the same place, and
at an early age learned the miller's trade, was
very skillful and successful, and followed this.
trade until his death in 1868, when he left his
family in very good circumstances. At an
early age Andrew Klein married Miss Proffit,
who lived near his home in Bavaria, and four
children were born to them, viz: Lizzie,
Jacob, Andrew and John P., the first and last
of whom came to America. Immediately
after landing in New York they came to Van
Wert, where Miss Lizzie still lives and is yet
unmarried. John P. Klein, the subject of our sketch,
passed his childhood and early manhood days
in the old home in the fatherland, and there
received a good education and learned the
shoemaker's trade, at which he worked until
he was twenty years old, when (in 1861) he

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

441

came to America with nothing to battle with
life but the determination to succeed and pros
per in the land of his future adoption. He
settled in Van Wert and worked at his trade
nntil the war broke out, when he, as did many
others from the land of his birth, entered the
army of his adopted country to fight for its
preservation. He enlisted in company K,
Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, Septem
ber 23, 1862, served faithfully and bravely
through the war, and made an excellent rec
ord, for which he afterward drew a pension
until his death.
On June 10, 1865, Mr. Klein was mustered
out of service at Washington, D. C, returned
to Van Wert and went to work at his trade,
and on April 5, 1866, married Anna Hauder-
shield, who was born in Switzerland on Jan
uary 11, 1845, and when but three months
old was brought to America by her parents.
Her father, John Haudershield, was born on
the 1 8th of February, 1804, in the same place,
where, afterward, his children were born; he
was a cutler by trade, at which he was very
skillful. He was married to Anna Raber, also
a native of Switzerland, and this marriage was
blessed by the following-named children:
Mary, Jacob, Christ, Anna, John and Henry.
He followed his trade until middle life, when
he emigrated and came to America, landing in
New York, where he lived a while and then
moved his family to Athens, Ohio, where he
remained for seven years, and then moved to
Van Wert and bought a farm, cultivated it for
four years and prospered, and then retired and
went to live with his daughter, Anna, with
whom he remained until death called him
away. He was in very comfortable circum
stances at the time of his death.
Soon after his marriage Mr. Klein gave up
the shoemaker's trade and took up mercantile
business, at which he was very prosperous, and
continued until his health broke down. In

the spring of 1880 he went to Germany to
visit the scenes of his boyhood and in hopes of
regaining his lost health. After spending five
months there, he, on October 5, 1880, again
landed on American soil, here to remain until
his death. He was a perfect gentleman, much
liked and esteemed by all who knew him. He
was a progressive, careful business man, pub
lic spirited, and had the confidence of all with
whom he came in contact. Politically he was
a democrat; he was an active worker, also, in
Saint Peter's Evangelical church, of which his
widow is still a faithful member. During life
he was the organist of this church, and gave
liberally to its support, as he did to all good
and worthy causes. He left his widow, a most
worthy lady, who resides in Van Wert, in very
good circumstances. She is comforted in her
old age by her five children, namely: Amelia,
born March 9, 1867, and married to Charles
Hott, of Van Wert; Louis, born July23, 1869,
who is a prompt clerk in A. Lynch's grocery,
being a young man of exemplary habits and
popular with all with whom he comes in con
tact; Mary, born July 9, 1875, now one of Van
Wert's brightest and most charming young
ladies and holding a very good position in D.
R. Bonnewitz' dry-goods store; Frederick,
born April 20, 1877, is a very promising young
man and is progressing finely in his chosen
profession, telegraphy; Florence, born January
28, 1883, is still at home with her mother.
They form a happy family and are a joy and
comfort to their mother.

*| * ENRY G. LEHMANN, the subject of
l^\ this review, holds distinctive prestige
A .r as one of the representative citizens
and most prominent business men of
the city of Van Wert, where he conducts, un
der the firm name of H. G. Lehmann & Son,
an extensive retail dry-goods business, and it

442

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

would be flagrant neglect were there failure to
incorporate a review of his life in this compila
tion. Mr. Lehmann traces his lineage back to
the German empire, and on either side to fam
ilies of prominence and influence, being the
son of Gabriel and Anna E. (Bochman) Leh
mann, the former of whom was a native of
Baden and the latter of Bavaria, Germany.
The grandfather in the agnatic line was Leo
pold Lehmann, was a soldier for six years un
der the great Napoleon in Spain, and partici
pated in the campaign through Russia; was
also a physician of eminence, and emigrated
to the United States about the year 1834, and
soon after his arrival located in Columbus,
Ohio, where his wife died. His family com
prised seven sons and four daughters, all of
whom accompanied him on his emigration to
the United States. After a time he removed
from Columbus and took up his abode near
Fremont, Ohio, where he was engaged in the
practice of his profession, and where he re
mained in practice until his increasing age
compelled his retirement. He thereafter main
tained his home with his son, Ludiger, near
Rising Sun, Wood county, Ohio, until his
death, which occurred July 27, 1872.
Gabriel Lehmann, father of our subject,
was born in Baden, Germany, in the year of
1 8 19, and was there reared and educated. At
the age of sixteen years he was apprenticed
to learn the tailor's trade, in which he became
an expert workman. In 1842 he began busi
ness upon his own responsibility, at Fort
Wayne, Ind., and after one year he moved to
Charloe, which was then the county seat of
Paulding county, and there conducted business
for one year, when he settled in Delphos,
then called Section 10, and established him
self as a merchant tailor, and a dealer in
men's furnishing goods. In i860 he effected
the purchase of a farm in Washington town
ship, Van Wert county, and here he resided at

the time of^his death, in 1879. In politics he
was originally a whig, but became a republican
upon the organization of that party. He was
reared in the faith of the Roman Catholic
church, but before attaining his majority joined
the Presbyterian church, of which he was a
member at the time of his demise. In 1842
Gabriel Lehmann was united in marriage to
Anna E. Bochman, and they became the par
ents of the following-named children: Henry
G., the immediate subject of this review;
Charles L. ; Frederick H., and Matilda, who
became the wife of Rev. G. H. Priddy, and
who died in 1874.
Henry G. Lehmann, the subject of this
sketch, was born in Fort Wayne, Ind. , De
cember 27, 1842, and his youthful years were
passed at Delphos, where he was able to
secure a good practical education. At the age
of thirteen years he began his business career
by engaging as a salesman in a dry-goods
establishment at Delphos, Ohio. When his
father retired to his farm, our subject accom
panied him and there remained until August
19, 1 86 1. At this time he responded to that
imperative call which the nation made to all
loyal men to aid in suppressing armed rebellion,
and he enlisted in company H, Thirty-second
regiment of Ohio volunteer infantry, in which
he served his full term, and then re-enlisted in
the same company and regiment at Vicksburg,
Miss., on the ist of January, 1864. He was
honorably discharged from the service of the
United States on the 3d day of August, 1865,
at Columbus, Ohio, his military record having
been one of distinction and one in which he
may well take pride. September 1, 1862, at
Winchester, Va., he was appointed sergeant,
and November 7, 1862, at Vicksburg, Miss.,
he was detailed as clerk of the headquarters of
the Seventeenth army corps, Maj. -Gen. James
B. McPherson, commanding. Upon the re
organization of the department and army of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

443

the Tennessee, under Maj. -Gen. McPherson,
in 1864, he was detailed for duty as clerk in
the adjutant-general's office of said department
and army, continuing to serve in that capacity
until he was detailed for similar duty in the
adjutant-general's office, war department, at
Washington, D. C. , in June, 1865, which in
cumbency he retained until he was relieved at
his own request, in order to enable him to be
mustered out of the United States service, his
regiment having been mustered out July 31,
1865. This antedated his discharge a few
days, the date of the later being August 3,
1865. In token of his loyal and valiant service
Mr. Lehmann was awarded the "medal of
honor," on the 4th of April, 1864, said medal
having been conferred by Maj. -Gen. McPher
son, commanding the Seventeenth army corps.
Mr. Lehmann participated in all the battles of
the Allegheny mountains in West Virginia; in
the engagements at McDowell, W. Va. ; Cross
Keys, Va. ; Harper's Ferry, Va. , 1862; and
all the engagements of the Vicksburg campaign
in 1863, and the siege and surrender of that
stronghold. After the close of his military service our
subject returned to the parental homestead
and shortly afterward accepted a position as
book-keeper for A. B. McCurdy & Co., hard
ware dealers in Van Wert, which incumbency
he retained for six years. He then associated
himself with David Casto and John S. Eyler
under the firm name of Casto, Lehmann &
Co., and engaged in the hardware business,
securing excellent patronage and continuing
the prosperous enterprise until 1874. By this
time his health had become seriously impaired,
rendering it imperative that he should seek
less sedentary occupation, and accordingly he
disposed of his business interests, purchased a
farm and was engaged in agricultural pursuits
until the year 1882. In that year he became
identified with the mercantile business in Con

voy by purchasing a dry-goods establishment
in that place, and he there conducted a suc
cessful business until 1888, when he came to
Van Wert and established his present enter
prise, which he has since conducted with a
marked degree of success, the establishment
being one of the best equipped and most pop
ular in the city, and a representative patronage
being accorded.
In his political adherency, Mr. Lehmann is
stanchly allied with ihe republican party, and
fraternally is a member of the W. C. Scott
post, G. A. R. , of Van Wert, and is also
identified with the Knights of Maccabees. In
his religious convictions he holds to the faith
of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which
he holds official preferment as trustee. In 1866
Mr. Lehmann was united in marriage to Eliza
J. Zimmerman, daughter of Abraham Zimmer
man, and to this union have been born the
following children: William A., who is asso
ciated with his father in business; Anna L. ,
wife of D. H. Shepard; Mary E. ; Rosa B. ;
Levi F. ; M. Pearl; John L. ; Alice A., and
Henrietta G. Mary E., Levi F. and John L. ,
died in infancy.

@EORGE LESLEY, probably the old
est resident of Pleasant township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, is a native of
Pennsylvania, born on the 24th day
of August, 181 5, near the city of Pittsburg.
His paternal ancestors were among the early
settlers of the Keystone state, and his father,
Daniel Lesley, was born about the year 1777.
Daniel Lesley was reared to manhood in Penn
sylvania, was there married, and for a number
of years followed the occupation of salt-mak
ing. He reared a family of five children, viz:
Elizabeth, deceased wife of William Hutchi
son; Harrison C. ; George, whose name intro-

444

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

duces this mention; Ellen, deceased wife of
George Smith; Orpha, deceased wife of Jesse
Bailey, and Wyatt, of Napoleon, Ohio. About
the year of 1820, Daniel Lesley and family
immigrated to Harrison county, Ohio, being
among the first pioneers of that section of the
state, and there he lived the remainder of his
days, departing this life in 1822. The wife,
who had been his faithful companion for many
years, died about the same time, and lies
buried by his side.
George Lesley was left an orphan at a very
•early age, and when but seven years old was
bound to one Isaac Thomas, a Quaker, with
whom he lived until attaining his majority.
He received his education in such schools as
the country at that time afforded, in the prim
itive log school-house. Mr. Lesley began life
for himself as a mechanic, and was employed
for some time as salesman and builder of
threshing machines, in whieh he acquired con
siderable efficiency. For a period of eleven
years, he operated threshing machines and
dealt in live stock in the counties of Licking,
Knox and Harrison, and afterward engaged in
agricultural pursuits in Perry and Licking
counties. In 1854, he moved to the county of
Van Wert, locating on the place where he now
resides, which at that time was a tract of wild
woodland, upon which but few, if any, attempts
at improvements had been made. He erected
a small house of logs, and at once set himself
to the task of removing the forest growth and
fitting the soil for cultivation, developing, in
due time, a fine farm, upon which he" expects
to pass the remainder of his days.
In 1843, Mr. Lesley was united in mar
riage to Nancy Henderson, daughter of James
and Nancy (Day) Henderson, to which union
seven children have been born, viz: Frank,
commercial traveler, whose home is in the city
of Van Wert; James G., a painter, of the same
city; Joseph, who holds the position of night

marshal of Van Wert; Alice, wife of Joseph
Hook, of Mercer county; Uretta, wife of Riley
Horr, of Parsons, Kans.; William, deceased,
and Mary O., wife of Samuel Balyeat, of
Pleasant township. The mother of these chil
dren was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1821,
a descendant of an old Pennsylvania family,
a number of representatives of which were
among the pioneer settlers of Ohio at the
beginning of the present century. She was a
woman of many excellent traits of character, a
devout member of the Baptist church, and her
death occurred in the year 1878.
Mr. Lesley has been prominently identified
with the agricultural interests of Pleasant
township ever since his settlement at the date
above mentioned, and it is but a just tribute
to state, in this connection, that he has ever
been regarded as one of the honored and ex
emplary citizens of the community, toward
which he has done so much to develop. He
has already reached his four-score years, and
looks back upon a life well spent, realizing
that all of his success has been achieved by his
own unaided efforts. He possesses a reasona
ble amount of this world's goods, takes an
active interest in the local affairs of his town
ship, and has more than once been called to
fill important official positions. Politically Mr.
Lesley has been a stanch supporter of the re
publican party ever since its organization, and
has never wavered in his belief that its princi
ples are for the best interest of the country.

>"-7*AC0B LEPLEY, a wealthy farmer of
A Ridge township, Van Wert county,
A I Ohio, is a native of Columbiana county,
in the same state, and was born June
26, 181 5. His parents, John and Eve (Piper)
Lepley, were natives of Maryland, but early
became settlers of Ohio, and both died in

2^2S^ ^t^zS&lZ^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

447

Trumbull county. Their children were born
in the following order; Christina, deceased wife
of William Forney; Michael and John, both
deceased; Elizabeth, wife of Jehu Taylor;
Susannah, deceased wife of Samuel Menser;
•Christian, a Lutheran clergyman of Springfield,
Ohio, and Jacob, the subject of this sketch.
The father of this family was a gentleman of
limited means only, was a wagon-maker, and
also carried on farming in a moderate way.
Jacob Lepley began his business life in
1839, as a clerk, at Kenton, Ohio, in the dry-
goods store of his brother, in-law, Samuel
Menser, but in 1840 returned to his father's
home and worked for his brother Michael at
wagon-making for two years. September 23,
1 841, he married Elanor Creighton, daughter
of Thomas and Sarah (Montgomery) Creighton,
who died July 10, 1895, the union resulting in
the birth of the following children: Susan
nah, the widow of Simeon Hickman, of Van
Wert county; Sarah Ellen, who died in child
hood; Mary Ermina, wife of James Crooks, of
Van Wert city; Martin Luther, who died in
boyhood ; Thomas, at home ; Omar, a merchant
•of Hastings, Nebr.; Emmett, deceased; Nancy,
wife of Clark Callahan, a farmer residing near
Salem, Ohio; Franklin, deceased, and William
J., a telegraph operator at Sawyer, Nebr.
After marriage Mr. Lepley followed farming
for about twenty years before coming to Van
Wert county, but in the winter of i860 pur
chased 160 acres in Ridge township, which he
has converted into a lovely home. He has
met with abundant success as a farmer and is
now one of the most thriving agriculturists of
Ridge township, if not in the county of Van
Wert. With his wife, he is a sincere Presby
terian, and has been a ruling elder in the church
for more than thirty years. Since the organi
zation of the republican party he has been one
of its ardent members, although previously he
had been a democrat. He and family are

greatly respected by the people of Ridge and
adjoining townships, and are well deserving of
the regard in which they are held.

^/AETER KNITTLE, one of the well-to-
I I do farmers of Ridge township, Van
Jl Wert county, was born in Allen
county, Ohio, April 8, 1850, a son of
George and Margaret (Walters) Knittle, the
former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania
and the latter of Hocking county, Ohio.
George Knittle was born July 23, 1803, and
after an extraordinarily prolonged and useful
life, died May 10, 1894; his wife was born in
1827, but did not reach the longevity that
was granted to her husband, having died July
26, 1870. The more prominent events in the
life of George Knittle may be briefly summed
up as follows: As a child he was brought from
Pennsylvania to Ohio by his. parents, who set
tled in Fairfield county, where George was
reared to farming. In Fairbeld county, also,
George Knittle was first married, and in 1833
moved to Allen county, where he entered 160
acres near Elida, on which he settled with
his wife and first-born child, John, and after
his settlement in Allen county, this little fam
ily was increased by the birth of Elizabeth,
Sarah and William — all four of whom are now
deceased. In 1842 his first wife died, and to
his second marriage, with Margaret Walters,
were born three children — Samuel, who resides
in Ridge township; Caroline, the wife of Jacob
Burgner, a farmer of Pleasant township, Van
Wert county, and Peter, our subject. In 1853,
George Knittle came to Van Wert county and
purchased 320 acres in section No. 14, Ridge
township. To this land he added acreage to
some extent, and after giving to his surviving
children eighty acres each, had a residue of
240 acres, which have since been partitioned.
Peter Knittle, our subject, besides being a

448

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

practical farmer, has devoted considerable of
his time to carpenter work, blacksmithing and
threshing, being in every respect a thorough
going business man, filled with energy and ex
pedients. He has served his fellow-citizens
four years as township trustee, and in the fall
of 1892 was elected to the office of county com
missioner, receiving the largest vote of any can
didate on his ticket, and in both positions his
duties were well and creditably performed and
in a manner that has redounded to his own
good name and to the benefit of his constitu
ents — many miles of ditching having been com
pleted during his incumbency of his last posi-
sition. In the fall of 1895 Mr. Knittle was
elected to the second term of county commis
sioner, being the only democrat elected in the
county, and, having a majority of ninety-six to
overcome, was elected by thirty-two votes.
Mr. Knittle was happily married, June 24,
1875, t0 Miss Lucy A. Stewart, daughter of
Thomas and Angeline (Nye) Stewart, of Fair
field county, Ohio, -the result of the union being
five children, viz: Nettie May, Joseph Edward,
Laura Emma, Ora Edith and Noah Andrew.
Mrs. Knittle and her eldest daughter, Nettie,
are devout members of the Lutheran church,
and the entire family have so lived as to win
the respect and good will of all that know them.
Mr. Knittle owns 220 acres- of fine land
situated in section No. 14, Ridge township,
with fine buildings and well drained, and in
company with Philip Paulus owns a com
plete Rumley thresher outfit, picket-mill, corn
husker, etc.

St

T. LEITNER, an experienced
farmer of Union township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, comes of good
old sturdy Holland-Dutch stock,
and is a son of William B. and Elizabeth
(Miller) Leitner. His grandfather, Adam

Leitner, was born in Holland about 1750, and
when a young man was banished from his
native country on account of his religious
belief, he being a Protestant. On coming to
America it is probable that he first settled in
Maryland and later moved to Pennsylvania, as
he died in Little York at the age of eighty-five
years. He had married, in Holland, the
Princess Wilhelmina Berrypole, the result
being the birth of six children, named John,
William B., Adam, Samuel, Peter and Lena.
The father of our subject, William B. Leitner,
was born in Pennsylvania in 1808, and grew to-
manhood in Little York, where he learned the
hatter's trade. In 1832 he was united in mar
riage with Elizabeth Miller, who was born in
Cumberland county, Pa., in 1808, a daughter
of Samuel and Rebecca (Loganecker) Miller,
and in 1840 came to Ohio and located in
Wayne county, making the journey in wagons.
Here he worked at his trade for seven years,
when he removed to Shelby, in Richland
county, and became connected with the rail
road. About 1858 he moved to Crestline and
remained with the railroad company until
1867, when he come to Van Wert county and
purchased a farm in Union township, on which
he lived until 1880, his wife dying in 1875.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Leitner
numbered nine and were named as follows :
Sarah, deceased wife of H. B. Matoon; Wil
helmina, deceased wife of T. S. Raymond;
Catherine, deceased; Elizabeth, wife of T. S.
Marvin; Caroline, who died in childhood;
Susan, married to Dr. A. R. Lord; Elsetta M.,
wife Of S. A. Murphy; Adeline, wife of B. F.
Baxter; and M. T., the subject of this sketch.
The parents of this family were both members
of the Church of God, and in politics Mr.
Leitner was was first an old-line whig, but
later a stanch republican.
M. T. Leitner, the subject proper of this
sketch, was born in 1837 and received his

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

449

early education in a little log school-house in
Shelby, Ohio. At the age of thirteen he
entered the freight office of the Bee Line Rail
road company as clerk, and there remained
until 1 86 1, when he responded to his country's
call and enlisted in company I, Fifteenth Ohio
volunteer infantry, under Capt. Burns, for
three years. He was assigned to the Sixth
brigade, under Gen. McCook, in Tennessee,
and took part in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth,
Tuscumbia, Guntown, Battle Creek, Mission
ary Ridge, Chickamauga, Chattanooga and
Kenesaw Mountain. He was wounded at
Corinth, Miss., while in skirmish line, sent
home on furlough, and discharged August 6,
1862, but re-enlisted in company K, One
Hundred and Twentieth Ohio, and was sent
to Gen. Grant's army at Memphis, Tenn.,
with which he participated in the Mississippi
campaign, fighting at Fort Pickering and
Young's Point, and then skirmishing forty-two
days near Yazoo Pass. He was then sent up
Red river under Gen. Banks, but the boat on
which he was embarked was sunk and all but
fifteen of his regiment captured, Mr. Leitner
being among those who escaped. He was
then sent to Saint Louis, Mo., where he
remained until the close of the war, and was
honorably discharged, August 26, 1865. He
then returned to Shelby, and in 1867 came to
his present home in Union township, Van
Wert county.
The marriage of Mr. Leitner took place
January 25, 1872, to Miss Elizabeth C. Mur
phy, born in 1847, a daughter of John and
Nancy A. (Porter) Murphy, whose sketch will
be found on another page. To this union
have been born four children, viz : Catherine,
who died in infancy; Eva, Maud and John W.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Leitner are members of
Lutheran church, and politically he is a repub
lican. In 1882 he was elected township clerk,
and in this capacity served four years, and is

at present a notary public. Mr. Leitner is an
enterprising, public-spirited citizen, and enjoys
the respect and esteem of all his neighbors.

eLI P. LESLIE, deceased, at one time
a prominent physician of Van Wert
county, was born November 18, 1817.
He was a son of Elisha Leslie, a na
tive of Columbiana county, Ohio, having been
born there October 27, 1789. In his native
county he early learned the trade of a tailor,
and for many years followed that trade, being
unusually successful in his calling. He mar
ried Miss Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, who came
from Virginia to Ohio, and after their mar
riage they removed to Hancock county, Ohio,
remaining there until, at a very old age, they
removed to Bluffton, Allen county, where
they died, he at the age of seventy-seven, she
at the age of seventy-one. They were the
parents of the following children: Joseph,
Mary, John, Eli P., Sarah and Elizabeth.
Only one of these six children is now living,
viz: Elizabeth, a widow, of Dunkirk, Ohio.
She is the mother of ten children. Elisha
Leslie was in his early life a whig, but toward
his latter days he was a republican, that party
advocating principles in which he believed.
In religious views both he and his wife were
Methodists, and both were excellent people in
every respect.
Eli P. Leslie was born in Columbiana
county, Ohio. He was educated in the country
schools of that county, and having made good
use of his time was enabled to teach school
when he was sixteen years of age. This pro
fession he adopted early in order to earn money
with which to pay his expenses while studying
medicine at the medical school at Springfield,
which he attended for some time, and then
went to Columbus, where he remained three
years, graduating with the highest honors of

450

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

his class in 1853. After graduating he located
in Williamstown, Hancock counfy, Ohio, and
practiced there one year. Then he removed
to Cannonsburg, where he practiced sixteen
years, wth gratifying success. From there he
removed to Logan county, where he remained
four years, and then returned to .Hancock
county, where he remained nine years. In
1870 he located in Bluffton, Allen county, and
in 1878 he finally removed to Van Wert
-county, where he was elected superintendent
-of the county infirmary and physician for the
same institution, which positions be filled four
years. He was a strong man — strong in every
thing that he was or that he undertook. In |
politics he was a strong democrat, and in re
ligious matters he was a strong Lutheran.
Nothing about him was at all half way. But,
withal, he was a very liberal man both with
his means and in his opinions. He recognized
the right of every man to form his own
belief and to arrive at his own conclusions,
without reference to him or to the precon
ceived notions of any person or class of persons.
He lived in Convoy, Van Wert county, from
the time of his location there, in 1878, until
his death, wich occurred February 29, 1888.
•On October 24, 1841, he was married to Miss
"Hannah Marshall, of Trumbull county, Ohio,
by whom he had ten children, as follows:
Frank, James, Albert J., Samantha, William,
Melissa, Joseph, Eliza, John and Clements, of
whom six are living. The deaths of the others
occurred as follows: James B., July 23, 1845;
Albert J., March 28, 1881; John, March 9,
1879, and Samantha, September 28, 1850.
Dr. Eli P. Leslie, when he died, left his
family in good circumstances. Three of his
children live in Convoy, Ohio; one in Van
Wert, Ohio, and one in Chicago. All are mar
ried and heads of families except Eliza, who
is single. Hannah Marshall, the wife of Dr. Leslie,

was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, in .1820.
Her father, Benjamin Marshall, was born in
Pennsylvania, July 5, 1791. He was of Irish
descent, and a farmer by occupation during
his entire life. At the age of twelve he left
Pennsylvania and removed to Ohio, locating
on a farm in Trumbull county, on which he
lived until his death, which occurred in 1862.
In politics he was a democrat, and he was a
member of the Presbyterian church. By his
marriage to Jane McKinley — cousin of Maj.
William McKinley — he was the father of nine
children, as follows: William, Carson, Han
nah, Eliza, Isaac, Emeline, Lida, Clark and
John. Four of these children are still living,
three in Ohio and one in Nebraska. All are
married. Hannah Marshall, the wife of Dr.
Leslie, met him at Cannonsburg, and they were
married after an acquaintance of six weeks;
but notwithstanding this short courtship their
lives were very happy ones. She is now living
in Convoy, Ohio, with her daughter Eliza,
highly esteemed by all for her sterling quali
ties of character.

j/\R ADAM NELSON KROUT, de-
1 1 ceased, was born in Baltimore county,
/A^J Md., December 30, 1836, a son of
John and Nancy (Bond) Krout. John
Krout, the father, was a native of Pennsyl
vania, was a farmer, and came to Ohio about
1856, locating in Hancock county. His wife,
Nancy, was also a native of Pennsylvania, and
both she and her husband ended their years on
earth on the Ohio farm mentioned above.
They were the parents of twelve children, of
whom four still survive.
Dr. A. N. Krout was a mere child when
taken from Maryland to York county, Pa., by
his parents, with whom he there resided until
about twenty years of age, when, with them,
he came to Hancock county, Ohio. There he

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

453-'

began the study of medicine under Dr. McDon
ald, of Mount Blanchard, read under him until
1862, and then entered the Starling Medical
college at Columbus, Ohio, from which he
graduated in 1866. He at once located in
Van Wert, where his abilities were quickly
recognized, and he soon secured a lucrative
practice, which he followed until his death,
which occurred January 22, 1891.
Dr. A. N. Krout was married in Hancock
county, Ohio, August 18, 1858, to Miss Ra
chael A. Orwick, a native of the county, born
January 18, 1842, and a daughter of Henry
and Hannah (Taylor) Orwick, both natives of
York, Pa. , who early in life came to Ohio, and
here died in 1870 and 1856 respectively. By
the union of the doctor and his wife were born
five children, viz: an infant, deceased; Ger
trude, Milton and Emma V., all three also de
ceased; and William C. , at home. The
father of this family was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a
trustee, and in politics was a republican until
1888, when he became a prohibitionist. He
was also a member of the Royal Arcanum, and
socially stood very high. He accumulated con
siderable property in his life-time, owning, at
the time of his death, a fine farm of 225 acres
in Pleasant township, three valuable residence
lots in Van Wert, and his private residence on
South Washington street; beside this property,
he held a life insurance policy for a consider
able amount. Mrs. Krout is also a prominent
and devout member of the Methodist Episco
pal church, and is highly respected by her
friends and neighbors.

^>j*OHN LUERSMANN, one of the well-
A known farmers of Washington town-
A J ship, Vari Wert county, Ohio, was
born on the farm where he now lives
on May 8, 1852, and is the son of Casper

Luersmann, one of the pioneers of the town
ship. The father was a native of Hanover,
Germany, where he was reared, and where he
was married to Anna Elizabeth Raude. In
1844 they came to the United States, landing
in New York, and coming direct to Fort Jen
nings, Putnam county, Ohio. They rented
land on the Auglaize river and farmed there
until 1847, and -then came to. Van Wert
county, they having entered forty acres from
the government, located in section No. 35.
This was then all woods and full of wild ani
mals and wild game. But they began to clear
off the timber and by dint of hard work were
soon able to put in a crop. The father died
in 1886, in his seventy-seventh year; the
mother died in 1891, aged eighty-two years.
and three months. Both parents were mem
bers of Saint John's Roman Catholic church.
To the parents three children were born, as
follows: Clara, born in the old country, was-
married to Harman Trentmann, of Marion
township, Allen connty, and died in February,
1884, leaving her husband and five sons and
three daughters; Dina was born in Putnam
county, in 1846; and our subject.
John Luersmann was brought up on the
home farm in Washington township, and at
tended the district schools, learning both Ger
man and English. He has always lived on the
home farm, remaining with his parents all
their lives. Two years before his father died
he deeded the farm to his son, and the latter
now owns it entirely. There are eighty acres
in the place, and in 1890 our subject purchased
forty acres more, which does not join on but is
close, all in section No. 36. The residence,
however, is in section No. 35, two miles south
west from Delphos. In 1893 he also pur
chased a farm of sixty-five acres near Landeck,
for which he paid $4,000.
Mr. Luersmann was married, in 1876, to
Annie Maesker, who was born in Marian town-

454

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ship, Allen county, in 1856, and is the daugh
ter of Casper Maesker. To Mr. and Mrs.
Luersmann nine children have been born, as
follows: Rosa, John H., Frank, Mary,
Regina, Joseph (deceased), Alice, (deceased)
Leo (deceased) and Bertha. All the family
are members of the Saint John's Roman Cath
olic church. Mr. Luersmann is a member of
the Saint Joseph's society and his wife is a mem
ber of Saint Mary's Altar society.

ST

'ILLIAM W. LUDWIG, one of the
substantial and enterprising farmers
of Hoaglin township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, was born in Balti
more county, Md. , July 8, 1838, and is of
sturdy German descent, his great-grandfather,
John Ludwig, having brought his family from
Germany prior to the American Revolution,
and having settled in York county, Pa., but
dying in Van Wert county, Ohio. John Lud
wig, second son of the John named above, and
the grandfather of William W., our subject,
was also born in Germany, and was a young
man when he came with his father to America
and settled in York county, Pa. where he be
came a prosperous farmer, a prominent citi
zen, and quite wealthy for his day, and where
he married, and died, a member of the Lu
theran church. John Ludwig the third, father
of our subject, was born in York county, Pa.,
March 11, 1806, and died in Hancock county,
Ohio, February 17, 1872. He had received a
sound, common-school education in his native
county, was there married to Miss Eve Hilder-
brand, daughter of Philip and Katie (Inetine)
Hilderbrand, pioneers and wealthy farm people
of York county, and to this marriage of John
and Eve Ludwig were born the following chil
dren: Isabella, Ellen B., Rebecca (deceased),
William W. (our subject), Henry H. (who died
at Arcadia, Ohio), Sarah J. (deceased), and

John W. (died at Chattanooga, during the late
war). The parents of this family, after their
marriage, continued to live in York county,
Pa., for sixteen or eighteen years on a farm,
and then moved to Crawford county, Ohio,
whence they removed to Seneca county three
years later, and finally, five years later, settled
in Washington township, Hancock county,
where they first bought a farm of 120 acres,
but afterwards increased it to 160 acres, and
there died members of the United Brethren
church. William W. Ludwig, the subject proper of
this biographical notice, received in his youth
ful days a good, solid common-school educa
tion, and was reared on the home farm in York
county, Pa., where he married, April 20, 1862,
Mrs. Caroline Smith, daughter of Thomas and
Catherine (Strayer) Stiles, and widow of Charles
Smith, who died January 17, 1856, and to
whom she was the mother of three children —
Ellen (deceased), Sophia and Frank C. Mr.
Smith was a farmer and shoemaker of York
county, Pa., was a democrat in politics, and
in religion a Lutheran. The children born to
Mr. Ludwig by his marriage to Mrs. Smith are
Henry H., Lydia A., Amelia, John W., and
Della. One year after his marriage Mr. Lud
wig left his home in Pennsylvania and located
in Washington township, Hancock county,
Ohio, where he resided a year, then moved to
Hardin county, where he lived two and a half
years, then moved back to Hancock county,
purchased a farm near Vanlue and lived there
five years, then bought his father's old farm in
Washington township, Hancock county, Ohio,
where he lived for eighteen months; then emi
grated to Holt county, Mo., where he bought
180 acres, on which he lived two years; then
traded for a farm in Richland county, Ohio, on
which he made a home nine years, and then
traded for his home of eighty acres in Hoaglin
township, Van Wert county, Ohio, on -which

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

455

he has since resided and to which he has added
seventeen acres, having now as fine and as well
improved a farm of its size as there is in the
county — all of which has been earned by his
own industry, aided by that of his family. Mr.
Ludwig is a stanch democrat and has served
two terms as township trustee; he is also a
justice of the peace. He is liberal in his con
tributions to church purposes and is equally
liberal in his aid to school enterprises. He is
a member of lodge No. 791, I. O. O. F. , at
Scott, and is a well known and highly respected
citizen. Mrs. Ludwig is a consistent member
of the Evangelical church. Her brothers and
sisters were named, in the order of birth:
Leah (deceased), Maria, Sarah (deceased),
Katie, Lydia, Mary, Eliza, Henrietta, Chris
tian J. and William — her own birth occurred
April 5, 1831.

HLEXANDER LEWIS, one of the
wealthy land owners of Tully town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born in New Jersey and comes from
an old colonial family, of English descent.
John Lewis, his father, also a native of New
Jersey, married Mrs. Euphemia Earl, whose
maiden name was also Lewis, but no relation
ship existed between them. The only issue
of this marriage was Alexander, our subject,
who was born March 4, 1834. John Lewis,
the father, died in 1837, and in 1838 the sub
ject was brought to Ohio by his mother and
maternal grandfather, James Lewis, who set
tled in Belmont county. Here the lad, Alex
ander, began work, at a tender age in the coal
mines, and at the age of sixteen began to learn
the trade of stone-mason, at which he later
worked twenty-seven years, part of the time in
company with John Whitcraft, a brother-in-
law. While yet a boy he went to Tuscarawas
county, and when a j^oung man went to Mus

kingum county, where he married, September
2, 1856, to Elizabeth Whitcraft, who was
born October 9, 1832, a daughter of George
and Eliza (Hannel) Whitcraft. George Whit
craft was a farmer and an old settler of Mus
kingum county, and he and his wife were par
ents of twelve children, viz: Thomas, Isaac,
Elizabeth, John, Sarah J., Harrison, Nicholas,
Nancy J., Mary, Lewis F. , Ann and Sarah.
In politics the father of this family was a re
publican and had four sons in the Civil war —
Thomas, Isaac, John and Harrison. George
Whitcraft, in course of time removed from
Muskingum to Hocking county, bought a farm
no acres, and there resided until his death at
the age of seventy-two years, a member of the
United Brethren church, although in earlier
life he had been a Methodist, and all his life
a worthy upright gentleman.
Alexander Lewis, after, his marriage, also
settled in Hocking county, Ohio, where he
was engaged for twenty years in the stone
mason business, as alluded to above. He be
gan with no capital, and for fifteen years
carried his tools from place to place, working
on bridges and doing a vast amount of work
as journeyman, as well as contractor for work
on stores and other buildings. In 1875 he
came to Van Wert county, and, in company
with John Whitcraft, bought 400 acres of
prairie land, his own share being 240 acres.
By thrift, good management, and industry, he
increased this property to 320 acres, including
his farming land, all of which he has deeded
to his children, with the exception of 120 acres,
which he reserves for his own use. To the
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have been
born four children, viz: Albert M., George I.,
John and Lucy J., all natives of Hocking
county. Of these, Albert married Elizabeth
Downing, and is the father of seven children;
George I. is the husband of Jennie Downing,
sister of Albert's wife, and has five children;

456

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

John is married to Julia Sponseller, and is the
father of four children; Lucy, now deceased,
married John Sponseller, and had one child.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Lewis affiliate with the
Methodists in their religious belief, and while
in Hocking county Mr. Lewis was a member
of the Masonic fraternity in good standing,
being a regular attendant of his ' lodge. In
politics he is a republican. Mr. Lewis is en
tirely self made, having begun life as a poor
boy, and the first $20 he earned as a coal-
miner has been placed in his present farm. He
has reared a respected family of children, and
he himself stands high as a citizen and as a
man of sterling worth and integrity of charac
ter. His farm is one of the best in Tully
township, and now comprises 334 acres, in
cluding the 120 acres reserved from his earlier
possessions.

<>^V R. LEONARD E. LADD, a leading
I I physician of Van Wert county, Ohio,
S*^_J descends from sterling Puritan stock
of English origin. A remote ances
tor, Capt. Ladd, was a paymaster in the En
glish navy and came to America in 1660, land
ing in Massachusetts bay. The family took an
active part in the early Indian wars and their
descendants were still later active in the Rev
olutionary war, and have been in all the wars
since. The great-great-grandfather of Dr.
Ladd was with Col. Pepperell of Maine, during
the second French war, when that officer cap
tured from the French the fort at Louisburg,
on Cape Breton island, June 17, 1745, lor
which feat the American commander was
knighted by George II, of England — being the
first native of New England to be so honored.
The Ladd ancestor here alluded to was the
first of the family to settle in Maine and as
sisted to build the first block house at Saco, as
a defense against the Indians, in the trouble

with whom the Ladd family took an active-
part. When Dr. Ladd, our subject, first be
gan the practice of medicine, about 1881, his-
office was on the site of this identical block
house in Saco.
Thomas Ladd, grandfather of our subject,
was born at Saco, Me., about 1761, was a
farmer, and was first married to Sarah Phil
lips, in 1783, who bore ten children. Of these,
Thomas, a United States land surveyor, was-
killed by the Indians in the west at an early
day; the other sons were named William, An
drew, Edmund and Rufus. The daughters
were Mary, Icy, Unice, Lucinda and Sarah.
The second marriage of Mr. Ladd was with.
Hannah Jose, in 181 3, also of Puritan stock,
and whose ancestors were warriors of the early
French Indian wars. The French and Indians-
several times swept over Maine, and, on two-
different occasions, Saco was captured. On
one of these occasions a member of the Ladd
family was digging a well, and his wife was at
tending the windlass, when an attack from the
Indians was so sudden that Mr. Ladd was un
noticed, while his wife was borne off a pris
oner to Canada and detained for some years.
To the second marriage of Thomas Ladd1
were born six children, viz: Samuel E. , Silas,
John, James, Dorcas and Sarah. Of Thomas-
Ladd's children several sons were in the war
of 1 8 12, one of whom, Thomas, Jr., was dis
charged at Quebec and walked the entire-
distance home, carrying his old flint-lock
musket, which is still in the possession of the
family. The father was a well-known citizen,
and his farm, which he cleared up six miles-
from Saco, and on which he died at the age of
seventy-two years, has never been alienated.
from the family.
Samuel Ladd, the second son of the above,
and father of subject, was born on his father's-
farm near Saco, Me., April 24, 1818, was-
reared on the farm, and also became a ship-

LEONARD E. LADD, M. D.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY-

459

joiner or finisher. He married Jane C. Peter
son, born July 7, 1837, daughter of Nicholas
and Alice Peterson. The father, Nicholas
Peterson, was born in Sweden, July 5, 1795,
of a noble family, but at the age of fourteen
years ran away to sea, which he followed
thirty years, for some unknown reason never
returning home. He eventually settled in
Maine, where he married Alice Brown in June,
1822. To them were born eleven children,
as follows: Joseph, Nicholas, Jacob, Andrew,
Jackson, Calvin, Alice, Ann, Catherine, Eliza
beth and Jane Clemens. Alice Brown was
born in Maine, October 5, 1792, and died in
Waltham, Mass., August 26, 1885. Nicholas
Peterson died at the age of sixty-three years.
To Samuel Ladd and wife were born seven
children, of whom three died in infancy; the
four attaining mature age were named Dr.
Frank B.,. Dr. Leonard E., Alice and Addie.
Mr. Ladd, as were his forefathers for genera
tions, was a member of the Congregational
church, and his politics was democratic. He
was a man of exemplary character, was a
highly respected citizen, and died at Saco
January 1, 1889, seventy years of age.
Dr. Leonard E. Ladd was born at Saco,
Me., October 30, 1857, and received the usual
academical education of the better class of
New England lads; he then began the study of
medicine under Dr. J. A. Berry, of Saco, and
next attended the college of Physicians and
Surgeons, at Baltimore, Md., frorh 1879. to
1881, when he graduated. He practiced the
first six months at Saco, laying the foundation
for a future reputation; in December, 1881,
he came to Ohio, and stopped in Hancock
county until the spring of 1882, when he came
to Van Wert county and made his permanent
headquarters at Middlepoint, building up
rapidly a lucrative practice and a deservedly
high reputation,
The marriage of Dr. Ladd took place Sep-
20 r

tember 7, 1883, to Miss Laura B. Morris, who
was born at Elida, Ohio, November 10, 1862,
a daughter of James and Margaret (Hilliard)
Morris. James Morris was of an old Virginia
family, and came to Ohio in 1844; he first
located in Fairfield county, and in 1848 or
1850 settled in Allentown, Allen county. He
and his wife were the parents of fourteen chil
dren; he was a soldier of the Mexican war,
and was also a soldier for three years, in an
Ohio regiment, in the late Civil war; he lived
to be sixty years of age and died a member of
the Christian church. To Dr. and Mrs. Ladd
have been born five sons — Roscoe, Vaughn,.
Cloyd, Wilmer and Paul, and the family affili
ate with the Lutheran church. In politics the
doctor is a republican, has served as mayor of
Middlepoint four years, and is very popular
with his party and the citizens generally. He
has been physician in charge of the Van Wert
county infirmary for the last nine years, where
he has had a large clinical experience. His
large practice extends throughout the surround
ing country, and his fame as a physician is not
limited to his local surroundings. He is a
deep student and an unremitting reader of
everything pertaining to pathology and hygiene,
and his keen habits of observation, yet genial
and kindly deportment, make him invaluable
accessories in his clinical practice.

eUPHEMIA LEWIS, widow of John
W. Lewis, late of Pleasant township,
Van Wert county, and a daughter of
James and Susannah Ellis, was born
in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1843. Her father
was born in Frederick county, W. Va., in 1804,
and was the son of Christopher Ellis, who
came from Germany in an early day and set
tled in one of the eastern states, thence, later,
moved to Clinton county, Ohio. James Ellis,
when quite young, accompanied his parents to

460

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the county of Clinton and there grew to man
hood on his father's farm, and aBout 1829 was
united in marriage to Susannah Woolman,
daughter of John and Mary (Burden) Wool-
man. To this marriage nine children were
born: Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Starbuck;
Mary J., wife of William Reed; Eliza, de
ceased; Martha, deceased; Jacob, deceased;
Granville; John W. , deceased; Euphemia and
James V. The mother of these children was
born in Clinton county in 1809, her parents,
both natives of New Jersey, having been among
the first settlers of the Buckeye state. She
died January 23, 1882. James Ellis was a suc
cessful farmer, secured for himself a comfort
able competence, was a highly respected citi
zen and departed this life in 1870.
Mrs. Euphemia Lewis, the subject of this
sketch, was reared in the country home of her
parents and received her educational training
in the country schools of Clinton county, and
on the 17th day of October, 1867, became the
wife of John W. Lewis; five children were
born to this marriage: Eugene E., who resides
on the home farm; Jennie M., wife of Nico-
demus Tindall; Earnest R. ; Emma L. and
Harry W.
John W. Lewis, the husband and father,
was born in Butler county, Ohio, in the year
of 1844, the son of James and Nancy (Bone)
Lewis. In his youth he moved with his parr
ents to Clinton county, where he engaged in
farming and where he resided until 1870, in
December of which year he became a resident
of the county of Van Wert, purchasing a farm
in Pleasant township, where the family now
resides. He was a man of industry, as is at
tested by the fact that his land, at the time of
his taking possession, was in a wild state, but
he soon succeeded in developing it and estab
lishing a comfortable home. He brought his
farm to an excellent state of cultivation, was
progressive in his ideas relative to agriculture,

and did much in a quiet way to enhance the
industrial interests of his community. His
death occurred in October, 1882. Mrs. Lewis
is possessed of excellent judgment, has given
personal attention to the management of the
farm, and is a lady honored and respected in
her neighborhood. She is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and also belongs
to Pleasant grange, with which organization
her husband was also identified.

^~V*AMUEL W. LONG, the senior part-
•\^UaT ner in the real estate and insurance
r\^_J firm of Long & Wappner, of Van
Wert, Ohio, was born March 27,
1850, in Ashland county, this state, a son of
Peter and Margaret (Barnhart) Long. The
father, Peter Long, was a native of Strasburg,
Germany, was born October 4, 1807, but at
an early age was left an orphan and was bound
out, until eighteen years old, to learn tailoring.
His time having expired, and in order to avoid
military service, he came to America, the trip
requiring forty-one days, and landed in New
York city. In 1827 he came to Ohio and re
sided in Canton, Stark county, one year; there
married and engaged in farming until 1835,
when he moved to Ashland county, where he
continued to farm until 1878, when he retired
to Loudonville, that county, and passed the
remainder of his days in comfort, dying Janu
ary 12, 1893. His wife, Margaret Barnhart,
was born also in Strasburg, January 6, 1805,
and was married in Canton, Ohio, June 28,
1828. She had been acquainted with Mr.
Long in Germany, and had there became his
betrothed. To this union of Mr. and Mrs.
Long were born ten children, viz: George W.,
Peter, John M., Anna, Adam, Mary, Cather
ine, Daniel, William and Samuel W. Mrs.
Margaret Long passed away December 12,
1874, a devout member of the Lutheran

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

461

church; her husband was also an adherent of
this religious denomination, in politics was a
democrat, and at his death was the owner of
240 acres of farm land and other valuable real
estate, almost entirely earned through his own
industry and that^of his faithful helpmate.
Samuel W. Long, our subject, was reared
to seventeen years of age in his native county,
on his father's farm, and then went to the
town of Ashland to learn the baker and con
fectioner's trade, at which he there worked for
two years — then went to Pittsburg, Pa. , where
he sojourned one year; in 1870 he returned to
Ohio, and until 1880 made his home in Na
poleon, Henry county. In the latter year he
came to Van Wert and engaged in the real
estate and insurance business, which he con
ducted on his sole account until 1888, when he
was joined in the business by George Henry
Wappner, of whom mention is made on another
page, and with the exception of one year, the
firm name has ever since been that of Long &
Wappner, it being one of the strongest and
most popular jn its line of business in the city
of Van Wert.
The marriage of Mr. Long took place in
Henry county, Ohio, in 1872, to Miss Clara
E. Reiter, a native of that county, and to this
union were born two children — Idella May (de
ceased) and Clara E. Mr. Long had the mis
fortune to lose his wife May 5, 1878, and his
second marriage took place in Van Wert, July
20, 1882, to Maggie E. Hattery, who was born
in this county September 16, 1853, a daughter
of Nathaniel Hattery, whose biography is pub
lished elsewhere in this work. This happy
union has been blessed by the birth of one
child — Peter Earl. Mr. Long is an elder and
also treasurer in the Lutheran church, of
which his wife is also a devout member; he is
secretary of the Ohio National Building &
Loan association, and fraternally is a member
of the National Union; in politics he is a demo

crat. He is also a notary public, and the firm
are agents for some of the most substantial
fire, life and accident insurance companies in
the United States and elsewhere.

(D

ICHAEL LONG, an old settler of
Washington township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, was born in Ger
many, May 25, 1827, and came
to America with his parents in 1837. He is a
son of Daniel and Margaret (Keil) Long, who
were the parents of eight children, named
Annie, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary, Michael,
Henry, Daniel and John, all born in Germany.
Daniel Long, the father, was a potter by trade,
and sailed from Bremen in the ship Marcus,
landing, after a passage of fifty-six days, in the
port of New York. The father at once
brought his family to Ohio and built a pottery
in Seneca county, and there passed the re
mainder of his days, dying at the age of sixty-
eight years, in the faith of the Catholic church.
Michael Long, the subject of this biography,
was debarred of the usual educational advan
tages, beginning hard work for his living as a
farm hand while still young. He married, in
Seneca county, Margaret Smith, who was born
in Germany in September, 1828, a daughter of
Nicholas and Margaret Smith. Nicholas
Smith was a farmer and came to America
about 1833, settled in Seneca county, Ohio,
cleared up a farm from the woods, and there
died, a devoted member of the Catholic
church. His six children were named, in
order of birth, as follows:, Nicholas, Catherine,
Elizabeth, Eva, Margaret and John. Mr. Long
and wife continued to live, after marriage, on
the home farm of forty-seven acres, which he
had cleared himself from the woods while still
young, and there made his home until 1850,
w"hen he came to Van Wert county and bought
eighty acres of land in the woods of Washing-

462

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ton township, all of which he subsequently
cleared and converted into a fertile and prof
itable farm. During the earlier day, beside
working at his own clearing, he assisted to
erect the first Catholic church edifice in Del
phos, devoting two days each week to this
purpose until its completion. He had also as
sisted in building the first Catholic church in
Seneca county, and later aided in erecting all
the Catholic churches of his neighboring towns,
including those at Landeck, Ottoville and Van
Wert, and also contributed very liberally of
his means to the magnificent structure at
Delphos. To Mr. and Mrs. Long have been
born three children, viz: Nicholas, who died
when five years of age; Louisa, who died at
the age of twenty-five years, a married woman;
and Mary F.
Mr. Long has by thrift and well directed
labor greatly increased his farming property
and is now in prosperous circumstances. For
four years he was a councilman of the Catholic
church at Delphos, and as a democrat has held
the office of school director. He is a self-made
man in the true sense of the word, and an
honored citizen, standing high in the esteem
of all the residents of Washington township
and of the adjacent country for miles around.

sr

'ILLIAM N. LONGSWORTH,
M. D., of Convoy, Tully township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, is one of
the oldest and most honored mem
bers of his profession of Van Wert county,
and was born in Frederick county, Md. , Feb
ruary 13, 1 8 18, of English and German de
scent.- Solomon Longsworth, grandfather of
the doctor, came to America while still a young
man, was married, in Baltimore county, Md.,
to Miss Nelson, daughter of Henry Nelson, the
union resulting in the birth of eight children,

viz. : Solomon, Basil, Susan, Harriet, Betsey;
Nancy, Sirak and Caty.
Solomon Longsworth, son of the Solomon
mentioned in the above paragraph and father
of our subject, was born in Baltimore county,
Md., in 1789, received a common-school edu
cation, became a farmer and made his home
on the old farm in Baltimore county, Md., un
til he was married to Katie Boyer, of German
descent, but a native of Montgomery county,
Md., and this union resulted in the birth of
nine children, viz.: John W. , Caleb, Joshua,
William N.', Enoch G. , Solomon R. , Mary A.,
Susan (deceased in infancy), and Cornelius,
who also died in infancy. Ini832 Mr. Longs
worth removed with his family to Guernsey
county, Ohio, where he bought a farm of 160-
acres, which he increased to 200 acres, but,
two years later, in 1834, he removed to Rich
land county, and early in 1846 came to Van
Wert county, and purchased eighty acres of
land in the -unbroken forest of Washington
township. This land he also cleared up and
then purchased eighty additional acres, but
lived to enjoy his new possessions two years.
orily — dying late in 1848, at the age of fifty-
eight years. His widow, however, continued
to reside on these premises for several years,.
and then sold. Mr. and Mrs. Longsworth
both -were members of the Methodist Protest
ant church, of Mr. Longsworth was a local1
preacher, and, as may well be supposed, a de
voted Christian and laborer in the vineyard of
the Lord. He was a patriot, and of his nine
children he gave one, John W., to the service-
of his country during the late Civil war, and
John W. , in turn, gave up three children of
his own to the service.
Dr. William N. Longsworth received his
preliminary education in his native county,
and in 1832 came to Ohio with his parents,.
with whom he resided on the farm until 1 844,.
when he began the study of medicine at Con-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

463

gress, Wayne county, under Dr. Leander Fire
stone, who was a prominent medical man of
his day, and who, before his death, occupied a
chair in the medical department of Wooster
university. Dr. Longsworth next attended
-lectures at the Cleveland Medical college, and
after graduation began practice in Lorain
county, but at the close of three years he re
linquished this somewhat contracted field and
•chose Van Wert county as the scene of his
future professional labors; here he located in
Van Wert, in 1853, and practiced until 1873,
becoming known as one of the most skillful
physicians that had ever entered Van Wert
county, and enjoying the respect and confi
dence of the people of Van Wert arid adjoin
ing counties. He accumulated a handsome
competence, and for a time sought relief from
the active practice of his profession, but he
was of too nervous a temperament and of too
active a mentality to entirely abstain from
business. In 1873 the doctor established a factory in
Lima, Ohio, for the production of wooden
¦handles for agricultural implements, etc. , and
carried on the factory over eleven years; he
then sold his factory to his son, Ira R. Longs
worth. In 1885 the doctor settled in Convoy,
Van Wert county, and here resumed the prac
tice of medicine, meeting with the same suc
cess that had elsewhere attended him, but at
the close of four years he again relinquished
the practice of his profession and established
a notion store, and also became agent for the
Adams Express company, a position he still
retains. The first marriage of Mr. Longsworth was
solemnized September 22, 1847, with Miss
Sarah A. Doolin, a daughter of William and
Sarah (Ury) Doolin, of Wayne county, Ohio,
and this union resulted in the birth of one son,
Myron V. Longsworth, the mother dying in
1855. The second marriage of the doctor

was with Miss Olive Richey, daughter of M.
F. and Sarah (Eaton) Richey, the former one
of the' oldest settlers of Harrison township,
Van Wert county. To this second marriage
of the doctor have been born eleven children,
viz: William (died at the age of thirteen
years), Ira R., Lawrence R. , Clara P., How
ard, Lucy, Walter (died in infancy), Horace,
( also died in infancy), Reece F. , Shirley N.
and Katie. Dr. and Mrs. Longsworth are
members of the Presbyterian church, of which
he has been an elder many years, and in poli
tics he is a stanch republican. He is a strict
temperance man, and a Good Templar, and in
1886 was elected mayor of Convoy.

H.LFRED L. LONGWELL, dealer in
imported horses, Van Wert, Ohio,
is a son of James and Phoebe (Leo
nard) Longwell, and was born in
Delaware county, Ohio, August 19, 1839.
James Longwell was born in Kentucky in 1803,
a son of Robert, a native of Ireland; Robert
was married in Kentucky, where he carried on
farming until late in life, when he came to
Ohio and located in Delaware county and
passed the remainder of his days. There were
born six children, viz: Lafayette, Ezekiel,
James, George and two daughters, all now de
ceased. James Longwell remained with his
parents until he was married, in 1825, to
Phoebe Leonard, who was born in Pennsyl
vania in 1 812,.. To this union were born seven
children, viz:_an infant, deceased; Mary J. and
Ira, both deceased; Cecelia, wife of John
Eckelburg of Delaware county, Ohio; Alfred
L. , our subject; John, of Delaware county,
and Sarah E., wife of J. C. Reed. The par
ents of these children were members of the
Methodist church, and in politics Mr. Long-
well was a republican; he was a successful

464

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

farmer, and at the time of his death, in Dela-
ware county, owned a fine farm of 218 acres.
Alfred L. Longwell was reared and educa
ted in Delaware county, Ohio, remained at
home until twenty-two years of age, or until
his marriage, August 22, 1861, in Delaware
county, to Mary Reed, who was born in Vir
ginia September 13, 1 841, a daughter of Robert
and Rebecca Reed, to which union were born
seven children, viz: James R. ; Minnie, wife of
H. Johnson, farmer of Illinois; William John,
with the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago
railroad; Frank, with the same road; Emma
V. , deceased ; Charles, a student of Ann Arbor,
Mich., and Edith A., a milliner. After his
marriage, Mr. Longwell farmed in Delaware
county until 1862, then came to Van Wert
county and located on his farm of 160 acres of
wild land, which he occupied for two years;
he then sold and purchased eighty acres in
Ridge township and eighty acres in Jackson
township, and there made his home until 1872,
when he again sold out and bought a tract of
160 acres in the south part of Ridge township,
and another tract of eighty acres, where he
began, in 1884, buying fine stable horses and
brood mares. His first purchase was Bazaine,
No. 1994, a French draft horse, which he
kept three years; he then bought Liberator, in
1887 — a Belgium horse that died; then bought
the Norman mare Bibi, which he still owns;
then Ca;sar, now six years old; then Clyde
King; Hayno A. Clyde, a Kentucky colt; Coast
Guard; Hendrian, a German coach; also Col.
Brice, a Norman. His stable now consists of
four full-blooded colts, two brood mares and
ten stallions, as well as other stock. His farm
comprises 240 acres of land, well improved;
also commodious barn, a large feed yard, and
stock in the patrons' warehouse, at Van Wert,
and a picturesque dwelling. Mr. and Mrs.
Longwell attend the Methodist Episcopal
church and have their residence on South

Washington street, near Maple street, in the
city of Van Wert, where they are surrouded by
a host of genial and social neighbors.

aHARLES R. LONGSWORTH, senior
member of the firm of Longsworth &
Agler, photographers of Van Wert
city, was born in Pleasant township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, October 25, 1870,
and is a son of Solomon R. and Catherine
(Somerset) Longsworth. He comes of a long
line of honorable ancestry, most of whom fol
lowed the occupation of agriculture. The
father, Solomon R. Longsworth, was born in
Frederick county, Md., June 7, 1830, and was
a son of Solomon Longsworth, also a native of
Maryland, but born of English parents. Solo
mon Longsworth, about 1832, emigrated to
Van Wert county from Maryland and died a
year later. He was an old-time whig in poli
tics, was a farmer by occupation, was a mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
married Catherine Boyer, who died about
1 87 1. She, like her husband, was a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was
the mother of the following children: Wesley,
deceased; Mary A., widow of James Clarke, of
Noble county, Ohio; Joshua, deceased, who
lived in Kansas; Phillip, deceased; Dr. William,
of Convoy; Enoch, of Worthington, Ind., and
Solomon R. , deceased.
Solomon R. Longsworth, as may be readily
inferred by what has been said above, was
quite young when he was brought to Van Wert
county. Here he was reared by his mother,
was educated in the common schools of the
day, and brought up to perform farm work,
that being the most that could be done at that
time. On November 11, 185 1, he married
Catherine Somerset, daughter of John arid
Rachael Somerset, who, when they came
west, first settled in Allen county, but later

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

465

removed to Van Wert county. Mr. Somerset
was a republican in politics, was a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, served in the
war of 1812, and died in 1872. His wife died
about i860. Their daughter, Catherine, who
married Mr. Longsworth, was born November
24, 183 1, in Allen county, Ohio, but was
educated in Van Wert county, to which county
she had been taken in her youth by her par
ents. She was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. She and her husband were
the parents of. nine children, viz: Samuel W.,
deceased; William A.; John F., a merchant of
Van Wert; Elmer A., engaged in buying,
pressing and selling hay in Van Wert; Frank,
a railroad man of Fort Wayne, Ind. ; G. W. ,
a telegraph operator of Continental, Putnam
county, Ohio; Charles R. , of Van Wert; Chloe
R. C. , a teacher of Van Wert; and S. O., a
clerk in Van Wert.
After his marriage, Solomon R. Longs
worth settled down on a farm near Middle-
point, which he cleared and improved, and
which, about 1863, he sold, and then pur
chased a farm of 120 acres, where his son,
William A., now lives. Some time afterward
he purchased forty acres more, and still later,
forty other acres, making his farm consist of
200 acres of land. This is now one of the
best farms in Van Wert county, and is well
improved. In politics Mr. Longsworth was a
republican, and he was a member of the Meth
odist Episcopal church. Of his church he was
a trustee for several years, and he was active
in its support. He was drafted into the
service of the government during the war and
served 100 days. His death was caused by
small-pox ip 1873, and his widow died in 1879
of heard disease.
Charles R. Longsworth was but two years
old when his father died, and only seven years
of age when his mother was taken away.
Thus thrown upon the world, he was reared

by different relatives until he was twelve years
of age, when he went to live with J. H.
Springer, of Ridge township, remaining with
that gentleman four years. He then attended
school at Middlepoint for about one year, when
he received a certificate to teach school, and
taught his first term in Union township. This
profession he followed four years, in the mean
time studying photography with the view of
adopting that as his profession for life. In
1892 he opened a studio in Rockford, Ohio,
remaining there about a year, and in 1893 re
moved to Van Wert, where, in company with
D. E. Agler, he opened a studio and has been
engaged in business there ever since.
Mr. Longsworth was married in Van Wert
March 25, 1891, to Lydia E. Klinger, born in
Van Wert, Ohio, October 8, 1867, and a
daughter of Jacob A. and Jane (Holden)
Klinger, both natives of Ohio. To this mar
riage there has been born one child, Orr E.
Mr. Longsworth is a republican in politics, and
both he and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Both are good
people and are highly esteemed by all who
know them.

sr

ILLIAM LYBARGER, a highly re
spectable retired farmer of Ridge
township, Van Wert county, was
born in Ashtabula county, Ohio,
March 1, 181 1, and is therefore eighty-five
years of age. He is a son of John and Jane
(McNeal) Lybarger, the former of whom was
born in Erie county, Pa., in 1785. John Ly
barger was reared a farmer, and married Jane
McNeal in 1806, soon afterward locating in
Ashtabula county, Ohio, living there until 1826;
he then removed to Pennsyluania, where he
remained three years on rented land, and at
the end of this time he purchased sixty-seven
acres, upon which he lived until his death,

466

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

which occurred in 1845. H1S wife died in
1850. In politics Mr. Lybarger was a demo
crat; he was a soldier in the war of 18 12, and
was also in numerous battles with Indians.
Mr. and Mrs. Lybarger were the parents of
two children, viz. : Eliza, deceased, and
William, the subject of this sketch.
William Lybarger lived in pioneer days from
his boyhood up to his arrival at manhood's
estate. His education was received in one of
the old log school-houses frequently described
in this volume in connection with the lives of
early settlers. He began work upon the farm
when yet a boy, continuing thus occupied until
his marriage, which occurred in 1841. His
wife, whose maiden name was Abigail Lake,
was born in Knox county, Ohio, in 18 19, and
was a daughter of Nicholas and Sallie Lake,
both natives of New England. After living
on rented land for three years, they removed
to Van Wert county, in 1846, and located on
land Mr. Lybarger had previously entered from
the government, and upon which he has lived
ever since, a period of fifty years. During
this time Mr. Lybarger has witnessed almost a
complete transformation of every industry in
the county, and the growth and development
of many newindustries. The methods of trav
eling both on land and on water have since
been completely changed. From the slow-
going ox team, and the not much more rapidly
moving horse team, the world has passed to
the fast flying steam locomotive on the best
possible form of road. Farm labor has also
been as much transformed as any other form
of labor, steam having in many departments
supplanted horse power, as horse power some
•years since took the place of oxen. Much of
Mr. Lybarger's farm work in the early days of
his life in Van Wert county, was done by the
slow plodding ox team; plowing, harrowing,
hauling logs, hauling rails, and fire wood,
almost every kind of team work was done by

means of the patient, toiling, mild -eyed ox.
We are now living in a rapid age, then we
were living in a slow age. Now we are living
in the age of iron and steel and steam; then we
were living in the age of muscle and of wood.
Mr. Lybarecr, as he is now living, retired from
all active participation in practical affairs,
looks back upon the progress of the last fifty
years and then turns to the end of the next
fifty years, and tries to imagine by what means
and by what power agriculture, locomotion
and industry will then be carried on.
Mr. and Mrs. Lybarger reared a family of
eight children, and had one child that died in
infancy. The eight were as follows: Shan
non; Sarah, widow of Peter H. Miller; John,
Edward, Charles B., George, Eliza and Eva.
Mrs. Lybarger, the mother of these children,
died August 28, 1894. She was a member of
the Presbyterian church. Mr. Lybarger is in
politics a democrat, and has held several of
the minor offices within the gift of his party.
He, has always been an active, industrious
man, and a careful and economical manager.
What he possesses he acquired by his own
efforts, and it may truthfully be said of him
that in every way he is one of the self-made
men of the county in which he has lived' so
many years.
Charles B. Lybarger, son of William
Lybarger, was born October 22, 1856. Edu
cated in the common schools, he remained at
home until he was twenty-one years of age,
assisting his father on the farm. He was mar
ried December 28, 1881, to Miss Florida
White, born February 20, 1863, and a daughter
of Addison D. and Rebecca M. (Monser)
White, both natives of Ohio. By this marriage
Mr. and Mrs. Lybarger are the parents of four
children, viz.: Franklin H. ; Veonie, Jessie
and Freddie. After his marriage Mr. Lybarger
-located on forty acres of land he owned in
Ridge township, Van Wert county, and there

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

469

he continued to reside with his family until
March 6, 1895, when he removed to the old
homestead to take care of his father. In
politics Mr. Lybarger is a democrat, active in
the support and defense of his party's princi
ples. He is a young man, full of hope and
energy, and is also full of ambition. But, as
is his duty, he has left his own home and farm
and is taking the best care possible of his aged
father, who is far past the allotted three score
and ten years, of age. He is a young man of
excellent character and disposition and has the
good will and best friendship of all who know
him and his respected family.

ST

*ILBUR C. LAWRENCE. — The
gentleman whose biographical sketch
is herewith presented is a native of
New York, in which state his ances
tors, both paternal and maternal, located in
colonial times, the former coming to the new
world from France. The family -for many
years were residents of Westchester county, of
which part of the state the subject's grand
father, Norman Lawrence, was a native. Nor
man Lawrence married Hannah Pardee, also
of the county aforesaid, and reared a family
of eight children, whose names are as fol
lows: Mollie, Gertrude, Cyrus, Frank, Zophar,
Hattie, Lydia and George, all but two of whom
are still living, namely: George, met his death
before Richmond, , while gallantly defending
the country's flag, being twenty-eight years of
age at the time, and Zophar, who died in 1895.
The parents of these children were Presbyter
ians, as were many of their ancestors, and the
father, a farmer by occupation, was a man of
.sterling worth and unimpeachable integrity.
Cyrus Lawrence, the third in order of birth
in the above family and father of Wilbur C. ,
was born at Lewisboro, Westchester county,
N. Y., in April, 1825, and received his educa

tional training in the schools of his native town
and county. When nineteen years of age he
began teaching school and with the capital thus
acquired, and possessed of a laudable ambition
to increase his scholastic knowledge, he further
educated himself, alternately attending and
teaching school until his twenty-eighth year.
He then withdrew from the educational field
and engaged in mercantile business at South
Salem, N. Y. , with which branch of trade he
has since been identified. In the spring of
1852, he married Clarinda Bouton, daughter
of Enoch and Ursilla (Read) Bouton, who was
born in Westchester county, N. Y. . in 1830,
and they became the parents of the following
children: Wilbur C,, whose name appears at
the beginning of this sketch; Cornelia F.,
deceased; Martha J., wife of J R. Tucker of
Colchester, Conn., and George, who resides
with his parents. Cyrus Lawrence is a man
of much more than ordinary mental powers
and>for many years has been potential in the
public affairs of his town, where for a quarter
of a century he filled the office of justice of the
peace. For eight years he was index clerk in
the general assembly of New York, and also
served some time as justice of the county court
of Westchester county sessions. In politics he
is an ardent supporter of the republican party,
and like the majority of the family subscribes
to the Presbyterian creed, of which religious
body his wife is also a member.
Wilbur C. Lawrence, the leading facts of
whose life are herewith presented, was born
June 11, 1853, in Lewisboro, Westchester
county, N. Y. , and passed his youthful years
in his native town, in the school of which he
laid the foundation of his intellectual training.
He remained under the parental roof until his
twenty-eighth year, in the meantime acquiring
a practical knowledge of business in his father's
mercantile establishment.
Mr. Lawrence was induced to locate in

470

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Van Wert upon the solicitation of a friend, A.
M. Bouton, who preceded him hither, and the
two became partners in the hardware trade,
which they carried on successfully for a period
of ten years. At the end of that time Messrs.
Lawrence & BoutOn disposed of their stock,
after which, the subject became secretary of
the Van Wert Furniture company, which posi
tion he held until the establishment went into
the hands of a receiver in 1893, Mr. Lawrence
being appointed receiver. During the succeed
ing year he gave his attention to the closing
out of the company's business, and in May,
1894, in partnership with A. W. Cox, pur
chased the insurance agency of Wolcott &
Wolcott, which, under their joint manage
ment, was consolidated with the Augustine
agency, theirs then becoming one of the largest
and most reliable insurance firms in north
western Ohio. The company represents twenty
of the largest insurance companies in the world
and does an extensive business throughout Van
Wert and other counties of northern Ohio.
During his residence in the city and county of
his adoption he has earned the reputation, of a
clear-headed and capable business man, and in
his social intercourse none can be more pleasant
and agreeable. In disposition Mr. Lawrence
is aimable and gentlemanly, traits which have
contributed not a little to his success in
business and which have won for him many
friends throughout the county. Politically he
is an earnest republican, and while active in
behalf of his party, is quite popular with all
classes, irrespective of political affiliations, as
is attested by the fact of his having been nomi
nated, in 1895, as candidate for the office of
clerk of courts, over two well-known competi
tors, many of his political adversaries having
used their influence in his behalf. The bur
den of the fight lay upon Mr. Lawrence and
another candidate on the republican ticket,
and it is only justice to him to say that he won

the victory by straightforward, honorable
methods,, without the aid of money. He takes
possession of his office August 3, 1896. Mr.
Lawrence is very popular with all classes of
people, and it is altogether probable that to
this is to be attributed his success in a large
degree, for as ' ' love laughs at locksmiths, "
friendship often leaps over party lines.
Mr. Lawrence is a prominent., member, of
the Pythian fraternity, in the local lodge of
which he has held all the chairs. Beside. hav
ing been appointed special deputy of the grand
chancellor of the state, he also belongs to the
grand lodge and takes an active part in the
deliberations of the same.

sr

ERT AGLER, a most worthy citizen
of Van Wert was born in Mercer
county, Ohio, June 10, 1838. He
is a son of J. and Mary (Putnam)
Agler, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former
of whom was born in 18 — , and the latter in
1813, and were married in 1833. J. Agler
was reared on a farm in his native state and
followed that honorable and most useful occu
pation until his death. Soon after his mar
riage he removed to Ohio and bought a farm
in Mercer county, where he remained one
year, and then removed to Liberty township,
Van Wert county, where he remained the rest
of his life, dying in 1868. He was a most
industrious and honorable citizen, and was
liberal in the use of his money, freely con
tributing to the aid of religious and other
worthy enterprises to the extent of his ability,
at the same time being unusually successful in
his calling. Politically he was a democrat
and religiously a member of the United Breth
ren church.
He and his wife were the parents of the
following children: Timothy, Harmon, Wert,
Morris, Sarah, Andrew, Charlotte and Putnam.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

471

Of these Harmon, Sarah and Putnam are
dead. The rest are married and heads of
families of their own. Timothy married Eliza
beth Brewer of Van Wert, and she died in
1893. Morris married Mollie Sinder, and is
living in Marshall, Ind. ; Andrew married Nancy
Acum of Mercer county, and after her death
married Sarah Putnam, they are living in Van
Wert county; Charlotte married Daniel Whit-
more of Van Wert, and they are living in Van
Wert county. The mother of these children
still lives on the old farm in Van Wert county,
is a highly respected woman, and a member
of the United Brethren church.
Wert Agler, the subject of this sketch, was
born in Mercer county and was reared on his
father's farm, coming to Van Wert county
with his father. Continuing to follow farming
until the war, he then enlisted, September 10,
1 86 1, in company A, Forty-sixth regiment
Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served
one year and six months, and participated in
several battles and skirmishes, the principal
battle being that at Pittsburg Landing, in
which he had a narrow escape, being shot in
the hand while loading his gun and slightly
wounded. At Corinth he was taken sick, but
went on with his regiment to Memphis, Tenn.,
where, on January 1, 1863, he was discharged.
Returning to his home he resumed farming on
his father's farm, and April 16, 1863, he wag
married to Anna Krick. Not long afterward
he purchased a farm and began life in earnest
on his own account and met with most gratify
ing success. In March, 1893, he moved into
the city of Van Wert, purchased a beautiful
cottage, and is now living retired. Politically
he is a democrat and religiously a member of
the United Brethren church — freely donates to
the cause of religion and also that of education,
as well as to all public enterprises of merit.
He and wife are the parents of two children:
Morris Monroe and Delles E. Morris Monroe

was born July 20, 1864, and died March 18,
1867. Delles E. was born in 1869 and is at
the present time a member of the firm of
Longsworth & Agler, photographers of Van
Wert, and one of the finest artists in the city,
and is married to Mollie Huffman, of Saint
Mary's, Mention has already been made of
the excellently artistic work executed by these
gentlemen. Anna Krick, wife of the subject, was born
July 22, 1842, in Ashland county, Ohio, and
lived with her parents until her marriage. She
is a woman of great worth and a member of
the United Brethren church. Her father,
Phillip Krick, was born in Pennsylvania, in
June, 1792, and at an early age learned the
cooper trade, afterward learning the carpenter
trade, at which for the greater part of his life
he worked, and was unusually successful, be
ing a man of industry and skill at his trade.
When he became old he returned to the cooper
trade, which he followed for some years'. He
married Susan Cumler of Pennsylvania, re
moved to Ohio and located in Ashland county.
In 1 846 he removed with his family to Adams
county, Ind., where he remained for twelve
years, returning to Ohio in 1858, and settling
on a farm in Van Wert csunty, working at
farming, as well as at his trade, until his death,
which occurred in 1872. Politically he was a
democrat and religiously a member of the
Presbyterian church. He and his wife were
the parents of fifteen children, as follows:
John, William, Mary, Samuel, Eliza, Mar
garet, Jacob, Philip, Emanuel, Elijah and Elias
(twins), Henry and Lydia (twins), Catherine
and Anna. Of these fifteen children William,
Mary, Samuel, Emanuel, Henry, John, Philip
and Catherine are dead, the rest are married
and heads of families of their own. The
mother of these children died in 1868, a
good, highly esteemed woman, and a member
of the Presbyterian church.

472

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

W^ ELLES E. AGLER, a member of
1 1 the firm of Longsworth & Agler,
v/A^f photographers of Van Wert, Ohio,
was born in Liberty township, Van
Wert county, February 6, 1869, and is a son
of Wert Agler, whose biography is on page 471.
Mr. Agler was reared to manhood on a
farm, enjoyed the advantages of the common
schools of his youth, and also attended the
Rockford schools for a period of two years. In
the month of September, 1889, he entered a
photographic studio in Van Wert, where he
-remained until he became proficient in the art
•of photography, and then, in 1 890, went to
Saint Mary's, and there opened a studio of his
own, on which he followed the profession he
bad chosen until his studio was burned out in
April, 1893, when he returned to Van Wert,
where he became engaged as operator for J.
E. Smith, remaining thus engaged until No
vember of that year. He then succeeded J. I.
Ream and organized the firm of Longsworth
& Agler, which is now so widely known
throughout the country for its excellent work
in the special art to which they devote their at
tention. Their studio is finely equipped for
high-grade work in photography and is visited
by many hundreds who desire the finest results
of that art, which, to quote a favorite expres
sion of photographers, "secures the shadow
ere the substance perishes."
Shortly after leaving Saint Mary's, he
was married June 15, 1893, to Miss Mollie
Huffman, who was born in Beaver Dam, Allen
county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Lewis and
Annie (Stewart) Huffman, both of whom are
natives of Ohio. To this marriage there have
been born two children, viz: Lucile E. and
Robert Wert. Mr. Agler is a member of the
I. O. O. F. ,. and both he and his wife are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
.and are people highly regarded by the com
munity in which they live.

eLI ALBRIGHT, brother of William
Albright, whose biography appears on
page 7, was born in Fairfield county,
Ohio, in April, 1838. Such educa
tional training as he obtained was acquired,
during the winter seasons, in a little log school-
house, and in his youth he turned his attention
to mechanical pursuits, becoming proficient at
blacksmithing, carpentering, cabinet-making
and tanning. With the rest of his father's
family he came to Van Wert county in 1859,
and purchased a farm in Pleasant township,
where he has since resided, giving the greater
part of his attention to tilling the soil, in
which he has - met with well merited success.
In addition to agriculture he was for some time
engaged as an auctioneer, in which capacity he
visited nearly every* part of Van Wert and ad
joining counties;" in 1880 he purchased the
farm where he now lives and is classed with
the progressive and substantial citizens of
Pleasant township. In December, i860, his
marriage was solemnized with Lucy Gleason,
daughter of Stephen and Amanda (Fletcher)
Gleason. The following children were born to
this marriage: Florence, wife of Howard
Kreider; Cora, wife of George Augemine and
Sherman. The mother of these children was
born August 3, 1834, in New York, and when
a child was brought by her parents to Van
Wert county. Her death occurred, December
6, 1864, and June 14, 1866, Mr. Albright mar
ried Mary E. Riedenbach, daughter of John N.
and Catherine (Scear) Riedenbach, natives of ¦
Germany, but for a number of years residents
of the county of Van Wert. Mrs. Albright
was a native of Holmes county, Ohio, and
died February 22, 1882, being the mother of
the following children: George W., Charles
W. (deceased), Harry, Alfred, Leonard (de
ceased), Adeline and Katie. Mr. Albright
then married his present wife, Ella M. Border,
daughter of Nathaniel and Katie (Taylor) Bor-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

473

der, natives respectively of Virginia and Penn
sylvania. Five children are the results of the
third marriage, viz. : Bertha, Mercy L. Icy,
Mattie and Eli. Mr. Albright is a democrat
in his political belief, fraternally he is a mem
ber of the Masonic order, with which he has
been identified for thirty-four years, and is a
leading citizen of the community in which he
resides.

***-* EONIDAS BALYEAT.— Among the
| | leading and representative citizens of
I ^ Harrison township, Van Wert coun
ty, few are more conspicuous or de
servedly popular than -^Leonidas Balyeat,
farmer and stock grower, who has not only
made a success of life, but is a descendant of
one of the leading pioneer families of the
county. Mr. Balyeat was born on his father's
farm in Harrison township, on February n,
1856. He received the usual education com
mon to youths of his time and surroundings,
to which he has since added by study, obser
vation and experience. Following in the foot
steps of his worthy father he became a farmer,
and to the prosecution of his chosen life work
he has brought more than the usual amount of
intelligence, skill and application, and to this
is due, to a great degree, his success. He
owns and cultivates 130 acres of the old home
stead in Harrison township, raising a diversity
of crops, and paying considerable attention to
stock-raising. In politics he is a republican,
though in the election of minor officials, al
ways votes for the man of ability and fitness
regardless of politics. He served for one year
as assessor of Pleasant township, discharging
the duties of that office with credit to him
self and satisfaction to all concerned. In his
views and ideas Mr. Balyeat is progressive and
liberal. He is a warm advocate of good roads
and schools, and in fact of every movement

having for its aim the advancement and im-
provment of his community and county. He
has inherited the sturdy characteristics of his
ancestors, and for these and his many other
qualities of both head and heart he is univers
ally popular among his neighbors and fellow-
citizens. Mr. Balyeat married Sarah J. LaRue, a
daughter of Joseph LaRue (see sketch of H.
F. LaRue, on page 427). While they have no
children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Balyeat
have an adopted daughter, Cora, whom they
are rearing as their own child. Both Mr. and.
Mrs. Balyeat are members of the Baptist
church, of which he ' is also a clerk. The
reader is here referred to the sketch of the
Balyeat family, page 29, of this volume.

VVEREMIAH J. ALSPACH, a rising and
A promising agriculturist of Union town-
A J ship, Van Wert county, was born in
Perry county, Ohio, February 22, 1852,
a son of Jesse and Eva (Long) Alspach. The
father, Jesse Alspach, was also a native of
Perry county, and was born in 181 8, and was a.
son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Ruhkle) Alspach,
further mention of whom is made in this sketch.
Jesse Alpach was reared on his father's farm',
and about the year 1846 married Eva Long,
doughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Siebolt)-
Lang, who were of German parentage. Mrs.
Eva Alspach was born in Perry county in 18 19,
and bore to her husband, Jesse, five children,
viz : Benjamin, a farmer of Perry county;
Elizabeth, wife of Jonathan Bope, of Perry
county; Jeremiah J., our subject, Allen, editor
of the Thornville News, and Oliver O. , of Van
Wert, whose biography in full will be found on
another page. The father of this family died.
in Thorn township, Perry county, in 1863, but
the mother survived until May 22, 1874, when.
she, too, was called to rest with her husband,.

474

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in the faith of the Lutheran church. Jesse
Alspach had been an active democrat in poli
tics, but his wider reputation rested on his
ability as a farmer.
Jeremiah J. Alspach was thoroughly trained
to the hard work of the farm and also received
a good common-school education. About the
year 1875 he married Miss Mary Packer, daugh
ter of William and Elizabeth (Neel) Packer,
and born in Perry county, February 26, 1852.
William Packer was born in Pennsylvania in
1 8 18, was a son of John and Elizabech (Prutz-
man) Packer, and was captain in the state
militia of Ohio. About 18 16 he came to Ohio
and located in Jacksontown, Licking county,
but a few months later bought a farm in Perry
county. About 1848 he married Elizabeth
Neel, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Zart
man) Neel, and who was born in Perry county
in 1 8 16, and to this union were born six chil
dren, viz : Marion, deceased; Mary, wife of
our subject; Charles, a farmer of Perry county;
Sarah and William H., deceased, and Esther,
of Perry county. William Packer died on his
farm, in Perry county, in September, 1893, an
attendant of, but not a member of, the
Lutheran church. Mrs. Mary Alspach is a de
vout member of this church, of which also her
husband is a prominent member. To the
union of Mr. and Mrs. Alspach the following
children have been born, viz: A., deceased
infant boy; William O., born July 10, 1878;
Carrie E., who died in infancy; Homer R. ,
born January 8, 1883; Bessie, born February
26, 1884, died August 29, 1884; Mary Loulla,
born March 1, 1887. In 1887 Mr. Alspach
sold his farm in Perry county and came to Van
Wert county and bought his present home, of
which about sixty acres were cleared. This
farm he has placed under a fine state of culti
vation and a few better farmers are to be found
in the county. In politics Mr. Alspach is a
democrat, but is in no sense an office seeker

although he has served for three years as town
ship trustee, and has given entire satisfaction.
He is an honest, honorable and public-spirited
citizen, and well deserves the high esteem in
which he is held.

aALEB I. BURRELL, a successful
farmer of Van Wert county, Ohio, is
a son of Thomas and Margaret
(Hickey) Burrell, and was born Feb
ruary 21, 1 86 1. His parents are both natives
of Licking county, Ohio, and respectively of
English and Irish descent. Thomas Burrell
was a farmer in Licking county until 1864, at
which time he removed his family to Madison
county, where he purchased 400 acres of land
in what is known as " Darby Plains," land then
conceded by many to be the best in Ohio. Mr.
¦Burrell has been one of the most successful
farmers and stock raisers in Ohio, and he and
his wife still reside in Madison county— he at
the age of seventy-two, she at the age of sixty-
eight. Mr. Burrell is not a member of any
church, but his wife is a member of the Meth
odist Episcopal congregation. In politics he
is a democrat of the old tpye.
Caleb I. Burrell is the fourth of seven
children. He, spent the days of his youth at
home and in attending the schools of his neigh
borhood. At the age of twenty he entered the
National Normal university at Lebanon, Ohio,
taking a general course and remaining two
years. Returning home, he spent his time on
the farm until his marriage, November 29,
1883, to Maggie L. Gamblin, a daughter of
James and Jennie (Lochey) Gamblin, natives
of England and Canada, respectively, and at
that time residents of London, Madison county,
Ohio. Mr. Gamblin still lives in London, and
follows the trade of mason and contractor, and
there Mrs. Gamblin is also living. Maggie L.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

475

Gamblin attended the schools of London until
her graduation therefrom in 1881.
In February, 1887, Mr. and Mrs. Burrell
removed to Van Wert county, Mr. Burrell
having a short time previously purchased a
tract of eighty acres of timber land in Hoaglin
township, upon which he still lives. He added
thereto eighty-two acres adjoining. This land
he has improved and made of it a model farm,
and has now a most comfortable country home,
having in 1892 erected a very neat and cozy
residence, one of the best in the township. On
September 20, 1895, Mrs- Burrell died of con
sumption, a most highly accomplished and
cultivated lady, a member of the Presbyterian
church and a true christian woman. She lies
buried in Woodland cemetery at Van Wert.
Mr. Burrell is a member of the Presbyterian
church. In politics he is a democrat, and his
friends, in 1895, within a few days of the meet
ing of the county convention, announced his.
name as a candidate for sheriff; but owing to
the fact that there were several candidates for
the nomination and to the shortness of the
time, he Was defeated, but stood second on the
list of names as to votes. Two children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Burrell — Lee, aged
eleven, and Jennie, aged eight.

sr

' ILLIAM BURRIS, one of the success
ful farmers of Liberty township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, is a son of Hugh
Burris, who came with his father
from Ireland and located in Beaver county,
Pa., and there married Margaret Nickelson, a
daughter of William Nickelson, who also came
from Ireland. Hugh and Margaret Burris re
sided in Beaver county, Pa., for a few years
after marriage, and then came to Ohio and
bought eighty acres of land in the wilderness
of Guernsey county, on which they resided
until his death. He also entered other lands,

and at the time of his death owned tracts of
land as follows: Eighty acres, twenty acres
and 100 acres in the home place, and 100 acres,
sixty acres, 100 acres, eighty acres, sixty acres
and 160 acres elsewhere in Guernsey county.
The mother was a strict member of the United
Presbyterian church, and the father, although
not an active politician, was in his proclivities
a Jacksonian democrat.
William Burris, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, December
1 5, 1828, and was educated in one of the prim
itive log school-houses of those pioneer days
in his native county. Being reared on his
father's spacious and fertile farm, he was well
inured to toil and prepared for the cares and
duties of matrimonial life, which was initiated
by his marriage to Mary L. Watt, and con
summated by the birth of the following chil
dren: John A., William (who died young),
Barbara A., Margaret J., Mary I.', Cora M.
and Sarah E. The marriage took place in
Guernsey county, January 1, 1867, and im
mediately thereafter the newly wedded pair
came to Van Wert county and took possession
of his parents' elegant farm of 218 acres in Lib
erty township. This farm is probably one of
the most carefully cultivated, and best attended
to in every respect, of any of similar size in
Liberty township, and its improvements unpar
alleled, or, to say the least, unexcelled. Mr.
Burris and his wife have seen Liberty town
ship change, since their long residence here,
from a desolate wilderness of a dense forest
growth to a land of blooming fields, orchards
and gardens, that delight the eye and bring the
profit to the industrious farmer that places him
and family far beyond the reach of gnawing
want and worrying care, as far as this world's
goods are concerned, and Mr. Burris and fam
ily have been among the foremost in effectu
ating this happy result. The brother of Mrs.
Burris, William N. Watt, has also been a

476

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

potent factor in raising Liberty township to its
present elevated plane, and the attention of
the reader is called to his biography, which
will be found on another page.

A^^% EORGE LEWIS, a successful farmer
¦ ^^ of Pleasant township, Van Wert
\^^ county, son of James E. and Nancy
(Bone) Lewis, was born in Butler
county, Ohio, November 29, 1842. The father
was born in New York in 18 12, of good Welsh
stock, received a limited common-school edu
cation, and was reared on a farm.
When eighteen years of age, James E.
Lewis left his home in New York, and came
west to Cincinnati, where he learned the trade
of saddletree maker. After serving his appren
ticeship he went to Butler county, Ohio, where
he worked at his trade until 1853, when he
moved to Dayton, Ohio, and after two .years'
residence in that city he returned to his old
home in Butler county. Some years later he
moved to Clinton county, and in 1870 came
to Van Wert county, and purchased a farm in
York township. He then gave up his trade
and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits
until his death, which occurred in October,
1890. About the year of 1830 he was united
in marriage to Nancy Bone, daughter of
' Thomas J. and Elizabeth (Murphy) Bone, of
the state of Delaware. To their union the
following children were born: Emeline, de
ceased; Thomas, who died in childhood; Sarah,
the deceased wife of James Gregor, of Spring-
dale, Ohio; George, the subject of this men
tion; John W., deceased; James, also de
ceased; Ford, of Celina, Ohio; Elizabeth, de
ceased; Liberty W., deceased; Walter, of Van
Wert; Anna, wife of William A. Ayers, of
Kansas. The wife and mother of these chil
dren was born in Butler county, Ohio, about
181 3, and grew to womanhood in the country

home of her parents. She was never a mem
ber of any church, though her works show her
christian faith. Her death occurred August
18, 1890. James E. Lewis was a stanch sup
porter of the republican party and always took
a deep interest in its success.
George Lewis, son of the above and sub
ject of this mention, laid the foundation for
his education in the common-schools of Butler
county, and then attended the city schools of
Dayton. He left school in his eighteenth year
to respond to his country's call and enlisted in
company B, under - Capt. Stone, Thirty-fifth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and was with the first
Union regiment sent into Kentucky. He par
ticipated in some of the most trying campaigns
and bloodiest battles of the war, fighting at.
Mill Springs, Shiloh, Perryville, Stone River,
Liberty Gap and Chickamauga, where he was
wounded September 20, 1863, by a ball pass
ing through his left hand. He was sent to-
hospital No. 14, at Nashville, Tenn., where he-
remained until the following February, when.
he was transferred to the hospital at Louis
ville, Ky. , and a short time after he rejoined
his command at Burnt Hickory, Ga. He later
participated in the battles of Kenesaw Moun
tain and Peach Tree Creek; his term of serv
ice having then expired, he was mustered out
of service and sent home w;th an honorable
discharge August 20, 1864, having fearlessly
and faithfully performed his duty as a soldier.
He then began fanning on a rented farm in
Clinton county, on which he remained five
years. In 1870 he came to Van Wert county,
and rented a farm in Pleasant township, which
he cultivated until 1879, when he purchasedi
his present home. In 1872 he was united in.
marriage to Maria Devoe, daughter of Ephriafn
and Susan (Smith) Devoe, of Greene county.
To this union two children have been born —
Susan and Edward.
Mr. Lewis espouses the cause of the repub-

[ (

?<s$$ 1s$n

GEORGE LEWIS.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

479

lican party and is ever ready to support the
principles he advocates. He has been hon
ored by his chosen party with the office of
justice of the peace, which office he now holds.
He is an earnest' and enthusiastic worker in
the grange, in which he stands deservedly
high. He is overseer of Ohio State grange,
and Van Wert county owes much of its success
in agricultural prosperity to his efforts. For
eight consecutive years he was president of the
Van Wert county agricultural society, and for
four years has been an honored member of the
state board of agriculture. His farm of forty
acres of valuable land, in Pleasant township, a
few miles from Van Wert, has the marks of
thorough cultivation and careful management.
He is essentially a self-made man and. owes
his success wholly to his own efforts. He is a
successful farmer, a useful, public-spirited citi
zen, and has won his way to the esteem of all
who know him. Mrs. Maria Lewis his amia
ble wife, was born in 1851, in Greene county,
her father dying soon after her birth; and later
her mother married Charles Stiles, with whom
she lived until his death in 1893, and is now a
resident of Greene county, Ohio.

<*-f\ ARIUS O. COOPER, son of Jesse K.
| I Cooper, was born August 3, 1852, in
S^\^_J Fairfield county, Ohio. He came
to Van Wert county with his parents
at the age of ten years. He was reared upon
the homestead, and received his education in
the common schools of Pleasant township.
He remained upon the homestead until his
marriage, in 1876, when he settled upon his
present farm of 160 acres, received from his
father. When he moved upon this farm, there
were but twenty-five acres cleared. He now
has 100 cleared, and under an excellent state
of cultivation. The farm has decidedly fine im
provements, and may be called one of the
21

leading places of the township. Mr. Cooper
married Miss Alice, daughter of Abram Hoghe,
and they are the parents of eight children, viz. :
Hester A., Maud, Dulcinia, Goldee, Jesse K. ,
Hiram A., Owen A., and Florence. In poli
tics Mr. Cooper is a republican, and in his re
ligious views a Methodist, and a member of
the North Liberty church, in which he has
served as steward. He is a member at Van
Wert lodge, F. & A. M. , also of Van Wert
chapter and council, and Ivanhoe command-
ery. (See sketch of Jesse K. Cooper, on page
130, for further genealogical facts.)

WOHN L. COROTHERS, one of the
A most successful farmers of Pleasant
A J township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a
native of the Buckeye state, and was
born in Seneca county in 1855, a son of
Philip C. and Delilah A. (Hufferman) Coro
thers. Philip C. Corothers was born in Beaver
county, Pa., in 1832, and was a son of
Mathias Corothers, a native of Virginia, but
who came to Ohio as a pioneer and settled in
Seneca county, buying a farm of 160 acres, on
which he resided until his death.
Philip C. Corothers, father of John L.,
our subject, attended the public schools there
and also learned the carpenter's trade, becom
ing at once the leading contractor and builder
of his county. At the first call for volunteers
at the opening of the late Civil war he enlisted
for three years in company H, Fourteenth
Ohio infantry, and served with valor and gal
lantry and took part in every engagement in
which his regiment engaged. On his return
from the war he resumed his business and
accumulated a handsome competence, but in
the crises of 1876 met with many reverses.
The seven children born to his marriage with
Miss Delilah A. Hufferman were named, in
order of birth, as follows: John L. , subject of

480

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

this sketch; Cynthia J., wife of Samuel Stump;
Mary A., wife of Harry Handwerk,; Nelson P.,
of Missouri; Wilbert R. ; Edgar B., and
Mathias E., both of Van Wert. Mrs. Delilah
Corothers is a native of Pennsylvania, but was
a child when brought to Seneca county, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Corothers were formerly mem
bers of the Baptist church, but afterward be
came devoted members of the Society of
Friends, in which faith the death of Mr.
Corothers took place, January 19, 1895.
John L. Corothers was educated in the
common schools of Seneca county, and in the
normal school of Republic. For three years
he had worked as a carpenter under his ftaher,
but on quitting school he leased a farm in
Seneca county, on which he lived from 1877 to
1880, when he came to Van Wert county and
purchased a tract of woodland, which he
cleared and on which he built a house, but two
years later sold this and bought another farm,
on which he resided until 1883, when he
again sold out and purchased his present farm
of 160 acres, which he has thoroughly under-
drained and placed under an excellent state of
cultivation. The marriage of Mr. Corothers
took place November 11, 1875, to Mary
Schaaf, daughter of Jacob and Phebe (Rockey)
Schaaf, natives of Germany, but respected
resident of Seneca county, Ohio, where their
daughter Phebe was born September 23, 1853.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Corothers resulted
in the birth of four children, viz: Cora E.,
who died in infancy; Wilbert H., Rolla F. and
Lemuel C. Mrs. Corothers is a member of
the Lutheran church, and while Mr. Corothers
is a member of no church organization, he is
liberal in his aid to all denominations. Fra
ternally, however, he is a member of Van
Wert lodge, No. 76, I. O. O. F., and is also a
member of the National Union of Van Wert.
He is a progressive citizen and stands very
high in the esteem of the community.

^j*OHN J. HUMPHREYS, of Humphreys
A & Hughes, wholesale grocers of Van
A I Wert, was born in Allen county, Ohio,
November 25, 1847. His father, Rich
ard Humphreys, was born in Wales in Novem
ber, 1806, and at thirty-four years of age mar
ried Miss Jane Jones, a native of the same
place. Richard Humphreys remained in Wales
after his marriage, engaged in farming, until
1845, when he came to America with his
young wife, and for. a few months stopped in
Pittsburg, Pa. In the fall of 1845 he came to
Ohio and employed himself in farming in
Allen county until 1889, in June of which year
his wife was called away, when he retired to
pass the remaining years with his daughter,
Mrs. J. D. Evans, of Allen county, where he
died in May, 1884. The children born to
Richard and Jane Humphries were five in num
ber, and were named in order of birth as fol
lows: Jane (Mrs. J. D. Evans), Margaret,
John J., Catherine, and Thomas, a Congrega
tional minister.
John J. Humphreys, whose name heads
this biographical notice, received a very good
English education in the common schools of
his native country, which was supplemented
by a course of study in a business college.
For three years he taught school in Allen and
Van Wert counties, daily adding to his own
stock of information. The succeeding five
years he acquired a thorough knowledge of
mercantile pursuits, and in 1874 he succeeded
Mr. A. Conn in the firm of A. Conn, Son &
Co., in, the grocery trade at Van Wert, and
the style was changed to Dunathan & Hum
phreys, then to Dunathan, Humphreys & Hol-
brook for about a year and a half, and for the
following eight years the business was carried
on under the firm name of Dunathan & Hum
phreys, at the expiration of which period Mr.
Dunathan sold his interest to William T.
Hughes, and the company assumed its present

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

481

name — Humphreys & Hughes. A retail and
jobbing trade had been done until 1886, when
the retail business was abandoned altogether
and jobbing and wholesaling has since occupied
the entire attention of the two partners. The
business rapidly increased, .and in 1893 the
firm erected one of the most magnificent busi
ness buildings in northwestern Ohio. This
edifice is located at the corner of East Main
and South Market streets, Van Wert, and has
a frontal of sixty-six feet, with a depth of
132. But to give a strict idea of the massive
block, twenty-two feet additional frontage
must be added, making a total of eighty-eight
feet. This portion belongs to H. F. Rump,
the builder and contractor, and is in exact cor
respondence in every detail with the other
part, so the whole will be taken together. It
could be said that many buildings, not its
equal, have been estimated at a cost of above
$75,000. It is a combination of the Corinthian,
composite and renaissance styles of architecture,
the good points of each of which are embodied
and bronght out. It is built of Bedford lime
stone, the massive Corinthian support columns
being of blue Bedford stone. Some fifty-two
car-loads of dressed stone were altogether used.
The cut stone ornamentation throughout pre
sents a very tasty appearance, and the building
is three stories and a basement in height, the
ceilings of which are all lofty. That thei
amount of business transacted by this firm is
immense it is useless to state, and mention is
made of it here to illustrate the wonderful
business capabilities of Mr. Humphreys, who
is, in the full sense of the term, a strictly self-
made man.
The marriage of John J. Humphreys took
place in Van Wert county November 29, 1874,
to Florence E. McCoy, who was born in Van
Wert county, November 30, 1854, a daughter
of Moses H. McCoy. To this union have been
born seven children, who have been named as

follows : Eugene C, who is a fine vocalist;
Wilbur R. , a student now in college ; Agnes L. ,
Edna and Ethel, twins; and Helen L. and
Harold L. , twins. Mr. and Mrs. Humphreys
are conscientious members of the Presbyterian
church, in which Mr. Humphreys has been an
elder for nine years. In politics he is a stanch
republican, but has never been an office seeker.
He is also a strong and ardent supporter of the
cause of temperance, and never loses a chance
to speak in its favor, and by his daily walk sets
an example that is worthy of imitation. Per
sonally he is very popular, rendered so by his
fine physical appearance and his courteous and
genial deportment. Mr. Humphreys is one of
the live and energetic men of to-day, giving of
his best energies in furthering the interests of
their large and increasing business, he being
known as one of the most capable wholesale
grocerymen of northwestern Ohio. He is
very careful in representing his goods and upon
the shipment of same is careful to see that
everything that goes out is first-class. Mr.
Humphreys owns valuable city property, arid
the coming year will erect a $10, 000 residence,
which will be the home of comfort and plenty.

lS~\ AVID J. JONES, of York township.
I I Van Wert county, is a native of
{M^J Jackson county, Ohio, born March',
1850, a son of John H. and Mary
(Edwards) Jones, natives of Wales. John H.
Jones, the father, came to America in 1837,
sailing from Liverpool, England, when twenty-
three years of age. On arriving in this country
Mr. Jones was first employed on a railroad at
Pittsburg, Pa., at sixty-two and a half cents
per day. In 1842, he returned to Wales, was
married there, and in 1847 made his second
trip to America, accompanied by his wife and
two small children, settling in Jackson county,
Ohio, where he had previously purchased

482

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

eighty acres of wild land, and where he spent
the remainder of his life. He reared a family
of ten children, as follows: Evan and John who
were born in Wales and came to America in
infancy, and here Evan and John died in
childhood, and Evan the second, also died
young; David J., our subject; Ebon J., who
resides in Jackson county, cashier in the Oak
Hill bank; John J., resident of Van Wert
county; Kate A., deceased wife of' John Lewis,
died April 20, 1895; Evan J., a physician of
Oak Hill, Jackson county; Joseph J., of Jef
ferson Furnace, Jackson county, and Edward
J., a farmer. John H. Jones, the father,
died July 15, 1891, and his wife in Au
gust, 1892.
David J. Jones grew up on his father's
farm, received a first-class education, having
attended Lebanon college five terms, and at
the age of eighteen became a teacher, his first
school having been taught on the farm of Ed
ward Hughes, near Venedocia; this vocation
he followed ten years successively, having
taught in all thirty terms. In 1876, he came
to Van Wert county, to make a permanent
home, and located on his present farm, then a
swamp, occupied by a band of singing frogs;
this he has cleared, drained, cultivated and
improved with a fine, spacious modern resi
dence, which commands a fine view; he has
also erected suitable and substantial out-build
ings. The farm is comprised of 133 acres, and
will compare favorably with any other farm of
its size in the county. September 20, 1877,
Mr. Jones was united in wedlock with Lizzie
Lewis, daughter of David H. and Elizabeth
(Davis) Lewis, both natives of Wales, and for
a time residents of Pomeroy, Meigs county,
Ohio, where David Lewis pursued his trade of
blacksmithing, afterward removing to the
neighborhood of Bethel, Jackson county, Ohio,
where they reared a family of seven children,
viz: John, postmaster of Samsonville, Jackson

county, Ohio; Mary, who died in girlhood;
Hannah, also deceased; Enoch L., druggist of
Oak Hill; Daniel, a farmer of Jackson county;
David, farmer of the same county, and Lizzie,
wife of our subject. David H. Lewis died in
February, 1888, his wife having died in Sep
tember, 1878.
To D. J. Jones have been born seven chil
dren, named: Johnny, Lizzie Ann, David,
Edwin, Mamie Edith (deceased), Ada Mary
and Evan Emlyn. In politics Mr. Jones is a
republican, and in 1887 was elected to the
office of justice of the peace, and has served
continuously ever since, never having had a
decision reversed during this long period. Mr.
and Mrs. Jones worship at the Zion Calvinistic
Methodist church, and but a few families in the
township of York enjoy a greater degree of re
spect than that of our subject.

@ RIMES McCONAHY, deceased, was
born in Lewistown, Juniata county,
Pa., October 18, 18 19, and was
quite young when brought to Ohio
by his parents, who located in Richland
county. There Mr. McConahy grew to man
hood and was married to Elizabeth McNulty,
who bore three children and passed away in
1844, two of her offspring soon followed her;
^he survivor, Adellia, was married to B. W.
Brown of Delaware, Ohio, and died in 1876.
Mr. McConahy, subsequent to his wife's
death, moved to Lima, Allen county, Ohio,
and there married Lucetta Baker, April 30,
1847. This lady is a daughter of the venerable
Charles Baker, of whom further mention is
made below. From 'Lima, Mr. McConahy
came to Van Wert in 185 1, in a wagon,
accompanied by the family of A. W. Baker,
the two gentlemen forming a partnership in the
general merchandising business and occupying
the building now standing on Market street,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

483

north of Gilliland's warehouse. He later sold
his interest to Mr. Baker and joined James
Webster in the grocery business, with a restau
rant attached; he was also in the harness
trade, and, in addition, ran a saw-mill north of
the old cemetery. In 1853 he went to Bucyrus
and secured the agency of the Fort Wayne
road, which he held eleven years, and served
also as operator and express agent for several
years. He had a boot and shoe business for
a time. He then erected the building now
occupied by Arnold's cigar store and conducted
a bakery and grocery in conjunction with a
Mr. Rank. In 1865 he was a candidate on the
democratic ticket for auditor, but was de
feated. As at this time his party had no
organ, he united with a number of other
prominent democrats and established the Van
Wert Times. In 1867 he was triumphantly
elected to the office of auditor and was re
elected in 1 87 1. He later served as deputy
treasurer under John Seaman, during the ill
ness of the latter; he then resumed the grocery
business, which he sold to his son Carey Mc
Conahy, a few months before his own death,
which occurred on Monday morning, Septem
ber 26, 1887, at the age of sixty-eight years,
eleven months and eight days — his ailment
having been heart decease. His remains were
interred in Woodland cemetery under the aus
pices of Van Wert lodge, No. 2 18, F. & A. M.
of which he was a charter member and the first
worshipful master. Mr. McConahy, it will be
seen, had led a most useful and active life, had
made hosts of friends, and his loss was deeply
deplored by his widow, surviving children and
by the public of Van Wert in general.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Mc
Conahy were nine in number, viz: Charles
Alonzo, wagon and carriage dealer of Van
Wert; Albert D., who died in Indianapolis on
the Thursday preceding the Monday on which
the father died; James A., editor of the Daily

Star, Valparaiso, Ind. ; Mary F. , wife of Will
iam A. Caldwell, superintendent of the Deaf
and Blind home, Berkely, Cal. ; Elmer B.,
general stock agent at Chicago of the North
western railway company; Carey B., traveling
salesman for Humphreys & Hughes, wholesale
grocers of Van Wert; Walter G., horseman,
at home, and Laura B., wife of J. W. Nichlos,
of Saint Louis, Mo.
Charles Baker, the father of Mrs. Lucetta
McConahy, widow of Grimes McConahy, was
born in Lincoln county, Me., a son of Eber
Baker, December 8, 1804, and came with his
parents to Marion county, Ohio, settling where
the city of Marion now stands, and of which
city Eber Baker was the founder. Charles,
with his brother, George W., sawed with a
whip-saw the timber with which they con
structed the first house on the original plat, in
which rude building the family resided seven
years. In 1824 he took charge of a tannery,
a part of which his father had purchased, and
in 1826 erected one of his own. Later he
moved to Lima, Allen county, and engaged in
the grocery business, and in 1833 was ap
pointed postmaster of the town. He was
elected treasurer of Allen county in 1835, and
in 1839, by appointment, assumed the duties
of clerk in the office of register of the United
States land office, which duties he performed
two years. In 1849 he returned to Marion,
where a long and prosperous business career
awaited him, but he has long since retired from
active pursuits and has spent a great deal of
his time in traveling. His first marriage took
place, in 1828, to Miss Mary Anderson, and his
second to Mrs. Tacey T. Anderson, the latter
a daughter of Abel Thomas and widow of
James A. Anderson. Mr. Baker celebrated
the 90th annivereary of his birthday at the
home of his daughter, Mrs. E.G.Allen, on East
Center street, in the city of Marion, where the
venerable gentleman ate dinner with a few of

484

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

his relatives and enjoyed the good wishes and
pleasant society of his true and loving associ
ates. He now resides with his daughter, Mrs.
Grimes McConahy.

HUGUSTUS P. McCONAHAY, prac
tical jeweler of Van Wert, Ohio, is a
native of the state and was born in
Wooster, Wayne county, July 31,
1838, a son of Joseph E. and Maria E. (Betts)
McConahay, natives of Pennsylvania and Con
necticut respectively, though married in Tus
carawas county, Ohio, about the year 1834,
from which place they shortly afterward re
moved to Wooster, where Mr. McConahay
followed his trade of tanning until 1854, when
he came to Van Wert, and in this city died on
February 22, 1872, his widow surviving until
January, 1893; they were both good old-
fashioned Scotch Presbyterians, very pious
people and the parents of three children: Au
gustus P., Caroline (deceased), and Lucy E.,
wife of J. W. Rout, of Tennessee.
Augustus P. McConahay, at the age of
fourteen, left his home, went to Teere Haute,
Ind. , and was apprenticed to S. R. Freeman,
a jeweler, with whom he remained four years,
and then, in 1856, came to Van Wert, Ohio,
but shortly afterward went to Wooster, where
he had the management of a jewelry, establish
ment for a short time; thence he went to
Newark, Ohio, remained until 1859, and thence
went to Greenup, Ky. , whence, in June, 1861,
he went to New York and took steamer for
Aspinwall, Central America, crossed the isth
mus to Panama, thence embarked for Manzo-
nella, Mex., but was wrecked off the coast,
and endured many harships, yet finally arrived
at his destination, San Francisco, Cal., July 4,
1 861; thence to Nevada City, Cal, then to
Virginia City, Nev., and to Reese River, Nev.
(then a mail station and also a great silver

town), and so on to Salt Lake City, at which
point he arrived in November, 1864, and there
saw many of the more noted saints; he next
traveled overland to Atchison, Kan., then to
Chicago, 111., and to Cincinnati, Ohio, working
in a jewelry store in the last named city until
1865, when he located in Van Wert, where he-
opened a store with a very limited capital, but
which business has prospered, and he has now
a very fine establishment, well stocked with
everything pertaining to his line.
The marriage of Mr. McConahay took
place in Greenup, Ky. , May 15, 1865, to Miss
Laura A. Myers, who was born in Greenup in
1844, a daughter of John Myers, and to this
union have been born the following children:
Etta B., wife of T. C. Wilkinson, William M.,
Claude R., Vernon B. and Roy P. Mrs.
McConahay is a Presbyterian in her belief, and
in politics Mr. McConahay is a republican ; he
is also a member of Van Wert lodge, No. 218,
F. & A. M., of Van Wert chapter, No. 71,
R. A. M., of Van Wert council, No. 73,
R. S. M., of Ivanhoe commandery, No. 54,
Knights Templar, and of Cincinnati consistory,
S. P. R. S., and also of the Syrian Mystic
Shrine. Mr. McConahay has also served his
party on the board of education for twelve
years and also as a member of the board of
park commissioners, and is recognized as one
of Van Wert's most useful citizens.

>^ONATHAN McCONNELL, one of the
A old soldiers of the Civil war from Van
A 1 Wert county, Ohio, was born in Scot
land and is a son of Gavin and Mary
(Carlisle) McConnell, of the famous Highland
clan of the same name. They were eight
children in this family, six of whom reached
maturity, viz : James, Margaret, Naomi,
Mary, Jane and Jonathan. In 1840, Gavin
McConnell brought his family to America and

OF VAN WERT COUNTY."

485

engaged in farming near Pittsburg, Pa. , until
1846, when he came to Ohio, and bought
eighty acres of land in Harrison township, Van
Wert county, and from this land, with the
assistance of his son Jonathan, he cleared off
the heavy growth of timber and converted into
a pleasant home. He here lived until he
reached his eighty-eighth year, when his earth
ly career was ended on November 10, 1874.
He and his wife were members of the Presby
terian church, and, until the outbreak of the
late war, he was a democrat in politics, but
then became a republican. He was a man of
great industry and of sterling integrity, and
highly respected among his neighbors.
Jonathan McConnell, the subject of this
skech, was born in Paisley, Scotland, October
15, 1832, and was about fifteen years of age
when he reached Van Wert county. He was
inured to the hard work of the farm and aided
on the home place until he enlisted on May 2,
1864, at Van Wert, in company I, One Hun
dred and Thirty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry,
to serve 100 days, but, the troops being badly
needed, he served about five months. He was
soon promoted to be corporal, and his duty was
performed at Hammond's Point, Md., as guard;
he was honorably discharged at Camp Denni
son, Ohio, September 22, 1864, an<f for the
faithful service rendered by the soldiers at
Hammond's Point, President Lincoln and
Secretary of War Stanton caused a certificate
of thanks to be issued — a ducument which
Corporal McConnell has most carfully pre
served. Through exposure while on duty,
Corporal McConnell contracted asthma, and
was ordered to the hospital, but he declined
going, preferring to remain in his quarters, and
he is still a sufferer from the disorder. On his
return home, the corporal resumed farming
until about 1886, when he located in Convoy
and carried on a trade in notions until 1892,
when he withdrew from business and is now

living in retirement, a much respected citizens.
The corporal is in politics a republican and is
a member of Capper post, No. 236, G. A. R.,
of Convoy, in which he has filled all the offices,
except that of commander. He was a good
soldier, and when he entered the army weighed
160 pounds, and when he came out his avoir
dupois was ninety, including knapsack and
accoutrements. He has always been regarded
with much favor by the citizens of Convoy, and
his home is one of the most pleasant in the
town, being presided over by his faithful and
aimable sister, Jane.

">rj*AMES R. McCONNELL, one of the
A substantial farmers of Harrison town-
A 1 ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born
in Westmoreland county, Pa., Febru
ary 8, 1833, and is a son of William and
Nancy (Reed) McConnell. William McConnell
was also a native of Westmoreland county, Pa. ,
and a son of John McConnell, who was born
in Ireland about 1740, and married Betsey
Mclntire, nee McKinley, a sister of the grand
father of Gov. McKinley of Ohio. William
McConnell, father of subject, was born June
25> l799> and his wife, Nancy Reed, was a na
tive of Ireland, a daughter of James Reed, who
came to America and settled in Westmoreland
county, Pa., when his family were still young.
To William and Nancy were born thirteen
children, of whom our subject was the sixth in
the order of birth. The family all came to
Ohio in 1839, and located in Hancock county,
on a farm of 160 acres, and here William Mc
Connell died February 26, 1864, at about the
age of sixty-four years. In politics he was a
democrat, but had two sons in the Union army
during the late war. In religion, Mr. and Mrs.
McConnell affiliated with the U. P. church.
James R. McConnell was married, January
8, 1857, in Hancock county, Ohio, to Barbara

486

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

A., who was born August 30, 1829, a daughter
of Abraham and Sarah (Dunkle) Rowinsky,
natives of Pennsylvania and of Polish and Ger
man descent respectively. After the marriage,
James R. McConnell lived on his father's farm
for sixteen years, and then, in 1873, came to
Van Wert county and settled on eighty acres
of land, which he has cleared and improved,
and converted into a delightful home. To Mr.
and Mrs. McConnell have been born seven
children, viz: John A., who died at the age of
seventeen and a half years; William R., who
married Alice Whittenbarger, and became the
father of three children; George R. , married to
Ollie Hook, who has borne two children; James
H.., who married Lora M. Miller, and is the
father of two children; Sarah N., wife of A. L.
Baxter and mother of three children; HughH.,
married to Mary Kreischer, and the father of
¦one child, and Mary M., now the wife of John
M. Stewart, and the mother of one child. Mr.
and Mrs. McConnell are members of the U. P.
church, and in politics Mr. McConnell is a
democrat. The children of these parents have
all been well educated and are a credit to the
various neighborhoods in which they live, while
Mr. and Mrs. McConnell enjoys the respect of
all who known them.

>^j*OHN McCOY, deceased, was born in
A Madison county, Ohio, May 31, 1833,
A 1 a son of Alexander and Eliza (Gillispie)
McCoy. Further mention of these
parents will be found in the biography of Moses
McCoy, of Ridge township, to which the at
tention of the reader is invited.
From Madison county John McCoy, our
subject, when six years of age, was brought to
Van Wert county by his parents, who located
in Ridge township, and with whom our subject
remained until twenty-four years of age. John
received a very fair education, and at the age

of eighteen years began teaching school, a pro
fession he followed until twenty-five years old,
when he bought eighty acres of land from his
father, and began farming on his own account;
shortly afterward his wife, of whom mention
will be made further on, became heir to 160
acres, which property was soon sold and eighty
acres adjacent to Mr. McCoy's farm were pur
chased and added thereto. Mr. McCoy was
an intelligent and industrious agriculturist,
and at his death, which occurred February 20,
1884, he was the owner of 160 acres, with
many valuable improvements and well stocked
with fine Durham and other cattle, Mr. McCoy
having been the first to bring graded live stock
to the township. Mr. McCoy was a republican
in politics and was a justice of the peace many
years, and for fourteen years township treas
urer; he was a Mason and Patron of Husbandry,
and in religion a Presbyterian. He was promi
nent as a local politician, was worthy in all
respects, and his death was deeply deplored,
not only by his family, but by the whole of the
population of Ridge township. Since his de
parture the property has been under the able
control of his widow.
John McCoy was joined in matrimony in
Columbiana county, Ohio, November 18, 1857,
to Miss Eleanor Montgomery, who was born
in Columbiana county, Ohio, October 20,
1834, a daughter of John and Sarah (Poe)
Montgomery, and a sister of James Montgom
ery, of Pleasant township. To the union of
John and Eleanor McCoy were, born seven
children, in the following order; Marion P., who
for three terms was county surveyor of Van
Wert county, Ohio, and in 1892 went to Okla
homa, where he is now a member of the
legislature; John M., deceased; Anna E. , wife
of Frank Gamble, of Convoy; James A., a"
traveling salesman; Sarah E.,wife of E. Wert,
a druggest of Scott, Ohio; Flora Belle, and
Charles G., away from home, attending school.

c&,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

489

V* OUIS W. LORBER, one of the lead-
I C ing business men of Convoy, Van
M jjj Wert county, Ohio, was born in the
city of Raslowitz, Hungary, June 21,
1854, a son of Herman and Esther Lorber.
Louis W. Lorber was educated in the schools
of Berlin, Germany, and learned the German,
Hungarian, Danish and Hebrew languages.
The children born to Herman Lorber were
nine in uumber and were named, in order of
•of birth, Bertha, Maurice, Jacob, Isaac, Aaron,
Rosa, Gertrude, Louis W. and Mary. Herman,
the father, died in 1872, at about fifty-seven
years of age, and a member of the Lutheran
church. Louis W. Lorber, in 1 871, came to America,
landing in New York city in December, whence
he came to Ohio and worked as a laborer in
Cleveland for three months, and then as a farm
hand in Perry and Franklin counties, and in
1876 came to Van Wert county, where, also,
he engaged in farm labor. On May 12, 1877,
he married Elizabeth L. Miller, daughter of
Israel Miller, the result of this union being six
children, viz: Matilda M., Pleasant M., Elmer
I., Gracie F., Daisy and Esther. In 1884 Mr.
Lorber, having saved $1,300, came to Convoy
and bought an interest in a saw-mill of John
Wistner, and six months later bought out his
partner's remaining interest, and is still pros
perously conducting the mill. August 12,1891,
Mr. Lorber formed a partnership with E. P.
McNeaLpurchasing a half interest in the latter's
tile business; in the spring of 1894 they sold
this plant and engaged in the dressed lumber
trade,- Mr. Lorber still retaining his saw-mill.
Mr. and Mrs. Lorber are members of the
Methodist church, of which, also, he is a trus
tee; he is also a member of Convoy lodge, No.
641, I. O. O. F, in which he has filled all the
offices, and is a member of Hiawatha tribe,
No. 116, Improved Order of Red Men. In
politics he is a republican, served as a member

on the board of education three years and was
re-elected in the spring of 1895; he was a
member of the republican central committee
of Van Wert county in 1893, when the state
gave William McKinley, Jr., 181,000 majority
for governor, and is still a member of said
committee. He is also treasurer of the Col
umbus Building & Loan Investment company
of Convoy. Mr. Lorber is an excellent ex
ample of a self-made man, having accumulated
his property by thrift, hard labor and honest
purpose. His credit is solid and his integrity
without a flaw.

>Y*OHN McCRORY, deceased, was born
A in Richland county, Ohio, December
A 1 12, 1828. His parents were William
and Jane (McLaughlin) McCrory, who
were of Irish descent, their ancestors having
come to America late in the eighteenth century.
William McCrory, father of cur subject, was a
farmer in Richland county, Ohio, and for
twenty-five o'r more years filled the office of
justice of the peace. Of his nine children six
reached maturity, viz: David, of Allen county,
Ind. ; Jane, William, Susan, James and John,
all of whom, however, are now deceased, with
the exception of the first named.
John McCrory, when a child, was taken by
his parents to Ashland county, Ohio, where he
grew to manhood, learned the carpenter's trade,
and in December, 1857, married Miss Sarah
Springer, who was born in Ashland county
November 28, 1827, a daughter of Henry and
Elizabeth (Moudy) Springer, who located in
that county about the year 1800. Henry
Springer, who was a farmer, subsequently
came to Van Wert county and purchased a
large tract of land — over 1,200 acres — and
also assisted in erecting some of the earliest
buildings put up in the city of Van Wert.
Just after his marriage, John McCrory started

490

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

for California, where he passed five years in
mining; the following nine years he was
engaged in farming in Ashland cojunty, Ohio;
November 15, 1874, he came to Van Wert
county and located on a farm of 2i2| acres,
which had been presented to Mrs. McCrory by
her father. John McCrory departed this life
February 10, 1882, the father of two children —
John S. and William Charles, both farmers of
Van Wert county. In 1883 Mrs. McCrory
moved with her orphaned children to the
Pleasant township farm and resided thereon
until July, 1890, when she returned to the
city and now has her residence on the corner of
Shannon street and Maple avenue. Mr. Mc
Crory was a democrat in his political affilia
tions, fraternally was an Odd Fellow, and in
religion a Lutheran; he was universally es
teemed as an upright man, whose memory
bears no blemish or stain; Mrs. McCrory is
also a member of the Lutheran church, and is
respected and honored by all who know her.

HLBERT L. McDONALD, a descend
ant of an ancient pioneer of Virginia,
and a prominent citizen of Van Wert,
was born January 3, 1841. He is a
son of Alexander McDonald, who was born in
Virginia in 1795. Alexander McDonald was of
Scotch descent, was educated in Virginia, and
learned the trades of brick-mason and stone
mason. That he was a well educated man is
evident from the fact that after his arrival in
Van Wert county he taught not only in the
country schools of this county, but also in the
public schools of the city of Van Wert, con
tinuing to teach until his death, which occurred
in 1850 and was caused by typhoid fever.
Politically he was a democrat and in religious
faith a Universalist. He was one of the best
men that ever came to this county, always
hospitable and kind. It is sometimes stated

that the origin of the phrase, "the latch string
is always out," was in Virginia, one of the
most hospitable of the southern states, and Mr.
McDonald brought to the west with him his
southern habits and opinions. Alexander Mc
Donald was married at an early age to Miss
Sedameras Mcllhenny, of Virginia, who be
longed to the same class of Virginians as her
husband. They were the parents of the fol
lowing children : William, Lydia, Thomas,
Lancaster, Wesley, Wylie, David, Albert,
and Isaac, of whom William, Thomas, Lan
caster and Wesley are dead, and the living
are all married. The mother of these children
died February 28, 1885. Upon coming to
Ohio, in 1843, Mr. McDonald first settled in
Richland county, but soon afterward he re
moved to Van Wert county, at a time when
there were but few settlers and few cabins in
this part of ths state.
Albert L. McDonald was born in Richland
county, Ohio, and having obtained the educa
tion the common schools of that county were
capable of imparting, he learned the carpenter
trade. Remaining at home until his marriage,
which occurred March 9, 1869, to Miss Susan
Beveau, he then began life for himself. To
the marriage of Mr. McDonald and Miss
Beveau there were born the following children:
Iona and Albana. Iona was born July 28,
1872, and was married to Sibley Neil, Novem
ber 30, 1895. Before her marriage she was a
school-teacher. Albana was born February 3,
1875, and is living at home. Mr. McDonald
is in politics a democrat, and is in every way a
liberal man. conceding to others the rights that
he claims for himself. He is still living in Van
Wert city.
Susan Beveau, wife of the subject of this.
sketch, was born April 22, 1846. Her father,
John Beveau, was born in France, was there
reared on a farm, and this occupation he fol
lowed for a living. By his first marriage he

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

491

became the father of the following children :
Cain and Henry. The mother of these chil
dren dying, he married the second time; his
second wife also dying, he then married Miss
Catherine Terie, a native of France. To this
third marriage there were born the following
children : Mary, Thomas, Christine, Jose
phine, John, Peter, Nicholas, "Jacob and Susan.
Of these the following are dead : Mary,
Thomas, Josephine, John and Nicholas. The
others are married and have families of their
own. John Beveau upon coming to the United
States, located on a farm in Van Wert county,
Ohio, upon which he lived and followed farm
ing until he reached old age. He then retired
from active business and enjoyed the earnings
of his earlier years until his death, which oc
curred in 1 87 1, his wife surviving him until
June 18, 1888. Mr. Beveau was in politics a
republican and was a member of the Catholic
church. He was a good man, kind hearted,
and a true friend. Susan, his daughter, was
born in Ohio, and lived with her parents in
Van Wert county until she was married to Mr.
McDonald. In religious belief she prefers the
United Brethren church, of • which she is a
member. Both she and her husband are ex
cellent people and are of high social standing
in the city of Van Wert.

>Y*OHN P. BUCHER, a retired farmer
¦ and prominent citizen of Hoaglin town-
A 1 ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born in Richland county, Ohio, Decem
ber 20, 1830, was reared on his father's farm,
and farming, with the exception of nine years,
in which he was engaged in carpenter work,
has been his life vocation. His great-grand
father was a German by birth and was early a
settler of Pennsylvania, in Dauphin county of
which state John Bucher, grandfather of our
subject, was born, was married to Elizabeth

Plank, and was drafted to serve in the war of
18 1 2. John and his wife, Elizabeth, early
came to Ohio and settled in Richland county,
where he owned 1,000 acres of land, which he
divided later among his children. In politics
he was a Jackson democrat, and in religion
both he and wife were adherents of the Ger
man Reform church, in the faith of which both
passed away in Richland county. Their son,
Peter Bucher, was born in Dauphin county,
Pa., in 1 80 1, was brought up a farmer and
married, in Dauphin county, Elizabeth Light,
daughter of John and Nancy (Lendes) Light.
After the birth of three children in Dauphin
county, Mr. and Mrs. Bucher came to Ohio
and wrought out, from .land his father had
given him, a farm of 200 acres from the wilds
of Richland county, and here the remainder of
their family was born the children appearing
in the following order: Amos W., Harriet,
Eliza, John P., Henry C. , Joseph P., and Mary
E. In politics Mr. Bucher was a democrat,
and both he and wife were members of the
German Reform church, and in this faith both
died — the wife April 14, 1842, and the husband
a number of years after.
John P. Bucher, the subject of this bio
graphy, was educated in the common schools
of Richland county, Ohio, and on December
24, 1857, married Leah Baer, daughter of
Abraham and Maria (Nischly) Baer, of Dauphin
county, Pa., and this marriage was blessed by
the birth of Henry F., October 21, 1859, and
Mary E., (Mrs. Walburn of Van Wert), May
7, 1 86 1. After his marriage Mr. Bucher
worked for two years at carpentering in Rich
land county and then came to Van Wert county,
and the same year, 1859, bought his farm of
160 acres in Hoaglin township, of which he has
deeded eighty acres to his son and is reserving
the remaining eighty acres for his daughter.
This land is highly cultivated and improved
with good house, barn and proper out-buildings..

492

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Since his settlement here, Mr. Bucher has
seen Van Wert county transformed from a
wilderness, filled with bear, deer and turkeys
and game of all kinds, as well as wolves and
other beasts of prey, to its present garden-like
-beauty and prosperous agricultural and indus
trial condition. In politics, Mr. Bucher is a
democrat; in his religion he is a German Bap
tist; is a trustee and steward in his church, and
is liberal in his financial aid to both church
and school. He is well and favorably known
in the county and township, and esteemed
-everywhere for his integrity and intelligence.

>-tjACOB HENRY FOSTER, editor and
A proprietor of the Van Wert Bulletin,
A J was born in Findlay, Ohio, March 6,
1839. His grandfather, Jacob Foster,
was born in Germany and was brought to this
country in 1790, when he was seven years of
age, his parents settling in Virginia, nearly op
posite Gallipolis, Ohio. He served under
Anthony Wayne in his campaign against the
Indians in the northwest as a private soldier,
and was promoted to a lieutenancy for gallant
services in piloting a party of men to Gen.
Wayne's headquarters for supplies and ammu
nition. He was one of the earliest settlers in
Hancock county, Ohio, bought a farm there
and lived upon it until his death in 1850, when
he was sixty-seven years old. In politics he
was a whig, and took an active part in political
affairs. He was three times a candidate for
-commissioner of Hancock county, but was de
feated each time by one vote; he was a state
road commissioner, and laid out and con
structed the first road, through the woods,
from Findlay to Tiffin, via Fostoria. He was
noted throughout northwestern Ohio as a
/great apple raiser, and at his death left the
greatest orchard in this part of the state. His
farm, containing 160 acres, lay one mile north

of Findlay, but now the city has been extended
sufficiently to take it all into the limits of the
city. For his services in the war under Wayne
he received a warrant for 160 acres of land,
which warrant was sold by some one of his
descendants. His wife died in i860. Mr.
Foster married Miss Mary Galbreath, by whom
he had thirteen children, as follows: Jacob;
Daniel, father of the subject; Sarah, who
married James Carlin; John; Andrew Jackson;
Thomas; Elizabeth, died a young lady;
Rachel, who married F. Greer; Mary, who
married }. C. Douglas; Silas; Phoebe, who
married William Hixon; James, and one that
died in infancy.
Daniel Foster was born February 12, 18 1 3,
was educated in the country schools, was
reared on the farm north of Findlay, and be
came a dealer in horses and commercial paper.
His residence was at Findlay, and he was the
discoverer of natural gas in that place, in
1837, ar,d gas was burned in his house for
twenty years, all of this time he having a large
flambeau in his dooryard, for illuminating his
premises. In 1837 Daniel Foster married Miss Mary
Margaret Ford, by whom he had five chil
dren, as follows: One that died in infancy,
Jacob Henry, James D., Lindo, Elleanor and
Zedora. Mary Ford was a daughter of Henry
and Elleanor (Nicholas) Ford, the former of
Irish descent, and a soldier under Gen. Andrew
Jackson in the Florida war. He was a farmer
of Washington county, Md., and died in 1820.
Jacob Henry Foster received his education
in the common schools at Findlay. When he
was eleven years of age he began to learn the
printer's trade in the office of the old Hancock
Whig at Findlay, serving a regular apprentice
ship in that office and in that of the Findlay
Courier, entering the latter office in the fall of
1852. In 1&56, when but sixteen years old,
he became foreman in the office of the Han-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

493:

cock Jeffersonian, which position he held until
i860, when he established the Fostoria News.
This paper he disposed of in 1863, with the
view of entering the army, but was rejected on
account of being afflicted with rheumatism.
Re-establishing his paper he ran it for a short
time, when he sold it to J. V. Jones, and it is
now known as the Fostoria Review.
The state central republican committee,
desiring to establish a paper at Ottawa, Put
nam county, to support the candidacy of Hon.
James M. Ashley for congress, Mr. Foster con
ducted the Ottawa Telegraph in his favor,
against Gen. A. V. Rice, who was the demo
cratic candidate, and who was supporting Gen.
McClellan for the presidency as against Presi
dent Lincoln. At the end of the campaign,
which resulted in the election of Mr. Ashley,
the Telegraph was suspended.
Mr. Foster then removed to Van Wert and
purchased a half interest in the Bulletin from
Judge H. C. Glenn, and in 1865 purchased the
other half interest. This paper he ran until
1 884, when he sold out to Summerset & Arnold,
who published it until January 1, 1894, when
Mr. Foster re-purchased it and has run it ever
since. In the interval between 1884 and 1894
Mr. Foster was engaged in selling gas engines
and machinery, having his headquarters one
year in Cleveland. The Bulletin is now both
a daily and a semi-weekly, the daily haying
been established in 1883 and the semi-weekly
January 1, 1894. It is republican in politics,
and is opposed to monopolies of all kinds. He
was for nineteen years at the head of the fire
department of Van Wert, and for twelve years
was president of the Northwestern Ohio Volun
teer Firemen's association. During his presi
dency of this association the world's record was
reduced to twenty-nine and a half seconds,
which has not yet been lowered.
Mr. Foster was married October 10, i860,
to Miss Martha Ann Caples, a daughter of

Gen. B. L. Caples and Catherine Norton, his-
wife. Gen. Caples in the early day took.
great interest in the local militia, and com
manded a division in what is known in the his
tory of Ohio as the "Toledo War" — a con
troversy between Ohio and Michigan in refer
ence to the boundary between the two states..
Mr. and Mrs. Foster have had eleven children,
as follows: Kate, who died at the age of six,;
Mary, a teacher in the Van Wert public schools;.
Mattie; Hattie, whc died at the age of two,
years; Hal, who died at four; Linda; Caples,
an assistant in the Bulletin office; Nellie; an
infant, deceased; Glenn, and Jay H. Mr.
Foster is one of the most experienced and suc
cessful newspaper men in northwestern Ohio,
is fully abreast of the times in all respects, and'
desires nothing more than to make the Bul
letin a power for good in the land'.

>Y*AMES McGOWEN, a respected farmer -
A of Washington township, Van Wert
A I county, Ohio, is a native of the state of
New York, was born in Ontario county,
that state, May 12, 1822, and is of Irish de
scent through his paternal grandfather.
William McGowen, the father of James,.
our subject, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., was a-
stone-mason by trade, and when a young man
went to Ontario county, N. Y., where he
became the third husband of Mrs. Nancy Han
nah. The first husband of this lady was Sam
uel Richardson, who was killed in. the war of
1 81 2 at Black Rock, N. Y., the father of three
children: Mary, Meams and William; to her
second husband, William Hannah, who died
one year after marriage, she bore no children,
but by Mr. McGowen she became the mother
of eight, viz: Caroline, Rachael, James,
George, Robert, Harriet and. Henrietta (twins)
and Henry. The father, William McGowen,
was a strong well-proportioned man, of 190.

494

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

pounds, with double thumbs, and died in
Ontario county, N. Y. , at the age of sixty-
six years. James McGowen, our subject, received a
very good common-school education and was
brought up a carpenter in Canadaigua, On
tario county, N. Y., where he married, Sep
tember 25, 1846, Miss Catherine McCandless,
who was born July 19, 1824, a daughter of
William and Margaret (Anderson) McCandless,
their union resulting in the birth of nine chil
dren, viz: Andrew, Orson, Mary, Charles,
Edmund, William, Allen and Albert and Alice,
twins. William McCandless, father of Mrs.
McGowen, came from Scotland, was a wagon-
maker and was the father, by his first wife, of
three children — Catherine, Elizabeth and Will
iam; by his second marriage he became the
father of six children — Alexander, Isabel, Mar
garet, Mary, Jane and Louis. Alexander was
killed in the Civil war. William, the eldest
son, died at his home in Florida. Mr. Mc
Candless was himself a captain in the state
militia and died at an advanced age, a mem
ber of the Presbyterian church.
After marriage, Mr. McGowen came to
Ohio and bought a small farm in Licking
county, which he cleared up, in the meanwhile
following his trade of carpenter. In 1850 or
1 85 1 he sold his place and went to Jasper
county, 111., but soon returned to Licking
county, Ohio, where he resided until March-,
1853, when he came to Van Wert county and
traded an old team of horses, a wagon and old
harness, for his present farm of forty acres in
Washington township — the consideration of
the exchange being $200. The land was, of
course, all in the wilderness, but Mr. Mc
Gowen succeeded in converting it into a profit
able farm, and a comfortable home, well
drained, well tilled and handsomely improved.
In the beginning his farm was overrun with
deer, wild turkeys, bear and wild hogs that had

sprung from the domestic scrofa that had es
caped from the earlier settlers and sought a
home under his umbrageous forest trees, but
he has lived to see the forests disappear and
the game vanish from sight, and arable and
productive fields of grain and domestic animals
take their place.
Mr. McGowen enlisted, August 27, 1861,
at Delphos, Ohio, in company I, Thirty-second
volunteer infantry, and was honorably dis
charged at Chattanooga, Tenn., in September,
1864. He fought at McDowell, Va. , Green
brier, Cheat Mountain and Alleghany, and was
taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry; was paroled
and sent to Camp Douglas, 111., where he was
detained four months, and then exchanged; he
rejoined his regiment and took an active part
in the engagements at Champion Hills, Baker's
Creek, Jackson, Miss., Vicksburg, and was on
the Atlanta campaign, in the battle of Kene
saw Mountain, and again in front of Atlanta.
He was never seriously injured but was shot in
the left wrist by a buckshot, and also had his
back injured by being run over at Harper's
Ferry by a squadron of Union cavalry and
knocked senseless. Mr. McGowen also had
three brothers in the war, who served in New
York regiments.
Mrs. McGowen is a member of the United
Brethren church, and in politics Mr. McGowen
is a democrat. He has held the office of su
pervisor, township trustee and school director,
is an excellent grammarian and champion
speller, and in his early days was able to "spell
down" all his competitors in the old-fashioned
spelling contests. He is a typical pioneer, of
magnificent physique, and he and his sons can
together lift 4,000 pounds. All his children
have been given good educations, and one —
Albert — is now a school-teacher in Van Wert
county. Mr. McGowen has a neat and pro
ductive farm of forty acres, and has presented
his wife with forty acres adjoining. He is of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

495

a kindly and genial disposition, is honorable in
his every act, and few men in Van Wert
county enjoy the warm friendship of so large
a circle of acquaintance as he.

ISMA H. MALICK, the able ex-county
surveyor of Van Wert county, Ohio,
and a thoroughly competent civil en
gineer, was born in Clinton county,
Ohio, November 26, 1846, a son of Uriah and
Chloe (Powell) Malick, and was one year of
age when taken by his parents to Hardin
county, where they resided two years and then
removed to Mercer county, which they made
their home until 1854, when they came to
Van Wert county and settled on a farm, where
Isma H. was reared until December 9, 1861,
when he enlisted in company K, Forty-sixth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and was assigned to
Sherman's brigade and served through all its
transmutations until it was changed to the
First division. He participated in the engage
ments at Shiloh and Corinth in May, 1862;
then the regiment went to Memphis, and there
was placed in hospital on account of typhoid
fever, where he remained for some time and
in fall, 1863, he rejoined his regiment and re
mained with it until the close of the war in
Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and
all through the Atlanta campaign, until his
honorable discharge at Louisville, Ky. , August
22, 1865, when he returned to his home, and
on April 9, 1866, went to Nebraska to found a
home on the frontier, and on June 26, 1866,
entered 160 acres of land in Fillmore county,
on which he made his home until June 29,
1 87 1, when he returned to Van Wert county,
Ohio, and engaged in surveying until 1878,
when he went to Bloomington, Franklin
county, Nebr., where, in partnership with his
brother, he conducted a drug business until
September, 1881, when he again returned to

Van Wert county and was employed in civil
engineering until his appointment as county
surveyor, in January, 1895, to fill a vacancy
for eight months.
Mr. Malick was united in marriage Decem
ber 28, 1879, at Kearney, Nebr., with Clara
L. Goff, a native of Van Wert county, Ohio,
who was called away August 9, 1881. Mr.
Malick was next married in Van Wert, Octo
ber 9, 1883, to Mrs. Laura E. Allison,. who
was born in Maryland June 10, 1849, and who
was by her first marriage the mother of two
children, Maud and Grace. To Mr. Malick
has been born, by his second wife, one child
— Virgie E. Mrs. Malick is a consistent
member of the Presbyterian church, and in
politics Mr. Malick is a democrat; he is also a
member of G. A. R. , a knight templar Mason,
and a Knight of Pythias, and as "a recompense
for his war services is receiving a liberal pen
sion. He is exceeding popular among his
fellow-citizens and is regarded as one of the
most experienced surveyors and practical civil
engineers in the county of Van Wert.

^V*LIJAH ,P. McNEAL, of Tully town-
A I ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, now a
^^^ business man of Convoy, and an ex-
soldier, was born in Union county,
Ohio, November 21, 1840, a son of John and
Elizabeth (Irwin) McNeal, of Scotch-Irish ex
traction. John McNeal was born in Pennsly-
vania and was a son of Archibald, who came
from the north of Ireland. John was a young
man when his father, Archibald, moved to
Ross county, Ohio, and here John married
Miss Irwin, who bore him eleven children, viz:
James, Sarah, Mary, Christian, Catherine,
Daniel, Elijah P., William, Irene, John and
Ellen. Of these children four sons, all that
were old enough, served in the late war, viz :
James, who was slightly wounded; Daniel,

496

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

slightly wounded; William, also wounded, and
Elijah P., whose war record is, given further
on. John McNeal was one of the original
abolitionists, and was a farmer of Monroe
county, Ohio, whence he came to Van Wert
county in 1874, and here died at the age of
seventy-eight years, a member of the Metodist
Episcopal church.
Elijah P. McNeal, the subject of this
sketch, enlisted at the age of twenty-one years
in Pike county, Ohio, in company I, Sixty-
third Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years,
or during the war, under Capt. James Taggart
and Col. John W. Sprague, and served until
honorably discharged at Louisville, Ky. , in
July, 1865, the war having come to an end.
He took an active and valiant part in the siege
of Corinth and the battle at that point; at
Luka, Parker's Cross Roads, and in the Atlan
ta campaign; at Resaca, Dallas, Pumpkinvine
Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, and also on the
march from Atlanta to the eastern coast. He
was in the conflicts at Savannah, Buford, Col
umbia, and in all the innumerable skirmishes
pertaing to this long march, which culminated
in the grand review at Washington, D. C. ,
May 23-24, 1865. From the national capitol
Mr. McNeal's regiment was sent to Louisville,
Ky. , where it was disbanded, as intimated
above. October 31, 1867, Mr. McNeal was
married in Union county, Ohio, to Miss Senia,
daughter of Philip and Margaret Miller, there-
suit being the birth of one child — Flora D.
In 1875 Mr. McNeal located in Convoy and
engaged in general mercantile trade, then in
the manufacturer of tile, and, in 1894, in the
lumber business, in partnership with L. W.
Lorber, under the firm name of Lorber & Mc
Neal, and down to the present time the firm
has met with most flattering success. After
his settlement in Convoy, Mr. McNeal lost his
wife, and by his second marriage, with Miss
Angie Knox, he is the father of one child —

John K. Mr. McNeal is a member of the G.
A. R. post, No. 236, of Convoy, in which he
has held all the offices with the exception of
commander. He is also a Mason and a non-
affiliating Odd Fellow; in politics he is a repub
lican, and has filled the offices of member of
the board of education, member of the town
ceuncil of Convoy, and at present is a member
of the bord of health, beside having served as
treasurer of the town of Convoy. With his
wife he is a member of the Methodist Episco
pal church, in which he has been class-leader,
steward and trustee. He is one of the sub
stantial citizens of Tully township, and his
fortune has been made through his own indus
try, thrift and sagacity.

HNDREW LYBOLD, farmer of Union
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born in Germany, April 30,
1837, a son of John and Mary (Mar-
gereth) Lybold, the former of whom was born
about 1792, was reared a farmer and was also
apprenticed to the trade of shoemaking.
While serving this apprenticeship he was sent
with a Hessian regiment of soldiers to aid
Great Britain in her war against the United
United States in 1812, and was a non-com
missioned officer. At the close of that dis
graceful attempt to subvert American liberty
he returned to Germany and there married
Mary Margereth, a daughter of Link Marge-
reth, who bore him six children, named as fol
lows: Catherine, wife of Abraham Hurst, of
Germany; Mary, wife of Albert Lybold, of
Hardin county, Ohio; Catharine, wife of
Reuben Kemmerer/of Kenton, Hardin county;
Nicholas, deceased; Margaret, wife of Dr.
Durbin, also of Kenton, and Andrew, the sub
ject of this sketch. After his marriage, John
Lybold settled on a farm in his native land,.

¦Uvbu^ £U/Jh£d

Ui^z,*

&.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

501

where he died at the advanced age of eighty-
eight years.
Andrew Lybold attended school in Germany
from six years of age until fourteen, and then;
with his sister Margaret, came to the United
States, to escape military duty, and for awhile
stopped with his sister in Hardin county, Ohio,
where for a time he attended school and worked
on a farm. In 1857 he went to Marion county
Ohio, where for four years he worked as a
farm hand for one employer, Robert Hopkins.
October 21, 1 861, he enlisted in company B,
under Capt. James Brown, Fifty-fourth Ohio
volunteer infantry, for three years or during the
war, and soon reached the rank of first lieuten
ant of company D. He served through the
campaigns of Kentucky, Tennessee and Mis-.
sissippi, and took part in the sanguinary bat
tles of Shiloh, Stone River, Perryville, Chicka
mauga, Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge.
At Chickamauga he was wounded, September
20, 1863, by a rifle ball in the left hip, and
was treated in the field hospital and in the hos
pitals at Stevenson, Ala., and Nashville, Tenn.
On recovering, he rejoined his command at
Chattanooga, and with it took part in the en
gagements at Rocky Faced Ridge, Dallas,
Kenesaw Mountain (where he was again struck
by a rifle ball), Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta,
Jonesboro, Spring Hill, Franklin, Nashville,
and a number of minor conflicts. He next
campaigned in Tennessee, Alabama and Texas,
and was mustered out at Victoria, in the lat
ter state, having been honorably discharged
December 3, 1865. He then returned to his
old position with Mr. Hopkins, and, October
22, 1866, married Miss Angeline Devinney
who was born in Logan county, Ohio, in 1845,
a daughter of Charles and Susan (Thomas)
Devinney, the union being blessed with one
child— William L.
Charles Devinney, the father of Mrs. Ly
bold, was born in New Jersey, in 1800, and
22

was of French extraction; he was reared a
farmer and was an early pioneer of Logan
county, and to his marriage with Susan
Thomas were born eight children, viz; Phebe
J., wife of John Freer, of Fort Wayne, Ind. ;:
Elizabeth, wife of Alexander Henry, of Logan
county, Ohio; Sarah, wife of Daniel Harvey,
of Allen county; Rachael, wife of David Cole,
of Marseilles, Ohio; Lydia, wife of Enoch
Eatherton, of Kansas; John, of Muncie, Ind.,
deceased; Maria, wife of George Cochran, of
Middleburg, Ohio, and Angeline, now Mrs.
Lybold. After his marriage, Mr. Lybold rented a
farm in Hardin county, on which he resided
for three years, and then, in 1866 purchased a
piece of wild land in Union township, Van
Wert county. On this, in 1870, he built a
house of logs, and cleared away the forest
from seventy acres, all of which are now in an
excellent state of cultivation and exhibit the
work of an experienced agriculturist. His log
cabin has been supplemented by a modern
frame dwelling, and the place has been so im
proved that it compares favorably with any
other farm in the township. Mr. and Mrs.
Lybold are members of the Lutheran church,
and Mr. Lybold is a member of Convoy post,
No. 236, G. A. R. He has been a devoted
lover of his adopted country, is a successful
farmer and in every respect a deserving citizen,
He is a republican in politics and for six years,
from 1885, served most acceptably as infirm
ary director.
William L. Lybold, son of our subject,.
was born in Hardin county August 12, 1867,
and was reared to his present calling— that of
agriculture. April 29, 1891, he married Min
nie Coil, daughter of Mrs. Elizabeth Parrot,
of Mercer county, Ohio. Mrs. Minnie C.
Lybold was born December 3, 1870, and was
a posthumous child, left to the care of her
widowed mother. She has blessed her hus~

502

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

band with two children, Edith and Ethel, and,
with him, is a devoted member of the Church
of God. In politics William Lybold is a re
publican. He has his residence on the old
homestead in Union township, and, like his
parents, enjoys the respect of all who know
him or know them.

WOHN McMANUS, a skillful machinist,
A working for the Cincinnati, Jackson &
A 1 Mackinaw Railroad company in Van
Wert, was born May 7, 1849. He is a
son of Thomas McManus, who was born in
1802, in Galway county, Ireland, the largest,
and, next to county Mayo, the most populous,
of the counties of the province of Connaught,
in the west of the Emerald Isle.
While yet quite young Thomas McManus
learned the trade of stone-mason, at which he
worked during his entire life. He was a man
of intelligence, skill and industry, and accumu
lated a comfortable fortune, and at the time
of his death, in 1S62, left his family well pro
vided for, so far as this world's goods are con
cerned. In 1 848 he married Miss Winnie Fox,
who was a native of the same county with him
self. To this marriage there were born three
children, viz: Martin, Mary and John, the
first two of whom died while yet young. The
mother of these children died in 1855. Both
parents were members of the Catholic church,
and were good people, performing their duties
to their family and to their church in a most
prompt and commendable manner and spirit.
John McManus, the subject of this sketch,
is the only member of the family that lived to
mature years. Upon coming to the United
States he landed at Portland, Me., and soon
afterward made his way to Columbus, Ohio,
where he met and married Mrs. Katie Cary
whose maiden name was Katie Carroll. After
remaining in Columbus about two years, he

removed to Convoy, Van Wert county, where
he remained until 1870, when he removed his
family to Van Wert, where he has since resided.
For nine years afterward he worked on the
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad as
section hand; then, for seven years, was en
gaged in the gas factory. Later he went to
work on the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw
railroad as section boss, having under him a
gang of seven men. Still later he acquired the
trade of machinist, and has ever since been
employed in the capacity of a machinist by the
Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw Railroad
company, giving them entire satisfaction in his
work. John and Katie McManus are the par
ents of two children, viz: Willie, who was
born August 11, 1872, is a boiler-maker by
trade, and is a very industrious and honest
young man, and Mary, who was born Febru
ary 26, 1873. She is a very bright, intelligent
and charming young lady, and is a member of
the Catholic church.
Katie Carroll, wife of John McManus, was
born in Ireland, August 16, 1837. She is a
daughter of Michael Carroll, who was born in
Ireland, and in his native country followed
farming all his life. He was born in 181 5 and
died in 1875. He married Mary Carey, of Ire
land, by whom he had the following children:
Bridget, Thomas, Mary, Helen, Michael,
Katie and Jane. All are dead except Michael
and Katie. All were married but two, Mary and
Helen. The mother of these children died in
Ireland in 1867. Both parents and all the
children were members of the Catholic church.
Mr. Carroll was a man of broad views and
liberal thought. He was always ready to as
sist those in need, and many a man owes his
start in life to his kind and generous help.
Katie Carroll came to the United States in
1864, crossing the ocean in an old sailing ves
sel, named the Jane H. Gilton, and was seven
weeks on the sea. When she landed in

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

503

Castle Garden, N. Y. , she had never before
seen a negro. In New London, Conn., she
was married to a sea captain named Thomas
Cary, who was afterward lost at sea. She
then married Mr. ' McManus and is now living
with him in Van Wert.

>-tjAMES J. McMILLEN, a retired farmer
A and leading citizen of Ridge township,
A 1 Van Wert county, Ohio, son of James
W. and Mary (Leach) McMillen, was
born in Somerset county, Pa., December 2.3,
1827. The father was also a native of Somer
set county, Pa., and a son of William McMil
len. The father of William McMillen was a
native of Ireland, who settled in Pennsylvania.
William McMillen received a common school
education and learned the shoemaker's trade.
He also was born in Somerset county, Pa. His
wife, a Miss McKnight before marriage, was
also a native of Ireland and when a child came
with her parents to Somerset county, Pa.
They were the parents of six children; viz. :
James W. ; John, who in his youth went south;
William, who was killed by the bite of a dog;
Jane, wife of Zachriah White, of Somerset
county, Pa.; Nancy, wife of John Stanton; and
a daughter, who died in her twentieth year.
Dennis McKnight, father of Mrs. McMillen,
was a corporal in the American army during
the Revolution, was in the battle of Bunker
Hill, and served to the end of the war.
James W. McMillen was born December
22, 1794, was reared a farmer and learned the
shoemaker's trade from his father. He pur
sued his trade, however, only so far as to pro
vide shoes for his own family. To his marriage
with Mary Leach were born the following
children: Martha, wife of John Mumaugh of
Cowden, 111.; William, deceased in infancy;
John, also deceased in infancy; Joseph L. , a
merchant and miller of Owaneco, 111. ; Jane,

widow of Abraham East, a farmer of Wash
ington township, Van Wert, county, Ohio;
James J., the subject of this sketch; Sydney
A., deeeased in childhood; Ephriam, broom
manufacturer of Defiance, Ohio; Eli, of Cow
den, 111. ; Miranda, deceased wife of George
Clutter, also deceased. Mary (Leach) Mc
Millen was born in 1796, in Pennsylvania, and
was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. In 1830 James W. McMillen emigrated
from Somerset county, Pa., to Knox county,
Ohio, making the trip in a wagon, in which he
brought his family and household goods. He
entered a tract of 200 acres of government
land, and established his young family in a
rented house in Brownsville, while he cleared
a space and built a house of logs on his land.
For twelve years he was identified with the
agricultural interests of that county. He then
disposed of his Knox county farm and moved
to Allen county, where he purchased a farm
on which he lived the remainder of his life;
dying in March, 1880, having lost his wife on
March 27, 1878. Politically, he was a stanch
supporter of the democracy. He united with
the United Brethern church, in early life, but
later joined the Methodist Episcopal church.
Associated with his father he assisted in build
ing the famous first national pike between
Philadelphia and Pittsburg. He was a man of
fine physique, possessed unusual force of
character, was kind and benevolent in his
practices, upright and honorable in his deal
ings, and a leader of men in the community in
which he lived.
James J. McMillen was educated in the
common schools of Knox and Allen counties,
then taught in a little log school-house, fur
nished with puncheon benches and slab floor.
He also engaged in teaching in Conrad district,
Marion township, Allen county, Ohio, where
he taught two terms. In 1852 he spent one
term in Delaware university, Delaware, Ohio,

504

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

after which he again engaged in teaching.
With the money thus earned he attended a
select school at Allentown, Ohio. September
7, 1854, he was united in marriage to Miss
Harriet Gilliland, daughter of James G. and
Margaret (Lawson) Gilliland. To their union
ten children were born, viz: Joseph Warren,
a prominent farmer and produce dealer of
Union township; Alice, widow of M. D. Mann,
and living with her two children in Van Wert;
Phebe, who died in infancy; Alonzo B., a
prominent lawyer of Albuquerque, N. M. ; Ida,
wife of Thomas Pollock, who lives near Mid
dlepoint, Ohio; Charles S., farmer and hay
dealer of Woodburn, Ind. ; Walter, who died
in childhood; twin brothers, Albert and Del-
bert, of Van Wert county, Ohio, and Hattie,
the wife of Edward Carlo of Van Wert. The
reader is here invited to peruse the history of
the Gilliland family, to be found in another
part of this volume.
In 1852, Mr. McMillen engaged in general
merchandising at Elida, Ohio, to which he
added, in 1856, a grain and produce business.
The following year he sold his store, and gave
his entire attention to the buying and selling of
grain, in which he was quite successful. In
1858 he purchased sixty acres of land in Allen
county and began farming and dealing in stock.
This he continued until i860, when he moved
to his present home, in Ridge township. He
has cleared his farm from the woods, improved
it with a neat residence and substantial farm
buildings, and everywhere it bears the marks
of his careful management and cultivation. In
December, 1894, accompanied by his wife, he
made a tour of the great west, visiting his
sons in Illinois and New Mexico, and the
incidents and observations of western life,'
written by him and published at the time in the
Van Wert Times, show him to be a man of
keen perception and careful thought. He is
not a member of any church, though broad in

his charity and liberal in his support of every
public good. He was for years a prominent
member of the Masonic fraternity, Lima lodge,
No. 205, and is held in high esteem by its
members. He is also a member of Ridge
grange, P. 'of H., and has done much to ad
vance the agricultural interests of the com
munity in which he lives. Politically he sup
ports the democratic party, and wields a strong
influence in the ranks of that party. In his
political associations he is above suspicion, and
courts victory only by fair means, never buy
ing or selling a vote. He has been honored
by the office of township clerk, though he dis
likes to have his name before the public. Both
he and his wife engaged in teaching in their
youth, and every child, with one exception,
followed their example. In the record of this
family there has been but one death in sixty-
two years. No man stands higher in the con
fidence and esteem of his neighbors than Mr.
McMillen, and all his works have been crowned
with success.

^rj» OSEPH WARREN McMILLEN, grain
H dealer and shipper of Van Wert, Ohio,
(U> j and farmer of Union township, was born
in Elida, Allen county, Ohio, July 15,
1855, a son of James J. and Harriet (Gilliland)
McMillen. The family came to Van Wert
county and settled in Ridge township when
our subject was but five years old, and here
he grew to manhood and was educated. He
assisted on the home farm until twenty-one
years of age, and was then for four years en
gaged in teaching school in York and Ridge
townships: resuming agriculture, for five years
he farmed in Ridge township, and then pur
chased a farm of 240 acres in Union township
in section No. 16, which is cleared and well
improved, and underdrained thoroughly by
some 60,000 rods of tiling — his chief product

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

505

being hay. In 1885, in company with his
father, he began buying and shipping hay in
large quantities, and this partnership lasted
two years, since when our subject has been
doing business on his individual account. In
1894 he handled about 600 carloads of straw
and hay, beside other products. He buys grain
at Cavett in considerable quantities, and
shipped eighty carload of shelled corn between
October, 1894, and close of the year. He
employs four balers, who scour the country
for hay, buy it up and bale it on the spot, as
they take with them the proper machinery.
His office in Van Wert is on North Walnut
street, near the Pennsylvania railway line,
where, during the proper season, he gives due
attention to the buying and shipping of grain,
hay and straw.
The marriage of Mr. McMillen took place
in Van Wert, April 15, 1879, to Jennie Wil-
more, who was born in Mercer county, Ohio,
and is the daughter of J. Wilmore. This union
has been blessed with the birth of six children,
named Dale, Bernice, Nellie, Lewis, Ralph
and Ferris. The parents are both members
of the Presbyterian church, to the tenets of
which they strictly adhere. Fraternally Mr.
McMillen is a chapter Mason, and in politics
he is a stanch democrat, but not a partisan for
the sake of office, as he finds a business life to
be more profitable than office seeking. He is
upright in all his business transactions, is lib
eral and useful as a citizen, and in his social
relations is all that could be desired.

^PTr'OHN MARK, a prosperous farmer of
A Jennings township, Van Wert county,
A 1 Ohio, and a hunter, is a son of Allen
L. and Frances (Kirkpatrick) Mark,
and was born in Allen county, Ohio, January
8, 1857. Allen L. , the father, was born in
Fayette county, Ohio, January 8, 1824, and

was a son of Peter Mark, a native of Germany,
who married Mary Magdalene Lagore, a native
of France, who became the mother of twelve
children, of whom three — Abner, of Missouri,
Manigum, of Iowa, and Mathew W. , of Fay
ette county, Ohio — are the only survivors, the
father of our subject, having been the young
est of the twelve.
Peter Mark, grandfather of our subject,
was a farmer and a very early settler of Fay
ette county. Allen L. , his son, was reared
a farmer in Fayette county, and August 17,
1845, married Frances Kirkpatrick, who was
born in the county named December 2, 1826,
daughter of John, who was born in Pennsyl
vania in 1790, and Elizabeth (Bush) Kirkpat
rick, who was born in Virginia in 1806. To
Allen L. and wife were born nine children,
viz: Jane, wife of Archibald Findlay, a farmer
of Auglaize county; Simmons, who died at
Savannah, Ga. , while in the army; Moab, of
Oklahoma; Andrew, of Jackson Centre, Ohio
Elizabeth, deceased wife of Pierce Wright
John, our subject; Joseph, of York township
and Marcus and Merriott, twins, of Jennings
township. John Kirkpatrick came down the
Ohio river on a flat-boat in 1795 with his par
ents; after he grew to manhood he entered a
tract of land in Fayette county, as already
indicated, and there died in the faith of the
Presbyterian church, while his wife was a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
After his marriage, Allen L. Mark located
in Allen county, and in 1851 entered 120 acres
of land, which he cleared and improved, and
in 1862 returned to Fayette county, where he
resided one year, and then came to Jennings
township, Van Wert county, where he farmed
until his death, March 12, 1887. He was a
republican in politics, and very popular, serv
ing his fellow-citizens as township treasurer for
a number of years, and also as township clerk
and as justice of the peace; he was also very

506

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

prominent in the Methodist Episcopal church,
of which he was a local preacher and of which
his widow is still a faithful member. This
lady now makes her home with her son John,
our subject, in Jennings township, where about
four years ago she built their present handsome
dwelling. In 1889 she moved to Spencerville,
Allen county, where she passed two years,
and then returned to Van Wert county. The
only sister of Mrs. Mark — Hannah — is the wife
of Matthew Mark, of Fayette county, Ohio.
John Mark, the subject proper of this
sketch, was reared to farming and also received
his education in Allen and Van Wert counties.
He has never married, but has always made
his home with his parents, manifesting the
same filial affection that he is now bestowing
upon his mother. Mr. Mark takes a deep in
terest in hunting, is well-known among the
sportsmen of his locality, and the past five
consecutive winters has passed several months
in Wisconsin and Michigan, engaged in the
pursuit of game. He is, however, a farmer by
profession. In politics he is a stanch and
active republican, and takes a decided interest
in the success of his party; he is not a member
of any religious denomination, but is liberal in
his financial contributions to all. A genial
friend and neighbor, and a public-spirited citi
zen, he is highly respected by the community
in which he lives.

BREDERICK MARKLEY, a substan
tial farmer of Jackson township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, was born March
11, 1835, in York county, Pa., of
German stock. Samuel Markley, his father,
was also a native of York county, was left an
orphan in childhood, was a wheelwright by
trade, and married, in York county, Marillas
Bowers, the union resulting in the birth of five
children — John, Frederick, Henry, Samuel and

Elizabeth, all of whom reached maturity. The
father, after marriage, lived on the Bowers
farm until his demise in the faith of the Lu
theran church, and in politics was a republi
can. Two of his sons, Frederick and Samuel,
served in a Pennsylvania regiment during the
Civil war, and both were honorably discharged
— but this glorious record the father never
lived to be cognizant of, as his death occur
red in 1 86 1, at the age of about fifty-six years.
Frederick Markley, whose name introduces
this biography, was taught the house-carpen
tering trade, but, inspired by the patriotic
sentiment prevalent in his early day manhood,
enlisted in defense of the flag of his native land,
and was enrolled at Carlisle, Pa., October 16,
1862 to serve nine months, receiving an hon
orable discharge at Gettysburg, July 28, 1863,
and after a short sojourn on the home farm he
re-enlisted — this time in company C, One
Hundred and First Pennsylvania volunteer in
fantry — was enrolled in March, 1864, and was
again honorably discharged at New Berne, JSf.
C, June 25, 1865 — the war having closed.
Following is a list of the chief engagements in
which he took an active part: January 30,
1863, Deserted House, near Suffolk, Va. ;,
April 14, 1863, skirmishes on Jonestown road,
near Suffolk; May 14, 1863, Beaver Dam,
near Franklin, Va. ; May 16, 1863 Carsville,
and afterward, in skirmishes, winding up in
North Carolina and Roanoke, Va.
Directly after the war Mr. Markley located
in Putnam county, Ohio, and engaged in
wagon-making in Kalida, for a short time,
where his marriage took place, February 10,
1867, to Albigail Goodman, a native of Frank
lin county, Ohio, and a daughter of Jesse-
Goodman, of English descent. Mr. Goodman
was a substantial farmer of Union township,.
owned 120 acres of land, and died at about:
seventy years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Markley,
after marriage, lived a year in Kalida and then

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

507

two years in Van Wert city, then traded his
town property for forty acres south of Van
Wert, and in 1878 came to his present farm,
then comprising eighty acres, all in the woods.
In the interval, February 27, 1872, his wife
died on the first farm, the mother of three
children: Aaron C, who resides in Lima,
Ohio; Albert, on the home farm, and Flora,
who died at the age of three years.
January 30, 1873, Mr. Markley married,
at Middlepoint, Van Wert county, Mrs. Eliza
beth Mullen, who was born in Delaware
county, Ohio, September 26, 1843, and was a
widow of Thomas Mullen. This lady bore the
maiden name of Longwell — daughter of George
and Mary A. (Sheets) Longwell. George
Longwell was born in Ohio, of Irish parentage,
'was married in Delaware county, Ohio, and
became the father of ten children, viz. : Hen
rietta, Lecretia, Elizabeth, Kate, Henry,
Catherine, Martha, Albert, Mary E., and
Charles and Lucy, twins. Mr. Longwell came
to Van Wert county in 185 1 and settled on
Dog creek, Jackson township, in the wild
woods, with his nearest neighbors two miles
distant to the south, and no settlement at the
north except in the extreme edge of the town
ship. This old pioneer had one son, Henry,
who served three years in an Ohio regiment
during the late Civil war, and his own death
took place on the farm at the age of about
seventy-eight years. To the union of Mr. and
Mrs. Markley have been born four children,
viz.: Samuel H., Mary E. , Louise J. and
Isom. Mr. Markley, aided by his faithful
wife and children, cleared up as comfortable a
home as there is in the township, and, being a
thoroughly practical farmer, is now reaping a
golden harvest that compensates him for his
past years of toil and hardships. In politics
Mr. Markley is a republican; Mr. Markley is a
consistent member of the Lutheran church,
and his wife of the Methodist congregation.

As a soldier our subject has done his share for
his country bravely and faithfully, and as a
citizen and neighbor he performs his duty in
telligently and well, winning the respect of all
with whom he conies in contact.

BICHARD H. MARTIN, a successful
and progressive farmer of Union town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, and a
son of Robert and Nancy (Dowell)
Martin, was born in West Virginia, September
14, 1844. Robert Martin, the father, was a
native of old Virginia, born October 17, 1807,
of Irish parents, who were early settlers in the
Shenandoah valley. In the year 1828 he
helped build the Delaware & Hudson canal;
then later rafted down the Potomac and Shen
andoah rivers; then helped to lay the first
railroad track (it being of wood) for a steam
engine running from Harper's Ferry to Win
chester, a distance of thirty-three miles, it being
among the first railroad enterprises of this
country, under J. Q. Adams' administration,
and yet he has lived to see the time of near
150,000 miles of railroad under President
Cleveland's administration. In 1844 the family
removed from the valley to Pleasant county,
W. Va. , where Robert was employed as a flat-
boatman, making trips to New Orleans with
produce, but later retiring to a farm. In 1855
he moved to Guyandotte, Va., and the follow
ing year to Gallatin county, 111., where he
lived on a farm until 1861, when he came to
Ohio. He had floated his family down the
river to Shawneetown, 111., in 1855, but his re
turn trip, in 1 86 1, was in a wagon drawn by
oxen. The family now camped out at night
by the roadside, often sleeping on the ground,
and in thirty-two days reached Highland county,
Ohio, when Robert worked for nine months as
a farm hand; he next rented a farm in Greene
county and cultivated it until 1866, when he

508

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

went back by wagon to Gallatin county, 111.,
but returned the following year to Ohio and
settled in Van Wert county, where* he has since
lived, with the exception of three years spent
in Paulding county. He has long since passed
the allotted three score and ten, and now makes
his home with his son. Mrs. Nancy Martin
was born in Virginia in 1818, a daughter of
Samuel and Sarah Dowell, of old South Caro
lina descent. She was married to Mr. Martin
in 1837 and became the mother of the follow
ing children; Robert, deceased; Charles L., of
Kansas; Richard H., our subject; Daniel J., of
Hoaglin township, Van Wert county; John H.,
of Union township; Sarah L. , deceased, and
an infant that died unnamed. The mother of
this family died in the autumn of 1859 in Gal
latin county, 111., where her remains now rest.
Richard H. Martin, the subject of this brief
biography, from the time of his birth until six
teen years of age, accompanied his father in
his varied and transitory migrations, and was
thus deprived of the advantage of a systematic
education, but was nevertheless supplied with
a fund of practical knowledge by the impact
of nomadic incidents. He worked as a farm
hand until 1872 when he was united in mar
riage with Miss Maggie E. Rittenhouse, born
December 3, 1850, a daughter of M. M. and
Christena (Meely) Rittenhouse, whose bi
ography appears on another page. To this
marriage of Mr. and Martin have been born
six children, viz: Dora B., wife of Asa Grist,
of Iowa; Burt L. , Oscar E. , S. Stella; Curtis
M. and Zanna Z. P. Mr. Martin and his wife
are members of the Lutheran church, and in
politics he is a democrat. In 1871 he pur
chased a farm of twenty acres in Union town
ship, and to this he soon added another
twenty-acre tract, and in 1894 purchased his
present home. He is a self-made man in all
respects, and is highly esteemed by his neigh
bors and friends.

0

LEXANDER R. McCOY is a native
of Madison county, Ohio, born Oc
tober 8, 1835. His Parents were
Alexander and Eliza (Gillispie) Mc
Coy. Alexander McCoy, Sr., wasbornin Green
brier county, Va. (now W. Va.), July 27,
1800. His father, Joseph McCoy, was a sol
dier in the war of 1812. When twelve years
of age Alexander, the father of Alexander R. ,
emigrated, with his parents, westward and lo
cated in Ohio, living in the counties of Ross,
Fayette, Madison and Van Wert in succession.
When fifteen years of age he apprenticed him
self to the blacksmith's trade, which he fol
lowed eleven years. At this time, his health
failing him, he purchased a farm and lived the
remainder of his life a tiller of the soil. In
1825 he was married to Eliza Gillispie, a na
tive of New York, whose parents were John
and Margaret (Gunning) Gillispie, both of
whom were born in Ireland and emigrated to
this country with their parents when quite
young. To the union of Alexander and Eliza
McCoy were born eleven children, nine sons
and two daughters (see sketch of Moses H.
McCoy). When four years of age Alexander McCoy,
with his parents, moved to Van Wert county,
and was reared to manhood on the farm, work
ing for his father and attending the common
schools; he was a good student, and so assid
uously did he pursue his studies that he became
qualified to teach while still a youth. He
followed pedagogy and farm labor until twenty-
six years of age, when he laid aside the plow
and ferrule at his nation's call and enlisted,
August 5, 1862; was elected corporal in com
pany A, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry.
Col. Langworthy commanding, later Col. P.
T. Swain. He received an honorable dis
charge in July, 1865, and returned home,
wearing a sergeant's stripes. Early in the
service he contracted a malady known as vari-

of. ft^asA

7

MRS. A. R. MCCOY.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

513

cose veins, superinduced by excessive march
ing, and which confined him in the hospital at
McMinnville six months. He was thereby
prevented from engaging in the many battles
of his regiment. Still, he^saw active service,
chiefly in the army of the' Cumberland, under
Gen. Sherman. He was in the whole of the
Atlanta campaign, which, historical students
will remember, was a protracted battle of three
months' duration; also, the battle of Nashville
— two days. Notwithstanding his defect in
walking, caused by above-mentioned disease,
he has a good record as a fighting soldier.
This patriotism seems to have been a family
heritage, as four other brothers defended the
Union during that darkest of hours when the
"Dogs of war" were let loose.
On his return to Van Wert county, in
1865, after the war, Mr. McCoy resumed his
' profession of teaching, with which he com
bined carpenter work, having also learned
that trade at odd times, and stave joining with
the Eagle Stave factory, of which he was a
part owner. In 1874 he opened a grocery
store in east Van Wert, which he operated
eleven years, and sold to William Collett in
.1885. After two years of farm life he re
entered the grocery business in Van Wert in
the room opposite the Pioneer drug store, and
which he now occupies.
October 1, 1868, the marriage of Mr. Mc
Coy to Mary Ann Anderson was celebrated.
She was born near Findlay, Ohio, December
25, 1848. Her parents were John and Eliza
beth Anderson and paternal grandparents were
John, Sr. and Louise (Crossj Anderson; her
maternal grandparents were Sanford and
Cynthia (McClimans) Dorman. When one
year old Mary A. Anderson moved with her
parents to Wayne county, Ohio. When eight
years of age her parents died and she made her
home with William Anderson, in Van Wert,
up to the time of her marriage, in 1868. To

the union of Alexander R. and Mary A. Mc
Coy were born six children — four boys and two
girls, all of whom are living: Nettie I., born
October 2, 1869, educated in Van Wert, un
married; Charles, born April 3, 1873, a clerk
in his father's store; Minnie C, born August 8,
1875, graduated in 1895 m music at Angola,
and has taken up professional music teaching,
in which she is acknowledged by all to be a
fine instructress; Horace A., born in 1878;
Estella, born in 188 1, and Clara, born in 1884.
The last three are attending the public schools
of Van Wert.
In religion Mr. McCoy has a leaning to
ward Methodism, but is not a member of any
denomination. He is a stanch republican,
having voted for the first candidate of that
party for the presidency — John C. Fremont —
and also for all succeeding candidates up to the
present time. He has never sought nor held
office except that of justice of the peace of
Ridge township, which office he resigned soon
after qualifying. As a pioneer, Mr. McCoy is
a typical one, as he has been a resident of Van
Wert county since 1839 — fifty six years. He
has seen the, county develop from a howling
and uninviting wilderness into one of the most
beautiful and productive agricultural districts
extant, studded with mumerous bustling and
thriving municipalities; he has seen Van Wert
city in all its successive stages of hamlet, vil
lage, town and city; forsooth, he has grown
up and kept pace with the county, never sur
rendering the integrity and honesty of purpose
that has characterized his whole life.

^^EORGE H. MARSH, manufacturer
¦ G\ and capitalist of Van Wert, Ohio,
Vw^ was born December 23, 1833, in
Farmington, Conn. , a son of George
and Caroline (Gilbert) Marsh. The grand
father, James Marsh, was born in the aforesaid

514

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

state, of Scotch-English parentage, and lived
to the advanced age of ninety-nine years.
George Marsh, father of the subject, was
reared on a farm in Connecticut and in early
life learned the trade of clock-making, and for
a number of years peddled clocks in a pannier
throughout the New England States and
Canada; he is said to have made the first brass
clock in the United States, and after following
the business for some time in partnership with
an uncle, William L. Gilbert, disposed of his
interest to that gentleman, who afterwards be
came the largest manufacturer of clocks in
New England.
George Marsh remained in Connecticut un
til 1833, in the spring of which year he came
to Ohio, and engaged in land speculating, in
the southern part of the state, but returned to
his native state the same year, remaining there
until the spring of 1835, at which time he
again came to the Buckeye state, locating at
Athens, where he resumed speculating of vari
ous kinds, principally in real estate. He next
went to Dayton and engaged in the manufac
ture of clocks,, but after the destruction of his
establishment by fire, in 1841, removed to
Illinois, locating in Bond county, where, until
1843, he followed stock farming, then returned
to New England. His next move was to Van
Wert county, Ohio, where in connection with
other parties he had previously purchased large
tracts of real estate; also had become interest
ed in lands in the ^unties of Mercer and
Paulding, and in p; . iership with James W.
Riley and Mr. Aughenbaugh, located in the
cities of Van Wert, Paulding and Celina. Mr.
Marsh removed his family to the town of Van
Wert in 1847, and resided on the site now oc
cupied by the Marsh House on Main street.
Here he lived until 1848, when he moved to
southern Ohio, where he had large landed in
terests, and his death occurred in the city of
Marshfield in the year 1862. Mr. Marsh mar

ried, in Litchfield, Conn., Caroline Gilbert,
by whom he had five children : James, de
ceased; a second son of the name of James, also
deceased; Henriette, wife of Robert Gilliland
of Van Wert; George H., subject of this biog-
ra '-- and Benjamin F. at this time deputy
in tne state treasurers office of Connecticut.
The mother of these children departed this life
in 1848. George H. Marsh, the immediate subject
of this sketch, was twelve years old when his
parents moved to Van Wert county, where he
received his elementary education in the com
mon schools. Subsequently he attended school
in Connecticut, and spent some time in college
at Athens, Ohio, and at the early age of six
teen became assistant to the corps of engineers
which had in charge the surveying of the
Marietta & Cincinnati railroad, which position
he had for several months. Later he worked
for some time, in the clock manufactory estab
lishment of his uncle in Connecticut, thence
went to Athens, Ohio, where he attended col
lege, and then came to Van W7ert, where,
until his twentieth year, he was engaged as
clerk with a mercantile firm.
On attaining his majority Mr. Marsh be
came clerk to the master mechanic of what is
now the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R., at Crestline,
and in 1855 entered the railroad shops as
machinist, and was thus engaged until the re
moval of the shops to Fort Wayne, where he
continued in the same capacity about one year.
For a limited period thereafter he was em
ployed in a cotton warehouse in Louisiana,
but, returning to Van Wert, engaged in the
livery business, which he carried on in con
nection with farming, stock-dealing and vari
ous kinds of speculation until 1871, in January
of which year he became manager of the Eagle
Stave works. Mr. Marsh here acted as gen
eral manager about two years, and then be
came proprietor, after which he enlarged the

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

515

capacity of the factory and within a few years
became the largest producer of staves in the
United States, a distinction which he still
enjoys. In addition to his manufacturing
establishment at Van Wert he is interested in
stave works in Belmore, Latta and Geneva,
and in the Leeson Cooperage works at Scott,
Ohio, all of which are more or less operated
under his personal direction, the yearly output
exceeding 50,000,000 staves, besides a vast
amount of cooperage and other material.
Mr. Marsh succeeded Col. Marble, of Van
Wert, in the banking business, and at this time
is interested in fifteen national banks in various
parts of Ohio and other states, besides being
prominently identified with the Lima Locomo
tive & Machine Co., of which he is president;
the Lima Steel works; the wholesale boot and
shoe house of Ainsworth, Wickenheiser & Co.,
Toledo, Ohio, and other enterprises, all of
which have proved financially successful. He
is also largely interested in real estate, owning
several thousand acres of valuable land in
Van Wert, Paulding and other counties of
northern Ohio, besides large tracts in the
southern part of the state and in Illinois.
With all his eminent ability as a business
man and financier, Mr. Marsh is entirely free
from ostentation. He is a man of very decided
convictions, with the courage and ability to
maintain them, and though of strong char
acter is distinguished for his cordiality and has
many warm personal friends in both business
and social circles. Mr. Marsh is a remarkably
well-preserved man, possessed of splendid
physique and pleasing address, in fact is one
of those well-rounded, symmetrically developed
characters who, in the course of a long and
successful life, leave their mark upon the times
and the communities in which they dwell.
He is a thirty-second degree Mason, and his
name appears upon the charter of the Blue
lodge of Van Wert.

Mr. Marsh was married November 26,
1862, to Miss Hilinda Vance, who was born in
Fairfield county, Ohio, June 13, 1844. To
this marriage one child has been born, Katie,
wife of Arthur I. Clymer, of Van Wert. Mrs.
Marsh is a member of the First Presbyterian
church, also a member for six years of the
county board of visitors (charity) for the Eastern
Star, of which she is secretary.
Elias Vance, deceased, father of Mrs.
George H. (Vance) Marsh, was born in Sparta,
Sussex county, N. J., April 12, 1805, and was
the son of Josiah and Elizabeth (Morrow)
Vance, natives respectively of Scotland and
Ireland. Josiah and Elizabeth Vance reared a
family of six children, viz : Charles R. ,
Phoebe, Elias, Mary, Hilinda and Nancy, all
deceased. After the father's death Mrs. Vance
entered into rhe marriage relation with Enoch
Miller by whom she had one son, Daniel S.,
deceased; the mother departed this life about
the year 1830.
Elias Vance was reared to manhood in
Geneseo, N. Y. , and began life for himself as
a merchant, carrying on a dry-goods trade in
the aforesaid town until 1825, at which time
he became a resident of Ohio, locating in the
city of Columbus. Subsequently he removed
to Millersport and Salem, Ohio; at Millersport,
on the 20th of November, 1839, he was united
in marriage to Caroline Miller, daughter of
Matthias and Amy (Crittenden) Miller, both
parents natives of Virgin a. Mrs. Vance was
born in Millersport in 1 _.-£year 1821, and bore
her husband the following children: Charles,
a well-known druggist of Rockford, Ohio; Hi
linda, wife of George H. Marsh, of Van Wert;
John, deceased; and Sophia, who for seventeen
years has been one of the most popular and
successful teachers in the Van Wert city
schools. Mr. Vance became a resident of Van Wert
county in 1852, from which year until his death

.516

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

be was prominently identified with the com
mercial interests of the city of Van Wert. He
was in every respect a representative business
•man, and his success was the result of superior
intelligence, directed and controlled by wise
forethought, and was such as to gain him a
.handsome estate, consisting of 850 acres of
valuable land in one body, and valuable
^property adjacent to and within the city limits
of Van Wert. With affairs of business and
-every-day life, Mr. Vance's actions were
governed by a high sense of honor and in his
-death the county of Van Wert lost one of its
most highly respected citizens. Mrs. Vance
subsequently married William S. Ainsworth,
iby whom she had one child — a son, Dr. H. S.
Ainsworth, a well-known dental surgeon of
Van Wert. Since the death of her second
husband, Mrs Ainsworth has made her home
with her son, who now looks after her interests
rin her declining years.

eLI D. MATHEW, who is conspicu
ous among the successful agricultur
ists of Pleasant township, Van Wert
county, was born in Clinton county,
¦Ohio, July 19, 1830. His grandfather was
John Mathew, a native of Virginia and a de
scendant of an old English-German family of
that state, whose ancestors came to America
¦¦early in the. present century.
Jonah Mathew, the subject's father, also a
^native of Virginia, was born in 1802 and was
brought to Ohio when quite young, his parents
having been among the pioneers of Clinton
-county. He grew to manhood amid the rugged
scenes of pioneer life, assisted his father in
the work of the farm, and when he could be
-spared attended the indifferent schools of
those days, acquiring thereby a fair education.
He resided in Clinton county until 1847, and
in the meantime, about ths year 1825, was

united in marrage with Sarah Stokesberry,
daughter of David Stokesberry, and to
this union were born ten children, viz:
John, Mrs. Elizabeth Rogers, Rachel, Eli D.,
Mrs. Eliza J. Lawhead, Mrs. Emily Wilson,
Mrs, Mary Young, James, Martha and Will
iam. The mother of the above children was
born in Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1803,
and came to Ohio with her parents in early
childhood. She was an active member of the
Christian church, and died in the county of
her adoption at the advanced age of eighty-
eight years. Jonah Mathew was for many years
a leading citizen and greatly aided in the early
development of the counties where he lived.
In 1847 ne emigrated to Illinois, locating in
Jefferson county, where he purchased a farm,
upon which he lived until his death in the year
1866. He was zealous in church matters,
supported the principles of the democratic
party, and left the impress of his character
upon the people with whom he commingled.
Eli D. Mathew laid the foundation of his
education in a little log school-house in Clin
ton county and assisted his father on the farm
during the major part of his minority. When
a young man he learned the miller's trade, at
which he became quite proficient, and fol
lowed the calling as proprietor for a period of
fifteen years, at the end of which time, in
1866, he disposed of his mill and purchased a
farm in Van Wert county. He at once moved
to his place and proceeded to improve the
same, making additions from time to time,
until now he has one of the best cultivated
farms in Pleasant township. He owns good
buildings and other improvements in keeping
therewith, and by excellent management has
made agriculture a marked success, and is now
classed with the substantial and well-to-do
citizens of the township of which he has been
for so many years a resident.
In 1854 Mr. Mathew and Martha Rogers, 'of

A fy.-MX

7-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

519'

Clinton county, were united in the bonds of
wedlock, a union blessed with the birth of the
following children: Sanford, who lives on the
home place; Tabitha, deceased; Sarah, wife
of Clarence Balyeat; Frank and Jonah. Mrs.
Mathew was born in 1832, belonged to the
Friends' church, and in her domestic relations
was a faithful wife, loving mother, and kind
and considerate neighbor; the death of this
excellent woman occurred in May, 1894.
In the year 1862 Mr. Mathew entered the
army, enlisting in company D, Eighth Ohio
volunteer infantry, for nine months' service, at
the end of which time he returned home and
resumed milling, in which he had been en
gaged, as mentioned above. Subsequently, in
1864, he re-entered the service as a member
of company K, One Hundred and Forty-ninth
Ohio infantry, which formed a part of the
army of the Potomac, and took part in the
hard-fought battle of Monocacy, Md., beside
other engagements, in all of which he acquit
ted himself as a brave and gallant defender of
the flag. At the close of the war he returned
to his business in Clinton county and there re
mained until his removal to the county of Van
Wert in the year referred to above. Mr.
Mathew is a consistent member of the Society
of Friends and belongs to that large and re
spectable class of men whose success has been
achieved by their own efforts, and to whom
the county is greatly indebted for much of its
prosperity. Politically he is a republican, and
has intelligent opinions on all questions of the
day. He has been honored by the citizens of
his township with several official positions, the
duties of which he ever discharged in a manner
highly satisfactory to all concerned.
Sanford Mathew, son of Eli D., was born
in the year 1855, in Clinton county, Ohio, re
ceived his education in the common schools,
and on arriving at the years of maturity chose
the noble calling of agriculture for his life work.

He was married, in 1882, to Mary E. Sidle,.
daughter of James and Elizabeth (Hedges)
Sidle, and is the father of five children, whose
names are as follows: Martha M., Chauncy
L., Albert E., Nellie L. and Samuel R. Mrs..
Mathew was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
and is a consistent member of the Methodist-
Episcopal church. Mr. Mathew is one of the
progressive men of his township and well de
serves mention in this volume for his sterling:
worth and public spirit.

(D

OSES H. McCOY, one of the oldest
and most substantial farmers of
Ridge township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, and one of the leading and
most popular citizens, is a native of Fayette
county, born November 8, 1828, and is a son
of Alexander and Eliza (Gillispie) McCoy —
the former a native of Virginia, born July 27,
1800, and the latter a native of New York
state, born March 27, 1809. Alexander Mc
Coy was a blacksmith and followed his trade
until some years after his marriage, when he
purchased some land in Madison county, Ohio,
but shortly afterward sold and came thence to-
Van Wert county, in 1839, where he had en
tered 300 acres in Ridge township about four
years previously, and on this farm be resided
until 1868, when he moved near Van Wert,
where his death occurred in October, 1891.
His widow, now eighty-six years of age, re
sides with her son Joseph, in Ridge township.
Alexander and Eliza McCoy were the parents
of eleven children, who- were born in the fol
lowing order: Samuel,, who died in early man
hood; M. H., the subject of this sketch; David,
a member of the Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer
infantry, who died in the service in 1861 ; John,.
who died in 1883, leaving a widow at Van
Wert; Alexander, who was a soldier in the-
Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry and is.

520

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

now. doing business as a grocer in Van Wert;
William, who disappeared from home in mid
dle life, and has never since been* heard of;
Margaret Jane, deceased wife of Judge John
E. Richey, of Lima, Ohio; Joseph, who was
a soldier in the Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer
infantry and now resides in Ridge township;
Charles, a resident of Wichita, Kans. ; Elmira,
widow of Isaac Weible, of Van Wert, and
Franklin, also a resident of Van Wert. The
parents of this family were reared in the
Presbyterian faith, but later united witb the
Methodist Episcopal church.
M. H. McCoy, our subject, was reared on
the home farm, was well inducted in the les
sons of agricultural life, and attended the sub
scription schools of his early boyhood, acquir
ing a very good education. December 24,
1 85 1, he married Elmira F. Gilliland, daughter
of James Gordon and Margaret (Lawson) Gilli
land. (See sketch of Gilliland family.) Im
mediately after his marriage Mr. McCoy settled
on his present beautiful farm, of which ninety-
one acres were earned by day's and month's
work, and eighty acres additional donated by
by the father of his bride, making in all 171
acres. Mr. and Mrs. McCoy have since reared
a family of three children, viz: T. S., a rail
road surveyor of Wichita, Kans., and married
to Maria Adams; Florence, wife of John J.
Humphreys, of the wholesale firm of Hum
phreys & Hughes, Van Wert, and G. G. , a dent
ist of Delphos, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. McCoy'
stand very high in their social relations to the
people of their township and county. They
and their family are all members of the Pres
byterian church, and both the sons are gradu
ates of the Michigan university at Ann Hrbor.
Fraternally Mr. McCoy is an Odd Fellow, and
as a republican he has served in almost every
elective office his township affords, and once
served, by appointment, an unexpired term as
director of the infirmary. His sterling traits

of character, well-known honesty and integrity,
have served to endear him to his neighbors and
fellow-citizens, all of whom recognize in him
one of the very best citizens of the township,
and one whose life reflects great credit upon
himself and the community.

mr? OSEPH MAY, capitalist of Van Wert,
A Ohio, is a native of Bensheim, Hessen
A 1 Darmstadt, Germany, and was born
January 28, 1844, a son of George and
Anna Marie (Gamble) May — the former of
whom was born in the same province in 1807,
was there married in 1 829, and lost his wife in
January, 1872. He conducted a bakery and
restaurant, was a popular and successful
caterer, and died March 25, 1876, the
father of five children, viz: Adam, Elizabeth,
Margaret, Henry J. and Joseph, our subject.
Both parents died in the faith of the Catholic
church. Joseph May attended the public schools
of his native town for seven years, and then
attended college three years. He learned the
baker's trade under his father, with whom he
remained until his twenty-first year, and then
bade farewell to parents September 28, 1865,
and set sail for America, on the Borussia, via
Hamburg, September 30, 1865, and landed in
New York, October 20, 1865; he sojourned in
that city four weeks, and thence came to
Cleveland, Ohio, where he was engaged with
his brother, Adam, in the bakery business for
two years; then went to Cincinnati, remained
there until 1868, and then came to Van Wert,
where he followed his trade for one year; he
next went to Bluffton, Ind., where he was en
gaged in business on his own account until
September, 1872, when he again came to Van
Wert, Ohio, where he opened a restaurant,
which he conducted with profit until 1891,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

521

when he withdrew from the business and en
tered upon the brokerage and real estate busi
ness. In the meantime, April, 6, 1876, he
made a visit to Germany to see his father, but
on his arrival home was dumbfounded at the
sorrowful intelligence that his father had died
about a month previously, the date being given
above. He felt like returning to America im-,
mediately, but was delayed until September
15. Mr. May is now one of the wealthy and
substantial citizens of Van Wert, and owns a
subdivision of eighteen acres adjoining the city
on the east, beside several brick business
blocks in the city proper, on Main, Jackson
and Court streets, eight valuable residences and
his own beautiful dwelling on South Washing
ton street, while in Union township, Van
Wert county, he owns 160 acres of choice
farm land; he is also a stockholder and di
rector in the Van Wert Natural Gas company,
and a stockholder and director in the Van
Wert National bank and director in the Van
Wert Building and Loan association. Fra
ternally he is a member of the Improved Order
of Red Men, the National Union and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Mr. May was most auspiciously married,
April 19, 1870, in Van Wert, to Miss Mary E.
Miller, who was born Nevember 8, 1852, and
this marriage has been rendered the more
blissful by the birth of eight children, viz:
Lillie (deceased), Hattie, Ida, Frank, Flnora,
Florence, Arthur and Earl. The parents are
both devout members of the Catholic church,
and manifest in their daily walk through life
the sincerity of their belief in its teachings.
The family are universally respected, and it
will readily be seen that Mr. May has been
" the architect of his own fortune," and his
thrift, industry and good management afford an
example well worth the imitation of younger
aspirants to wealth and the esteem of their
fellow-men.

ISAIAH P. MAY, one of the present
trustees of Tully township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, and a leading farmer, is
a son of William May, who was born
in Columbiana county, Ohio, July 24, 18 17,
of Pennsylvania-German descent. William
May was reared a farmer and a carpenter, and
married Sophia Rummel, who was born Au
gust 28, 1825, a daughter of George Rummel,
and to this union were born ten children, viz:
Moses, born April 8, 1844, died a soldier in
the Civil war; Abialine, born November 2,
1845; Emroy, born April 23, 1850, now de
ceased; Louisa, born July 31, 1852; Charles,
born July 15, 1855; Isaiah P., born August 12,
1859; Oliver, born April 29, 1863; Parmelia,
born March 16, 1866, and two that died in
fants. William May moved from Ohio to Ad
ams county, Ind., in 1846, and entered 160
acres in the woods, which, with the assistance
of his sons, he cleared up and converted into
a pleasant farm. He became popular and use
ful, and as a democrat served as township as
sessor, even at the age of seventy-seven years,
although he has invariably declined to accept
nomination for county office. Mrs. May is a
member of the Lutheran church and all tire
family are highly respected in the community
in which they live.
Isaiah P. May was born on his father's
farm in Adams county, Ind., was fairly edu
cated, and at the age of twenty-six years,
March 15, 1885, married Matilda Kever,
daughter of Aaron and Sarah A. (Clem)
Kever, and to Mr. and Mrs. May two children
have been born — Walter and Sarah M. A
year after his marriage Mr. May bought his
present farm of forty acres, to which he has
since added twenty-two and one-half of the
old May homestead across the state line, con
taining the home building. In politics he is a
democrat and is well known to the people of
Tully township, whom he has served one year

522

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

as township trustee with credit to himself and
satisfaction to the people. His veracity is un
impeachable and his ability unquestioned.

ffi

RS. MARY E. McCOY, relict of
Charles H. McCoy, and daughter
of John and Sarah (Chenowith)
Franklin, was born in Allen county,
Ohio, August 3, in the year 1845. The
father of John was born in New York state in
February, 1809, was named Thomas, and
died in Allen county, Ohio, about 1848. It is
probable that John Franklin came to Ohio
with his parents, and was reared among the
early settlers of Allen county. Here he mar
ried Sarah Chenowith about 1828, and to his
marriage were born ten children: Rueben C,
of Monroeville, Ind. ; William T., who servedin
the Civil war; Hannah A., deceased; John H.,
deceased; Amos, killed in the army; Sarah E.,
deceased; Nancy C, wife of A. Snyder, of
Lima, Ohio; Mrs. C. H. McCoy; James A., of
Allen county, and Joseph I., who died in in
fancy. The mother of the family was called
away June 23, 1873. John Franklin, the
father, was at one time a large land owner
and a successful farmer of Allen county, own
ing a part of the land on which the city of
Lima now stands. He took no active part in
politics, but supported the principles of the
republican party; he and his wife were devout
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
in the faith of which he lived and died, Feb
ruary 7, 1875.
Mrs. McCoy grew to womanhood in the
country home of her parents and was united in
marriage, April 9, 1861, to Charles H. McCoy,
and to this felicitous union nine children were
born in the following order: Joseph, deceased,
Henry W. , Sarah C, Jopn N., Elijah C,
Frank H., Jesse L., Lulu M. (deceased in
childhood) and Reuben A. The father of this

family, Charles H. McCoy, was a son of Eli
jah and Sarah (West) McCoy. Elijah was
born in Pennsylvania about the year 18 12, of
sterling Irish parentage ; he was a pioneer of
Allen county, Ohio, became one of its substan
tial farmers, and there died in 1872. Sarah.
(West) McCoy was a lady of many virtues,
beloved by friends and acquaintances where-
ever known. She was the mother of four chil
dren, viz: Caroline, deceased wife of Joseph
Boggs; Andrew, deceased; Charles H., de
ceased, and Amanda J., deceased wife of Nel
son Stephenson. This aimable and loving
mother was called away in 1847. Charles H.
was born in Allen county, Ohio, March 16,
1 84 1. Being early deprived of a mother's-
care, he lived among relatives and friends, but
manfully struggled to repay them for furnishing
him a living. At the age of sixteen he went to-
Champaign county and for some time worked
on a farm, then returned to Allen county, and,.
after his marriage, here purchased a farm, on
which he lived eighteen months and then sold
out; he then purchased the present home of
the family in Van Wert county, in 1872, but
continued to lived in Allen county, on rented
land, until 1889, when he came to his farm in
Van Wert county, and here made his residence
until his death, which occurred November 16,
1893. Mr. McCoy had had some army ex
perience; he responded to the first call for
troops in May, 1861, and enlisted in company
A, Twentieth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three-
months, but soon, however, was attacked
with measles, which, with exposure, brought
on a serious illness, and he was sent to the
hospital, but on his recovery he rejoined his-
command and served out his term; in 1862 he
enlisted in company D, One Hundred and;
Fifty-first Ohio state troops, and went to the
defense of Washington, and for these services-
he was granted a pension of $6 per month.
In politics, Mr. McCoy was a republican, and.

tt-Jfdn

y,

*Jhj>> ^Jlc^xfy & ^Jf^o^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

527

in religion he was, as his widow now is, a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He was an affectionate and kind husband, an
indulgent father, a firm friend and an honor
able man, and died an honored and respected
member of the community in which he had
lived so many years.

^/\R CHARLES A. MELSHEIMER,
| I deceased, and late efficient treas-H
/A^J urer of Van Wert city and Pleasant
township, was born in Stark county,
Ohio, January 8, 1826, a son of Henry E. and
Mary (Kimmell) Melsheimer. The father of
Henry E. Melsheimer was^.a great favorite
among the nobility of Europe and was a very
highly educated man, having written several
volumes on entomology, which were very
much valued. His son, Henry E., father of
this subject, was born in Germany and early
in life came to America and located in York
county, Pa. , and there engaged in the saddlery
business until 18 16, when he came to Ohio,
located in Canton, and continued in the sad
dlery trade until 1820, when he became a
minister in the Lutheran church, in which
church he continued to labor until his death,
which occurred February 29, 1864. He had
married, in Hanover, Pa., Mary Kimmell, who
was a native of Pennsylvania, and by this
union four children were born, viz: Edwin, de
ceased; Timothy,' a printer, of Indianapolis,
Ind.; Malinda, wife of E. M. Slough, of
Indianapolis; Charles Augustus, our subject.
Charles A. Melsheimer, was reared to man
hood in Stark county, Ohio, and there re
ceived his education in Canton. He read
medicine under Dr. L. M. Whiting for four
years; then began the practice of medicine in
New Corydon, Ind., where he remained three
years; then removed to Willshire, Van Wert
county, Ohio, where he remained six years,
23

then, in i860, when he quit the practice, he
opened a drug store in Van Wert, where, in
1864, he built his business block, the room
being 22x75 Ieet> which he occupied until his
death. He was married in Milwaukee, Wis.,
April 27, 1852, to Miss Eliza Ann Hawk, a
native of Pennsylvania. By this union five
children were born, viz: Wallace W. , Laura
F. , Etta A., Ellis E. and Leon. Dr. Mels
heimer was a member of the Lutheran church,
and was an Odd Fellow. In 1884, he was
elected city treasurer; in 1876 was elected
township treasurer; in 1869 he was elected
treasurer of the Van Wert Agricultural society,
which position he held until the spring 01 1894.
He was a candidate for representative in 1877,
but was defeated. He was a stanch republi
can and a good, honored citizen, well respected
by all who knew him. His lamented death
occurred on the 21st day of January, 1895,
and the funeral obsequies were held at the
Lutheran church on the afternoon of the 24th
day of January, under the imposing auspices of
the I. O. O. F. •

sr

ALLACE W. MELSHEIMER, an
accomplished druggist and expert
pharmaceutist of Van Wert, Ohio,
was born in Willshire, Van Wert
county, January 29, 1855, the eldest son of Dr.
C. A. Melsheimer, late city treasurer, whose bi
ography appears above, was but five years of age
when his parents located in the city of Van
Wert, in the public schools of which city he
received his education, attending them until
sixteen years of age, rendering assistance to his
father, in the meantime, in the drug store, from
the age of ten years. On quitting school he en
tered this store permanently, and, under his
father, received a practical education in phar
macy, and in 1876 became a partner in the
business. June 19, 1884, Mr. Melsheimer was

528

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

happily united in the bonds of matrimony with
Miss Ada May Moltz, a daughter of G. W.
and Mary (Hall) Moltz, and born in Richland
county, Ohio, April 17, 1858. To this union
have been born three children, viz : Ethel,
Anna (deceased) and Eva. Mr. Melsheimer
has been treasurer of the National Union ever
since its organization, and he and wife are
members of St. Mark's Lutheran church.
Leon Melsheimer, youngest son of Dr. C. A.
Melsheimer, was born in the city of Van Wert,
August 10, 1869. He attended the city schools
until sixteen years of age, when he began
learning telegraphy at the depot of the P., Ft.
W. & C. railroad, studying one year, and then
took charge of the city telegraph office, which
for nine years he conducted in his father's store,
where, during intervals in the telegraph busi
ness, he also rendered assistance in the drug
business. His marriage took place May 16,
1892, in Van Wert, to Miss Nettie Campbell,
who was born in Van Wert September 27,
1870, a daughter of Jacob and Belle (Engler-
eight) Campbell. Mr. and Mrs. Melsheimer
are members the Lutheran church and are
highly thought of by a large circle of friends.

eLLIS E. MELSHEIMER, a prosper
ous young farmer of Union township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in
the city of Van Wert, July 22, 1862,
a son of Dr. Charles A. Melsheimer, whose
biography is given above. Ellis E. was edu
cated in the schools of Van Wert city, and at
the age of eighteen years entered the office of
the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad company to learn
telegraphy, and was so apt a pupil that he was
retained in the employ of the company for six
years. His next engagement with the Western
Union Telegraph company, was at Chicago,
where he remained a year and a half, and then
was employed by the Postal Telegraph com

pany at Bryan, Ohio, with which he remained
until 1889. He then took a course in the
Bryant & Stratton Commercial college at Chi
cago, whence he went to Georgetown, Ky. ,
where he had charge of the office of the Cin
cinnati Southern railroad, whence he was
transferred to the office at Sadieville, Ky. ;
from that point he was sent to Sherwood,
Ohio, and, after two years of faithful service,
was placed in the office at Canton, Ohio,
where he remained one year. Although an
expert at telegraphy, he preferred the peaceful
and health-giving vocation of the husbandman,
and in the fall of 1894 purchased forty acres of
land in section No. 33, in Union township, Van
Wert county, upon which he moved in Novem
ber in the same year, and still makes it his
happy home.
The marriage of Mr. Melsheimer took place
at Logansport, Ind., October 20, 1886, to Miss
Flora A. Neff, who was born in Champaign,
111., in 1870, a daughter of Alfred J. Neff, by
which marriage there has been born to Mr.
and Mrs. Melsheimer one child — Charles A.
The parents are members of the Lutheran
church, and in politics the father is a repub
lican. Mr. Melsheimer has been as prosperous
as an agriculturist as he was successful as a
telegrapher, and enjoys the respect of all who
know him. He is progressive and skillful, and
is very well up to the times in the management
of his well tilled farm.

HLEXANDER MENTZER, Jr., of
Tully township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a son of Alexander Mentzer,
Sr. , whose biography will be found as
an apendix to this sketch. Our subject was
born on his father's farm January 19, 1852,
and was there reared. April 28, 1887, he
married Hattie Miller, who was born Novem
ber 13, i860, a daughter of Smith and Calisto

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

529

(Bronson) Miller, who were old settlers of Van
Wert county. The Miller family were of
Pennsylvania descent and the Bronsons came
from New England. William Miller, grand
father of Mrs. Mentzer, came from Fayette
county, Ohio, in 1835, and died in February,
1894, at the age of eighty-eight years. His
children were ten in number, and were named
Smith, Martha, Sarah, Mary A., Samuel,
Calvin, Elizabeth, Nancy, John N., and
Simeon. After his marriage, Alexander Ment
zer, Jr., began farming on land he had bought
in 1879, which then comprised ninety-two
acres, but which he has since increased to 160
acres, and this tract, which is now his home, he
has brought under a most excellent state of
cultivation, having cleared all from the woods,
with the excption of forty acres only. Mr.
and Mrs. Mentzer are the happy parents of
two children — Marian and Leila M., who are
being reared within the pale of the Methodist
Episcopal church, of which the mother has
been a member since she was sixteen years of
age. In politics Mr. Mentzer is a democrat,
and under the auspices of that party has served
as trustee of his township two terms, and also
two terms as assessor. Fraternally, Mr.
Mentzer is a member of the Improved Order
of Red Men, and of the P. of H. He is a man
of undoubted business talent, and has been a
member of the school board since 1890.
Alexander Mentzer, Sr. , a pioneer of Tully
township, Van Wert county, Ohio, and the
father of the gentleman whose name heads
this brief sketch, as given in the preced
ing paragraph, was formerly a farmer of
great repute in Tully township and well de
serves the reputation he has gained as a prac
tical farmer. He sprang from an old colonial
family of Pennsylvania, and descended from
Conrad Mentzer, of Swiss origin, who settled
in Pennsylvania about the year 1724. Conrad
had one son, Michael, who married Ann Maria;

and to their marriage were born seven sons
and seven daughters. Prior to the Revolution,
Michael moved to Washington county, Md.,
where he died at a very advanced age. George
Mentzer, son of Michael, and the father of
Alexander, Sr. , was born in Lancaster county,
Pa., April 24, 1766, and was a boy when his
father moved to Maryland. He learned the
trade of tailor and for seven years worked as a
journeyman at Hagerstown. He married
Susannah Hoover, who bore eleven children,
named Mary, Nancy, Susan, Elizabeth, John,
Christine, Sarah, George, Samuel, an unnamed
infant, deceased, and Alexander. In 18 14,
the parents of this family moved to Columbi
ana county, Ohio, where the father bought a
half section of land, on which he lived until
1832, when he moved to Crawford county,
bought 160 acres, and there passed the re
mainder of his days, dying in 1838, at the age
of seventy-two years — a member of the Lu
theran church. His widow lived to be eighty
years old, a member of the Dunkard church.
Alexander Mentzer, Sr. , was born in Colum
biana county, Ohio, March 31, 18 19, and was
reared a farmer. At the age of thirteen years
he accompanied his father to Crawford county,
and October 8, 1843, married Elizabeth Roop,
a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Roop, who
were old settlers of Crawford county, Ohio,
and to this union were born four children —
Susannah, Joseph, Elizabeth, and John. Both
parents died in Crawford county, members of
the Lutheran church.
Mr. Mentzer settled in Tully township, Van
Wert county, on October 8, 1846, on the land
which Mr. Roop — his wife's father — had en
tered, and which covered 160 acres in the wild
woods, but which Mr. Mentzer afterward con
verted into a beautiful farm, and increased to
800 acres, of which he gave 400 to his children,
and later sold 160 acres. To Alexander Ment
zer and his wife were born seven children,

530

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

named Rebecca, Sarah Susanah, Peter R. ,
Alexander, Mary (deceased), George de
ceased, and Samuel deceased. The mother of
this family died November 5, 1857, and the
father was next married, June 24, 1858, to
Miss Eliza Reed, who died June 24, 1864,
leaving no children; the next marriage was
¦with Mrs. McClure, April 3, 1866, to which
union was born one child — living — Millie. Air.
Mentzer, now seventy-six years old, is retired
from active work. He is a democrat, has been
justice of the peace, commissioner three terms
and has served in numerous township offices.
He is a Mason and is most highly honored by
his fellow-citizens.

^~X EORGE MILLER, one of the oldest
¦ ^\ citizens of Washington township, Van
\^^ Wert county, Ohio, but now deceased,
was a native of Saxony, Germany,
born in 18 16. He came over to America when
a young man, and for a number of years worked
on public works in Virginia, Maryland and
other states. He was married in Putnam
county, Ohio, in 1845, t0 Susan Rader. In
about 1847 ne purchased forty acres of land
from the government in section No. 13, Wash
ington township, Van Wert county, and moved
upon it; the country was at that time but
sparsely settled and was mostly woods, with
few roads. From time to time he added to
his original purchase until he owned altogether
112 acres, and had owned sixty acres more,
which he sold to his son Henry. To Mr. and
Mrs. Miller ten children were born, as follows:
Henry, Charley, Ferd, John, Louis, Tilla, Ed
ward, Mary and Gust, all living, and one daugh
ter who died in childhood. April 17, 1895,
Mr. Miller and wife celebrated their golden
wedding anniversary, and the day was cele
brated with a family gathering and a big sup

per, on which happy occasion all the children
but two were present.
When Mr. Miller settled in Van Wert county
there was nothing of Delphos but a few canal
shanties. It was then known as Section Ten,
so Mr. Miller has lived to see what was once
a dense forest cleared and turned into as fine
a farming country as can be found in the state,
and saw Delphos grow from a few log houses
into a thriving little city.
Henry Miller, eldest son of George Miller,
was born on April 27, 1846. He remained on
the farm with his parents until he was eighteen
years old, and then left home. In May, 1864,
he went into the Union army as a soldier, join
ing company A, One Hundred and Fifty-first
Ohio volunteers. He was mustered in at Camp
Chase and with the regiment was on duty prin
cipally at Washington, D. C, and in the Shen
andoah valley. He was mustered out at Camp
Chase, Columbus, the last of August, 1864,
having been in the 100-day service. After the
war he began railroading, first on the Pennsyl
vania in Ohio, and then on the Big Four in
Indiana, and continued on that for over nine
years. He then worked for about five years
in the Ohio Wheel works at Delphos, and then
moved upon sixty acres of land in section No.
12, Washington township, which he had pur
chased some time before from his father. The
land was then all wild and unimproved, but he
cleared it up. Since then he has added to his
land by the purchase of sixty acres in section
No. 1, now having altogether 120 acres. In
1889 he erected a large barn, 40x60 feet, which
is one of the best in the township.
Henry Miller was married November 10,
1872, to Ida Wurzburg, who was born in Sax
ony, Germany, May 9, 1852, and is the daugh
ter of August Wurzburg. Her parents did not
come to America, both having died in the old
country before she came over, she being eighteen
years old when she crossed the ocean. To Mr

THOS. SLEEN McKIM,
DECEASED.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

533

and Mrs. Miller three children have been born,
two sons and one daughter: Arthur, born July
20, 1874; Oscar, born November 12, 1876;
Laura, born March 25, 1883. Mr. Miller and
family are members of the Lutheran church,
and are highly respected by all. George Mil
ler departed this life November 18, 1895, a
member of the Lutheran church, of which his
widow is still a devout communicant.

• HOMAS STEEN McKIM, deceased,
a native of Ross county, Ohio, was
born April 17, 1818. His parents,
Thomas and Jane (Steen) McKim,
were born and married in Ireland, where the
father was a farmer. In 18 10 these parents
came to America, located in New York state,
but later came to Ross county, Ohio, and
finally settled in Wabash county, Ind. , where
they passed the remainder of their lives on a
farm. Of their eight children our subject was
the sixth in order of birth, and was ten or
twelve years of age when his parents removed
form Ross county, Ohio, where he had been
a water carrier on the old canal running through
that section. He was reared to manhood in
Wabash county, Ind., and was there educated
in the common schools. He early learned the
tinner's trade, and at this he worked through
out Indiana and Ohio until his locating in
Willshire, Ohio, where he engaged in general
merchandising until 1855, when he made his
permanent home in the city of Van Wert,
where he erected the store building now occu
pied by Seelburg & Co., corner of Main and
North Washington streets, and re-embarked
in general mercantile trade. Although he had
had three partners in this business, the firms
were ever known as T. S. McKim & Son. He
continued in trade until ' 890, when he retired
to a life of ease and privacy. He was also
largely interested in the Van Wert tannery and

many other local interests, and being a man of
indomitable enterprise and enlarged patroitism,
was energetic in his promotion of the railroad
interests of the city. He was a royal arch
Mason, a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in politics a republican. Ever
affable and gentlemanly, he won friends every
where, his liberality and generous disposition
being subjects, of universal comment. His
death, which occurred June 10, 1892, cast a
shade of sorrow over the entire community
and was deeply deplored.
The marriage of Mr. McKim was solemn
ized in Mercer county, Ohio, September 20,
185 1, with Miss Elizabeth Barks, who was
born in Fairfield county, Ohio, April 24, 1822,
a daughter of Solomon and Jane (Shault)
Barks, natives of Virginia, but at the time of
this marriage residents of Ohio. They were
the parents of seven children, of whom only
two survive. To the union of Mr. McKim
and Elizabeth Barks were born three children,
viz: Emma, wife of G. W. McGavren, one of
the prominent physicians of Van Wert; Joseph
L. , deceased, and Luella Maud. Mrs. McKim
is a devout believer of. the Methodist Episco
pal faith and is a leading member of the con
gregation attending First M. E. church;
she is also a member of the W. C. T. U. and
of the Missionary society, and is regarded as
one of the most charitable and aimable ladies
of the city of Van Wert. :

@

EORGE MERICLE, a pioneer of
Jackson township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is of German descent pri
marily, but comes from an old New
York family more directly. His grandfather,
John Mericle, was a native of the Empire
state and a pioneer of Fairfield county, Ohio,
where he cleared up a good farm from the
woods and reared the following children: Sol-

534

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

omon, John, Emanuel, Abe, Polly, Katie,
Sallie, Lydia and Betsey.
Solomon Mericle, father of George, our
subject, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
in February, 1808, and married Catherine
Blosser, daughter of George and Rebecca
(Garrison) Blosser, to which union were born
the following children: Sallie, Mary, George,
Rose Ann, Isaac, Margaret, John, Catherine,
Solomon and Lydia. Solomon Mericle re
sided on 160 acres of land in Hocking county
until 1865, when he moved to Allen county
and settled six miles east of Delphos, where he
passed the remainder of his days. His son,
Solomon, served in the Fourteenth Ohio vol
unteer infantry during the late war, and he
also had two other sons in the service — George
and John. He died a sincere Christian.
> George Mericle, the subject proper of this
sketch, was born in Hocking county, Ohio,
March 14, 1833, and was married in the same
county, September 25, 1855, to Miss Barbara
Beery, who was born in Fairfield county,
May 18, 1838, a daughter of Peter and Mar
garet (Pulce) Beery. Peter Beery was of
German descent and was a son of Joseph,
who was a native of Rockingham county, Va. ,
and was the father of Jacob, Samuel, Joseph,
Peter, Franz and Barbara, and died on his
farm before the outbreak of the Civil war.
Peter Beery, the father of Mrs. Mericle, was
born in Rockingham county, Va. , January 11,
1807, was married in that county to Margaret
Pulce, and by that union became the father of
eight children, viz: Elizabeth A., Sarah,
Henry, Barbara, Abraham, Mary, Peter and
Margaret. After making two or three moves
at intervals of two years each, Mr. Beery
finally settled on a farm of 400 acres in Hock
ing county, Ohio, but has since sold all but
190 acres of the home farm. He later bought
300 acres in Jackson township, Van Wert
county, and on eighty acres of this George

Mericle makes his home. Mr. Beery was a
•most enterprising citizen and was always
prominent in the various counties in which he
lived, settled up or administered several es
tates, and at one time was the owner of over
700 acres of land. He had two sons in the
late Civil war — Capt. Henry and Sergt. Abra
ham, both in Ohio regiments.
After marriage Mr. Mericle located in Fair
field county, Ohio, and for a season worked
for his uncle, John Mericle, then moved to
Hocking county and worked for his father-in-
law, Peter Beery, in a saw-mill for three
years. In the fall of i860 he came to Van
Wert county and settled on eighty acres in the
woods his father-in-law had given him, where
he cleared up a -farm. March 13, 1865, Mr.
Mericle enlisted, at Van Wert, Ohio, in com
pany F, One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Ohio
volunteer infantry, and was discharged , at the
close of the war, having served in Virginia and
Delaware. To the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Mericle have been born five children, named
as follows: Margaret, Isaiah, Sarah, -Noah
and Minerva — all born in Van Wert county
with the exception of Margaret, who is a na
tive of Fairfield county, and Isaiah, a native of
Hocking county. While her husband was in
the war, Mrs. Mericle did her own farming,
with the exception of plowing — thus showing
herself to be a worthy daughter of her illustri
ous father. She lived on fifteen acres and
tilled five acres of corn, producing the best
crop in the neighborhood — the season being a
dry one. Mr. Mericle is now the owner of
120 acres, and is in quite comfortable circum
stances. He and wife are members of United
Brethren church, and in politics he is a repub
lican. He is a highly respected citizen and
an excellent farmer, holds the esteem of the
entire community, and ranks second to no
one in his enterprise and active interest in the
progress of his township and county.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

535

WOHN C. MILLER, deceased.— Few
A men in Van Wert county were more
A J widely and favorably known than the
late John C. Miller, whose death oc
curred on the 12th day of June, 1882. Mr.
Miller's parents, George and Hannah (Chil-
cote) Miller, were both natives of Kentucky,
but their marriage took place in Crawford
county, Ohio, where they lived on a farm
until the father's death, after which Mrs. Mil
ler came to Van Wert county and resided with
her children until called from the scene of her
earthly labors in 1865. George and Hannah
Miller reared a large, family, eleven children in
all, the subject of this sketch being sixth in
order of birth.
John C. Miller was born in Crawford
county, Ohio, November 22, 1826, was reared
to manhood on a farm in his native county
and state, and on the 17th day of September,
1849, entered into the marriage relation with
Miss Sarah C. Schenck. Mrs. Miller was
born in Maryland June 3, 1835, daughter of
David and Lydia (Meyers) Schenck; she bore
him the following children: Lydia A., de
ceased; Rebecca, deceased; Mary E. , deceased;
David F. ; Nancy J., wife of L. W. Balyeat;
Daniel J., who resides on the home farm; John,
deceased; William; deceased; Susan, deceased;
May, deceased; Charles, deceased; and Ida,
who resides in Van Wert. Soon after his
marriage Mr. Miller moved to Van • Wert
county, locating in Willshire township, where
he purchased eighty acres of land, on which he
resided until his removal, in 1876, to a farm
in Pleasant township, where he resided until
his death at the date previously mentioned.
Mr. Miller was a successful farmer and
made additions to his place from time to time
until he became the possessor of 160 acres of
land, which, under his management, was
brought to a high state of cultivation and was
supplied with good buildings and other con-

veniences. He accumulated a handsome com
petence, was noted as one of the leading agri
culturists of the county, and in addition to
tilling the soil he achieved quite a reputation
as a skillful veterinary surgeon. In his church
relations he belonged to the United Brethren
denomination, and in politics was a republican.
His widow remained on the home farm until
1893, at which time she moved to Van Wert
and has made that city her home ever since;
she is also a member of the United Brethren
church, and is highly esteemed by a large
circle of friends in both city and county.
David F. Miller, the eldest son and fourth
child born to John C. Miller and wife, is one
of the young and very progressive farmers of
Pleasant township. He was born in Willshire
township October 15, 1857, and was reared to
manhood upon the farm, and chose farming
for his life work. He was educated in the
common schools and made commendable prog
ress for the advantages at hand, and to the
training received while in the school-room,
he prudently added, from time to time, that
knowledge which came within his reach. Mr.
Miller is still an attentive reader and keeps
well posted on all topics of the day, and also
takes a deep interest in matters educational.
Mr. Miller wasearly taught habits of industry
and economy, which traits have followed him
closely up to the present time, and by his en
ergy and good management has succeeded in
making himself and family a good home; he
was one of the poor boys that started out in
life empty handed, though, with a strong de
termination to succeed, has progressed from a
day laborer to be owner of a good farm, which
is the result of his own skillful management
and wise forethought. His farm, which is
located in Pleasant township, shows the care
of a true husbandman, and he has all the com
forts of the agriculturist at hand and enjoys
the many blessings derived therefrom. In

536

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

politics Mr. Miller is a stanch republican, at all
times ready to voice his sentiments, and lend
a helping hand to the success of his party; he
is recognized as one of the young and progress
ive farmers of his township and he and his
wife are highly respected where known.
In 1882 Mr. Miller was united in marriage
with Miss Hannah C. Miller, daughter of
Benjamin and Elizabeth Miller; this lady was
born in Crawford county, Ohio, in the year
1859, and this union has been blessed by the
birth of four children, viz: Sarah E., David
F., Bessie M. and Charles E.
Benjamin Miller, the father of Mrs. David
F Miller, was born in Crawford county, Ohio,
January 20, 1825, where he was reared to
manhood among the pioneers of that county.
He was married, July 8, 1855, to Elizabeth
Carris, who was also a native of Crawford
county, Ohio, and was born in 1832; they
became the parents of the following children:
James E., Hannah C. , Philip C, John F.,-
Maria S., Mary C. , Almedia and Almira (twin
sisters), Rebecca J. and George. About the
year 1865, Mr. Miller moved with his family
to Kosciusko county, Ind., where he died
February 6, 1876, and his wife, January S,
1876; they were both prominent and influential
members of the United Brethern church.

f\ W. McGAVREN, M. D.— It has as-
¦ ^\ suredly not been uninteresting to
^^^ observe, in the series of biographical
sketches appearing in these pages, the
varying nationality, origin and early environ
ment of those men who have made their way
to positions of prominence and success. We
have an American type in the past; we shall
have a distinctively American character in the
future, but, for the parents, amalgamation of
the varied elements is going on, and the ulti
mate result is yet remote. In endeavoring to

note the progress and development of any sec
tion there is an absolute, scientific, necessity
for biography; for individual accomplishment
represents, in the composite sense, all that
effects the general accomplishment. The sub
ject of this sketch is one whose ancestral
history has been conspicuously linked with that
of the Buckeye state since the early pioneer
days, and is one that bears record of distin
guished and noble lives of accomplishments far
transcending the mediocre.
Dr. McGavren is a man of high professional
attainments and is recognized as one of the
leading medical practitioners of the city of
Van Wert, where he retains a representative
practice. In his life work he has followed in
the footsteps of his honored father, Dr. Hugh
C. McGavren, who was one of the pioneer
physicians of Van Wert and a man of noble
character and deepest humanity— one whose
name is prized by all whose memory recalls
his kindly deeds and and his abiding sympathy
for all those who are "afflicted in mind, body
or estate." Dr. Hugh C. McGavren was born in Indi
ana county, Pa., July 30, 1824, and in 1828
he accompanied his parents on their removal
to the frontier wilds of Ohio; they settled in
Columbiana county, where they remained until
1834, when they removed to Hardin connty,
where the parents took up their permanent
abode: — that section being yet a portion of the
Northwest territory, but the father died in the
year 1853, and after his demise his widow re
moved to Iowa, where she passed the residue
of her life, entering into eternal rest at the
venerable age of eighty-three years.
From his boyhood Hugh C. McGavren had
been animated by a desire to become a phy
sician, and this desire was not one of inaction,
for after completing his preliminary studies in
the common schools, he began the work of
preparing himself for his chosen vocation,

HUGH C MCGAVREN, M. D.
DECEASED.

-J

MRS, MARTHA J. MCGAVREN,
DECEASED.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

541

•entering upon the study of medicine, in Wyan
dot county, in the year 1845. His efforts were
directed with that earnest zeal and devotion
which presaged success, and his vigorous vital
ity and resolute nature enabled him to sur
mount obstacles that would have proved in
superable to a man of less individual strength.
Dr. McGavren removed from Wyandot county,
in 1853, in company with his brother Andrew,
but did not enter upon the practice of his pro
fession until the succeeding year, when he
formed a partnership with Dr. Blecker. In
1856 he located in Shane's Crossing — now
Rockford, Mercer county, and eleven years
later took up his abode in Van Wert, where
he passed the remainder of his life, having
devoted himself with unvarying earnestness to
his profession, never failing to heed the call
of those in distress, and gaining a marked
prestige throughout the country, the while re
taining the confidence and affection of those to
whom he ministered so unreservedly. In the
consummation of the public interest he was
one of the foremost promoters, and maintained
a lively interest in all that touched the growth
and development of the city and county of his
residence. In this connection it is interesting
to note the fact that the McGavren family has
been one represented in an almost phenomenal
way in the ranks of the medical profession.
In 1866 there were sixty-five physicians of the
name of McGavren, all related, engaged in the
practice of medicine, and scattered throughout
the various states of the Union. Of the six
brothers of Dr. McGavren, three were anthro
pological physicians, and two veterinary.
In the year 1847, July 4, Dr. Hugh C.
McGavren was united in marriage with Miss
Martha J. Linderman, a native of Chambers-
burg, Pa., and they became the parents of
five children, two of whom died in infancy,
the survivors being Mary C, wife of Dr. H.
H. Holbrook, of Defiance, Ohio; Dr. George

W., the immediate subject of this review, and
Olive, wife of W. G. Streit, of Van Wert.
The death of the honored father of our subject
occurred on February 27, 1891, and a com
munity mourned the loss of a noble man, whose
life had been one of signal usefulness. His
widow resided on North Washington street,
Van Wert city, until her death, early in 1896.
George W. McGavren was born in Wyan
dot county, Ohio, January 20, 1851, and was
reared in Van Wert and at Rockford, Ohio.
He received his preliminary education in the
public schools and then entered the office of
his father and devoted himself to a thorough
course of reading in the science of medicine,
and later matriculated in the Eclectic Medical
institute at Cincinnati, where he graduated in
1873. He took a post-graduate course at the
Fort Wayne Medical college, and there grad
uated in 1877. His ambition from the start
1 was to gain the most perfect knowledge in
regard to his profession, and he has ever kept
pace with the advances made in the sciences
of medicine and surgery. In 1884-5 he took
a special post-graduate course at the Polyclinic,
in New York. Dr. McGavren entered upon
the active practice of his profession in Van
Wert in May, 1873, being associated with his
father. He has since continued here and has
gained a prestige which maintains the high
standard held by his father, and he enjoys a
distinctive popularity and the confidence and
respect of the community.
In 1875 Dr. McGavren was united in mar
riage to Miss Florence W. , daughter of A. W.
Baker, and her death occurred on July 30, of
the same year. Our subject's second marriage
was consummated April 19, 1877, when he
wedded Miss Emma G., daughter of T. S.
McKim, one of the early pioneers of Van
Wert. The doctor and Mrs. McGavren are
the parents of one daughter, Nellie W., who
was born March 12, 1879. In politics the

542

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

doctor exercises his franchise in support of the
republican party, and fraternally, is promi
nently identified with the Masonic order, being
a member of Van Wert lodge, No. 218; Van
Wert Chapter, No. 71, and Ivanhoe com-
mandery, No. 30, also of this city, and of Ohio
Sovereign consistory and Mystic Shrine. In
this noble order the doctor has advanced to
the thirty-second degree in the Scottish rite.
He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias.

^V*AMUEL MILLER, one of the lead-
*^Nfet mg stock buyers of Van Wert, was
K^ _/ born in Fayette county, Ohio, Jan
uary 31, 1828. He is a son of Rob
ert Miller, who was also a native of Fayette
county, who was reared on a farm and who
came to Van Wert county in 1842, settling in
Pleasant township, where he purchased a farm.
In politics Robert Miller was a democrat, in
religion he was a Methodist, and in character
he was upright and honorable. In disposition
he was kindly and charitable, liberal with his
means and ready to assist those in need. He
lived on his farm in Pleasant township until his
death. He married Miss Nancy Hill, of Fay
ette county, Ohio, by whom he had nine chil
dren, viz: James, Hinton, Samuel, David,
Andrew, Elizabeth, Delilah, George and John.
Four of these children are dead,. viz: Hinton,
David, Delilah and Andrew. The rest are
all married. Samuel Miller, the subject of this sketch,
was reared on his father's farm, educated in
the common schools, and later began the busi
ness of buying and selling stock. This was in
Van Wert county, as he was but thirteen years
of age when he came here with his parents in
1842. After being in the stock business for
some years he engaged in the livery business,
changing back, however, after some years, to
the stock buying business.

On the third of December, 1849, he was
married to Miss Eliza Tumbleson, by whom
he became the father of the following children:
Nancy Jane, born May 13, 1856; James W.,
born December 4, 1857; Etta M., born De
cember 14, 1859; Flora, born February 4,
1862; Susan, born April 13, 1864; Charles,
born June 1, 1866; Hattie M., born Novem
ber 23, 1868; Minnie G., born August 19, 1872;
Clyde O., born October 6, 1874; and Fred,
born January 11, 1879. Of these, Nancy J.,
Etta M., and Flora are deceased.
The wife of James W. Miller, the eldest
son of Samuel Miller, died July 2, 1894. Pre
vious to her marriage she was Mollie Mercer,
of Celina, Mercer county, Ohio. She was the
mother of three children, viz: Norma, Nellie
and Fern. James W. Miller is at present
superintendent of the telephone exchange in
Van Wert. Charles, the second son of Sam
uel Miller, is a member of the dry-goods firm
of Miller & Gipe; Miss Minnie G. is clerking
in this store; Clyde O. is a lineman for the
telephone company; Susan and Fred are both
at home; Hattie M. is the wife of Oswell Bill-
man, a young business man of Van Wert.
Miss Eliza Tumbleson, the wife of Samuel
Miller, was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio,
April 24, 1836. Her father, John Tumbleson,
was born in 1801, was reared on the farm and
was a farmer all his life. He died in 1868. He
married Miss Susan Bowers, of Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, by whom he had the following
children: James, Joseph, Jonathan, Daniel,
Flora, Eliza, Franklin, George, Thomas, and
one who died in infancy. Daniel also is dead,
and Thomas enlisted in the army of the Union
during the late Civil war, and died from ex
posure. The rest are living, are married and
are heads of families of their own. Mrs. Tum
bleson, the mother of these children, died in
1885, at the home of her daughter, Eliza, in
Van Wert.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

543

John Tumbleson was in his early life a
whig, but after the organization of the repub
lican party, became a republican. He was a
member of the United Brethren church, and
assisted largely to erect the church of that de
nomination in Pleasant township, Van Wert
county. He was a liberal contributor to all
public enterprisers of merit, which were in his
opinion calculated to promote the good of the
community in which he lived. His daughter,
Eliza, who married Mr. Miller, resided with
her parents until she was eighteen years of
age, when she was married. She and her hus
band are now living in Van Wert, and are
among the most prominent people of the place.
Samuel Miller was one of the county com'
missioners two terms and was in office when
the court house was in course of erection, and
Mr. Tumbleson served as a judge.

^V^V R. MILLER, an old resident and
| I prominent farmer of Pleasant town-
/^^^ ship, Van Wert county, was born in
Champaign county, Ohio, November
27, 1832, a son of John and Sarah (Graham)
Miller, the former of whom was a native of
Ross county, Ohio, born about 1802, was of
Irish descent on the maternal side, and in 1842
became a resident of Van Wert county, where
he followed farming until his death, which oc
curred about the year 1878. He had married,
about 1828, Sarah Graham, daughter of James
and Hannah Graham, both natives of Ohio.
James Graham was a teamster of the war of
1 812, in which war David Miller, an elder
brother of John Miller, also served as a soldier.
The younger brothers of John Miller were
named Robert, William and Samuel. Sarah
(Graham) Miller was born about 181 5 and died
about i860, the mother of eight children, viz:
Mrs. Charlotte Miller, deceased; James, a farm
er of Paulding county, Ohio; Ellen, the wife

of James Miller, of Van Wert county; D. R.,
the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Emma Rock-
hold, of Union township; Elijah, of Van Wert;.
Mrs. Mary A. Hoak, of Allen county, Ohio,.
and Robert, who died in infancy.
D. R. Miller, our subject, was brought by
his parents to Van Wert county in 1842 and
was here educated in the common schools of
Pleasant township. After quitting his father's
farm he worked out by the month until his
marriage, in 1859, to Miss Mary S. Hight,
daughter of Stephen and Katie (Kennedy)
Hight, who in early life came from Pennsyl
vania to Ohio, and first located in Wayne
county, afterward moving to Mercer county,
where Stephen Hight, died in 1861, a mem
ber of the Presbyterian church and in politics
a democrat. Miss Mary S. Hight was born in
Mercer county, April 10, 1838, and has borne
her husband eight children, as follows; Stephen,
millman of Van Wert, Ohio; Frank, a resident
of Saint Louis, Mo. ; Grant, employed by a
telephone company in Van Wert, Ohio; two
infants, deceased; Fred, a school-teacher in
Pleasant township; Jacob, a farmer at home,
and Katie, also at home. In 1862, our sub
ject bought a farm in Pleasant township, cleared
it from the woods, and made his home thereon
for nineteen years, and then bought his present
place, just west of the city of Van Wert, re
modeled the dwelling and placed the lands
under the best possible condition of cultivation.
Mr. Miller served four months in the One-
Hundred and Thirty-ninth Ohio volunter in
fantry during the late war, and is a stanch
adherent of the republican party, having served
as constable — which office he resigned after
his return from the army. Mr. Miller at one
time gave some attention to the raising of live
stock, but now devotes himself entirely to gen
eral farming. He is a pleasant, genial gentle
man, a public-spirited citizen, and an excellent.
and kind-hearted neighbor.

.544

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

(/^VETER H. MILLER, deceased, whose
1 W ancestry were of German, extraction,
J " ' was born in Wooster, Wayne county,
Ohio, March n, 1837. He was a
son of John and Susan Miller, who were the
parents of two sons and three daughters, Peter
H. being the eldest of the five children.
- Peter H. Miller spent his boyhood days
upon the farm, and after securing such an edu
cation as was possible for him in the common
schools of his early youth, was apprenticed to
the trade of shoemaker, worked thereat for
some time, but shoemaking was not at all
according to his tastes, so he abandoned it for
the carpenter trade, which' came to him natur
ally, he having an inherited aptitude therefor.
Previous to attaining his majority, in company
with his half-brother, S. R. Moneysmith, and
a neighbor's son, Mr. Miller came to Van
Wert county. The three boys were all car
penters, and after arriving in Van Wert county
young Miller found time to attend school for
some time, and to complete the education he
had begun, as before stated, not under the
most auspicious circumstances. His natural
ability, however, as a carpenter, was soon
recognized, and it was not long before he
became a very popular mechanic. For several
years he successfully followed the carpenter's
and builder's trade, and, thereby laid the
foundation for his fortune in Van Wert county.
September 13, i860, he was married to
Miss Sarah J. Lybarger, daughter of William
and Abigail (Lake) Lybarger, who was mar
ried in 1839, and who were among the early
pioneers of Van Wert county, settling on their
present farm in 1848. This farm is located in
Ridge township, and to it they removed from
Knox county, Ohio. Mrs. Abigail Lybarger,
after living a happy married life of fifty-five
years, went to her long home August 28, 1894.
Mr. Lybarger still survives, and is enjoying
the evening of his days, conscious of a life well

spent and in remembrance of many deeds of
kindness done.
Soon after their marriage Mr. Miller and
his wife began their married life in true pioneer
style, in the woods. His first purchase was of
forty acres of land six miles southeast of the
site of Van Wert, and very near Mrs. Miller's
childhood home. Here they lived in the woods
for some time, engaged in clearing up the land,
planting and gathering in their crops, hunting
game, and defending themselves from bears
and such other wild beasts as roamed the woods
at will in those early days. Mr. Miller, how
ever, found it to his interest to work more or
less at his trade in the growing town cf Van
Wert, going to his work in the morning, re
turning to his home in the evening, thus leav
ing Mrs. Miller alone in the woods through the
day. For her this kind of life became very
monotouous and lonely, and to relieve her
from the unpleasant consequences thereof,
Mr. Miller moved to Van Wert, locating on a
lot at the southwest corner of Water and
Cherry streets. This was in August, 1866.
Upon this lot he erected a frame house, which
for many- years made his family a comfortable
home. Mr. Miller soon began working in the
foundry as pattern maker, and remained thus
engaged for fifteen years. Afterward he took
up the carpenter and builder's trade, on his
own account, at which he worked the rest of
his life, and for some years during the latter
part of his life ran a turning lathe in Spangler's
planing mill. For several years Mr. Miller
was recognized by every one as the finest
wood-worker in Van Wert. He was also a
careful and honest business man, quickly
gained public confidence, and prospered from
the very start.
The first property purchased by him in Van
Wert is now the home of his most estimable
widow. Later he purchased other property in
that town, and also eighty acres of land six

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

547.

miles southest of the city. Still later he be
came a stockholder in the Van Wert County
bank, by the failure of which he lost a consid
erable sum of money. He was also a stock
holder in the Van Wert Woolen mill. He
was always a very, enterprising man, progress
ive and- industrious. He was the soul of
honor and his word was as readily taken as his
note. Ever ready to assist any laudable enter
prise, he always took an active interest
in the growth and prosperity of the town in
which he lived. While not a member of any
church, yet he leaned toward the doctrines of
the Lutheran, and always favored the educa
tion of the young.
Fraternally Mr. Miller was an Odd Fellow,
and was a member of the Royal Arcanum
lodge, No. 196, of Van Wert. In everything
he undertook .or favored he was a great en
thusiast, and was a man of great strength and
endurance. He likewise was found of relaxa
tion, and spent many autumns hunting in the
woods of northern Michigan. His health was
always exceptionally good until within about
fifteen months of his death, which was caused
by cancer of the throat, from which he suffered
greatly, dying February 6, 1885. Politically
he was a stanch republican and cast his first
vote for Abraham Lincoln for president in
i860. In politics he occasionally took an
active part, serving as a member of the town
council and as a member of the board of edu
cation. By his marriage to Miss Lybarger he
became the father of two children, viz : Olive
L. , born June 24, 1862, and now the wife of
C. H. Noell; and Clara, who was born Oc
tober 3, 1864, and died June 23, 1873.
Mrs. Sarah J-. Miller, widow of the subject
of this sketch, was born near Mount Vernon,
Ohio, August 16, 1842. She was one of a
family of nine children, six sons and three
daughters, she being the second child and the
eldest daughter. When she was about six

years of age her parents removed from Knox.
county to Van Wert county, locating in the-
woods, as has been stated, six miles southeast
of Van Wert. Here she grew to womanhood,
and attended the first school in Ridge town
ship. Early in life she was taught all the in
dustries then thought peculiarly fitted for
women to pursue, mostly, of course, house
hold duties, such as spinning and 'weaving
cloth for clothing for the family. Soon after
locating in Van Wert Mrs. Miller joined the
Presbyterian church, of which she is still a
most worthy member.

aHARLES F. MANSHIP, the efficient
city clerk of Van Wert, Ohio, was-
born in Caroline county, Md., May
21, 1856, a son of Elijah A. and Pris
cilla (Wright) Manship. The grandfather of.
our subject, Thomas Manship, was a slave
holder and was largely engaged in planting all
his life; he was the father of two children,.
Mary E. and Elijah A., and was quite promi
nent among the planters of the Potomac valley..
Elijah A. Manship, also a native of Caroline
county, Md., was there reared to manhood,-
and was there married in 1853, and was en
gaged in farming and handling groceries until
1858, when he came to Van Wert county,
Ohio, and located in Ridge township, where he
was prosperously engaged in farming until 1 864,
when he was killed in a railroad accident. To-
himself and wife had been born five children,
viz: William T., Charles F., Frank W., Sarah,
E. and Alban A. The father of this family
was a republican in politics and was an ener
getic man and respected citizen, and a worthy
member of the Methodist Episcopal church..
His widow, in 1870, was married to Daniel
Norman, a groceryman of Middlepoint, Van
Wert county, and has- borne him one child 
named May.

548

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Charles F. Manship, as will be seen, was
but two years of age when he was brought to
Van Wert county and but eight years old when
his father met with his sad fate; he continued
to reside with his mother, however, until he
reached his twelfth year, when he began clerk
ing in Middlepoint for D. F. Cook, with whom
he continued thirteen years, becoming a
thorough business man ; he then engaged in grain
dealing in Middlepoint until 1886, when he
was elected county clerk, which position he
acceptably filled for three years, and soon after
ward (1890) was elected city clerk of Van Wert
and clerk of Pleasant township, Mr. Manship
being in politics a stanch republican, and this
combined office he still most efficiently fills.
Mr. Manship was first married in Middlepoint,
October 17, 1877, to Miss Celia Morehead,
and to this union were born four children, viz:
Archie W., Daisy A., Frank and Carrie F.
The mother died March 3, 1890, and the second
marriage of Mr. Manship took place in Van
Wert, June 21, 1893, the bride being Miss Etta
A. Webster, of this city, who has borne one
child, Harold W. Mr. Manship deserves much
credit for the energy he has exhibited through
out his business life, the more particularly so,
when it is borne in mind that at the early age
of eight he was crippled by rheumatism in the
hip. He has acquired considerable valuable
property in Van Wert by his industry, and is
an honored member of the I. O. O. F. and
the I. O. R. M., and is respected by the entire
community.

>-y»OHN ANDREW MOEBUS was born
A April 24, 1823, and died June 30,
Al 1883. His father, John A. Moebus,
was born and reared on a farm in Ger
many, and in his native country successfully
followed farming until, with his family, he
emigrated to the United States. He married

Miss Margaret Strauss, also a native of Ger
many, by whom he had the following children:
John Andrew, the subject proper of this sketch;
Ceorge, Frederick, Christian, William, Leon
ard, Margaret, Rosanna, Caroline and Fred-
erika. John Andrew Moebus, our subject, was the
first born of the children above named. Four
of these still survive. He, having received a
good education, continued to live at home as
sisting his father on the farm until he was
twenty-one years of age, when he enlisted in
the German army. After serving six years as
corporal, he was promoted to a sergeancy, and
his time having expired, he came, with the en
tire family, father, mother and ten children,
to the United States and settled in Pennsyl
vania. Two of these ten are now living in
Altoona and two in Huntingdon, that state,
and are prominently engaged in business. As
stated above, his mother's maiden name was
Strauss, and several of her brothers are to
day among the prominent and wealthy busi
ness men of Baltimore, Md. John A. Moebus,
the father of this family, was killed in a coal
mine in Pennsylvania. His youngest son,
Leonard, was a soldier in the army of the
Union during the Rebellion, was in the battle
of Gettysburg, and died at Harper's Ferry, Va.
John Andrew Moebus, our subject, the
eldest son, after coming to America, was em
ployed for several years as foreman over a
gang of men engaged in bridge building. Then
he became proprietor of a hotel. Then, going
to Fort Wayne, Ind., he embarked in business
as a merchant, remaining for some years and
marrying Anna Margaret Preis. From Fort
Wayne he removed to Van Wert, Ohio, where
he was engaged in various kinds of business
enterprises until his death. Among other enter
prises, he established the first ice cream parlor
in Van Wert. At first he met with unusual
and most gratifying success; but later, through

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

549

speculation and too great liberality, he lost the
greater portion of his property, and when he
died he left his family in moderate circum
stances only. Throughout his entire life he
was honest and upright in his business trans
actions. He was in business in Van Wert
twenty-five years, and at the time of his death,
notwithstanding his misfortunes, he did not
owe any man a debt, large or small. He was
a man of great public spirit, and always con
tributed liberally toward enterprises calculated
to promote the prosperity of the city of Van
Wert. He was also a friend of the poor, and
many a poor man thanks him for assistance in
making his start in life and in business. In
1 88 1 he subscribed very liberally to the stock
of the Narrow Gauge railroad, now the C,
J. & M., and so far neither he nor his family
has realized anything from the subscription.
Politically he was a democrat and was true
to his convictions of right. In religious views
he was a Lutheran, and with other German
friends he was instrumental in founding Saint
Peter's Evangelical Lutheran church in Van
Wert. He was a member of this church
throughout the rest of his life, and contributed
liberally toward its support. Soon after com
ing to Van Wert he joined the Masonic lodge,
and remained a member until his death.
Wnen he died he was buried with Masonic
ceremonials and honors, and laid to rest in
Woodland cemetery.
Anna Margaret Preis, wife of John An
drew Moebus, was born in Bavaria, Germany,
July 8, 1832. Her father, George Simon
Preis, was a native of Germany, was a carpen
ter by trade and successfully followed that call
ing. He married Eva Maria Bealer, a native
of Germany, by whom ne became the father
of seven children, viz: Anna Margaret, Min
nie, Caroline, Christine, George, William and
Fritz. Anna Margaret, the eldest of the seven,
has but one sister living in America, although

six of the seven are still living. That sister is
Minnie, married to Samuel Lotter, a business
man of Willshire, Van Wert county, where she
is now residing. Her youngest brother, Will
iam, is the editor of a paper in Germany. He
served as a soldier during the war of 1866
against Prussia, as a corporal, and in the war
of 1869-71 against France, as sergeant, achiev
ing great distinction and honors in his military
career. William had the advantage of having
a grandfather who occupied a high position in
the court of Germany, in which he remained
until his death, at the age of seventy. The
eldest son of this grandfather was a learned
and distinguished astronomer, but died young.
In her youth Anna Margaret Preis was an
unusually fine singer. At the age of nine she
joined a singing choir called the "Sangverein,"
with which he was connected for years, and of
which she was the leader when she was fifteen
years old. When she was twenty years old
she came alone to the United States in a sail
ing vessel, steamships not having come much
into use at that time. The voyage lasted six
weeks, and during that time she experienced a
terribly severe storm at sea, which was so
dreadful that no pen cpuld adequately describe
it. Arriving in New York she was employed
there as trimmer in a millinery store for some
time, and going thence to Fort Wayne, Ind.,
she there became acquainted with and married
John Andrew Moebus, the subject of this
sketch. To this marriage there were born six
children, viz: George A.. Minnie M., Emma
C, Andrew W., Charles A. and Louis F.,
three of whom are still living — Emma C, An
drew W. aqd Louis F. These children, be
ing gifted with a natural talent for music, have
spent many happy hours together, playing and
singing the choicest and best instrumental
pieces and songs, making their own lives pleas
ant and conferring a like pleasure on friends
who at any time call to hear them.

550

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Minnie M. Moebus died in Van Wert May
3, 1867, at the age of three. George A.
Moebus was born in Van W'ert December 25,
i860; married May 30, 1883, and died April
16, 1890. He was a well educated young
man, having taken a thorough business course
in a commercial college, and being an expert
penman. He was a democrat and quite prom
inent in political affairs, but in the latter years
of his life he devoted more of his attention to
business. He was highly esteemed by every
one, and was unusually popular. At his death
he left three children — Charles, George and
Thomas. Andrew W. Moebus was born April
15, 1867, and is an industrious and honest
young man. At present he is clerking in Web
ster & Young's grocery store, is prominent in
social circles as well as in musical societies,
and is a member of the Maccabees. Louis F.
Moebus was born June 11, 1874, has been a
successful agent for several years and is a young
man of excellent character. Both Andrew W
and Louis F. Moebus have natural musical tal
ent, which they have developed without the
aid of instruction, and they are among the
leading musicians of Van Wert. Both are
members of Heistand's band. Louis an
" euphonium " soloist and both have been the
leaders in orchestra music in Van Wert for
several years past. Charles A. Moebus was
born August 2, 1869, and was nineteen years
old at the time of his death. He was very
quiet in disposition, was much beloved by all,
and his future appeared bright and promising.
He was a natural mechanic and acquired the
art of wood carving without the aid of a teacher.
To do this work well and with correct taste
was his main ambition in life, and it is alto
gether probable that if he had lived he would
have acquired distinction in his line. He was
also an accomplished musician, having ac
quired this art, too, without instruction. Be
ing very small and of a delicate constitution,

the boys nick-named him "Babe," and by
this name he was generally known. One of
his physical peculiarities was that of having
six fingers on each hand, of which he was very
proud. He died November 7, 1890, greatly
mourned by all for his genial and generous dis
position. Emma C. Moebus was born Novem
ber 13, 1864, and is an excellent and highly
accomplished young lady.

aOL. J. M. C. MARBLE, of Van Wert
city, was intimately connected with
the history and development of this
section of Ohio, during a residence of"
about forty years. His father, Ebenezer, and
his grandfather, Eleazar Marble, were de
scendants of Eleazar Marrable, who became a
resident of Boston early in the seventeenth
century. His mother, Hannah, was the
daughter of John Carey and the grand-daugh
ter John Carey, Sr. , whose father, Eleazar
Carey, emigrated with the Connecticut settlers
from Orange county, New York, to Luzerne
county, Pennsylvania in 1770. John Carey,
Sr. , was a soldier of the Revolution, and
owner of a considerable landed estate, known
as Careytown, now included in the city of
Wilkesbarre, in the Wyoming valley. The
families of his grandfather, Carey, and grand
mother, Marble, were Methodists.
John Miner Carey Marble was born July
27, 1833, in the village of Windom, then in
Luzerne county. His father dying the follow-
lowing year, his mother, thereafter, made her
home with her grandfather, John Carey, Sr.,
until his death in 1844, at the age of eighty-
nine years. In November, 1846, Mrs. Marble
with her son emigrated to Ohio, whither her
widowed mother, long since married to Jacob-
Rimer, had preceded her. At the age of thir
teen John was employed in the store of.

J^>%^(0^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

553

Thomas Coulter, of Kalida, Putnam county,
Ohio. In 1848 he entered the service of Bope
& Lye, general merchants of Delphos, Ohio,
then known as Section 10. The firm dissolved
later, and in the division of the force John
was to go with Mr. Bope, but at the desire of
his mother he returned to Pennsylvania to col
lect the remnant of her little fortune. On re
turning, Mr. Coulter, his former employer,
offered him a partnership, which he accepted,
but Kalida did not offer much of a field for
enterprise. Mr. Lye also sought his service,
offering him a partnership when he should
come of age. Accepting this offer, he re
turned to the store in Section 10, and at
twenty-one years of age was made a member
of the firm of Lye & Marble. At first, as was
natural, he was the boy of the establishment,
but when the firm found itself in deep water
he came to the front and assumed the respon
sibility for the merchandise part of the busi
ness, which was thereafter conducted under
the firm name of Lye, Marble & Co. Having
the entire confidence of his partners and of
prominent eastern houses, the business grew in
credit and profit.
Upon the passage of the national bank act,
Mr. Marble disposed of his mercantile interests
and organized the First National bank of Del
phos — the first bank organized under said act
in this part of northwestern Ohio. He be
came its cashier, succeeding later to the presi
dency. He was for years prominently identi
fied with the business interests of- Delphos,
having been actively instrumental, with others,
in securing to the town the Dolphos Union
Stave company and the Ohio Wheel company.
In 1874 he removed to Van Wert, Ohio, taking
the presidency of the First National bank. He
paid $3,000 for the lots upon which the First
Methodist Episcopal church now stands, and
had them deeded to the church. In 1878 he re
vived the project of building a railroad through
24

the western tier of counties in Ohio, on the
line of the old Cincinnati & Mackinaw, and to
his energy and persistence is due the existence
of the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw rail
road of to-day. In 1878, also, Col. Marble
disposed of his interests in the First National
bank, and after an interval of a few months,
established the private banking house of Em
erson, Marble & Co., which in 1883 was
changed to the Van Wert National bank, Col.
Marble becoming its president. Owing to fail
ing health of a member of his family this
banking interest was sold, and henceforth his
residence was divided between Ohio and Cali
fornia. Under his management, between 1885
and 1888, the mileage of the C, J. & M. rail
road, was increased from ninety-eight to .346
miles, and the road had the unique reputation
of being the one new road to have paid inter
est on its bonds without default.
At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion,
the organization of the Ohio national guard
was effected. Col. Marble was assigned to. the
command of the Allen county regiment, and
retained this command to the close of the war.
This regiment, having been consolidated with
the Hocking county regiment, and numbered
as the One Hundred and Fifty-first regiment,
Ohio national guard, was mustered into the
Federal service, ordered to the department of
Washington, and stationed at Washington,
during the summer of 1864. Col. Marble was
first assigned to the command of Forts Sumter,
Simmons, Stevens and Mansfield. Later he
was given command of the second brigade,
Haskins division, Twenty -second army corps;
and Forts Reno and Kearney, and batteries
Smead, Cameron, Parrott and Vermont. It
was the fortune of this brigade, while under his
command, to assist in repelling the attack of
Gen. Early upon the defenses of the national
capital and retard his advance until the arrival
of the Sixth army corps.

554

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Col. Marble was married, in 1861, to Miss
Mary L. Coleman, the second daughter of Dr.
Guilford D. Coleman, and of Myrilla Skinner,
his wife. She died in 1865, leaving one son —
Guilford L. Marble. In May, 1870, he was
married to Elizabeth Emerson, eldest daughter
of Dr. Charles Emerson, and Margaret Bay-
man, his wife. Two sons and one daughter
were born to them — John Emerson, Elizabeth
Dana and William Carey. Since October,
1888, Col. Marble has maintained his residence
in Los Angeles, Cal., and has been president
of the National bank of California, at Los
Angeles, since October, 1

^^UILFORD LIONEL MARBLE, son
§C\ of Col. John M. C. and Mary L.
\^^ Marble, is recognized as one of the
representative members of the bar of
Van Wert county and as one of the most pro
gressive and enterprising citizens of Van Wert,
where he remains to represent the name of his
honored father. Mr. Marble was born in Del
phos, Allen county, Ohio, September 27,1862,
receiving his preliminary education in the
public schools. Thereafter he was able to
secure most excellent scholastic advantages,
being a student in turn at the college of New
Jersey, Princeton, N. J. ; the Ohio Wesleyan
university, at Delaware, Ohio, and the univer
sity of Wooster, Ohio. Having determined
to devote his attention to the legal profession,
he began his technical preparations in 1880,
when he entered the office of J. K. O'Neal, at
Lebanon, Ohio. Shortly after he entered
the office of Irvine, Brice (Senator Brice)
& Hackedorn, at Lima, Ohio, under
whose effective preceptorship he contin
ued his studies until his admission to the
bar, when, the firm was reorganized and he
became a member of the same, under the asso

ciate title of Hackedorn, Wheeler & Marble,
and while a member of this distinguished
legal firm established an enviable reputation.
Our subject's first important work in the
line of his profession was a settlement of the
affairs of the Lima Car works, the adjustment
of the affairs of said corporation having been
placed in his hands when it failed, in 1884.
In 1885 Mr. Marble returned to Van Wert and
became identified with the Cincinnati, Jack
son & Mackinaw railroad, as general counsel
of the company from 1886 until 1888. In 1885,
also, he was made vice-president of the Edi
son Mutual Telegraph company, continuing in
that connection until the company was ab
sorbed by the Western Union Telegraph com
pany. In 1890 Mr. Marble reorganized and
re-established the Electric Light works at Van
Wert, and has also considerable oil interests
in Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio. He
has ever maintained a lively interest in all
that pertains to legitimate municipal improve
ments and to the conservation of public inter
ests, being known as an alert and progressive
young business man, whose counsel is to be
relied upon as wise and duly conservative. In
his political affiliations Mr. Marble is suffi
ciently well thought of by his party, to have
been made a delegate from his congressional
district to the republican national convention,
at Minneapolis, 1892.
Mr. Marble is a man of high professional at
tainments and strong intellectuality, while his
personality is of that sort that has gained for
him a distinctive popularity. He has been
twice married; first, in December, 1887, to
Miss Lenora Sherwood, by whom he had one
daughter, Katherine, born April 8, 1891. In
September, 1894, he was married to Cora M.
DePuy, a highly accomplished young lady of
Van Wert, and this union has been blessed by
the birth of one son, named John McKinley,
born December 13, 1895.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

555

SI

9 ILLIAM M. MILTENBERGER, of
the firm of Miltenberger & Son,
wholesale and retail dealers in wines
and liquors, Main street, Van Wert,
Ohio, was born on the Atlantic ocean, October
29, 1857, while his parents, Peter J. and Eliz
abeth Miltenberger, were on the voyage from
Germany to America. Peter J. Miltenberger
was born in Prussia, November 23, 1825, and
the birth of his wife took place, in the same
country, November 18, 1831. They became
the parents of nine children, born in the fol
lowing order: William M., our subject; Jacob,
of Harrison township; Katie, wife of George
Oglesbee, of Kansas City, Mo. ; Lizzie, mar
ried to George Williamson, of Van Wert
county, Ohio; Peter, of the same county;
Adam, of Van Wert city; Martin and two
younger children, deceased — all natives of Van
Wert county, save our subject. Peter J. Mil-
tenbeger and his wife, on their arrival in this
country, settled at once (in 1857) in Harrison
township, Van Wert county, Ohio, where the
father followed farming until 1874, when he
moved to the city of Van Wert with his family
and engaged in merchandising, in which he
continued alone until 1892, when his son,
William M. , became his partner. The father
is now retired from active business, and is liv
ing on his handsome income. With his wife
he is a member of the German church, and in
politics he is a stanch democrat.
William M. Miltenberger was reared in
Van Wert county and educated in its common
schools. He made his home with his father
until his marriage, May 14, 1880, with Miss
Nettie Moyer, who was born in Darke county,
Ohio, in 1854. Upon marrying he settled in
the city and was employed in a saw-mill until
1882, when he engaged in merchandising,
which he followed, on his own account, until
1892, when, as stated above, he became a
partner with his father, and is now the general

manager for the firm. He is the owner of a
fine farm of 160 acres, beside valuable city
property, and has a large circle of acquaint
ances, among whom he is very popular. In
politics he is a democrat.

SI'

ILLIAM TAYLOR MITCHENER,
county recorder, with his residence
in Van Wert city, was born in New
Lexington, Highland county, Ohio,
February 20, 1850, a son of John and Eliza J.
(Johnson) Mitchener, the former of whom was
born in Chester county, Pa., in 1816, was a
son of Benjamin and Ann (Brown) Mitchener.
Benjamin, here mentioned, the grandfather of
William Taylor Mitchener, was also born in
Chester county, Pa., but back of him the
antecedents of the Mitchener family cannot be
traced, although it is known that Benjamin
was of Scotch-Irish lineage, was reared a
farmer in the county of his birth, was there
married, and there he and wife died. In their
religious connection the parents were Quakers,
and the male members of the family were
whigs in politics until the formation of the
republican party, when they united with the
latter. John Mitchener, sen of Benjamin and
father of William T. Mitchener, was reared on
the home farm in Chester county, Pa., until
he was nineteen years of age, when he came to
Ohio and located in Highland county, where
he married, and where he worked at cabinet-
making and engaged in undertaking until 1863,
when he enlisted in company M, Eighth Ohio
cavalry, and served until the close of the war,
when he was honorably discharged. He had
the misfortune of being captured by the enemy
during his term of service and of being confined
in the rebel prisons of Libby and Belle Isle,
but not for any great length of time. On his
return to Ohio he settled at Staunton, Fayette
county, where he has since lived in retirement.

556

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mrs. Eliza J. (Johnson) Mitchener is a native
of Highland county, Ohio, and a daughter of
William and Jane B. (Dowden) Johnson,
natives of Virginia, and to this union have been
born the following children : Henry C. , who
was in the same regiment with his father, and
died in Salisbury prison; William T. , our sub
ject; John H., of Staunton, Ohio; Sarah A.,
wife of Tasso Post, of Fayette county, Ohio;
PhillipS., of Michigan; U. S. Grant, of Val
paraiso, Ind., and Fannie, wife of Frank
Weaver, decorator and contractor of Colum
bus, Ohio. The parents of this family are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and in politics John Mitchener is a republican;
fraternally he is a Mason, and all the family
are held in very high repute.
William Taylor Mitchener was reared to
manhood in Fayette county, Ohio, was edu
cated in the common schools, and remained
with his parents until he reached twenty-eight
years of age, when he was married in Staun
ton, Ohio, December 5, 1878, to Mrs. Harriet
Sprinkle, a native of Fayette county, Ohio,
and a daughter of John and Isabelle (Mark)
Severs. After marriage, Mr. Mitchener lo
cated on a farm near Staunton, Ohio, on
which he resided until 1885, when he moved
to Van Wert county; in 1886 he became con
nected with the grange warehouse of Van
Wert city, held the position of weighmaster
until promoted to the.superintendency, which
position he held until 1892, a period of two
and a half years. In the meantime, however,
in 1885, he moved from Fayette county to
Van Wert county, as abo\^ .nuoned, and
purchased eighty acres of land in Hoaglin
township, which he cultivated until 1887. In
1893, he was selected by the republican party
as their standard bearer, in June of the same
year, in the struggle for the office of county
recorder, and won a glorious victory at the
polls the following fall — being elected by a

majority of 238 votes, and taking possession
of the office January 1, 1894. Mr. Mitchener
also served as township clerk for five years
while a resident of Fayette county, and has
rendered other valuable services to his party.
He is the owner of a fine residence on the
corner of First and North Market streets, Van
Wert, and is the father of three children, viz:
Fred, Frank and Bertha. Fraternally he is a
member of the National Union and of the
Knights of Pythias, and his social position is
on an equally high plane with his fraternal
and political standing.

>*j,ONAS MOLLENKOPF, a substantial
a and respected farmer of Tully township,
A J Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in
Crawford county, in the same state,
September 28, 1834, a son of Jacob and Sarah
(Mentzer) Mollenkopf. Jacob, the father, was
born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1799, and
was a son of a carpenter. He came to Amer
ica in 1 817, when about eighteen years of age,
landed in Philadelphia, and for five years
worked on a farm near that city. He then
went to New Orleans, where he worked at
blacksmithing a few months, and then came to
Ohio and located in Columbiana county, was
married in that county about 1826 or 1827,
became a farmer, and in 1829 moved to Craw
ford county, entered eighty acres of land in the
woods, cleared it up and added eighty acres
more; this land he sold and purchased 160
acres of improved land, on which he passed
the remainder of bis days, dying in 1874. He
was the father of eleven children, viz: One
that died in infancy, the others being named
Susan, George, Jonas, John, Mary, Franklin,
Alexander, Jacob, Isaac and Abraham. All
the Mollenkopfs of Van Wert county are de
scended from Jacob, or from George, his brother,
who came to America some time after the

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

557

former, bringing his wife, Maria. The nine
children born to George and Maria, were named
Mary, Frederica, Margaret, .Charles, George,
Jacob, Joseph and Sarah.
Jonas Mollenkopf, our subject, was reared
a farmer, was educated in the common schools
of Crawford county, and at the age of twenty-
eight years, October, 30, 1862, married Fred-.
erica Meyers, daughter of Jacob and Sarah
(Crum) Meyers. He followed farming in Craw
ford county until 1876, then came to Van
Wert county and bought 160 acres in' Tully
township, on which he lived until June, 1894,
when he moved to his present place near Con
voy, on which he has a substantial and beauti
ful modern residence. To Mr. and Mrs. Mol
lenkopf were born ten children, named as fol
lows: Albert G. , Edward J., Clinton W. , John,
and James (twins), Sarah, Ella, Miller, Wil
son J. and one that died in infancy. Mrs.
Mollenkopf passed from earth January 1,1893,
a sincere professor of the Presbyterian faith.
Of the above named children, Albert married
Rosa A. Webster, is the father of two children
and is a carpenter of Convoy; Edward, a clerk
in an uncle's hardware store, married Edith
Webster, a sister of Rosa A. , and has one
child; William C, manager of the home farm,
married Nettie Stephenson, and is the father
of one child. The Mollenkopfs constitute one
of the most substantial and respected families
of Van Wert county, and Mr. Mollenkopf is
strictly a self-made man, as far as success in
business is concerned.

'fcrj'AMES MONTGOMERY, representative
A farmer' and st^ck-raiser of Pleasant
A J township and an ex official of Van
Wert county, Ohio, is descended
paternally from Irish ancestry, his grandfather,
James Montgomery, having been born in the
Emerald isle about the year 1765. Thinking

that the new world afforded better opportuni
ties for a young man than his native country,
James Montgomery came to the United States
in an early day and settled in Washington
county, Pa., where for some time he operated
a flouring-mill, being by trade a millwright.
Subsequently, in 1 808, he moved to Columbiana
county, Ohio, and founded a home in the al
most unbroken wilderness, and for several
years thereafter acted well his part as a pio
neer, surrounded by wild beasts and scarcely
less wild men. He was a Presbyterian of the
most orthodox type, lived the remainder of his
life in the state and county of his adoption,
and died at the advanced age of eighty-five
years. John Montgomery, son of the above and
father of the subject of this biography, was
born in Washington county in 1798, and was
a lad of nine years when brought by his par
ents to the frontier home in Ohio. When a
young man he engaged in the river trade,
making a number of trips with produce boats
on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. He aban
doned this business about the year 1825 and
purchased a farm, upon which he lived until
his death, in 188 1. In 1825 he married Sarah
Poe, daughter of Andrew and Mary (Hoy)
Poe, and became the the father of the follow
ing children: Andrew (deceased), James, Nancy,
Joseph (deceased) Eleanor (wife of John Mc
Coy), Elizabeth (wife of William McCoy),
Sarah J. (wife of George F Huston), John M.,
and Rachel (wife of George Gaston). Mrs.
Sarah Montgomery was born in Columbiana
county in the year 1800; her father was a na
tive of Pennsylvania and a pioneer of Colum
biana and Stark" counties, Ohio, in the latter
of which his death occurred about the year
1850. Mrs. Montgomery was a woman of
deep piety and belonged to the Presbyterian
church, in which her husband was for many
years, a ruling elder.

558

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

James Montgomery, the leading events of
whose life here follow, was born December 20,
1829, in Columbiana county, in .the common
schools of which he received a limited knowl
edge of the English branches, and later pur
sued his studies in a select school at the town
of Calcutta. He received his first lessons in
practical life on the farm, and remained with
his father until 1854, when he came to Van
Wert county and purchased his present place
in Pleasant township, the land at that time
being covered with a dense wildwood. In due
time the forest giants fell beneath the sturdy
strokes of his ax, and within a few years his
labors were rewarded with a good farm, which
has since become one of the most beautiful and
valuable country homes in the county. This
place had been entered by his father as early
as the year 1838. In 1854 Mr. Montgomery
was married to Ann Eliza Gilliland, daughter
of Gordon and Margaret (Lawson) Gilliland, a
union blessed with eight children: Josephine,
deceased; John V., deceased; Mary, wife of
Columbus Huston; Edgar; Sarah, wife of
William Duprey; Andrew B., Oscar, and
Joseph, who was killed by a stroke of light
ning June 24, 1895.
' Mr. Montgomery sustains the reputation of
being one of Van Wert county's most honor
able and respectable citizens, and at different
times has been called to fill positions of re
spectability, and never proved unworthy of the
trust reposed in him. In i860 he was elected
a member of the board of county commission
ers, the duties of which he discharged faithfully
and conscientiously for a period' of four years,
and in 1877 he was further honored by being
elected treasurer of Van Wert county, which
office he filled two terms to the entire satisfac
tion of the public. Later he acted in the
capacity of deputy treasurer one year, and it
is universally conceded that the county never
had a more capable, painstaking and popular

public servant. Mr. Montgomery subscribes
to the creed of the Presbyterian church; his
daily life has ever been in harmony with the
faith he professes, and he contributes liberally
of his means for the promotion of all moral
and religious movements, having for their ob
ject the upbuilding of the community to a
higher plane of living. In his business affairs,
Mr. Montgomery has exercised excellent judg
ment, and while broad-minded and liberal, has
succeeded in accumulating a comfortable for
tune, owning a valuable farm of 326 acres
within a short distance of Van Wert — a most
beautiful and comfortable home, where genu
ine old-time hospitality is dispensed with a
liberal hand; enterprising, progressive and
popular with all, Mr. Montgomery may well
feel proud of the place he occupies in the
esteem of his fellow-citizens of Van Wert
county.

>j*AMES E. MONTGOMERY, thegentle-
A manly postmaster of the city of Van
A I Wert, was born in Van Wert county,
Ohio, July 27, i860, a son of James
and Ann Eliza (Gilliland) Montgomery, of whom
further mention is made within the covers of
this volume. James E. Montgomery wasreared to-
the ennobling vocation of agriculture in Pleasant
township on his father's farm, and was educa
ted in the common schools of his district, ac
quiring sufficient knowledge for the practical
transaction of all business demands. At the
age of eighteen he became an assistant to his.
father, who was then the county treasurer, and
remained in the office until 1881, and was then,
united with his father in farming until 1891,,
when he came to the city of Van Wert and en
tered upon the duties of weighmaster in the
grange warehouse, which position he filled un
til commissioned postmaster, January 27,1894
— his able deputy being C. H. Brown, and his-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

559

general assistants Miss E. M. Scott and Miss
Susie Haines — and the duties of this office
were never before more satisfactorily pre
formed. Mr. Montgomery was united in matrimony
March 26, 1886, in the city of Van. Wert, with
Miss Clara Harnly, who was born in Van
Wert county, April 21, 1862, a daughter of
Levi and Millie (Morse) Harnly, and to this
union were born three children, named Edna,
James G., and Edgar M. — but Mr. Mont
gomery had the sad misfortune of losing his
life partner April 14, 1892. She was a devoted
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
was fondly attached to her home and family
and greatly respected by her numerous friends,
who sorrowfully deposited her earthly remains
in the Woodlawn cemetery. Mr. Montgomery
also has a host of friends who delight to do him
honor. He is courteous and affable, of fine
personal appearance, and quite prominent in
city affairs in general.

^"V'AMUEL S. BURTSFIELD, an at-
*^^nT torney of Van Wert, Ohio, was born
K. y in Richland county, Ohio, October
25, 1861, and is a son of John and
Matilda (Shoup) Burtsfield, now residents of
Union township, Van Wert county, in which
township they settled when our subject was
eleven years of age, and where the latter was
reared to manhood on the home farm and at
tended the country schools. In 1883 Samuel
S. entered Wittenberg college of Springfield,
Ohio, graduated in June, 1888, and at once
entered upon the study of law under Saltzgaber
& Glenn, with the former of whom he re
mained until he was admitted to the bar in
1890, since which time he has devoted his
attention to the practice of law. Mr. Burts
field, June 17, 1 89 1, married Miss Eudora
Thomas, a native of Maryland, born in 1869,

and daughter of O. J. and Anna (Gray)
Thomas, and this union has been rendered the
more happy by the birth of a daughter — Mary
Marguerite. Mr. and Mrs. Burtsfield are mem
bers of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Burts
field, as a lawyer, is recognized as competent
and trustworthy.

sr

S. G. MOORE, a retired farmer of
Van Wert county, was born May 1,
1825. He is a son of Joseph W.
Moore, who was born in Westmore
land county, Pa., in 1786. Having a natural
aptitude for the carpenter's trade, he began to
work at that vocation at a very early age, and
followed it successfully until 1830. He then
bought a farm in Franklin county, Ohio, and
became a farmer for the remainder of his life,
also meeting with success in this calling.' His
death occurred November 16, 1862.
Joseph W. Moore was married three times
— first, to Elizabeth McCutchen, of Pennsyl
vania, at Greensburg. To this marriage there
were born two children, viz: James and
William, both of whom are now deceased —
William dying in infancy and James in 1878.
The mother of these two children died in
Pennsylvania in 18 10. Mr. Moore was mar
ried, the second time, to Miss Elizabeth Jones,
of Jefferson county, Pa., and by her he had
one child, David, still living near Brookville,
Jefferson county, Pa. Mr. Moore's second
wife died in 18 12, and he was married, the
third time, to Miss Rhodie Grant, of Gettys
burg, Pa. To this marriage there were born
ten children, as follows: Jane, Joseph, Sarah,
John, Elizabeth, William, Mary, Isaa.c, Cath
erine and Jane. Just one-half of these children
are living, viz: John, William, Isaac, Cath
erine and Jane. The father of these children
was a democrat in politics and served as justice
of the peace in Franklin county, Ohio. He

560

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

served in the war of 18 12 as a brave, patriotic
soldier. He was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and was in every way an
upright, honorable man.
W. S. G. Moore born in Franklin county,
Ohio, and resided with his parents until the
war of the Rebellion broke out. On May 1,
1864, he enlisted in company B, One Hundred
and Thirty-third Ohio voluntary infantry, and
and served under Gen. Franz Sigel. When he
left home for the war he had no money to
leave his wife for her support and that of the
children, but supplied her as well as he could
out of his soldier's pay. He was at the time
thirty-nine years old, and he had a family of
seven children. He was wounded at Buffalo
Gap, Va. , but would not stop fighting, contin
uing in the fight till the battle was over. He
was also wounded in the battle of Petersburg,
Va. , and was digcharged August 1 8, 1 864. He is
now receiving a pension of $30 per month, and
when his claim was granted he received $1,350
back pension. He is also suffering from a
slight stroke of paralysis.
On August 9, 1843, he was married to Miss
Amanda M. Butler, of Van Wert, Ohio, by
whom he became the father of thirteen chil
dren, viz: Rosa, William F. , Mary E., J. J.,
C. J., David, Charles, Amanda, Marion E.,
Alice E., Louis V., Isaac and A. W. Seven of
these children are still living. Mr. Moore was
in the early days a whig, but upon the organi
zation of the republican party he became a re
publican, and has adhered thereto ever since.
In religion he is a Methodist, and lives con
sistently with his profession.
Amanda M. Butler, wife of Mr. Moore, was
born in 1830. Her father, James, was born in
Culpeper county, Va., and followed farming
for a livelihood all his life. He was married
to Elizabeth Baumgardner, and to their mar
riage there were born ten children, viz:
James, Nancy, Adrian, Amanda M., William

H. ; Elizabeth, Eliza, John, Washington and
Mary. Amanda M. Butler, who married Mr.
Moore, and who died in Van Wert, January 9,
1893, was born in Franklin county, Ohio, and
was a member of the Friends' society. She was
a modest, and good woman, wife and mother,
respected by all who knew her, and her mem
ory is revered by all. Mr. Moore, now living
retired from active business life, has always
been an honorable, upright man, and is held
in high esteem by the community in which he
lives. He has won for himself a name which
he will bequeath to his posterity, and which
they will doubtless transmit, which is an honor
to himself, to his family and to mankind in
general.

a

HARLES J. MOORE was born near
Columbus, Ohio, February 2, 1858.
He is a son of W. S. G. Moore,
whose biographical sketch also ap
pears in full in this volume, to which the at
tention of the reader is invited.
Charles J. Moore was educated in the pub
lic schools, which, by the time he attended
them, had become superior in buildings, appa
ratus and teachers to those of a generation be
fore. Early in life he began to work at vari
ous branches of trade and industry, remaining
with his father until he arrived at his major
ity, at which time he began on his own ac
count, working at what wa,s his principal
trade, that of brick-molder, though he was
unusually handy with tools of all kinds, and,
being of a very ingenious turn of mind, he
could have succeeded and has succeeded in
other lines.
On June 7, 1884, he was married to Miss
Ida Bucher, of Van Wert, and of German de
scent. After his marriage he still continued to
work at his trade for a considerable time, un
til he was appointed car inspector on the Cin-

^&te*s ~ *&£+

* SrS: ^

-.

jeJiu+J & "MpjZz?

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

565

cinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw railroad, at
which he was engaged two years. At the end
of this time he began draying in the city of
Van Wert, and he has continued at this line
of work ever since. In politics Mr. Moore is
a republican, and in religious faith he is a Lu
theran. He is a member of five different fra
ternal lodges, viz: The I. O. R. M., K. of P.,
National Union, Rathbone and Pocahontas.
Ida Bucher, wife of Mr. Moore, was born
July 25, 1865. Her father, Peter Bucher,
was born in Dauphin county, Pa., July 3,
1801, and was of German ancestry. He was
reared on a farm and followed agricultural
pursuits until his death, which occurred July
24, 1880. He married Miss Lighter, of Rich
land county, Ohio, by whom he had eight
children, viz: Amos, Eliza, John, Harriet,
Henry, Joseph, Mary and one that died in in
fancy. Mary and Harriet married and have
since died. All those who are living are also
married. The mother of these children died
in 1843, and in 1852 Mr. Bucher married
Miss Sophia Fiddler, of Adams county, Pa. ,
by whom he had nine children, viz: Samuel
L. , Margaret, Albert F., Lydia C, Adeline
A., Oliver J., Alice S., Ida C. and Angeline
A. Only three of these children are living,
viz: Albert F., Lydia C. and Ida C. , and all
are married. The mother of these children
died in Van Wert, Ohio, in 1886. She was
of German descent and a member of the Ger
man .Reform church. She was an excellent
woman in every way and her loss was greatly
felt by her family and a large circle of friends.
Miss Ida Bucher was born on a farm in
Van Wert county and received her education
in the country schools. When sixteen years
of age she came to the city of Van Wert, and
here met Mr. Moore, whom she married
when she was eighteen years of age. She is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
of the Rathbone Sisters, and also of Pocahon

tas lodge. She and her husband are the par
ents of one child, viz: Willie E. , born in
1884. He is an unusually bright boy, is at
tending the Van Wert public schools, and is
the pride and hope of his parents. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Moore are excellent people,' and are
respected by all that know them.

@OTTLIEB MOHR, a prominent and
successful farmer of Hoaglin town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born in Sultzfield amt Eppinger, Ba
den, Germany, September 10, 1836. His
grandfather, George Mohr, was born, passed
his life, and died in Sultzfield. He owned and
operated a small farm and married Elizabeth
Hiltzelberger, by whom he had two sons, Fred
erick and Jonathan.
Frederick Mohr, father of the subject, was
in many ways a remarkable man. He was
born in Sultzfield in 1796 and was married to
Catherine Kohn, who.was born in 1801. She
was a daughter of Frederick and Catherine
(Hagenberger) Kohn, the former of whom
owned a good farm and shoe store. They
reared nine children — three sons and six daugh
ters. Frederick Mohr was a farmer and gave
considerable attention to raising sheep. He
served as justice of the peace eleven years.
He was up to the end of that time a prosper
ous man, but when, in 1848, the revolution
broke out in Germany, which drove so many
German families to the United States, Fred
erick Mohr took sides with the people against
the government; and, his cause being lost, his
property was confiscated and he was reduced
to poverty. In consequence he emigrated
with his family to this country in the spring of
1849, his family consisting of eight members —
himself and wife, five sons and one daughter.
The sons were Charles, Frederick; Christian,

566

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Gottlieb and Jacob, and the daughter Cather
ine, she being the fourth child.
Mr. Mohr located first, in 1849, in Richland
county, Ohio, but in 1850 removed to Van
Wert county, where he entered eighty acres of
land in sections Nos. 18 and 19, Hoaglin
township. At that time there were but two
roads cut through the woods north of Van
Wert, and the settlers were few and far be
tween. Milling had to be done in Willshire,
Delphos or Mercer, two days at least being re
quired to make the trip to mill and back. Mr.
Mohr, upon arriving in Hoaglin township, lo
cated by mistake and erected a log cabin on
the wrong land, and when this fact was pointed
out to him it took him four days to get his land
properly surveyed and to get his family upon
it, there being no roads cut through, a dis
tance of only three miles, and so he had to
travel nine miles to get round to his own en
try. Davis Johnson was at that time the
county surveyor, and he lived near Willshire.
In 1854 a German preacher, named John
Fox, a member of the Evangelical association,
located in Van Wert, and preached for the
early settlers. He formed a small class,
which numbered among its members Frederick
Mohr, Jacob Spieler, Charles Mohr, Jacob
Leist and Elias Beamer and their respective
wives. In 1862 Frederick Mohr bought an
acre of land for a church site and a graveyard,
for which the members of this small class paid
$25. In 1864, the membership having be
come too large for accommodation in private
houses, a frame church building was erected
at a cost of $600. Up to this time services
had been conducted in the German language,
notwithstanding there were a few English-
speaking members; but from 1864 to 1880
services were conducted in both German and
English. By 1880 most of tho older German
families had passed away, and as the younger
generation preferred the English language,

services in German were discontinued, which
proved unsatisfactory to the German families;
(by that time there were about seventy-five
members) so that arrangements were made to
build a new church, Lewis Lake, Sr., giving
an acre of land for a site, on Hoaglin creek,
upon which site a new church building was
erected at a cost of $1,700, and since 1880,
up to date, there are 160 members and a Sun
day-school of ninety scholars. This member
ship is divided into two classes; the class-lead
ers are as follows: James Rumble, Henry
Beamer, McClellan Hoaglin, Mathew Yoh;
stewards and trustees are as follows: Charles
Mohr, Sr., Gottleib Mohr, Bender M. Yoh,
William Hoaglin; Sunday-school officers at
present are as follows: Superintendent, James
Rumble; assistant superintendent, Daniel
Rider; secretary, Edward Rider; chorister,
Henry Beamer; organist, Allie Mohr; treasurer,
Mrs. Sarah A. Mohr; librarians, Roy Rogers
and Oscar Kinney. Frederick Mohr died
June 26, 1 87 1, and his wife, Catherine, died
October 6, 1869. Their greatest delight was
to attend religious services, and to do good to
their fellow-men. Their memory is still fondly
cherished by their descendants and relatives.
Gottlieb Mohr worked for his father until
he was eighteen years of age, when he was
given his time, and began working for $10 per
month. This he continued two years, at the
end of which time he bought a team of horses,
rented a piece of land in Liberty township,
and was married in April, i860, to Miss Sarah
Snearly, of Allen county, Ind. He lived in
Liberty township until the fall of 1863, when
he purchased eighty acres of land in Hoaglin
township, adjoining his father's farm, in sec
tion No. 18. He and his wife have had eleven
children, three of whorh, sons, have died.
The eight that are living are as follows:
George Edward, who married Mary Lindsay;
Susie, wife of William Hoaglin; David, who

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

567

married Ella Reid; Cassie, wife of George
Foust; Lydia, wife of James Rumble; Allie,
Hattie, and Walter, the last three living at
home. Mr. Mohr has been an unusually successful
man, and now owns 331 acres of good land in
Hoaglin township. He is looked upon by
every one as an honorable man in all respects,
and as one of the truly self-made men of the
county. He has always been a hard-working,
industrious man, and an excellent manager,
and his farm bears evident indications of care
ful and judicious cultivation and improvement.
Mr. and Mrs Mohr have been members of the
Evangelical association ever since before mar
riage, and take an active interest in all church
work, as do their children. As a republican
Mr. Mohr has served as treasurer of Hoaglin
township two terms. He is a thorough agricul
turist, and built the second tile factory in the
township, which he operated ten years, and
has well under-drained his farm, which is the
one of the main reasons for its being in such a
high state of productiveness. Few men if any
stand higher in the estimation of their neigh
bors and friends than does Gottlieb Mohr.

m

ORGAN H. MORGAN.— The sub
ject of this biography is a leading
farmer and business man of Jen
nings township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is an ex-county official and one of the
representative men. Mr. Morgan is a native
Wales, where his birth occurred in the year
1835. H^ parents, Hugh and Mary (Jones)
Morgan, came to the United States in June,
1849, bringing with them their children, viz :
William, who grew to manhood and married a
Miss Harris, both deceased; Morgan H. ; Mary,
deceased wife of Joseph Edwards; John, a
well-known farmer of Jennings; Jane, deceased
wife of D. T. Jones; Richard, who died at the

age of nine years; and Malissa, whose death
occurred at the age of thirteen. Hugh Mor
gan was a farmer and land owner in Jackson
county, Ohio, where he first settled and where
he resided until the death of his wife.
Morgan H. Morgan, after coming to the
United States, learned the trade of nail-making
in Pittsburg, Pa., where he worked for a period
of four years; thence went to Jackson county,
Ohio, and learned carpentering, in which he
acquired great efficiency, following the same
about eleven years. In 1863 he came to the
county of Van Wert, being induced to do so
at the solicitation of his uncle, William M.
Jones, a wealthy and influential stockholder of
the Jefferson furnace, who purchased for him
a tract of 190 acres of land in Jennings town
ship. Mr. Jones also invested in real estate
for the benefit of the subject's brothers, Will
iam and John, to whom he gave ninety-five
and 160 acres, respectively. The aforesaid
Mr. Jones had been connected with the Jeffer
son furnace for a period of twenty-five years,
and after retiring from the same spent the
remainder of his days with the subject of this
sketch. Mr. Morgan's first marriage was solemnized
with Mary P. Davis, of Jackson county, who
bore him two children : Elizabeth, wife of
E. W. Williams; and Mary Jane, wife of Morris
Jones. Mrs. Morgan dying, Mr. Morgan after
ward entered into the marriage relation with
Mrs. Ann Jones, widow of David S. Jones, who
lost his life in a mill explosion. By her first
marriage Mrs. Morgan had three children,
daughters, who found in Mr. Morgan a true
guardian, and his children found in her kind
ness and consideration for their welfare much
to compensate them for the loss of their own
mother. The second Mrs. Morgan also died,
and later Mr. Morgan again entered into the
bonds of matrimony, choosing for his wife tlie
widow of Richard Chapman.

¦'568

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mr. Morgan has been quite successful in
the accumulation of wealth, owning, at this
time, 246 acres of land in one tract, besides
other valuable real estate in town and country.
He is a public-spirited man, has done much to
ward promoting the material interests of the
township in which he resides, and was one of
the principal movers in securing the narrow
;gauge railroad through Van Wert county,
having been a member of the executive com
mittee and one of the directors of said road.
In partnership with Dr. Shaffer and D. W.
Evans, Mr. Morgan contracted to construct
twenty-six miles of the road, which section was
completed under his supervision without his
realizing any great profit from the undertaking.
Since moving to the village of Venedocia, Mr.
Morgan has been carrying on the undertaking
business, in partnership with D. W. Williams,
and for some yesrs he has been interested in
the Jefferson furnace; he is also identified with
the Ohio Wheel works at Delphos. Mr. and
Mrs. Morgan are members of the Welsh Pres
byterian church, in which he has served as
deacon for a period of thirteen years. He is
secretary of the church at Venedocia and takes
an active part in all moral and religious move
ments. He is an uncompromising enemy of
the liquor traffic and politically is a supporter
of the prohibition party.
Mr. Morgan's life has been one of great
activity and usefulness, and his domestic rela
tions, with the exception of sadness occasioned
by the visitations of death, have been of a
most happy nature. His social position and
standing with the public have been com
mensurate with the flow of his domestic hap
piness, and he has been deserving of all that
has been bestowed upon him financially or
-otherwise. He served as commissioner of
Van Wert county three years, and proved to
•the public that the confidence they reposed in
bim was by no means misplaced. He is a man

of sterling integrity, popular with all who meet
him in business or other relations, and few
people in the county occupy a warmer place in
the estimation of the public than he.

t/'VROF. P. SCHUYLER MORGAN,
1 m principal of the Western Ohio Nor-
J _ mal school and one of the leading
educators of northwestern Ohio. — -
Rev. John P. Morgan, son of Peter Morgan
and father of P. S. Morgan, was born in south
Wales in 1830, was about eight years old when
brought to America by his parents, and re
ceived a good education, He was married in
Jackson county, Ohio, to Abishag Pryse, who
was also born in the southern part of Wales,
in 1833, a daughter of John and Rachael (Cos-
lett) Pryse. This union was blessed by the
birth of eight children in the following order:
Rachael, Mary, P. Schuyler, John C. , James
P., Ammie, Elizabeth and Margaret — the first
five in Jackson county and the latter three in
Van Wert county, Ohio. John P. Morgan,
through due course of preparatory study and
in due course of time, was ordained a minister
in the Calvinistic Methodist church, preached
for many years in Jackson and Gallia counties,
and in 1865 came to Van Vert county and set
tled in Venedocia, where he was given charge
of three congregations — Horeb, Salem and
Zion, all within the county of Van Wert — and
here he continued in ministerial work until
1883, when impaired health compelled him to
retire to private life in his home at Venedocia.
Prof. P. Schuyler Morgan was born in
Jackson county, Ohio, October 5, 1865, and
was brought to Van Wert county by his par
ents. He received the usual course of prepara
tory education in the district school, was gradu
ated from the classical course of the Ohio
Western Normal university at Ada, Ohio, in
1883, and in 1893 from the classical course of-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

569'

the university of Wooster, Ohio. During the
intervals of his own study he taught in the
common schools of Van Wert county and in
the Western Ohio Normal school at Middle-
point, and after his final graduation, in 1893,
became principal of Salem academy, Ross
county, Ohio, a Presbyterian academy, which
position he resigned in 1894, being elected as
principal of the Western Ohio Normal school
at Middlepoint, the position he is now so ably
filling the second year.
Prof Morgan has infused new life into the
Western Ohio Normal, improved the methods
of instruction, increased the number of pupils
and added to the curriculum, and has other
wise given many evidences of his skill as a dis
ciplinarian and ability as an instructor. He
has met with phenomenal success in preparing
the students for the higher universities and in
training them to become teachers in other
schools. This institution was founded in 1885,
the first principal being W. F. Hufford, and
Prof Morgan being an assistant the first year,
the latter being a thoroughly educated
classical scholar.
The marriage of Prof. Morgan took place at
Middlepoint, May 16, 1889, with Miss Agnes
Foster, who was born January 1, i860, in
Middlepoint, a daughter of Simon and Sarah
Foster, and this congenial union has been
blessed by the birth of two children — Dewitt
S. and Lelia A. Mrs. Morgan is a graduate
of the Western Ohio Normal school, and has
been a teacher of the Latin language since
1888, in the Western Ohio Normal. The
school building is a new and commodious
edifice of brick, well adapted for all the pur
poses for which it was constructed, and cost
$17,000. The institution has been a blessing
to the youth of northwestern Ohio and the ad
joining counties of eastern Indiana, and Prof.
Morgan, although still a young man, has ac
complished a grand work in the successful

manipulation of the advantages it affords.
The professor and wife are both devoted mem
bers of the Lutheran church, and in politics
the professor is a republican.

SICHARD J. MORGAN, a rising young
physician of Van Wert, Ohio, was.
born in Van Wert county, August 10,
1866, and is a son of William H. and
Esther (Harris) Morgan, both natives of south
Wales who met after coming to the United
States and were married in Pittsburg, Pa.,
whence they came to Ohio and located in
Jackson county, where William H. engaged in
coal mining until i860, when the family came
to Van Wert county, where the father pur
chased 172 acres of land in Jennings township-
and employed himself in farming until his
death in April, 1881, being followed to the
grave by his wife in September of the same
year, both dying in the faith of the Welsh
Presbyterian church, and being the parents of"
seven children, viz : Henry, a farmer of Van
Wert county; William, a miller of Venedocia,
this county; John, a railroad man of Colum
bus, Ohio; Hugh, deceased: Richard J., our
subject; Lizzie, wife of William B. Evans,
farmer of this county, and David H., dentist of
Van Wert city. Four of this family are mem
bers of the celebrated Venedocia Welsh choir,
of Jennings township, this county.
Richard J. Morgan was reared on the home-
farm in Jennings township and was educated
at the Normal schools of Ada, Ohio, and An
gola, Ind. ; he entered the Jefferson Medical
college of Philadelphia in 1887, graduated in
1 890, and at once entered upon the practice of
his profession at Van Wert, in partnership
with Dr. McGavren, with whom he is still
identified; in 1892 he took a polyclinic course
in New York city, and now makes a speciality
of the treatment of disorders of the eye and

570

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ear, in which he has gained a fine reputation
and built up a lucrative practice. The doctor
was married in Van Wert, September 26, 1893,
to Dode M. Lynch, who was born in this city
September 8, 1866, a daughter of A. and Mar
garet (Hammers) Lynch. The doctor is a
Presbyterian in religion, is fraternally a Mason
and a Knight of Pythias, and in politics a
true repulican.

kS^\ EV. JAMES F. MOUNTS, of Van
I ^Z Wert, and a minister of the Central
I P Ohio conference of the Methodist
Episcopal church, was born in Marion
county, Ohio, near Prospect, December 17,
1824. He is a son Humphrey and Sarah
(Flemming) Mounts, of whom the former was
born in Pennsylvania in 1794, was reared a
farmer, and in his early manhood came to Ohio
as a pioneer of Delaware county, where he
was married. At the end of five years he
moved to Marion, county, where he cleared up
a farm of 1 60 acres, and lived on said farm until
his death. To his prolific union with Sarah
Flemming, a daughter of James Flemming, the
following children were born in the following
order: Nancy J., wife of Lyman Sherman;
Jane, wife of Jerry Moore; Samuel; Mary A.,
wife of Thomas Davids; James F. , subject of
this sketch; Elizabeth, wife of William Davis;
Rachael, wife of William Conkright; Sarah,
deceased wife of John Sells; Matthew, de
ceased, and three children that died in infancy.
Humphrey Mounts was a soldier in the war of
1 812, was a useful citizen, and died in Marion
county, in 1862, at the age of sixty-eight years.
His wife, a native of Pennsylvania, was brought
to Ohio when a child, and lived to the ripe
age of eighty-two years, she being a member
of the Presbyterian church for sixty-five years.
James F. Mounts received his preparatory
education in Marion county, Ohio, and then

attended the Wesleyan university of Delaware,
Ohio, for two years. Being then licensed to
preach, he was appointed to Richwood circuit,
in the fall of 1858, and after the expiration of
his ministrations there received the following
appointments : Celina, Van Wert, Delphos,
Saint Mary's, Van Wert again, Marysville
station, Bryan, Elida, again at Van Wert and
Saint Mary's, Rockford, Convoy, once more
Van Wert, Ohio City, and Dixon, in the order
named. He was in the traveling connection
thirty-eight years. As an example of what ener
gy and determination, combined with a sincere
interest in the work in hand and the object to
be attained, will do for a young man, it may
be recorded that Mr. Mounts was but eighteen
years of age when his father presented him with
a horse, which he at once sold for $45, apply
ing the cash for the purpose of defraying his
entrance-fees to college, and, to eke out his ex
penses while a student, he worked as a day
laborer, shoveling dirt on the college grounds
or as a harvest hand for the neighboring farm
ers. For eleven years, also, he was a very
successful school-teacher, and concluded his
labor in that vocation at Prospect, Ohio. He
entered the ministry at the age of thirty- three
years, and has never missed a conference and
but few appointments on the day he was due,
and from the age of eighteen years he has been
a member of the church in which he has been
so eminent as an eloquent and able expounder
of its doctrines.
Rev. James F. Mounts was united in the
holy bonds of matrimony in September, 1847,
with Miss Ellen Landon, daughter of Darius
and Mary Landon, the result of their union
being five children — Mary, wife of David My
ers, of Allen county, Ohio; Sarah Florence
and Sarah F., who died in infancy; James E.,
a farmer of Hoaglin township, Van Wert coun
ty, Ohio, and Emma L., deceased wife of
Bruse Oyler. Of these children James E. was

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

571

born in Marion county, Ohio, in 1844, learned
the trade of harness-maker, and at the age of
twenty-one years married Mrs. Julia Jeannette,
daughter of Alexander and Sarah (Beachler)
Kunkle. Alex. Kunkle was born in Pennsyl
vania of German parentage. Sarah Beachler,
his wife, was also a native of Pennsylvania, and
came to Ohio with her parents, who settled in
Williams county when there was but one
house within its limits. There the father
erected a log house, cleared up a farm and
followed his trade of carpenter .until his death,
having been a deacon in the Baptist church, of
which his widow is also a member.
Rev. James F. Mounts has been a willing
and faithful servant of the Master, and during
his ministry has added to his church about
2,000 communicants, has united in marriage
about 675 couples, and has preached about the
last-named number of funeral sermons. The
rising generation may indeed look upon him
with pride and pleasure and call him "blessed."

>T^AMES WALTER MORRIS, a promi-
A nent young confectioner and dealer in
Al fine cigars, tobacco, etc., of Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Champaign county,
this state, April 5, 1865, and is a son of Will
iam and Mary Jane (Tway) Morris, now resi
dents of Mechanicsburg, in the county just
named. Our subject was brought up to his
business at home, where he had every oppor
tunity of learning the trade of baker and con
fectioner and all the mysteries connected with
the making of the finest candies, and there fol
lowed this art until he was twenty-five years
of age — or until 1890 — in March of which year
he came to Van Wert and established his-pres-
ent business, which comprises the manufacture
and sale of confectionery of every description,
including ice-cream, to which he has added the
sale of the finer brands of cigars and tobacco.

His pleasant address and obliging disposition
have won a host of friends, and he has built
up a remunerative and permanent trade. He
was married in Champaign county, Ohio, June
12, 1890, to Miss Maud Barr, who was born
in Mechanicsburg, Champaign county, Ohio,
September 23, 1868, a daughter of C.C Barr,
a carriage manufacturer of that town, and to
this union has been born one child — Marjorie
B. Mr. and Mrs. Morris are members of the
Presbyterian church and in politics Mr. Morris
is a republican; fraternally he is an Odd Fel
low. In his trade he makes a specialty of his
delicious cream candies, and he also carries a
large line of fine extracts.

SI

9 ILLIAM H. MOWREY, a substan
tial young farmer of Washington
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
springs from Scotch-Irish and Ger
man stock. His grandfather, Henry Mow
rey, was born in Pennsylvania and when a
young man came to Ohio and located in Bel
mont county, married there, thence moved to
Athens county, and thence to Hocking county,
where he became the owner of 400 acres of
land. He was a bugler in the Mexican war,
and a picture of him, in his uniform, is still in
the possession of the family. He died in
Hocking county at the age of about sixty-six
years — one of its most honored pioneers.
Andrew J. Mowrey, son of Henry, above
mentioned and father of our subject, was born
in Belmont county, Ohio, in August, 1831,
and was reared a farmer. He married Jane
Lehman, who was born in Perry county, a
daughter of Warren Lehman, a Pennsylvanian
German, and this prolific union resulted in the
birth of thirteen children, of whom eleven
reached maturity, as follows: Henry P.,
William H., Samuel, Joshua, Thomas J.,
Benjamin, George, Mary, Clara, Emma and

572

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Della. After marriage Mr. Mowrey located
on a farm in Greene township, Hocking coun
ty, but in 1851-52 opened up another farm of
eighty-four acres in the same township, on
which he lived the remainder of his days, dy
ing at the age of fifty-nine years. He was a
soldier in the late Civil war, served three
years in company H, Sixty-second Ohio infan
try, took part in many severe battles, among
them Pittsburg Landing, and one time was
struck by a spent ball. His brother, James,
was wounded in the first battle of Bull Run
and lived but two weeks after his enlistment,
and his brother, Henry, died from the effects
of exposure while in the service. Andrew J.
Mowrey was a democrat in politics, and he
and wife were honored members of the United
Brethren church.
William H. Mowrey, whose name opens
this biography, was born in Greene township,
Hocking county, Ohio, April 22, 1854, re
ceived a good education and was reared a
farmer. He married, in his native county,
Miss Julia A. Angle, who was born in Hocking
county April 15, 1857, a daughter of Jacob
and Julia (Graffis) Angle, the former of whom
was of Holland descent and a native of Perry
county, Ohio, but a pioneer of Hocking
county. Mr. and Mrs. Angle had a family of
seven children, all of whom grew to manhood
and womanhood, and were named James,
Mary E., Francis, Tilman, Julia A., Appolonia
M. and Ira J. The parents were consistent
members of the Presbyterian church, and in
this faith the father died in Paulding county,
Ohio, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mary
E. Tom. In politics Mr. Angle was a demo
crat, and was greatly respected for his un
swerving honesty, as well as his ceaseless in
dustry. For some years after marriage Mr. and
and Mrs. Mowrey resided in Perry county,
Ohio, where Mr. Mowrey followed the calling

of a miner, to which calling he devoted ten
years of his life; he them removed to Hock
ing county, where he made his home until.
1884, when he came to Van Wert county and
purchased his present farm of eighty-two-
acres in Washington township. This farm
was at that time about half cleared, but he has
made of it one of the best farms in the town
ship and raised it to a state of wonderful fer
tility, producing from it, in 1894, 2,741 bush
els of grain, beside other produce. To Mr..
and Mrs. Mowery have been born eight chil
dren, all still living and named Alfred L.,
Porter E., Bertha M., Ethel A., Cora A.,
Sylvie B., William J. and Martha L. The
parents are members of the Methodist church
and in politics Mr. Mowrey is a democrat.
He is a man of the strictest integrity and of
the most untiring industry, and has reared his
family in respectability, and he himself has the
gratification of knowing that his course of life-
has met with the commendation of all his fel
low-citizens.

eLEANOR MORTON, a well known
lady of Pleasant township, Van Wert.
county, Ohio, and who has passed.
the alloted life of three-score and ten,
was born in north Wales, in the year 1818,.
daughter of Joseph and Jane (Thomas) Griffith.
The father was born in the same county, in
1778, was there educated, and became a tiller
of the soil. His marriage occurred in 1803,
and he reared a family of fourteen children,
of whom but three are living at this time, viz:.
Eleanor, Mary (widow of Joseph Morris), and
Evan, of Putnam county, Ohio. In 1825,
Mr. Griffith emigrated to the United States
and purchased a tract of land in Butler county,.
Ohio, where he was among the earliest settlers.
Subsequently, about 1837, he disposed of his-
interest in the above county and removed to-

SAMUEL R. MORTON,
'DECEASED.

MRS. ELEANOR MORTON.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

577

the county of Allen, where he had previously
entered a large of government land, from
which, by dint of hard and exhaustive labor he
in due time succeeded in developing a large
and well cultivated farm. From the time of
his removal to Allen county until his death he
took an active interest in every thing that per
tained to the country's development, and
achieved some prominence, as a local politi
cian, having been an enthusiastic supporter of
the republican party. His religious creed was
represented by the Congregationalist church,
in which, for a number of years, he held the
office of deacon, and his daily life corresponded
with his daily profession. His death occurred
August 28, 1854.
Mrs. Griffith, who was born in Wales in
the year 1783, was also a consistent member
of the Congregationalist church, and departed
this life in 1846. The immediate subject of
this sketch attended, during her youth, the
common schools of Butler and Allen counties,
and in 1840 was united in marriage with
Samuel Simpson, son of Alexander and Cyn
thia (King) Simpson. This marriage was
blessed with the birth of the following children:
Cylanda J. , wife of James S. Zimmerman, of
Nebraska; Joseph A., of Paulding county,
Ohio; Mrs. Josephine Kohn, deceased; and an
infant that died unnamed.
Shortly after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs.
Simpson removed to Licking county, Ohio,
were they resided for a period of three years,
Mr. Simpson, in the. meantime, following his
occupation of machinist and carpenter. In
1843 they removed to Hancock county, 111.,
locating at the old town of Nauvoo, where, for
some years, Mr. Simpson carried on a very
successful business as contractor and builder.
Subsequently he removed to Jacksonville,
where he engaged ' in boat-building, and met
his death in an explosion, on the 19th of Au
gust, 1848, at the age of thirty-seven years.
25

The following year Mrs. Simpson entered
into the marriage relation with Samuel R.
Morton, a native of Licking county, Ohio, a
union resulting in the birth of four children,
whose names are as follows: Lucius W., Alvin
Alonzo, Edward, who died in youth, and an
infant that died unnamed. Samuel R. Morton,
as stated above, was born in the county of
Licking, in 1819, and was the son of Isaac and
Gula E. (Worder) Morton, early residents of
Ohio. Mr. Morton was reared and educated
in his native state, chose the pursuit of agri
culture for his life work, and about the year
1835 emigrated to Illinois, where he resided
until his return to the Buckeye state in 1853.
Immediately after his removal to Ohio, he
purchased the farm upon which Mrs. Morton
now lives, and followed farming very success
fully until his death, which occurred December
5, 1890. Previous to the war Mr. Morton was
a democrat in politics, but being strongly op
posed to the institution of slavery and seces
sion, he changed his political views, and became
a firm adherent of the republican party, to
which he gave allegiance during the remainder
of his life. He was several times honored by
his fellow-citizens with official positions of
local importance, but was not a partisan in the
sense of seeking or desiring office. He was in
every respect a self-made man, as such ranked
with the leading citizens of his community and
his death was considered a personal loss, not
only by his family, but by the neighborhood
as well. Mrs. Morton, as already stated, has reached
a ripe old age, and resides with her son on the
old homestead, possessing, in a remarkable de
gree, her faculties both physical and mental;
hers has indeed been a busy and useful life, and
the influence of her example, and her many
kindly deeds and words of encouragement,
serve as an incentive to those just entering
upon their career in life.

-578

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Lucius W. Morton, eldest son of Samuel
R. and Eleanor Morton, was born in Hancock
county, 111., in 1850. When four years old he
was brought by his parents to Van Wert, Ohio,
received his educational training it the common
schools, and grew to manhood on the farm,
where he learned those lessons of industry and
economy by which his life has been character
ized. He adopted agriculture as his occupa
tion, and has followed the same with success
and financial profit, and is now recognized as
one of the leading farmers and public^spirited
citizens of the township in which he resides.
In 1879 his marriage was solemnized with Ma
linda, daughter of Peter and Catherine (Heber-
ling) Troup, to which union eight children
have been born, viz: Emery O., Sydney V.,
Earl C, Mary O., Jessie R., Bessie C. , Guy
C. and Walter F. The mother of these chil
dren was born in Van Wert county in 1853.

.•V^V ICHOLAS MULLER, one of the old-
I E est settlers of Jennings township,
1^ r Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in
Belgium November 6, 1833, and is
the son of Carl and Susan (Huerts) Muller,
parents of three children — Nicholas, Hellen
and Katie. Mrs. Susan Muller died in Belgium,
and Carl next married Mary Grinling, to which
union were born three more children- -John,
Peter and Mary. In 1854 Mr. Muller came to
America and settled in Seneca county, Ohio,
on a forty-acre tract of land, where he shortly
afterward died at the age of forty-two years,
very much respected by his new-found friends
and a sincere devotee of the Catholic church.
Nicholas Muller, our subject, received a
good education in Belgium, and came to
America in 1852 in a sailing vessel. He landed
in the port of New York, whence he went to
Buffalo, in the same state, where he- was em

ployed for two years, and in 1854 came to
Seneca county, Ohio, to find that his father
has preceded him and had died. For four
years he made his home on the farm left by
his father, and then came to Van Wert county
and settled on his present farm of 120 acres in
Jennings township, then all in the woods, and
for which he paid $1,100 of his own hard
earnings. He here erected a log cabin, and
by dint of industry cleared up his farm, under
went all the hardships of pioneer life, and
added to his land until he was owner of 360
acres, of which he has given his son, Charles,
eighty acres. His marriage took place, in
Seneca county, to Margaret Gremlinger, who
was born in Belgium in 1832, a daughter of
Louis and Catherine (Rading) Gremlinger.
The father of this lady died in Belgium, leav
ing the following children, who later came to
America with their mother; Susan, Thresa,
Mary, Catherine, Margaret, Nicholas and
Dominie; the mother of this family died in
Tiffiin, Ohio. The union of Mr. and Mrs.
Muller was blessed with eight children, viz:
Charles, Jacob, John, Joseph, Catherine, Mary,
Louis and Peter.
Mr. Muller has his farm well fenced and
drained and in a fine state of cultivation; it is
improved with all the necessary out-buildings,
which are substantial und commodious; his
dwelling is a modern brick edifice, erected in
1880, and all the surroundings denote the
prosperous and thrifty, skillful and intelligent
farmer, that he is. He is a devout member of
the Catholic church, and contributed liberally
toward the erection of the first Catholic church
in Landeck, of which he was for two years a
member of the council. In politics he is a
democrat, but has never been an office seeker.
He is a self-made man, and well deserves the
high respect in which he is held by his fellow-
townsmen. He was bereaved by the death of
his faithful wife February 14, 1892, but finds

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

579

solace in the society of his loving children,
who never fail to do all in their power to make
happy the declining years of their honored sire.

>--T»OHN MURPHY, a successful farmer of
A Union township, and pioneer of Van
A J Wert county, Ohio, was born near
Wheeling, Va. , in 1818, a son of John
and Mary (Smith) Murphy.
John Murphy, Sr. , the father of our sub
ject, was born in Maryland in 1782, there
grew to manhood, and in 18 10 enlisted in the
American army, in which he served four years,
two of which were against the Brittish in the
war of 1812, and in recognition of his service
he received a soldier's land grant, which he
subsequently located in Van Wert county,
Ohio. After the close of the war he engaged
in farming in Virginia until 181 8, when he re
moved to Jefferson county, Ohio, where he
remained until 1825; thence moved to Rich
land county, Ohio, where he lived until 1844,
when, with his family, he moved to Van Wert
county, Ohio, where he entered 200 acres of
government land. On this Mr. Murphy built
a small log cabin and began to clear off the
forest and here made his home until his death,
which occurred in 1865. His marriage occur
red in Virginia, in 18 12, with Miss Mary Smith,
and to them were born five children, only two
of whom are now living, viz: John, the sub
ject of this mention, and James, a resident of
Hoaglin township. Mrs. Murphy, the mother
of this family, died in 1861, on the old home
stead in Van Wert county. Mr. Murphy es
poused the cause of the democratic party, but
was tolerant and conservative in his views; he
was one of that class of hardy pioneers to whom
the country owes so much of its development
and who need no other monument to tell the
story of a life well spent.
John Murphy, the subject of this mention,

was reared on his father's farm and received
his early education in the common schools of
Harrison and Richland counties, Ohio. In
1844 he came with his father to Van Wert
county, where he entered fifty acres of public
land, which was afterward increased to eighty
by a gift from his father. On this he built a
comfortable log house, cleared away the forest
and underdrained the land, and thus, by his
own efforts and industry, brought it to its pres
ent state of cultivation.
In October, 1862, Mr. Murphy responded
to his country's call and enlisted in company
G, Twentieth Ohio volunteer infantry, with
Capt. George Malick, under Gen. John A.
Logan; he served with his regiment through
Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi, partici
pating in the battles of Raymond, Missionary
Ridge, Black River and siege of Vicksburg.
He was honorably discharged in June, 1863,
having faithfully and fearlessly discharged his
duty as a soldier, for which service he receives
a pension of $12 per month. Politically he
has always sustained the principles of the dem
ocratic party, and was honored by that party
as early as 1846 with the offices of both tax
assessor and township trustee, holding the
offices for two years each; in 1856 he held the
office of constable.
In 1844 Mr. Murphy was united in mar
riage to Nancy A. Porter, who was born in
Richland county, Ohio, in 1820. To this
union have been born the following children, viz:
Elizabeth, wife of Miller T. Leitner; Samuel
A.; Jane J., wife of John McGraw; James;
Mary, wife of Isaac Faurot; Sabina, wife of
John Mullen, of Van Wert; Luther Vernon
and Sarah, who reside at home. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Murphy are members of the Evan
gelical Lutheran church, he having been an
active member for thirty-four years, also dea
con for twelve years. Mr. Murphy's home
bears the mark of his many years of hard la-

580

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

bor and excellent management. He now en
joys the respect and esteem of all who know
him and well deserves representation in this
volume.

aURTIS A. NASH, one of the most
successful young farmers of Pleasant
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born in Muskingum county, Jan
uary 4, 1852, a son of Henry and Susan (Os
mond) Nash. Henry Nash, father of our sub
ject, was born in Hocking county, Ohio, in
18 17, a son of Chester Nash, who was born
about 1784, of either English or Scotch par
entage, and was a settler of Hocking county,
where he conducted a farm until his death in
1829. Henry Nash, son of Chester and father
of Curtis A., at the age of twelve years lost his
father, and as a consequence the care of his
mother devolved upon himself. In 1830 he
took the family under his charge to Zanesville,
Muskingum county, where he worked as an
engineer until 1862, in which year he pur
chased a farm of 200 acres in Brown township,
Paulding county, Ohio, which farm he drew
from a wilderness and made compare with any
in the county. In 1883 he disposed of this
farm and removed to Green Springs, Seneca
county, where he made his home for five years,
but employed his time in travel, selling drugs
and medicines. March 1, 1843, Henry Nash
was united in matrimony with Miss Susie
Osmond, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Jones)
Osmond, and to this union were born five
children, viz: George W. , deceased; Mary L.
who died in childhood; Malinda P., who is the
wife of Joseph Shirley, of Paulding county;
Curtis A., the subject of this sketch, and
David, who died in March, 1884. Mrs. Susan
Nash was born at Milton, Pa., September 5,
181 1, and necessarily was proud of her father,

who was a patriot of the Revolution that led to
the independence of the United States. Her
death took place April 20, 1872, holding her
faith in the redeeming doctrines of the Meth
odist Episcopal church. Her husband still
survives, but has unfortunately been deprived
of eyesight, although his faculties, in every
other respect, are perfect.
Curtis A. Nash attended an academy at
Zanesville, Ohio, until he was ten years of age,
where he went with his parents to Paulding
county, where he was reared to agriculture,
under his father's instructions, until twenty-
one years of age. He then had the manage
ment of the home farm until 1883, with the
exception of one year passed in Delaware
county. In the year last named, he settled in
Pleasant township, Van Wert county, and now
owns an excellent farm of 100 acres, a mile and
a half from Van Wrert. The marriage of Mr.
Nash took place in 1872, to Miss Anna Crego,
daughter of Charles and Eliza (Clark) Crego,
natives of Maryland, but, at the time of the
marriage of their daughter, residents of Dela
ware county, Ohio. To the happy union of
Mr. and Mrs. Nash have been born four chil
dren, named Minnie B., EvaM., Lillian I. and
Wilmie R. , the last named of whom died in
1892. As has been said before in this sketch,
Mr. Nash is one of the prominent young
farmers of his township, in which calling he
has succeeded his own expectations. He is a
close observer, a free thinker, and broad
minded in all that pertains to his calling, and
one that is always ready to accept instruction
as to the best methods that lead to the best
results. He and wife are both interested in
matters educational, and their aim is to instruct
and give their children every advantage within
reach, as well as to aid in the morals and re
ligious training of the community. Mr. and
Mrs. Nash are most favorably known and
highly esteemed citizens.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

581

(D

ORGAN MUMAUGH, an old resi
dent of Van Wert county, is now a
successful farmer on the line be
tween Paulding and Van Wert
counties, in Blue Creek township, Paulding
county. He was born in Fairfield county,
Ohio, December 29, 18 19, a son of William
and Sarah (Reese) Mumaugh. The father,
William, was born in Pennsylvania in 1794, of
German descent, being a son of Conrad, who
was the first of the family to come to America,
locating, first, in Pennsylvania, then moving
to Montgomery county, Ohio, and finally to
Fairfield county, where his death took place
about 18.30.. Of his four children, William
was the eldest, was reared to farming, and
received his education in a frontier log school-
house. In 1817 he married Sarah Reese, who
was born in Virginia in 1796, a daughter of
Morris and Caracy Reese, and to this union
were born eleven children, viz: John R. ,
Morgan (our subject), Mary, Caracy, George
(deceased), William, Morris C. , Lewis, Isaac,
Sarah and David. An adopted daughter,
Mary A. Hubbart, was also reared by these
kind-hearted couple. Morris Reese, father of
Mrs. Mumaugh, was also a native of the Old
Dominion, was of English descent, and was
born in 1757, and about the year 1800 came
to Fairfield county, Ohio, carrying his two
daughters — Sarah and Caracy — on horseback,
in a sack or pouch, similar in shape to a pair
of saddle-bags. He was father of twelve chil
dren in all — John, Hannah, Mary, Thomas,
Morris, Sarah, Caracy, Anna, Isaac, Gertie,
Mary (second) and Lewis.
Morgan Mumaugh, our subject, was
educated in a rude log school-house in
Fairfield county, situated three and a half
miles from the home of his childhood, to
reach which he walked through the woods
morning and evening, but this education
was supplemented by attending the com

mon schools of Allen county. He was brought
up a farmer, and also^learned the carpenter's
trade. In 1842 he married Miss Mary J. Mc
Clure, daughter of Samuel and Margaret Mc
Clure, and born in Allen county, in 1822, of
which county Samuel McClure was one of the
earliest settlers, coining from Kentucky. To
the union of Morgan and Mary J. Mumaugh
were born twelve children in the following
order: Nathaniel M., who was killed in the
battle of Dallas, Ga. , in the late Civil war;
Flora, wife of Amos Smith, of Fairfield county;
Sarah E., wife of George Raymond, of Modoc,
Ind.; William P., of Omaha, Nebr.; Margaret
E., wife of William Crosby, of Michigan;
Lopez ]., deceased; Charles M. , of Omaha,
Nebr.; Mary A. ; John E., deceased; Morgan
J., deceased; Gracie, wife of Walter Hine, of
Chicago, and Samuel R. , of Omaha, Nebr.
The mother of these children was an active
worker in the Methodist Episcopal church and
a sincere Christian, and died, much lamented,
in 1873. The second marriage of Mr. Mumaugh
took place April 24, 1881, to Nancy L. Oday,
widow of James Oday and daughter of William
S. and Mrrgaret (Lewis) Beaty. Mrs.
Mumaugh was born in Franklin county, Ohio,
her father being a native of Virginia, born in
1808, and a son of William S. Beaty, a Revo
lutionary soldier, of Irish descent, who died in
Iowa in 1858, in his eighty-fifth year. Mrs.
Nancy L. Mumaugh was first married, in her
eighteenth year, to Mr. Oday, by whom she
became the mother of nine children: Alice M.,
William S., Sarah, Maggie, Edward, John,
Rebeccas G. Leone and Elkanah.
After marriage, Morgan Mumaugh bought
a farm in Allen county, on which he lived un
til 1850, when he sold his place and came to
Van Wert and embarked in the grocery busi
ness, but three years later relinquished this
and was connected with the P., Ft. W. & C.
railroad for a year; he then engaged in team-

582

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ing in Van Wert county and continued this
four years; in 1 88 1 he sold out his business in
Van Wert and moved to his present home,
which he has cleared and improved and made
one of the best farms in the county. About
1883 ill health compelled him to relinquish
active farm duties, and now, at three score
and ten years, he can look back with compla
cency on his long and useful career. In politics
he is a stanch republican, and is one of the
most honored residents of his vicinity.

yT\ ORGAN MUMAUGH, Jr., an ac-
¦ B complished artisan in brass and iron,
\_ j| J is a son of William and Rebecca
(Sprigner) Mumaugh, and was born
in Lima, Allen county, Ohio, September
20, i860. He was educated in the common
schools of his native city, and there also
learned the molder's trade, being now an ex
pert and a master workman. April 19, 1882,
he was united in marriage with Miss Ellen
Gallagher, daughter of Michael and Bridget
Gallagher, natives of Ireland and residents- of
Allen county. Three children have been born
to this union, viz. : Willie, May and Harry.
Mrs. Mumaugh was born in Allen county,
September 3, 1861, and educated in the com
mon schools of Lima, and has been a life-long
member of the Catholic church. Mr. Mumaugh
is a member of the iron-molders' uniop of
Lima, and few young men of his years stand
in a more favorable light.

sr

'ILLIAM H. NICODEMUS, of York
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born in the state of Maryland
November 20, 1832, and when but
five years of age was brought to Ohio by his
father, who settled in Knox county. Isaac
Nicodemus, the father of our subject, was also

a native of Maryland, born in 1802, and fol
lowed various pursuits. He married Deborah
Cassel, and to this union were born children
in the following order: Mary Ann, wife of
John Rice; Caroline Virginia, married to Sam
uel Bolinger; Clementina, now Mrs. James
Birney; William H., the subject of this sketch;
Phillip, now deceased; Elizabeth, wife of
George Orwiler; John; Neville and Sarah Jane,
all three of whom died in childhood, and Susan,
wife of James Bethard.
William H. Nicodemus, the subject of this
sketch, has has passed the greater part of his
life in agricultural pursuits, but for fifteen
years was successfully in saw-milling, being
thoroughly practical in both vocations. June
5, 1856, he was united in wedlock with Miss
Elizabeth Torrence, daughter of Matthew and
Julia (Hess) Torrence, of Crawford county
Ohio. There have been born two children to
this union, John Wellington, who married Miss
Satalia Clippinger, and William Edgar, who-
wedded Miss Nannie Mcllwain and became
the father of one child — Fauna Fern.
July 23, 1863, William H. Nicodemus
enlisted in company K, Eighty-eighth Ohio>
volunteer infantry, and served until July 5,
1865, when he was honorably discharged, the
greater part of his term having been passed as
steward at the quarters assigned to rebel pris
oners at Camp Chase, Ohio. His brother
Phillip Nicodemus, was also a soldier in the:
Rebellion, doing gallant service for over four-
years in the Thirteenth Iowa volunteer infan
try. In politics W. H. Nicodemus is an ardent
republican, and in 1883 was elected justice of
the peace, which position he held twelve con
secutive years, and- it may be added, to his
credit and honor, that not a judgment ren
dered by him during this long incumbency was
ever reversed by a higher court. In their re
ligious faith Mr. and Mrs. Nicodemus are firm
believers in the doctrines of the Methodist

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

583

Episcopal church, and they show, by their
daily walk through life, the sincerity of their
belief. Socially the family of Mr. Nicodemus
enjoy the respect of the entire community, and
their well conducted lives justify to the full the
esteem in which they are personally held.

i HOMAS NOBLE, now a well-known
and leading real estate dealer and
broker of Van Wert, Ohio, was born
in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, May
23, 1843, a soni of John and Ruth (Dicen)
Noble. The father of John Noble, also a na
tive of Yorkshire, was born in 181 1, and in
early youth was apprenticed to wire-drawing,
a trade which he followed in England until
1844, when, with twelve companions, he came
to America and entered the employ of Robert
Cocker, and subsequently was superintendent
of a wire-mill at Peekskill, N. Y. ; he then
took charge of the wire-mill of Hayden & Co.,
in Columbus, Ohio, and here made the - first
wire from American iron. Remaining in Co
lumbus until i860, he returned to New York
and engaged in the same branch of business
until his death, in 1890. He had been mar
ried, in England, to Miss Ruth Dicen, who
became the mother of the following children:
Elizabeth, wife of J. C. Coats, stone-carver of
Albany, N. Y. ; Judith, wife of William Green-
alch, of New York city; Thomas, subject of
this biography; John W. , building contractor
of the city of New York; Richard, deceased^.
and William, builder and contractor of New
York. The mother of this family died in 1878.
Both parents, in their religious faith, were
Presbyterians and in his political predilec
tions the father was a republican. He held
the esteem of all who knew him and left be
hind a comfortable competence.
Thomas Noble, it will have been pre-

ceived, was but fourteen months of age when
brought to the United States. He remained
in New York until 1859, when he came to
Ohio and attended school at Columbus until
July, i860, when he went to Miami county,
where he was employed in manufacturing
brooms and also in farm work until he mar
ried, August 22, 1863, Clementine Covault,
who was born in Miami county, Ohio, July 23,
1842, a daughter of W. W. and Harriet (Har
vey) Covault. The two children which re
sulted to Mr. and Mrs. Noble were named
Henrietta, the wife of L. E. Gleason, and
Minnie, at home. Immediately after his mar
riage Mr. Noble located in Cleveland, Ohio,
and re-engaged in the manufacture of brooms
until 1865, when he went to Mercer county,
Ohio, where he was engaged in buying and
shipping live stock until 1869, and then fol
lowed farming for a year in the same county;
he next moved to Willshire, Ohio, where he
was- engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1875,
when he moved to Van Wert and conducted a
saloon until 1891; he then sold out his estab
lishment, and has since been doing a large
brokerage and real estate business — owning
three business blocks and a half-interest in the
Spencer Hotel property; he also owns 16a
acres of farming land in this county and 145.
acres in Mercer county. In religion Mr. and
Mrs. Noble are Presbyterians, and in politics
he is a democrat; fraternally he is a member
of the A. O. U. W., and as a business man he
bears a reputation without a blemish.

HARLES HENRY NOELL, the pop
ular manager of the drug store of F
P. Hill & Co., was born in Cumber
land county, Pa., August 11, 1854.
He is the only son of Edmund P. and Eliza
beth (Heffelfinger) Noell, both natives of Penn-

584

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

sylvania. The latter was a native of Cumber
land county, and of German descent, and the
former of French Huguenot extraction.
Beginning with the grandfather of Mr.
Noell, it may be stated of him that his name
was Jacob Noell, the name " Noell " being the
French name for Christmas. At the time of
the massacre of Saint Bartholomew, in 1572,
his ancestry fled to the German Palatinate, and
from the Palatinate Jacob Noell emigrated to
Baltimore, Md., in 1798. Thence he moved
to York county, Pa., where he settled on the
Susquehanna river and married Catherine
Elizabeth Kreidler, a native of Tulpehocken,
Berks county, Pa. In August, 18 14, he
marched as an independent volunteer to Balti
more, and on the 12th of September following
he was shot by a British bullet, through the
body from left to right, dying at length from
the effects of the wound. Catherine Elizabeth
Kreidler's father was named Daniel Kreidler.
He was born in Tulpehocken, Pa., was a
soldier in the Revolutionary war, and died
from the effects of exposure at Valley Forge in
1777 and 1778.
Edmund P. Noell, the son of Jacob, was
reared in his native state, and when yet quite
young married Miss Heffelfinger, who was
reared to womanhood in her native county.
To this marriage there were born seven chil
dren, one son and six daughters, as follows :
Charles Henry, the subject of this sketch;
Catherine; Emma, who died in infancy; Mary,
Martha, Louisa S. and Annie C. Edmund P.
Noell was put out to earn his own living when
but ten years of age, and to a most cruel mas
ter. Hard work was his lot from the begin
ning, for when his father died, the means he
left was soon expended in caring for his fami
ly. Though small of stature, he was a very
active man and a man of great endurance. He
and his wife were worthy members of the
United Brethren church. During his early life

Mr. Noell was a democrat in politic, but in
later years became a republican. He was also
a member of the Odd Fellows' fraternity and
exemplified the principles of that order in his
every day life. He was born in 18 17 and died
in 1895, at the age of seventy-eight.
Charles Henry Noell was reared in his na
tive county and received a good common-
school education. He was reared to habits of
activity and industry, and when eleven years
of age began working on the farm by the
month, remaining with his parents until 1876.
He then started out in life empty handed to
take care of himself, locating, at first, at Na
poleon, Henry county, Ohio, where he found
work in a drug store as clerk, the first year re
ceiving only his board in payment for his serv
ices. After remaining in this position two
years he resigned, and secured employment in
a drug store in Defiance, where he also re
mained two years. He then removed to Van
Wert, where he has since remained. Upon
reaching the latter city he entered the employ-
of Hill & Wilson, and was with that firm five
years, at the end of which time Mr. Wilson
withdrew, and the firm then became F. P.
Hill & Co., as it is at the present time — Mr.
Noell, since the change of style in the firm,
having been the manager of the business, which
has by him been managed with great care and
with abundant success. The firm controls a
large amount of trade both in the city of Van
and in the surrounding country.
Mr. Noell has always been a republican in
politics, and cast his first presidential vote for
Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876. He is a mem
ber of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the
Blue lodge, chapter, council and commandery.
He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Noell was married September 10, 1884, to
Miss Olive L. Miller, daughter of Peter H.
Miller, deceased, whose biographical sketch
appears elsewhere in this volume. One

SAMUEL NEEL,
DECEASED.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

587

¦daughter has been born to bless this union,
Sibyl Marie, born October 15, 1892. Few
people anywhere are more sociable in disposi
tion than are Mr. and Mrs. Noell. Their kind
hearted and pleasant ways render both very
popular, and each has a large circle of warm
and admiring friends.

£"V*AMUEL NEEL, deceased, ex-sheriff
*^^»f °f Van Wert county, Ohio, and ex-
h<J postmaster of Van Wert city, was
born in county Down, Ireland, June
9. 1824, and at the age of five years was
brought to America by his mother, who first
located in Montreal, Canada, but later removed
to Wheeling, W. Va., and then to Jefferson
county, Ohio, where Samuel learned the
blacksmith's trade under his brother, John
Neel. He next moved to a point near Mans
field, Richland county, Ohio, where he re
mained until 1849, when he joined the exodus
to California caused by the discovery of gold,
more, however, to explore the wild western
country than with the hope of acquiring sudden
and great wealth. This trip, which acquired
many weeks' travel impaired his supposed iron
constitution, and while on the Pacific slope he
worked his way along under a load of sickness
and proverty. He returned home by a route
through Central America and from the gulf of
Mexico up the Mississippi river to New Orleans.
It was in 1853 when he came to Van Wert
county. In the early days he followed his
trade, which doubtless had an influence in
molding his strong will and emphatic character.
He was elected county sheriff in 1857 and per
formed his official duties with diligence and
fidelity. Under President Johnson's adminis
tration he was appointed special agent to take
charge of the post-office on the failure of Waldo,
who was the regular postmaster, in which
capacity he served the public efficiently and

honorably. His later life was devoted to
farming, and it was he who introduced the
Walter A. Woods farming machinery into Van
Wert county.
Mr. Neel was twice married — first, at
Mansfield, Ohio, to Miss Elsie Painter, a
native of that city and a daughter of John
Painter. To the union of Samuel and Elsie
were born two children — John P. and Mary
Alice, both now deceased. The mother of
these died August 20, 1863, and the second
marriage of Mr. Neel took place in 1869 to
Mrs. Elizabeth Hammell, who was born in
Richland county, Ohio, March 16, 1838, and
is a daughter of O. P. and Eliza (Patterson)
Clark. Mrs. Elizabeth Neel had been pre
viously married to William Hammell. a farmer
of Jefferson county, but later of Van Wert
county, where he passed from life, leaving his
widow with two children, viz : Alice, of Saint
Louis, Mo., and Ida, wife of G. W. Tumble-
son, by her second Mrs. Neel is likewise the
mother of two children — Josiah Sibley, living
with his mother, and Ora Marie, deceased.
Mrs. Neel is a Presbyterian in her religious
belief and devout in her observance of that
faith. She and her son, Sibley, are the
owners of a fine farm of 181 acres of arable
land, of several residence lots in the city of
Van Wert and also of considerable stock in
the Natural Gas company.
Samuel Neel, during life, was also a pious
Presbyterian in religion, and in politics was a
stanch democrat. He was prominent as a
Freemason, and the esteem in which he was
held by the members of that ancient order may
be expressed by a simple allusion to his final
obsequies, which were held under the auspices
of Shawnee commandery, No. 14, Knights
Templar, of Lima, of which deceased was
always an enthusiastic member. Rev. J. A.
Gordon delivered a brief eulogy, reciting the
historical points of interest in the life of the

588

BIOGP a P'

TORY

departed and giving the most prominent traits
of his character. The commandery came to
Van Wert in a special train and marched to
the house, a mile west of town, in a body.
There were thirty-three knights in line from
Lima and Delphos and thirty-three from Van
Wert, all under command of G. W. Van
Rensselaer, E. C. ; C. Holiday, G. , and W.
K. Bone, C. G. There were likewise seventy
master Masons in line. At the house the im
pressive hymns, "Greenwood" and "Lead,
Kindly Light, " were sung, and at the cemetery,
"Thou art Gone to the Grave, We Will not
Deplore Thee." The funeral procession was
very long, and no such assemblage was ever
gathered in the cemetery as witnessed the
burial service, all denoting the high esteem in
which the deceased was held.
Josiah Sibley Neel, son of Samuel Neel,
was born in the city of Van Wert January 23,
1872. He was reared on his father's farm
and during his youthful days had the excellent
advantages furnished by the Van Wert public
schools. He has always been a very indus
trious young man, and at his father's death
took charge of the farm, managing it with judg
ment and producing satisfactory results.
Mr. Neel was married October 30, 1895,
to Miss Iowa McDonald, and he is now living
on a fine ninety-acre farm of his own, which
adjoins the city limits of Van Wert on the west.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity of
high standing and is a knight templar, and in
religious faith a Presbyterian. Miss Iowa Mc
Donald, his wife, was born July 28, 1872, was
reared in Van Wert, Ohio, and received her
edacation in the public schools of that city,
graduating from the high school May 27, 1891.
After her graduation she taught school several
terms with signal success. In religious faith
she is a Lutheran and is in every respect a
most estimable young woman, an ornament to
society and has a host of friends.

««/^\ ANIEL NORMAN, an ex-soldier of
| I the Civil war and a retired business
{KJ man of Middlepoint, Ohio, was born
in Pickaway county October 12,
1827, and is of English origin. Our subject
was a mere child when he lost his father, re-
received a common pioneer education, and at
the age of twelve years came to Van Wert
county with Daniel M. Beard, to whom he
had been bound when a child until twenty-one
years of age. Mr. Beard settled in Ridge
township, on a farm, and with him our snbject
remaimed until he reached his majority. At
the age of thirty-five years, he enlisted in com
pany H, Fifteenth regiment Ohio volunteer
infantry, under Capt. T. S. Gilliland, for three
years or during the war, served out his time,
was honorably discharged at Chattanooga,
Tenn., immediately veteranized in the same
organization, and served until his final dis
charge, on account of the close of the war,
at San Antonio, Tex., December 27, 1865,
with the rank of corporal. He took an active-
part in the battles of Pittsburg Landing,
Peach Tree Creek, Missionary Ridge, Chat
tanooga, the Atlanta campaign (where he
was under fire for nearly three months),
Dalton, Resaca, Buzzard's Roost, Pumpkin-
vine Creek, Lovejoy's Station, Kenesaw Moun
tain, Atlanta, and Jonesboro; he was with
Gen. Thomas in pursuit of Hood and took
part at Columbia and in the two days' fight at
Nashville, and in many skirmishes. He was
fortunate in never having been taken prisoner,
nor with ever meeting a casualty, although he
was active in every engagement in which his
regiment took part, excepting Stone River,
when he was on a detail of three months as
hospital nurse. It will thus be seen that Mr.
Norman faithfully served his country for nearly
five year and has one of the longest martial
records ot any soldier of Van Wert county.
The marriage of Mr. Norman took place in

OF VAN

WERT

COUNTY.

589 _

Van Wert county, March 25, 1852, to Miss
Mary A. Smith, a daughter of Geor§ a Smith
of Illinois, this marriage resulting in che birth
of four daughters — Mary J., Harriet A., Rose
B. and Annie Viola. After he became of age,
Mr. Norman learned the shoemaker's trade in
Madison county, Ohio, and followed this call
ing for a long time at Middlepoint, coming here
in 1865, after the war, to join his wife and
family, who had settled here in 1864. He
lost his first wife in 1869, and in 1870 chose as
his second helpmate Priscilla Manship, and
this union has been blessed by the birth of one
child — Oleta M. In 1878 he engaged in the
grocery business and was very successful, and
is now the owner of a fine residence property,
and stands very high in the esteem of the
community. He and wife are members of the
Methodist church, and live in harmony and
peace with their neighbors and in accordance
with the teachings of their faith. In politics
Mr. Norman is a stanch republican and is a
member of the Zeller Hamilton post, G. A. R.
No. 260, at Middlepoint, in which he has held
all the offices, or nearly all. except that of
commander. He was one of those soldiers
who was inspired with patriotism at the very
incipiency of the war and never tired of bat
tling for his country's flag until he saw it wave
indisputably triumphant.

>Y*OHN W. NORRIS, senior member of
A the firm of Norris & Son, proprietors of
A J the Crescent Steam laundry of Van
Wert, Ohio, is a native of Harrison
county, this state, and was born February 5,
1826. His parents, Nathaniel and Sarah
(Todd) Norris, were born and were married in
Maryland, from which state they came to Ohio
in 1824 and settled in Harrison county, where
the father engaged in farming until 1827, when

the family removed to Seneca county, wht
the same vocation was followed until the father's
decease. They were the parents of four chil
dren, viz: Thomas, of Paulding county, Ohio;
Basil, deceased; John W. , whose name opens
this biography; and Lloyd, of Seneca county,
Ohio. Nathaniel Norris, besides being an ex
tensive and skillful agriculturist, owning and
cultivating a half-section of fine land, was a
successful veterinary surgeon. In politics he-
was a republican, although he came from a
slave state, and in religion both he and wife
were adherents of the Dunkard doctrine.
John W. Norris, at the age of twenty-one
years, left the parental abode and for eighteen
months worked his future father-in-law's farm.
In 1852 he entered 132 acres of farming land
in Putnam county, Ohio, which he made his-
home until 1861, when he sold his property and
located in Kalida, in the same county, entered
the ministry of the United Brethren church,
and for four years was pastor of that circuit.
In 1852 he was called to Van Wert to take
charge of this pastorate, which he most accepta
bly filled until 1854, when he removed to Ridge
township, Van Wert county, and re-engaged
in farming until 1890, when he returned to this.
city and purchased the Crescent Steam laundry,
which he has since been actively and success
fully superintending.
John W. Norris, on March 29, 1849, formed
a most auspicious matrimonial alliance, in
Seneca county, Ohio, with Miss Harriet L.
Morton, who was born in Bucks county, Pa.,
March 31, 1829. This young lady was the
daughter of Evan Morton, the gentleman who
owned the farm which was the scene of the
early labor of Mr. Norris when he first entered
on his business career at the age of twenty-
one, alluded to above. The result of the union
has been the birth of seven children : Andrew,
Sylvester, Wesley and an unnamed infant, all
deceased; Sylvanus, in business with his father;.

-.. 590

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

imma, at home; and Tally, wife of J. Will
iamson, of Van Wert.
Sylvanus Norris, son of Rev. John W. and
the partner of his father in the proprietorship
of the Crescent Steam laundry of Van Wert,
was born July 2, 1 851, in Seneca county, Ohio.
He was educated in the union schools of Van
Wert, and has always been an inmate of his
father's house. He was married in Van Wert
January 22, 1874, to Calista J. Tomlinson, and
he and his wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church. In politics he is a repub
lican. He has been effective in his aid to his
father in conducting the laundry, which is well
equipped with the most improved modern
machinery and is capable of turning out results
unsurpassed by any similar establishment in
the state. The family all make their home
together on North Market street.

ISAAC NORTH, an old and well known
farmer of Ridge township, Van Wert
county, and a native of Allen county,
Ohio, was born October 22, 1837, a
son of Thomas and Susannah ( Stuckey ) North.
Isaac North, our subject, grew to manhood in
the woods of Allen county, and on January
24, 1867, was married to Irean T. , daughter
of John and Catherine (Long) Campbell.
John Campbell was a blacksmith by trade, and
had drifted about the world considerably be
fore he settled in Van Wert county, when Mrs.
Irean T. North was but eleven years of age.
The children born to John and Catherine
Campbell were named as follows: Ann, who
died in infancy; Mary, wife of John Steel, of
Richland county, Ohio; Samuel, of Delphos,
Ohio; Emeline, widow of Abram Hornley;
John, of Van Wert; Jacob, who died, leaving
a wife and five children; William, of Kansas;
David, of the same state; Irean, wife of our
-subject; Ellen, wife of Joseph Gilbert, of

Kansas, and Theodore, an artist of Van Wert.
The death of John Campbell took place in
December, 1872, and that of his wife oc
curred in 1869.
Isaac North made his first purchase of
land in Ridge township in November, 1871,
the tract consisting of twenty-seven acres, to
which he added, in 1886, forty acres; he also
inherited a part of the old homestead, and is
now the owner of a totality of 106 acres.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Isaac North
were named as follows: Alice Ophelia, who
died in infancy, ; Mary Ellen, wife of Walter
Conwell and mother of two sons, Elmer and
Ora Isaac; Susan Catherine, who died in child
hood; William Thomas, at home; Ada Bell,
wife of William Glass, of Van Wert county,
and mother of one daughter, Lulu L. ;
Nettie Lou; Minnie B. ; Franklin Theodore;
Pearl May and Bessie Hazel. The mother of
this family is a member of the society of
friends, and the father is in politics a republi
can. The home of Mr. North is neat and
tidy in every respect and his farm surpasses in
many respects any other of its size in the town
ship, being most skillfully cultivated. In their
social relations the North family holds an envi
able position, and through their urbanity and
charitableness and benevolence have won the
esteem of the entire community.

5/°! ANIEL S. NORTH, an enlightened
1 I and prosperous farmer of Ridge
/A^J township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
is a native of what is now Sugar
Creek township, of Allen county, in the same
state, and was born March 21, 1836, a son of
Thomas and Susannah (Stuckey) North, wh
were born natives of Fairfield county, Ohio,
and the parents of eight children, as follows:
Daniel S., our subject; Isaac; Ira, who was a
soldier in the Twenty-seventh Ohio volunteer

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

591

infantry during the late Civil war; Matilda,
deceased wife of Jacob Haines; Christian,
who died in the service of his country, at the
age of twenty years, being then in the same
regiment with his brother Ira; Enos, who also
lost his life in the war of the Rebellion, being
then a member of the Forty-sixth Ohio in
fantry; Mary Margaret, who is the wife of
William E. Ireland; and one child, the eighth,
that died unnamed. Thomas North moved
from Fairfield county to Allen county while
yet a single man, and there followed his trade
of tanning, which he had learned in Lancaster,
Ohio, under Tunis Peters; he also owned
eighty acres of land, which he sold on coming
to Van Wert county, in March, 1856, and here
bought 160 acres, which are yet held by his
sons, Daniel, Isaac and Ira. Thomas North
died in Ridge township, November 13, 1892,
his wife having died in October, 1890,
mourned by many friends.
Daniel S. North, being the eldest of the
family above named, had charge of and
worked on his father's farm, while the latter
attended to his tanning interests. The first
land owned by our subject was a tract of forty
acres in York township, which he exchanged
with his father for ten acres of the homestead
in Ridge township, on which his father built
him a dwelling. Our subject relates that
when the family first came to Van Wert
county, the only visible evidence of a prede
cessor was a roofless cabin, in which were
growing saplings as thick as a man's thigh,
and this land was cleared and converted into
a farm by our subject and his brother, Isaac.
In 1859, our subject was united in marriage
with Miss Lettie Meeker, daughter of Lot and
Margaret (Arnold) Meeker, to which union
have been born the following children: Lu
cetta Jane, wife of George Fosnaught, of Fort
Wayne, Ind.; Loretta E., married to Andrew
Harp, of York township, Van Wert county,

Ohio; John P.; Osa May, wife of Sheridan
Bevington; Esther Alvetta, wife of Clark
Ickes; Charles, who married Allie Flager;
Susan Viola and Thomas F., at home. Mr.
and Mrs. North are true christians and wor
ship at the Methodist Episcopal church, and
in politics, Mr. North is a republican. He
owns a finely-improved farm of 106 acres, and
lives in the enjoyment of the respect and
friendship of all h's neighbors.

sr

ILLIAM O 'BRYANT, a prosperous
farmer of Tully township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, is a son of Austin and
Maria (Purkeypile) Bryant, natives
of New England, and of colonial descent — the
O' having been added to the surname by Aus
tin Bryant in order to distinguish his family
from other families of the same name, Bryant,
in his neighborhood — although he was not an
Irishman by birth. Mr. O'Bryant, as he called
himself when a young man, came to Ohio and
located in Jackson county, finally moving to
Champaign county. Of his eight children five
lived to maturity, viz: William, Delitha, Re
becca, Isaiah and Chauncy. Of these William
and Isaiah are the sole survivors. Austin, him
self, died in Champaign county.
William O'Bryant, our subject, was born'
in Champaign county, Ohio, April 21, 1836,
and was but fifteen years of age at the death
of his father, and the support of his mother,
his own, and that of the younger children de
volved upon himself, and he provided a home
for his mother as long as she lived. August
18,1861, Mr. O'Bryant enlisted at Camp Chase,
Ohio, in company B, Twentieth Ohio volun
teer infantry, under Capt. John C. Fry, for
three years or during the war, and served until
honorably discharged for disability, caused by
chronic diarrhea, November 25, 1862. He
fought at Fort Donelson and at Shiloh, took

592

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

part in many skirmishes and did a great deal
of scouting duty, and did his duty, well. On
his return home he recuperated until May 2,
1864, when he enlisted in company H, One
Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio infantry, under
Capt. Jacob Kress, for 100 days, served 123
days and was honorably mustered out at Co
lumbus, Ohio, August 31, 1864. His service
was rendered between Pittsburg and Richmond,
on patrol duty and on breastworks, and he was
under fire for sixty-three days continuously,
beside which he took part in several severe
skirmishes. He was again attacked with his
old ailment but would not go to hospital, and
gallantly stood at the post of duty until the close
of his term. On his return to Champaign
county he was married May 16, 1865, to Miss
Margaret Idle, daughter of Henry and Su
sanna (Roberts) Idle. Henry Idle was a native
of Pennsylvania, of German descent, and was
a pioneer of Champaign county, Ohio, where
he hewed from the forest a good farm of 100
acres. He had born to him, by his first wife,
two children — Sarah and Mary — the latter dy
ing in infancy; to his second marriage were
born five children, viz: Joseph, Henry, Thomas,
John and Elizabeth; to his third marriage, with
Susanna Roberts, were born twelve children,
viz: Jeremiah, Drusilla, Nancy, Harriet, Wes
ley, Eliza, Margaret, Ernestine, Daniel, La-
vina, Phebe and Edward — the last named dy
ing at the age of twenty-one years. The father
of this numerous progeny died in Champaign
county at the advanced age of eighty-two years.
He was a patriot in the war of 181 2, a mem
ber of the Baptist church and an honest man,
"the noblest work of God."
After marriage Mr. O'Bryant located in
Hardin county, Ohio, later returned to Cham
paign, and in 1872 came to Van Wert, bought
forty acres of this present place, deep in the
woods, to which he has added, and has now a
highly cultivated and profitable farm. Mr. and I

Mrs. O'Bryant have had born to them a fam
ily of six sons, viz: Seymour, Edward, Ells
worth, Alva, Harvey and James. In politics
Mr. O'Bryant is a democrat. He was a good
soldier, is a respected citizen and a sincere
Christian.

EUGH V. OLNEY, one of the large
land owners of Van Wert county,
Ohio, was born in Marion county,
February 25, 1848, a son of Benjamin
and Eliza J. (Smith) Olney. Benjamin Olney,
a native of Marietta, Ohio, was born in 181 8,
a son of Gilbert Olney, a native of Nova
Scotia, who for many years resided in Muskin
gum county, Ohio, but died in Wyandot
county, the father of six children, viz: Hiram,
Joel, Diana, Benjamin, Leroy J. and Sarah.
The son, Benjamin, was reared in Marietta,
and in 1838 went to Wyandot county, taught
school a> few years, then farmed until 1885,
then passed three years in Van Wert, and then
retired to Marion, Ohio. He was married, in
1846, to Miss Eliza J. Smith, who was born
in Union county, Ohio, in 1826, a daughter of
Hugh V. and Sarah (Crable) Smith, to which
union were born five children, viz: An infant,
deceased; Hugh V., our subject; Alice, de
ceased; Sarah and Elizabeth. Both parents
are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. The father is a republican, and for
sixteen consecutive years served as a justice of
the peace, and is also connected with the Ma
rion Manufacturing company; he is recognized
as a gentleman of more than ordinary intelli
gence, and he has amassed a comfortable for
tune in real estate.
Hugh V. Olney, the subject of this sketch,
lived on the farm with his parents until twen
ty-three years of age, when he engaged in the
clothing business, in partnership with his uncle,
Leroy J. Olney, at Ottawa, Putnam county,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

593

Ohio, for three years; he then moved to Ma
rion, Ohio, and was employed at carpen
tering until 1877, and then re-entered the
clothing trade at Van Wert, continuing therein
until 1888, when he sold out and carried on a
boot and shoe house until 1891, when he dis
posed of this business and has since devoted
his attention to his landed interests in Pleasant,
Washington, Hoaglin and Union townships,
Van Wert county. He is a director in, and
treasurer of, the Van Wert Hedge Fence com
pany, and also owns the fine business block on
Main street now occupied by Davies & Jones,
clothing merchants, and Jones & Tudor, hard
ware dealers.
The marriage of Mr. Olney took place in
Marion county, Ohio, September 26, 1871, to
Miss Sarah O. Harvey, daughter of D. H.
Harvey, and to this union have been born four
children, named Clara, Edith (Mrs. Ed Doe),
Myrtle and David K. Mr. and Mrs. Olney
are both members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which he is a trustee; he has served
two years in the common council, and was one
of the building committee that had charge of
the erection of the new city hall and the fire
department building, and is also one of the
water-works trustees. Fraternally he is a
knight templar Mason, a member of the Royal
Arcanum, and of the National Union. He is
a man of fine personal appearance, and is very
popular with the people of Van Wert and ad
joining counties, and his business talents are
far above the ordinary, rendering him capable
of filling any position in life, public or other
wise, which he may choose to accept.

HNDREW B. OLIVER, a young and
thriving farmer of York township
of Van Wert county, was born in
Butler county, Ohio, August 7, 1851,
a son of Ellis and Jane (Breese) Oliver, both

natives of Wales, who came to America in
1850, and on their voyage had the misfortune
to lose their little daughter, Mary, aged two
and a half years. The parents located first in
Butler county, where they remianed until 1853,
and then came to York township, Van Wert
county, where the father entered the homestead
now owned by our subject. Ellis Oliver was
a man highly respected wherever known, but
unfortunately died in 1863, from that dreaded
disease, spotted fever. The estate left by this
gentleman was earned by dint of hard labor,
and came to our subject as the only heir.
On this farm Andrew B. Oliver grew to
manhood; he received a fair education, and
after the death of his father the responsibility
of the care of the family rested upon his
shoulders; but, young as he was, being a lad
of twelve summers, he struggled manfully and
eventually succeeded in developing one of the
finest farms there is in the neighborhood. In
1 87 1, Mr. Oliver married Sarah Coils, daugh
ter of William and Catherine (Stabaugh) Coils,
both now deceased.
Immediately after his marriage Mr. Oliver
engaged in the manufacture of' lumber and for
seven years operated a saw-mill in conjunction
with farming. In partnership with C. R.
Hiller, he was for two years also engaged in
the manufacture of tile. Mr. Oliver, how
ever, at one time met with quite a severe loss
through the utter destruction of his mill by fire,
yet, nothing daunted, immediately re-built and
then sold to John Benson, but shortly after
ward he and that gentleman formed a copart
nership, and then engaged in operating a steam
flouring-mill. After meeting with some trifling
obstacles, Mr. Benson withdrew from the
undertaking and a stock company was formed,
the capital stock of which was valued at $10,-
000, which was purchased by the citizens of
the vicinity, but it has finally merged into the
hands of A. B. Oliver, W. C. Morgan, J. C

594

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

George, Sallie George and Evan Morgan. Mr.
Oliver, has charge of the engine room and
gives a general oversight to the" business, and
much of the success of this enterprise is largely
due to his forethought and executive ability.
The company purchase large quantities of
grain, which they manufacture into flour, and
this product finds ready market, as it is a very
popular brand in the vicinity where known.
They also buy and ship large quantities of
grain, are noted as fair dealers, and the firm
at all times pay the highest market price.
Mr. Oliver is one of the well-to-do men of
his township, owning a fine homestead of
nearly 200 acres, which is well tilled, and,
under his able supervision, is very productive.
This property is the fruit largely of his own
labor, and it is a compliment to Mr. Oliver
when we notice the success he has obtained
since becoming a citizen of Van Wert county.
In political matters he affiliates with the pro
hibition party, and is a very active worker.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Oliver are
four in number, viz: Ellis Augustus, Minnie
O., Reuben M. and Alta J. Mr. Oliver and
wife are associated with the most respected
residents of the county and are highly esteemed
wherever known.

K^% ENJAMIN OWENS, a farmer of prom-
|(^^ inence in Harrison township, Van
JA^J Wert county, Ohio, is a native of
__ Richland county, Ohio, and was born
.October 24, 185 1. His father, John Owens,
was born January 9, 1809, in Fairfield county,
and was a son of John Owens, a native of Ire
land, who was married in Virginia to Miss
Nancy Agnes Barr.
John Owens, the younger, was a small boy
when taken to Richland county by his parents
and in that county he was reared and educated.
July 14, 1842, he married, in Ashland county,

Sarah Whitmarsh, born January 5, 1824, in
the county last named, and a daughter of Ben
jamin and Rhoda (Drum) Whitmarsh. Ben
jamin Whitmarsh was a native of New York,
and his wife was of German extraction. Af
ter marriage John Owens and his wife resided
in Richland county until February, 1852,
when they came to Van Wert county and
settled in Harrison township, on a farm of
eighty acres, which Mr. Owens cleared up and
afterward increased to 120 acres. To the
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Owens were born
seven children, viz: Nancy A., William,
Sarah J., Benjamin, Rhoda S., John W and
Andrew. The parents are members of the
Presbyterian church, Mrs. Owens having joined
when she was twenty-four years of age. In
politics Mr. Owens was a democrat and filled
several township offices.
Benjamin Owens has been a resident of
Harrison township all his life, having been less
than four months old when his parents settled
here. He was reared to farming and now
owns eighty acres of land in section No. 16,
and this land he has fully developed and im
proved to the utmost. Mr. Owens, as did. his
father, affiliates with the democratic party, and
is well known thoroughout Harrison and ad
joining townships as a man of decided thought,
integrity and usefulness. His eldest sister,
Nancy A., is the wife of John McGill, a
farmer of Adams county, Ind., and is the
mother of seven children. William, eldest
son of John Owens and eldest brother of Ben
jamin, is residing on the old homestead in Har
rison township; Sarah J., the second daughter
in the family, is married to Benjamin F. Bow
ers, of Pleasant township, and is the mother
of seven children: Rhoda Owens, the young
est daughter of the family, is still under the
parental roof; John W. Owens married Nancy
Stites, and died in Harrison township March
25, 1894; Andrew Owens, the youngest of the

J^^^<^*~~&&

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

599

family, married Delia Kirkland, and is the fa
ther of one child. Rhoda Drum, the maternal
grandmother of the above-named children,
was a daughter of William and Amy (Adams)
Drum — Amy Adams being a grand-daughter of
John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the
United States.

^y^V J. OWENS, of York township, Van
I I Wert county, Ohio, is a native of
/M^J Wales, was born March 22, 1844,
and is a son of Owen W. and Mary
(Williams) Owens. In the year 1851 the
family, including nine persous, came to Amer
ica, the children living named as follows:
Margaret, born in 1821, is now deceased;
Eleanor, born in 1824, has also been called
away; Elizabeth is the widow of John W.
Hughes; John, deceased, was a farmer of York
towuship; Hugh died in 1855 ; Owen died in
Wales; William is also deceased; Thomas is a
farmer of York township; and D. J. is the sub
ject of this sketch. Owen W. Owens bought
and settled on the land now occupied by our
subject, where the father died in 1879, but his
wife had preceded him to the grave in 1869,
both members of the Welsh Presbyterian
church. D. J. Owens, our subject, attended school
but two winters, and was chiefly self-educated;
at the age of twenty-two years he was elected
assessor of his township, and was re-elected
four terms successively, serving in all four
years, and about ten years as trustee. In 1874
he married Margaret Perry, daughter of John
and Catherine (Roberts) Perry, and to this
union have been born eleven children, viz:
Owen W. , in school at Chicago, 111.; Annie,
wife of T. T. Jones; Mary C. ; Hugh J.; John
P.; Maggie E. ; Robert E. ; William Oscar;
David S. ; Thomas Roger, and an infant who
died unnamed. In politics Mr. Owens is a
26 '

republican, is very popular throughout the
township, and counts his friends by the score.
In 1884 Mr. Owens was appointed commis
sioner for No. 1 pike, Venedocia precinct, and
has control of the bonds issued until the com
pletion of the pike.
Mr. Owens has been throughout life an in
dustrious and skillful tiller of the soil, and the
land originally purchased by his father has
been so added to and manipulated that it
is now one of the handsomest farms in the
county, improved with every convenience that
modern agricultural science can suggest, and
kept well up to the standard of progressive
tillage. As a citizen, Mr. Owen fully does his
duty, and but few movements for the public
good are set in motion in which he does not
take an active part, or in aid of which he does
not freely contribute.

'HE PALMER STONE QUARRY.—
In the year 1874 Mr. Davis Johnson
of Van Wert, having in charge certain
lands belonging to the Misses Palmer,
was having a ditch dug through section No. 4,
Ridge township, and at a depth of three feet
encountered stone, which, upon investigation,
proved to be limestone, and, as at that time there
was no stone quarry in Van Wert county, he
proceeded to prospect around a little and found
a spot close by, where the stone was only two
feet from the surface. Miss Zaide Palmer at
that time lived in San Francisco, Cal., and
Mr. Johnson wrote to her the particulars of his
discovery, and suggested that she come to Van
Wert and consider the matter of opening a
stone quarry. Miss Palmer, being of a rather
enterprising nature and possessing good busi
ness ability, answered Mr. Johnson that she
would come to Van Wert and investigate.
Circumstances interfered, however, at this
time, that delayed her coming east until the

,600

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

summer of 1875. When Miss Palmer arrived
she quickly came to a decision in the matter,
and in a short time made all preparations for
opening a quarry. Ridge township, north of
the Ridge road, was then known as the North
woods, there being but a comparatively small
amount of land cleared for farming, and in such
a flat, marshy, ground, with few ditches, no
tiling, and almost impassable roads for six
months in the year, it seems, at this day, as if
it must have been a discouraging venture, but
Miss Palmer was one who found difficulties
only to overcome them. Van Wert villiage
being the principal market, she soon found
that, to promptly fill the contracts for building
stone, she must have a different method of
transportation than hauling over the mud
roads. She therefore quickly arranged for a
right of way to build a tramway from the
quarry direct to Van Wert, and in a short
time the " Palmer Stone Quarry " was known
all over Van Wert county.
Shortly after opening the quarry Miss Pal
mer had the stone tested to find if it was of a»
quality suitable for lime, and, such proving the
case, she soon had lime kilns in operation.
The quarry being now in good running order,
she began clearing and improving the farm and
making improvements that greatly benefited
the entire locality. The quarry road from the
quarry to the Ridge road, was entirely new,
and as its condition affected the business of
the quarry to a great extent, with character
istic enterprise and energy she proceeded to
macadamize her right-of-way, running along
the quarry road from the quarry to the Ridge
road, or pike.
In the course of time the matter of improv
ing the streets in Van Wert village was dis
cussed, and in a short time the village council
decided to macadamize Main street, and Miss
Palmer, securing the contract, proceeded
with the work, and although the stone was

broken to the required size — by hand — the
work was finished in such a manner as to call
forth the commendations of the local newspa
pers and the people in general.
Before the contracts were awarded for the
next street improvements Miss Palmer had
purchased a No. 3 Gates stone crusher, and in
the face of active competition secured the con
tracts, and in all work afterward done by the
Palmer Stone Quarry no objection was ever
raised as to its not being finished according to
the specifications. To obtain the success
which Miss Palmer did, meant work, and work
of the hardest kind. Living for several years
in the village, it was necessary for her to drive
out to the quarry almost every day, four and
one-half miles, morning and evening, in all
kinds of weather; and, suffering the discom
forts of such a marshy, ague-breeding locality,
we cannot wonder that her health became im
paired; consequently, in 1877, she was forced
to give up her* active business life and seek
a change of climate, going east, where she
remained most of the time until the sum
mer of 1890, when she returned home, but
not renewed in strength, and here remained
until her death, which sad event occurred
August 12, 1891.
Those who knew Miss Zaide Palmer, testify
as to her worth. Gifted as a business woman,
possessing a superior education, which included
several of the languges, she enjoyed life as few
enjoy it. Exact in all her dealings, yet most
generous of heart and purse, never refusing to
relieve the suffering, and always ready to
assist in any work for the betterment of hu
manity, she was esteemed by all who knew
her. So lived and died Zaide Palmer, held in
loved remembrance by all with whom she was
intimate and with kindly memories by those
with whom she came in contact.
The Palmer Stone Quarry at. present is
owned Mrs. M. Reta Palmer Semple, a

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

603

younger sister, who was married, in Philadel
phia, Pa., to William J. Semple, June 15,
1893. Mr. Semple is a native of England, and
since 1894 has had charge of the quarry and
estate. He is a man of culture and refinement,
and socially he and wife are very popular.

<>^ATRICK O'MARA, a citizen of Van
A A Wert, Ohio, was born in 1849 in Ire-
| "'" land, and came to the United States
with his father, who settled in the city
of New York, where his three children were
born. Patrick O'Mara early in life learned
the trade of brass finisher, and worked at this
trade in New York city with success for a couple
of years, at the end of which time he removed
to Charlotteville, in Schoharie county, N. Y. ,
when he remained two years. From Char
lotteville he went to Canada, and at length to
Niagara Falls, where he became captain of a
boat on the Welland canal, a very responsible
position, which he filled with great success.
From Niagara Falls he removed to Fort Wayne,
Ind., where he became foreman in the yards of
the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Rail
road company, remaining there thus employed
until 1 88 1, when he came to Van Wert, and
took charge of the section upon which he has
been employed, as section boss, ever since, a
period of fourteen years. That he is indus
trious and attentive to the interests of the com
pany that employs him is evident from the
confidence reposed in him, for no man can hold
a responsible poistion for along series of years
unless he possesses the qualities mentioned.
Politically Mr. O'Mara is a democrat, and
religiously he is a Catholic, maintaining mem
bership in Saint Mary's Catholic church, of
Van Wert. At Charlotteville, N. Y., Mr.
.O'Mara met and married Miss Elizabeth Lee,
by whom he has five children, viz: Katie, born
in 1874; John, born in 1876; Mamie, born in

1878; Ida, born in 1880; and Thomas, in 1889.
Katie was born in Warsaw, N. Y., and is one
of the most charming young -ladies of Van
Wert, clerking in the Progress dry-goods
store; Mamie, born in Milan, Erie county,
Ohio, also clerking in the Progress dry-goods
store, is a bright and very promising young lady ;
John was born in Saint Catherine's, Canada, is
now working with his father on the 'railroad,
and is an industrious and excellent|young man;
Ida, born in Fort Wayne, Ind., is attending
school in Van Wert, and Thomas, born in Van
Wert, is also attending school in that city.
Mrs. Elizabeth (Lee) O'Mara was born
September 25, 1856. Her father, John Lee,
was born in Scotland. Farming was his occu
pation, and he was possessed of a goodly quan
tity of this world's goods. Coming to the United
States when quite young, he landed in New
York, and going thence to Charlotteville, he
followed the occupation mentioned above, to
which he was much devoted and at which he
was more than ordinarily successful. He en
tered, the army of the Union, but fortunately
was never in battle, and in this connection it
is proper to note that he was a second cousin
of the great rebel commander, Gen. Robert E.
Lee. John Lee was a pronounced democrat
in his political convictions, and was a good
Catholic, always faithful to his belief and to
his church. At the age of nineteen he married
Mis Mary Wesley of New York, by whom he
became the father of ten children, viz: Charles,
Elizabeth, Anna, Michael, John, Patrick,
James, Thomas, Katie, and Mary. All of
these children are living but one, Thomas, who
died in 1877, while in attendance at college in
Saint Louis, Mo. Both of the parents of Mrs.
Lee are still living, comfortably situated in
life. Elizabeth Lee, wife of the subject of this
sketch, was born in Charlotteville, N. Y., and
received a good education in the schools of
that place. She was but sixteen years of age

604

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

when she and Mr. O'Mara were married. She
is a member of the Saint Mary's Catholic
church of Van Wert, is true to her faith, and
is a woman highly esteemed by all her friends
and relatives, and also by the entire community.

. > lift ^ .

ICHAEL F. OSSING, deceased, a
patriotic and industrious naturalized
citizen of the United States, was
born in Prussia, Germany, July 31,
1828. He was a son of Frederick Ossing,who
was born about the year 1800, and was in his
own country a successful farmer. Frederick
Ossing was married in Prussia to Miss Sophia
Axthelm, and together with his family, when
he was in the prime of life, he emigrated to
the United States, in 1834, landing in Balti
more and going direct from there to Marion
county, Ohio, where he lived until his death,
which occurred in 1844. He was liberal in his
thought and charitable in his dealings with his
fellow-men, and was religious and conscientious
in his every-day life. He was a member of
the Lutheran church, and lived consistently
with its moral precepts. He and his wife were
the parents of seven children, viz: Ewald,
Adelunda, Frederick, Michael F., Kuneyunde,
Regina and Henrietta, all living but two,
Ewald and Adelunda, who died in Germany —
all the rest coming to the United States with
their parents.
Michael F. Ossing was brought to the
United States when he was between five and
six years of age, and came with his parents to
Marion county Ohio. Here, upon arriving at
suitable age, he learned the trade of shingle-
maker, at which he worked until 1864, when he
enlisted in company A, Fifty-fourth regiment
of Ohio troops. In this regiment he served
until 1865, when he was discharged, and was
for some years on the pension list of Uncle
Sam. In politics Mr. Ossing was a democrat,

and he was a member of the Saint Peter's Evan
gelical church of Van Wert. At his death, which
occurred November 7, 1891, he left his family
in moderate circumstances. In character he
was a just and liberal man, doing by others as
he wished to have them do by him.
Mr. Ossing was married, in 1857, to Miss
Wilhelmina Geyer, who was born in Saxony
August 1, 1837. Her father, Frederick Geyer,
was a native of the same country, and was a
successful tailor there. In 1834 he married
Miss Eva Beyer, of the same country with him
self, and in 1852 emigrated to the United States,
landing in New York, and coming direct to
Marion county, Ohio, where he remained for
two years, and then came to Van Wert county,
where he still resides on his farm. Politically
he was a democrat, and religiously a member
of the Evangelical church, being a member of
Saint Peter's church of Van Wert. He and his
wife, Eva, are the parents of nine children, as
follows : Albertina, Albert, Wilhelmina, Edward,
Ferninand, Charles, Robert, Mary and Theresa.
All are living except Albert, who was killed
while serving in the army of the Union, and
Theresa. Edward, Ferdinand and Charles
live in Indiana. To Michael F. Ossing and his
wife, Wilhelmina, were born six children, viz:
Albert, Edward, Caroline, Emma, Josephine,
and Henrietta, all of whom are living in Van
Wert. The two sons have trades, Albert being
a carpenter and Edward a* painter. The entire
family are in good standing in the community
and are highly respected by all who know them.

EENRY POHLMANN, one of the well-
known citizens and farmers of Van
Wert county, Ohio, residing two
miles and a half northwest from Del
phos, in section No. 14, Washington town
ship, is a native of Hanover, Germany, and
was born in July, 1842. He is the son of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

605

Mathias and Gertrude (Applebaum) Pohlmann,
both natives of Hanover, where they were
married. In 1843 they came to America and
stopped first in Detroit, Mich., where they re
mained a few weeks. From Detroit, Mathias
Pohlmann walked to Fort Jennings, Putnam
county, where he found his old friend, Casper
Geise. The same winter his family came to
Fort Jennings, and when the digging the
canal began he went to work on it, at which
he continued for a year or two. He was a
carpenter by occupation and did considerable
work at his trade. Afterward he bought land
in section No. 13, Washington township, Van
Wert county, and then began farming, work
ing at carpentering work also when there was
work to do. He owned thirteen acres in sec
tion No. 23, and 120 acres in section No. 14,
making his home in the first-named section.
He was twice married, and had born to him
two daughters by the first marriage, both of
whom dead. By the second marriage he
became the father of three sons, one of whom,
Mathias, died when twelve years of age; the
living sons are Henry and Casper. The par
ents were members of Saint John's Roman
Catholic church, and in its faith the father
died in 1888, and his wife died in 1893.
Henry Pohlmann was brought up on the
farm, and was educated in the district schools
and at Delphos. He remained on the farm
with his parents until his marriage, and then
moved to the farm of eighty acres where he
now lives, which then belonged to his father,
and after his death he received forty acres
more, all in section No. 14. Since then he
has purchased land as follows: Sixty-six
acres in section No. 14; eighty acres in sec
tion No. 14; and sixty-five acres in section
No. 11. Altogether he owns 331 acres, all
but forty acres being improved. In 1873 he
built his present two-story residence, which is
one of the best in the neighborhood.

In 1870 Mr. Pohlmann was married to
Elizabeth Kohlschmidt, daughter of Henry
Kohlschmidt. She was born in Hanover, Ger
many, in 185 1, and came to America when
she was seventeen years old. To this union
eleven children have been born, as follows:
Mathias, married to the daughter of J. M.
Geise; Gertrude, married to Frank Hotz, of
Allen county; Mary, married to Ignatius Knoe-
ble, of Van Wert county; Henry, Clara, Jos
eph, Leo, Frederick, Otto, Allie, and George.
Mr. Pohlmann has served as school director
and road supervisor. He is a member of the
democratic party, and he and family are mem
bers of the Saint John's Roman Catholic
church. Mr. Pohlmann is one of the thor
oughgoing and benevolent citizens of Wash
ington township, Van Wert county, and he
and family are highly esteemed where known.

aHARLES F. PETERS, one of the
most substantial farmers of Wash
ington township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, descends from one of the old
colonial familes of Maryland and was born in
Fairfield county, Ohio, July 6, i860. His an
cestors were early settlers of Baltimore, Md. ,
and were engaged in mercantile business, and
thence came Samuel Peters, the great-grand
father of our subject, who was a pioneer of
Clear Creek township, Fairfield county, Ohio,
where he cleared a farm from the wilderness
and reared a family of thirteen children, who
were named Henry, Nathan, Ebenezer, Stev
enson, Robinson, Andy, Leah, Rachel, Mary,
Samuel, Lewis and two whose names have
lapsed from the memory of the present gener
ation. Robinson Peters, the grandfather of our
subject, married Elizabeth Gallager, and by
her became the father of five children, who
were named Zebulon, Newton, Mary, Elvira

606

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and Jennie. The father of this family was a
farmer of much consequence in his neighbor
hood and the owner of a large tract of land.
He was also prominent in matters military,
and died at the advanced age of eighty-nine
years. Newton Peters, son of Robinson Peters,
and father of the subject of this sketch, was
born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in September,
1829, was a well educated gentleman, having
graduated from Greenfield academy and later
becoming a school-teacher. He married Miss
Lydia Eversole, daughter of David and Eliza
beth (Miller) Eversole, settled on a farm, and
reared the following children: Preston E.,
Charles F. , Lizzie, Robinson J., Mattie, Clark
and Jessie. In politics Newton Peters was a
republican, and in religion he and his wife were
strict Methodists. He has always taken great
interest in matters educational, has given all
his children good school training, and his son
Clark is now a school-teacher in Van Wert
county. Charles F. Peters also received a good
education, was thoroughly trained to agricul
ture, and March 23, 1887, married, in Fair
field county, Miss Nannie Trimble, who was
there born September 13, 1861, a daughter of
Thomas and Samantha (Hooker) Trimble — an
old and prominent family of the county and
parents of five children, viz: Joseph, Jennie,
Elizabeth, William and Nannie. The father,
Thomas Trimble, was a pioneer cattle dealer
and drover of Fairfield county, and died, in 1861,
one of its most respected citizens. After mar
riage, Mr. and Mrs. Peters lived in Lancaster,
Ohio, for one year, and then, in April, 1888,
came to Van Wert county and settled on 160
acres of land, which Newton Peters, the father
of Charles F., had purchased in 1883. Here
Charles F. has since been engaged in practic
ing farming, and his only child, Agnes, has
been born. In politics Mr. Peters is a repub

lican, and in religion he and wife stand high
in the membership of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Peters has proven himself to be a skill
ful farmer and a useful citizen, and well worthy
of the esteem which is reposed in him by his fel-
lowmen. He is ever ready to lend a helping hand
to the needy and never falls behind in his aid
to movements designed for the promotion of
the interests of the public in general. Up
right in all his actions, with a name untarn
ished by the slighest stain, he walks through
the paths of life with a genial smile on his
face, shedding sunshine on all whom he meets..

HOMAS DYDAMUS PRIDDY, one
of the oldest living settlers of Van
Wert county, Ohio, has been a resi
dent of Washington township since-
1835, having located here in April, of that
year. He is a son of William and Eliza (Butt-
ler) Priddy, of English and Irish origin and
good old Virginia colonial descent, coming from
an American family that ante-dated our Revo
lutionary war. The progenitor of the Priddy
family in America was the great-grandfather
of our subject, who had three sons, of whom
one, John, the grandfather of the subject of
this notice, settled in Ross county, Ohio, an
other located in Warren county, Ohio, and one-
remained in Virginia.
John Priddy, grandfather of Thomas D.
Priddy, the gentleman whose name opens this
biographical memoir, was born in the Old
Dominion, was a patriot in the war of the
Revolution, arid was married in Greenbrier
county (now in West Va.), to Martha Row,
after which he came to Ohio, and, as hinted
above, made his home in Ross county, but sub
sequently moved to Fayette county, where he
cleared up a farm, and had borne a family of
five children, viz: William, Elias, George, one
that died young, and Lucy. John Priddy was.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

607

a man of iron constitution, and in the fall of
1 83 5,- when seventy-nine years of age, rode
horseback 130 miles, in company with his son
George, to Van Wert county, and returned to
Fayette county in the same manner. He was
a good citizen and a pious christian, and died
on his farm, in the faith of the Methodist
church, between his eightieth and eighty-first
year of mundane happiness and usefulness.
William Priddy, father of our subject,
was also born in Greenbrier county, Va., his
birth occurring in 1793, and was still a young
man when he came to Ross county, Ohio,
with his father. Here he married Eliza Butt-
ler, of Delaware, a daughter of Benjamin Butt-
ler, who came from Ireland, was four times
married, was the father of fourteen children,
and lived to the extreme age of 108 years.
William Priddy was a soldier in the war of
18 12, and from 181 5 until November 29, 1832,
resided on his farm in Fayette county and there
entered land on the Auglaize river, in Putnam
county, but by a change of boundaries this
farm became a part of Marion township, Allen
county; Mr. Priddy, however, never took pos
session of this land, as it was never thrown
into market until after he had come to Van
Wert county, in March, 1835, and entered
eighty acres in Ridge and Washington town
ships, on the "ridge," on which he settled in
April, building a log cabin in the woods and
eventually clearing up a productive farm and
increasing it to 160 acres. To the marriage of
William Priddy and wife were born eight chil
dren, as follows: S. W. , A. T. , Thomas D.,
Mary A., Martha J., John N., Elizabeth S. and
William B., the sons growing up to assist in
clearing away the forest, and in hunting tbe
deer, bear and other wild game that reigned in
the umbrageous groves of that early day. Mr.
Priddy was a Methodist in religion and in pol
itics a whig, and died in 1848 at the age of
about fifty-five years.

Thomas D. Priddy, the subject of this bio
graphical memoir, was born in Fayette county,
Ohio, August 18, 1820, and was about fifteen
years of age when brought by his father to Van
Wert county, where he grew up among the old
pioneers, and where he has witnessed the won
derful transformations that have taken place
between then and now — then having wild game
and corn dodger or hoe cake for his daily food
and the log cabin for a shelter, but now viands
fit for a prince and a dwelling no gentleman
in the land need be ashamed of to abide in —
all earned by the exercise of the strong muscles
of his good sturdy arms. He had received a
slight education in Fayette county, which was
supplemented by a further attendance at the
schools of Van Wert county until he reached
the age of eighteen years. In 1835 Mr. Priddy
and his father erected the first round-log house
in Van Wert for the proprietors of the town —
George Marsh, Peter Puterpaugh and James
Riley — and then continued at the work of im
proving the home farm; and the farm, town
ship and county, indeed, owe much of their
development to the strenuous efforts of Mr.
Priddy. April 18, 1843, Mr. Priddy married,
in Van Wert county, Miss Caroline DeCamp,
who was born in Licking county, Ohio, Febru
ary 21, 1822, a daughter of John and Hannah
(Springer) DeCamp, who settled in Ridge town
ship, Van Wert county, in 1841. The father
of Mrs. Priddy was a blacksmith, was a pio
neer of Van Wert county, and died about 1850,
the father of ten children. After their mar
riage Mr. and Mrs. Priddy settled on the home
farm, which he increased in a short time to
206 acres, improved in a most excellent man
ner, and by half a century's attention has
made it what it is — the nonpareil of the town
ship. To their marriage were born two chil
dren — S. N. E. and Emerson. The elder, S.
N. E., is in the oil business in Findlay, and
Emerson is a lawyer of some prominence in

608

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Tiffin, Ohio, although most of his time is spent
in the oil business.
In 1847 occurred the death of Mrs. Caroline
Priddy, and in 1852 Mr. Priddy married Mrs.
Lucinda Pangle, a daughter of Thomas and
Millie Cochran and born in Franklin county,
Ohio. Thomas Cochran was an old settler of
Allen county, Ohio, with his wife was a mem
ber of the Methodist church, and in his day was
a man of considerable consequence. This
second union of Mr. Priddy was blessed with
fonrteen children, of whom nine lived to years
of maturity, viz: Millie J., Lucy A., Ann M.,
John L. , Charles F., Lester Bliss, Edward H.,
Watson H. and Josie. The second Mrs.
Priddy died August 4, 1892, also a member of
the Methodist church, and in 1895 Mr. Priddy
married Mrs. Julia A. Packham, who was born
in Fairfield county, Ohio, October 13, 1837, a
daughter of John and Rebecca (Vickers) Martin,
pioneers of that county. Mrs. Priddy is an
ardent member of the Methodist church and
Mr. Priddy has long been an advocate of the
cause of temperance. He votes with the re
publican party, and his eldest son was a soldier
in company H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infan
try during the late war, serving three years.
Mr. Priddy has been a very prominent and
popular man in his day and has been honored
with several local offices, which he really never
sought, but which he filled from a sense of duty
as a citizen — every duty as such being cheer
fully undertaken by him and faithfully per
formed when called upon. In the spring of
1894 he announced his name as a candidate
for congress, and made a most favorable race,
being one of the leading candidates until the
fourth ballot was taken, at which time Mr. U.
H. Hester, of Van Wert, announced his name,
taking with him sixteen of the delegates from
Van Wert county, which showed to him a
treacherous move on the part of some of his
would-be friends, and there was a shifting of

votes from other counties as well, which he did
not approve of; thus he withdrew his name and
bid adue to political life. Mr. Priddy has been
a prominent factor in home politics from the
early pioneer days of Van Wert county up to
the present time, and by his manly and most
honorable life has won for himself and main
tained a most enviable position in the esteem
of the residents of his township and county,
and one seldom attained by the ordinary
inhabitant. Mr. Priddy, late in the fall of 1895, forsook
his country home and retired to a most pleas
ant and comfortable residence in the town of
Middlepoint, where he expects to enjoy the
fruits of his earlier life. He was for many years
a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal
church and rode the circuit for four years; of
late years, however, he has withdrawn from
active church work, owing to the position taken
by some of its leading ministers toward the
temperance question, he having been suspended
by them for charging one of the leading mem
bers with frequenting saloons, which charges
were fully sustained by him, but which the
church failed to recognize.

(^"V'ETH PAINTER, of York township,
¦^^%T Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native
K^T of the state and was born in Colum
biana county on Independence day, in
1822. His parents were Samuel and Mary
(Hendricks) Painter, the former a native of
West Virginia, born May 28, 1794, and the
latter a native of Mauch Chunk, Pa., born
December 12, 1793. They were married in
Columbiana county, Ohio, where Samuel
Painter afterward carried on farming until his
death, July 29, 185 1, his widow surviving un
til June 1, 1874. Their children were born in
the following order: Nathan, who died in in-

SETH PAINTER.

^¦: '

M.

w

MRS. SETH PAINTER.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

613

fancy; Lorenzo, who accumulated great wealth
and died in California at the age of seventy-
two years; Stephen, who died aged twenty-
four years; Seth, our subject; Louisa, widow,
first, of John Thompson to whom she bore
three children, and secondly, widow of John
Marshall — Mrs. Marshall living at the present
with her daughter, Mrs. Harris, in Pittsburg,
Pa. ; Lucinda, widow of John Grimmessey,
and residing in Warren, Ohio; Lydia Ann, wife
of Robert Grimmessey, of Salem, Ohio; Samuel,
who died in Salisbury, N. C, a prisoner of
war; Mary and Susan, who both died in in
fancy. Orris Painter, the only child of
Stephen, mentioned above as one of the sons
of Samuel Painter, was also made captive in
the war and died in Libby prison, after having
endured all the torments of hunger usual in
the rebel prison dens.
Seth Painter, whose name opens this biog
raphy, passed his early life on his father's farm,
and was an attendant at the subscription
school till twelve years of age, and then, the
district schools being established, he attended
the latter until he reached his majority. June
12, 1845, ne wedded Miss Margaret Lyman,
daughter of James and Margaret Lyman, the
former of whom was a native of England, and
the latter, whose maiden name was Toole, a
native of county Kildare, Ireland. James
Lyman was for thirty-one years a sailor, and
died in New Orleans at the age of sixty-four
years, an American citizen; his widow survived
until eighty-seven years of age, and also died
in New Orleans. Seth Painter and his wife
came to their present home in York township
in June, 1849. The land had previously been
entered by his father, Samuel, during the ad
ministration of Martin Van Buren, the original
tract consisting of 333 acres, which his father
divided equally among his three sons. The
land was an utter wilderness, with no evidence
of ever having been invaded by a white man,

with the exception of a tree cut either by a
coon-hunter or the wild honey-bee hunter.
The whole tract of 333 acres eventually came
into the possession of our subject, and this he
increased, by purchase, to 488 acres.
To the union of Seth Painter and wife have
been born eight children, as follows: Clarke
and Stephen, who died in childhood; Samuel,
who resides on a farm near his father's, and
who married Priscilla Rank, who bore him
eight children; Mary Ellen and Francis, both
deceased; John, who also resides near his father,
who was first married to Jennie Rigdon and
secondly to Olive Roberts; Annie is the wife of
Joseph Wollam, and is the mother of one child
— Grace; Lucy is married to Milton Roberts,
and is the mother of three children — Glenn,
Viola and Amber. The children born to Sam
uel and Priscilla Painter, alluded to above,
were named Guerney, Lulu, Seth, Minnie
(deceased), Harry, Horace, Otto, and one that
died unnamed; to the first marriage of John
Painter was born one child, Russell, and the
children born to his second marriage were four
in number and were named Mabel, Pearl,
Velma, and Emma.
In church matters our subject is a member
of the Society of Friends, while his wife is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church;
in educational matters he has always been
foremost, and the second school in the district
was taught in a cabin built by him for the use
of Mrs. Painter as a kitchen. The name of
Seth Painter is a household name in Van Wert
county, while his splendid farm has a charm
for and is the delight of every passer-by. His
influence is felt everywhere, and every enter
prise of merit bears the impress of his touch.
Mrs. Painter says the change in the moral con
duct of the inhabitants of York township since
her coming here has been wonderful, and in
stead of hunting and carousing on Sunday the
people now attend church.

614

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

(D

ATTHEW A. PARLETT, of Ridge
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born in Cumberland county,
Pa., October 16, 1846, a son of
Philip and Elizabeth (Tauser) Parlett. While
living in Pennsylvania Philip Parlett was mana
ger of a blast furnace, but in 1856 brought his
wife and six children to Ohio, two of his sons,
William and George, having preceded him a
year or more. The children, besides Matthew
A., who came with the father, were named
Daniel, David H. (deceased) and Margaret
(wife of Charles Emerine). The family first
located in Champaign county, but in 1858 re
moved to Wyandot county, where the death
of the mother took place in 1859, and that of
the father in 1863. The latter had been a
soldier in the Eighty-second Ohio infantry dur
ing the recent war, and there contracted a dis
order which was the radical cause of his death.
Matthew A. Parlett passed his life on the
farm until he reached his sixteenth year, when
he enlisted in Company B, Sixty-sixth Ohio
infantry, for three years, and took part in the
battles of Port Republic, Gettysburg and Chan-
cellorsville; was next at Lookout Mountain and
Missionary Ridge, and, indeed, was with his
regiment in all its marches and engagements
until his discharge, August 15, 1865, at Louis
ville, Ky. , having served three years and eleven
months. July 2, 1868, Mr. Parlett was first
married, his bride being Miss Jennie Graham,
who bore him three children, viz: Ollie, wife
of Douglas Longbrake, of Hardin county, Ohio;
John Wesley, at home, and Nelson, deceased.
The mother died May 29, 1878, and Novem
ber 24 of the same year Mr. Parlett married
Caroline McCleary, daughter of Joseph and
Mary (Todd) McCleary, natives of Pennsylva
nia and parents of four children, viz : Char
lotte, wife of Israel Gibbs, of Pennsylvania;
Caroline, Mrs. Parlett; Jennie, wife of John
Sophield, of Wyandot county, Ohio, and Will

iam, of Van Wert county. Mr. and Mrs.
McCleary were early settlers of Wyandot
county and there ended their days — the father
dying in 1862, from disease contracted in the
late war, and the mother dying April 26, 1873.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. (McCleary)
Parlett are six in number, and are named May
Elizabeth, Ralph A, Lela May, Clara Guella,
Ethel and Nora Blanche. Mr. and Mrs. Par
lett are consistent members of the Methodist
church, and in politics Mr. Parlett is an ar
dent republican. Matthew A. Parlett, our
subject, came to Van Wert county in February,
1882, and located on his present farm of eighty
acres in Ridge township, having previously
purchased the place. Since his residence here
he has made many friends, and is fully recog
nized as a model farmer and useful citizen.

EENRY PRICE, a stationary engineer
of Van Wert, Ohio, was born Octo
ber 28, 1838, and is a son of Amos
Price, who was born in Montgomery
county, Pa., in October, 1808. By trade
Amos Price was a stone-mason, but for many
years, instead of working at his trade, he was
a contractor on railroad building. In 1 829 he
married Miss Sarah Bergy, and in 1845 re
moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, where he
was also engaged in contracting. Remaining
in Montgomery county until 1862, he removed
to Van Wert county, where he gave up con
tracting for the reason that the Cincinnati,
Jackson & Mackinaw Railroad company owed
him a good deal of money. For some years
he then lived retired from active business of
any kind, except that he lived on a farm and
did a little work on that property. There he
lived till his death, which occurred in 1882.
He was a man of unusual ability and en
ergy and amassed a considerable fortune. At
the time of the Philadelphia riots in 1843 he

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

615

was a member of the militia and aided in sup
pressing the disturbance. He was a firm re
publican in politics, and a true .believer in the
German Baptist or Dunkard faith. He was a
man that gave freely of his means, and was
very popular with all classes of people. He
and his wife were the parents of the following
children: John, James, Elizabeth, Margaret,
Henry, Amos, Sarah, Daniel and Caroline,
nine in number, and of these, Daniel, while
serving in the army, was wounded in the battle'
of Lookout Mountain, was taken prisoner, and
was never heard of again; John is living in
Van Wert; James died in August, 1862; Eliza
beth and Margaret died in Celina; Amos is
living in Van Wert; Sarah in Paulding county,
and Caroline is living in Van Wert county.
Henry Price, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Montgomery county, Pa. , and at
an early age learned the trade of a turner.
Soon afterward, however, he learned engineer
ing and in 1868 removed to Celina, Ohio,
where he was engaged for nine years as sta
tionary engineer. In 1 877 he removed to Van
Wert and has been similarly engaged ever
since. He has always been noted for his hon
est, straightforward way of transacting his
business and of treating his fellow-men. He
is popular everywhere and has many good,
warm friends. In politics he is a republican,
and in religion a member of the Methodist
church. He is now in very comfortable cir
cumstances and lives a quiet, unobtrusive life,
with his family in his beautiful little home in
the city of Van Wert.
Mr. Price was married April 7, 1862, to
Miss Hattie Hawn, by whom he has had the
following children: Amanda, born in 1862
Mattie, born in 1864; Emma, born in 1867
Charles, born in 1877; Lulu, born in 1878
May, born in 1879; Ida, born in 1880, and
Nora, born in 1881. Beside these, there was
one child that died in infancy. Mrs. Hattie

(Hawn) Price is a daughter of George W.
Hawn, who was born in Cincinnati September
14, 1812. He was by trade and by life-long
occupation a painter, and met with most grati
fying success. He was married February 17,
1834, to Miss Mary Martin, by whom he had
four children, as follows: Sarah, born Sep
tember 4, 1835; Walter, born March 25, 1837;
George, born March 15, 1840, and Hattie,
born September 24, 1843.
The ancestry of Mr. Price, it may be- said
in closing this brief sketch, were among the
nobility of Italy. His great-great-grandfather
was a very wealthy man, and was banished
from his native country to England because he
was a strong and persistent advocate of the
people's rights. From England he emigrated
to the United States, where after some years
he died.

HSA POLLOCK, an old and well known
citizen of Jennings township, and a
representative of one of the pioneer
families of Van Wert county, is a son
of Thomas and Elizabeth (Graham) Pollock,
and dates his birth on the 24th day of Septem
ber, 1823. His parents were natives of Penn
sylvania, but became residents of Ohio as early
as 1S12, settling in Columbiana county, where
they reared a family, the names of their chil
dren being as follows: William, died in 1894;
John, deceased; Mary, deceased wife of John
Hyer; Nelson, deceased; Robert; Asa; Jane,
deceased, wife of Josiah Wolford; Elizabeth,
deceased; Martha, deceased; Harris P., killed
at the battle of Lookout Mountain; James,
who died in childhood; Ellen, deceased wife
of William Lindsey.
Thomas Pollock and family moved to the
county of Van Wert, in 1838, locating in what
is now Ridge township, the country at that.
time being a comparative wilderness. Mr_

¦616

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Pollock built the first court house and jail in
Van Wert, and it is a fact worthy of note that
the subject of this sketch, then a boy in his
'teens, did the cooking for the builders. It is
stated, as a matter of historical interest, that
the first two occupants of the jail were John
Myers and Samuel Mattocks, who usually re
mained in their cells during the day and rambled
at will through the village and country of
nights. There were few roads at that time in
the country, and the subject relates that deer,
wild turkeys and other kinds of game were
plentiful, and formed much of the diet of the
early settlers. Thomas Pollock died in No
vember. 1865, his wife in 1868.
Asa Pollock was born in Columbiana
county, spent his boyhood at farm labor, and
ended his school days at the early age of
twelve years. It might be said that he literally
grew up with ax in hand, and he assisted in
felling the forest on his father's place in Van
Wert county, performing a man's labor when
but a lad, and learning the lessons of industry
for which he has since been noted. He is proud
of the fact that his parents were godly people,
and they failed not to instruct him in his duties
to his Maker and his fellow man.
Mr. Pollock was married, in 1853, to Mary
Leathers, daughter of Christian and Catherine
Leathers, the issue of which union is as fol
lows: John, who died in early childhood;
Alfretta, wife of Jacob Turner; Ellen, wife of
Jacob Dibert; Abraham L., married to Amanda
Zeigler; Allen B. ; Katie, wife of John Wilcox;
Hugh G., who married May Norman; Lewis
Otto, married to Daisy Williams; William H. ;
Charley, who died in infancy, and Jesse.
Mr. Pollock can truthfully say that he
earned every dollar that he possesses, and he
is now the owner of 220 acres of valuable land
in the townships of Jennings and Washington.
He has served as trustee of his township four
terms and discharged the duties of the office in

a highly satisfactory manner. Mr. Pollock is a
Presbyterian in his religious belief, while his
wife subscribes to the creed of the Lutheran
church.

HOMAS POLLOCK, an agriculturist
of the modern school, and consequent
ly progressive, was born in Ridge
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
July 9, 1858, and here he still makes his home.
His parents, Robert and Elizabeth (Sutton)
Pollock, were also natives of the Buckeye state,
and settled in what is" now Ridge township,
Van Wert, county, in 1838, Thomas Pollock,
the father of Robert, having entered, some
years, previously, 160 acres in the wilds of
Washington township, the farm being later
merged with Ridge. Robert Pollock followed
farmer all his active days, with the exception
of two years, when he held the office of county
treasurer under the auspices of the democratic
party, of which he was an adherent. To
Robert and Elizabeth Pollock were born be
side Thomas, our subject, two children, viz :
Samuel, who reached the age of thirty-six
years, and Ella, now the wife of Aaron Zeigler,
of Adams county, Ind. Robert Pollock died
November 13, 1888, and was deeply mourned
by a host of sincere friends, who had honored
him for the upright and useful life he had led,
and loved him for his benevolent disposition
and gentle manners.
Thomas Pollock, beside his agricultural
training, enjoyed excellent school advantages
in his native township, also attended a com
mercial college at Delaware, Ohio, October 14,
1884. He wedded Ida McMillan, daughter of
Jackson and Harriet (Gilliland) McMillan.
Mrs. Ida Pollock is an accomplished lady and
an excellent scholar, having been a school
teacher in Van Wert prior to her marriage.
To the congenial union of Thomas and Ida

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

617

Pollock have been born four bright children,
who have been named Walter, Robbie, Nellie
and Gordon. In religion Mr. and Mrs. Pol
lock cling to the faith of our subject's parents
— that of the Presbyterian church ; in his fra
ternal affiliations, Mr. Pollock is a Knight of
Pythias, and is a charter member of the Nor
mal lodge, No. 640, at Middlepoint; in his
political views he follows the teachings of his
father, who, as will have been seen, was a
democrat. As a farmer, Mr. Pollock has been
progressive and has kept himself well abreast
of the improved and advanced position which
agriculture now holds in the industries of the
world, and this vocation he has made a life
long study and the labor of his hands since a
boy, with the exception of the period passed
as an assistant to his father in the county treas
urer's office. He is now the owner of 120
acres of well improved land, that will compare
favorably with any tract of equal size in the
county, and he stands as high in the social
ranks of his township as he does in the rank
of his agricultural associates.

'fcpj'OHN E. PRICHARD, a native of Cin-
¦ cinnati, Ohio, was born August 30,
A 1 1868, a son of John and Elizabeth
(Evans) Prichard, both natives of Wales.
About 1845 the parents came to America, and
when landing in New York the father found
himself without a dollar. He succeeded, how
ever, in borrowing enough money, of D. O.
Evans, to carry him to Cincinnati, Mr. Evans
accompaning him. There, Mr. Prichard en
gaged in boiler-making, after having passed
through a severe spell of sickness, his faithful
wife keeping vigil at the bedside, binding shoes
in ordet to keep the wolf from the door. The
father worked in Cincinnati for twenty years,
laying aside a little money, and then came to
Van Wert county and purchased eighty acres

of land, now vested in the name of our sub
ject, J. E. Prichard. In 1859 John Prichard
brought his family to his pioneer home, em
ployed a carpenter by the name of Russell to
put a cover on his unfinished cabin and to assist
in hewing out the puncheon floor; here he re
sided until his death, which occurred in March,
1 88 1, at the age of fifty-nine years; his wife-
survived until March 11, 1892; they were the
parents of ten children, viz: Richard, who died
in Wales in infancy; Ann, the wife of John
Bevington; John E., our subject; Jane, de
ceased; George, a farmer of York township;
Elizabeth, deceased wife of John Jones;
Richard, on the old home place; William, of
York township; Jennie, wife of Thomas Hughes,
and Mary Jane, who died in infancy.
John Prichard spent his boyhood days on
the farm assisting his father, having but few if
any school advantages. October 15, 1873, he
married Mary Elizabeth Culver, a daughter of
Cummings and Melchoir (Heath) Culver, the
former a native of New York state. They be
came the parents of the following children:
Nancy Jane, wife of William Coe, of Findlay,
Ohio; Franklin, of Upper Sandusky; John,
Ozias, William and Asel, all of Upper San
dusky, and Ebenezer, who resides with his
uncle, William Heath. At the age of ten
years Mrs. Prichard lost her mother, and Mr.
Culver, her father, married Catherine Meyers,
and after her death Mr. Culver married the
Widow Stoneburnner. To Mr. Prichard and
wife have been born two children, Nannie, an
accomplished young lady who has taught
school for three years, and William, who aids
his father on the farm. Mr. Prichard owns a
handsome farm of 120 acres having " taken it
from the stump." His farm is now adorned
with fine buildings and is thoroughly improved
in all respects ; Mr. Prichard has held the office
of township trustee since 1890, and also served
as a member of the board of school directors..

'618

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

He is recognized as an enterprising and public-
spirited citizen, whose word has never been
violated and whose thrift is proverbial through
out the township.

WOHN RAHRIG, a wealthy and old-time
A farmer of Jennings township, Van Wert
A J county, Ohio, was born in Alsace,
w" Germany, April i, 1825. His father,
Philip Rahrig, was born in the same Franco-
German province in 1797, was a weaver, and
by his first marriage became the father of three
children — George, Philip and John. In 1830
the father and his family sailed for America,
but on the voyage the wife was confined with
child and died, and she and the new-born
infant were buried in the deep, deep sea.
On landing in Baltimore, Philip Rahrig had
only two five-franc pieces, which he paid to a
teamster for hauling himself and children to
the country where he had secured employ
ment among the Pennsylvania-Dutch then
settled thereabout. Shortly afterward he
went to Franklin county, Pa. , worked there
five years, and then came to Ohio, locating in
Seneca county, bringing with him his second
wife, whom he married in Pennsylvania and
who bore the maiden name of Mary A. Myers,
a daughter of Michael Myers, a native of
Alsace. To this union were born seven chil
dren, viz: Elizabeth, Michael, Joseph, Jacob,
Peter, Patrick and Barbara. Mr. Rahrig
cleared up forty acres in Seneca county, on
which he lived until about 1865 or 1866, when-
he moved to Allen county, bought 160 acres in
the woods in section No. 11, Marion township,
and made a good farm, and when years came
on apace he retired to Landeck, where he
died at the residence of his son, Joseph, in
1888, at the extreme age of ninety-one years
and three months, in the faith of the Catholic
church.

John Rahrig, our subject, was but five years
old when brought to America by his father,
and was reared to farming in Pennsylvania and
Seneca county, Ohio, and in December, 1848,
came to Van Wert county and entered forty
acres in the woods of Jennings township — a
part of the farm on which he still lives. He
then returned to Seneca county, where he
married, September 7, 185 1, Miss Barbara
Bockey, who was born November 4, 1831.
The marriage of John and Margaret (Simons)
Bockey resulted in the birth of six children,
viz: Joseph, Mary, August, Elizabeth, Bar
bara and Matthias. In 1852 Mr. Rahrig made
a trip to California, via New Orleans and Pan
ama, to San Francisco, worked in the mines
and returned with some gold. In 1854 he
settled on his present farm, built a log cabin,
cleared up the place, increased his possessions
to 240 acres, improved it throughout, and
made it one of the best farms in the county.
Mr. Rahrig lost his wife in 1868; she was
yet a comparatively young woman, dying at
about the age of thirty-six years, a devout
member of the Catholic church. In 1870 Mr.
Rahrig secured, as his second helpmate, An
toinette Deming, a native of Germany, who
bore four children — Thomas, Frank, Lena and
Rose — and died in 1878, also in the Catholic
faith. Mr. Rahrig's third marriage took place
January 17, 1885, to Mrs. Mary A. Williams,
widow of Michael Williams. This lady was
born in Germany December 19, 1832, a daugh
ter of Matthias and Margaret (Wiker) Frank-
ert, the father being an old settler of Seneca
county, Ohio, where he owned a good farm,
on which he ended his days, a devout Catholic
and the father of seven children — Jane, Nich
olas, Mary, Marion, John, John Nicholas and
Katie. Mrs. Rahrig, by her first marriage,
was the mother of nine children, all of whom
lived to maturity, viz: Tillie, Margaret, John,
Jacob, Peter, Mary, Katie, Emma and Mi-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

619

chael. Mr. Rahrig has acted as councilman
in the Catholic church for twelve years, and
assisted to build the first church belonging
to that denomination in Landeck, of which
his wife is equally a faithful member as him
self. Mr. Rahrig was also among the first to
start the movement that resulted in the erec
tion of the present Catholic church in Lan
deck, and he and wife are recognized as among
the most liberal of its supporters. As a citizen
no resident of the township is more respected
than Mr. Rahrig, and Mrs. Rahrig is esteemed
as a lady of exceptional womanly virtues.

OWEN O. PUGH, a native of Wales,
was born in June, 1843, a son of
Hugh and Martha (Edwards) Pugh.
In 1850 Hugh Pugh with his wife and
two sons, Owen O. and David, came to Amer
ica and located in Mahoning county, Ohio,
where Hugh, the father, engaged in mining for
a year and a half; he was also a minister and
often filled the pulpit. From Mahoning he
went to Portage county, Ohio, where be was
engaged in the ministry for two years, and
then came to Van Wert county, and located
on the farm now owned by our subject and
which contains 120 acres, at that time all in
the woods. This farm he cleared up and im
proved and lived upon for twelve years; he
then moved to Putnam county and purchased
120 acres, on which he resided until his death
in 1878. Hugh Pugh was the first resident
preacher in this part of the state, and followed
his calling until the end of life. Mrs. Martha
Pugh resides in Venedocia, the mother of six
children, viz: David, who grew to manhood
and died at the age of twenty-nine years;
Owen O., our subject; Hugh, who died at the
age of three weeks; Margaret, who also died
in childhood; Jane, the wife of Thomas W.
Hughes; and John E., who resides on the old

homestead in Putnam county and is married to
Anna Jones.
Owen O. Pugh, our subject, was reared on
the home farm, where he performed the most
of the work, his father being an invalid. May
4, 1865, he was united in wedlock with
Eleanor Evans, a daughter of Rowland and
Jane (Jones) Evans. Mrs. Pugh was born in
New York state, where her father had located
on coming from Wales, in 1842, whence, three
years later, he moved to Butler county, Ohio,
where he made another stop of three years,
and then, in 1848, came to Van Wert county,
and located on a farm near Venedocia, which
he had previously purchased. Rowland Evans
and wife are the parents of six children, viz:
Mrs. Pugh; Margaret, deceased wife of John
M. Jones; William, who grew to manhood,
reared a family and died in Gomer, in 1891;
Mary, wife of Rich Breese, of York township,
Van' Wert county; John, who died in the full
vigor of manhood; and Robert, who died in
childhood. In 1885 Mrs. Pugh lost her
mother, and the father subsequently married a
Welsh lady named Ann Jones, and is now a
resident of Venedocia. To Owen Pugh and
wife have been born nine children, viz: Mar
garet Jane, who died just in the fulness of
womanhood; Martha, who died at three
months of age; Hugh E., managing his father's
farm; Martha Ann; Elizabeth, Marion, Eleanor;
Laura and David Garfield, the latter born on
the day of Garfield's inauguration as president
of the United States, at home; and John, who
died aged four months. In politics Mr. Pugh
is a republican, and in 1877 was elected trustee
of the township and served two years, and in
1895 was re-elected to the same office. Our
subject and family are devout members of the
Welsh Presbyterian church, of which he was
for three years a trustee. In October, 1892,
Mr. Pugh and his wife made a trip to the old
country, visiting the scenes of his boyhood.

620

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mr. and Mrs. Pugh in their social affiliations
mingle with the best society of the town, and
he is honored for his true integrity and broad
public spirit.

>-j'AMES POTTER, the genial proprietor
¦ of the Avenue Hotel, at Van Wert,
A J Ohio, was born in Bedford county, Pa.,
November 15, 1845, and is a son of
George and Catherine fYon) Potter. George
Potter, the .father, was born in the same
county and state, a son of William and Geor-
gianna Potter, who came from Germany in
early life and settled in the Keystone state,
where William engaged in milling. George
was but sixteen years of age when his father
died, and he was left in charge of the mill,
which his father had never completed, but
which George operated for a few years. Then,
disposing of it, he bought a mill in the same
county, which mill he operated fifteen years;
then sold and moved to Martinsburg, Pa., in
1864, where he remained until 1866, when he
settled at Altoona, Pa., where he dealt in real
estate until his death, in 1878. His wife,
Catherine Yon, was born in Maryland, but
their marriage took place in Pennsylvania.
To this marriage there were born twelve chil
dren, viz: John, William, Jacob, Loretta
and twin a sister died in infancy; Leora, Levi
(killed at Kenesaw Mountain, a member of the
Twenty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, com
pany C), Simon, Caroline, James, Jeremiah,
David and a deceased infant. The mother of
this family also died in 1880, a member of the
Lutheran church, of which her husband had
also been a member. In politics the father
was a democrat, and the estate be left was
valued at $30,000.
James Potter, the subject of this biogra
phy, was an inmate of his parents' home until
eighteen years of age, when, February 29,

1864, he enlisted in company A, One Hundred
and Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania volunteer in
fantry, was assigned to the Second army corps,
army of the Potomac, participated in the bat
tle of Spottsylvania C. H., and at Cold Har
bor was wounded in the left ankle by a gun
shot. He was at once taken to the Emory
hospital at Washington, D. C. , and confined
therein until June 27, 1864, when he was
transferred to the Darby hospital, at Philadel
phia, and a short time afterward removed to
Satterlee hospital of the same city, where he
remained until the spring of 1865; he was
thence transferred to the Germantown hos
pital, where he veteranized, became a member
of the One Hundredth veteran reserve corps,
and remained there until September 15, 1865,
when he was honorably discharged and re
turned to his home at Martinsburg, Pa.
There he lived until the following October,
when he came to Ohio and entered into the
milling business in Morrow county with a
brother for a partner. The following soring
he made a trip to the west, but soon retvr"*"*
and rejoined his brother until 1868, whe.
went to Marseilles, Lasalle county, 111., w
he was employed in a mill for four moi .as.
Then he worked in a mill in Westfield, Ohio,
until 1869, when he was married, November
14; then engaged in the restaurant business at
Ashley, Ohio, for three months.. In March,
1870, he opened a meat market in Van Wert,
but three months later sold out. and entered
the Eagle and Van Wert stave works, wh <-p
he continued for the long period of eight i ^
a half years, or longer, acting as chief engi
neer. In 1879 he sold washing machines for
three months; he next was employed for
twenty-two months in a meat market, and,
then for twenty months kept a restaurant.
In June, 1882, he opened the Avenue Hotel,
which popular house of entertainment he has-
conducted ever since. This honse has twenty-

JAMES POTTER.

rV

MRS. NETTIE POTTER.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

625

eight rooms, measuring on the average iox 14
feet, which are furnished to the public at $1
per day, or board and room for $4. 50 per week.
Mr. Potter was married, in Westfield, Ohio,
November 14, 1869, to Miss Nettie Terry, who
was born in Westfield, April 8, 1848, and this
union has been blessed with seven children, viz:
Addie, wife of E. O. Riffle, agent of the C, J.
& M. R. R. at Paulding, Ohio; Harry, de
ceased; Mollie, deceased; George; Frankie, de
ceased; Kittie, deceased, and Elmer. Mr. Pot
ter is a member of the G. A. R. and of the
Nathional Union; he is also a member of the
Lutheran church, while Mrs. Potter is a con
sistent and faithful member of the Methodist
Episcopal church.
Mrs. Nettie Potter was born in Westfield,
Morrow county, Ohio, April 8, 1848, and is a
daughter of Edward and Rossetta (Higley)
Terry. Edward Terry was born in Connecti
cut, in 1805, and was a son of George W. and
Deborah (Brondage) Terry, both natives of
New York, and whose home was at Tioga
Center, and there they both died. Mr. Terry
was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal
church and a man of much learning and elo
quence. He and his wife were the parents of
nine children, Edward being the third son.
Edward Terry was educated in his native
county, remaining at home until he was eight
een years of age. Then going to Poughkeep-
sie, N. Y. , he there learned the trade of shoe
maker, which he followed in Spencer, Tioga
county, N. Y. , until 1838. Locating then at
Westfield, Ohio, he still followed his trade until
1 86 1, and then enlisted in company D, Sixty-
fifth Ohio volunteer infantry for three years.
He served for three months, when he contracted
a severe cold, and being unable longer to serve
his country as a soldier, he was discharged, and
returning to his home he remained until his
death, which occurred December 5, 1866.
On June 21, 1842, he married Miss Rosetta
27

Higley, who was born in Auburn, N.Y. , March
14, 1822, and was a daughter of Chauncey and
Margaret (Head) Higley, both natives of New
York. Mr. Higley was a distiller and moved
to Ohio in 1840, locating at Westfield, where
he resided until his death, August 2, 1887. His
widow resides at Ashley, Ohio, aged ninety-
one. They were the parents of eight children,
of whom five reached mature years. Mr. Hig
ley was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in politics was a democrat. His
widow still adheres to the Methodist faith, and
her standing is high in the social circles in
which she moves.

.sV^AWSON RADER is a well-known
| ^^ resident of Washington township, Van
Jl .f Wert county, Ohio, is an ex-soldier
of the Civil war, and was born near
Columbus, Ohio, four miles north of the state
house, February 4, 1844.
Frederick Rader, father of our subject, was
born in Germany, March 4, 1807, and came to
America in 1825, at the age of eighteen years,
became a butcher and stock dealer, and located
in Fredericksburg, whence he moved to Colum
bus, Ohio, where he married Mary Welsh, and
by her became the father of three children —
John, Rawson and Elmira — the last named
dying a married woman. The father did a
successful business in and near Columbus for a
number of years, and then moved to Delaware
county, whence he came to Van Wert county
in 1869, and located on a forty-acre tract in
Washington township, which tract he con
verted into a good farm, on which he passed
the remaining years of his life.
Rawson Rader, our subject, received a
fair education in the common schools of Ohio,
and was taught the woolen manufacturing
trade in Marysville, Union county, which he
began at the age of fourteen years, and at the

626

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

<end of three years had learned thoroughly.
September 10, 1870, he married, in Delaware
county, Ohio, Miss Minnie Daniels, daughter
of David and Elizabeth (Hall) Daniels, of New
York state, and of English origin, but prox
imately of New England Puritan descent. Da
vid Daniels was a lumberman, was a success
ful business man and reared a fami1}' of six
children, viz: Martha, Jane, Mary, John,
Phebe and Minnie. Mr. Daniels died in York
state, and his widow later came to Ohio. She
had been married, in Bath, N. Y. , to Henry
Manchester, who died in i860, and by whom
she had one child — Ebbie. She afterward
married A. Smith, and died in 1892. Nine
days after his marriage, Mr. Rader found him
self settled on a farm of forty acres in the
woods, which he cleared up and occupied until
1 88 1, having had born to him in the meanwhile
six children, viz: Eva, Elmer, Estella, Enos,
George and Celia, and later occupied a small
farm of thirty-two acres on the ridge. Mr.
and Mrs. Rader are sincere members of the
Methodist church, while the republican party
claims his franchise. He is a thorough friend
of education, and has seen to it that his chil
dren have not been neglected in that respect.
Elmer Rader, son of Rawson Rader, our
subject, is a graduate of the Western Ohio
Normal school, of Middlepoint, Ohio, andh as
been a successful school-teacher for three
years. Mr. Rader served in the Civil war,
having enlisted, at the age of seventeen years,
at Marysville, Union county, Ohio, and, hav
ing run away from home for the purpose, his
parents objecting to his enlistment on account
of his youth. He was mustered in, however,
in July, 1863, in company B, Eighty-sixth
Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. James
Fields, for six months, and took an active part
in the repelling of the rebel general, John
Morgan, who was at that time ravaging the fair
state of Ohio. His regiment struck Morgan's

trail at Eagle Ford, twelve miles from Zanes
ville, on the Muskingum river, and followed
him to Bellaire, Ohio, where the rebel was
captured, but later escaped. Mr. Rader also
served in Kentucky, and was on duty during
the bitterly cold New Year's day of 1864. He
is now a member of the G. A. R. post, No.
260, in which he has held the office of com
mander and other offices. John Rader, elder
brother of Rawson, served in company G,
Ninety-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, was in
many battles, but escaped unwounded.

sr

ILLIAM LUTHER RANK, the
leading undertaker of Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Richland county,
Ohio, May 13, 1843. His father,
Joseph Rank, was a native of Cumberland
county, Pa., born November 10, 181 5, and
son of George and Christina (Ely) Rank.
George Rank was also born in Pennsylvania,
was reared a farmer and was educated both in
German and English. He was married in his
native state and in 1829 came to Ohio, and
purchased land near Shelby, in Richland
county, where agriculture engaged his atten
tion until his death in November, 185 1, his
wife surviving until July, 1852. They were
the parents of twelve children, viz: Nancy,
Samuel, Susan, George, Catherine, Sarah,
Joseph (father of our subject), John, Lydia,
Christina and two that died in infancy. The par-
rents of this family were members of the Ger
man Reform church, and in politics Mr. Rank
was a democrat.
Joseph Rank, son of the above and father
of our subject, was reared on the pioneer
home farm in Ohio until he reached manhood,
when he returned to Pennsylvania and served
an apprenticeship at shoemaking with his
brother Samuel. He worked at his trade as a
journeyman until his marriage, November 6,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

627

1838, to Miss Eliza Myers, a native of the
Keystone state, born November 1, 181 3, and a
daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Myers, also
natives of Pennsylvania. After marriage
Joseph and his young wife settled on a farm
in Richland county, Ohio, near Shelby, and
there he tilled the soil until 1854, when he
brought his growing family to Van Wert
county, Ohio, and purchased 160 acres in
Union township, where he followed farming
until his death, June 18, 1891, having lost his
wife December 8, 1886. The family of Joseph
Rank and wife was comprised of six children,
viz: Sebina, wife of Isaac Hoaglin, of Hoaglin
township, Van Wert county; William L. , the
subject of this sketch; George A., a farmer of
Union township; J. F., a photographer of Van
Wert; Pricilla A., wife of S. Painter, of York
township, and Margaret L., wife of Charles
Barrow, of Union township. The father of
this family was a steward in the Methodist
Episcopal church, of which his wife was also
a devout member; in early life he was in poli
tics a democrat, but later became a prohibi
tionist; he was well read and took great inter
est in the county schools was a man of deter
mination and a good and honorable citizen, and
by his industry was enabled to leave his heirs
a fine farm of 200 acres.
William Luther Rank had reached the age
of eleven years when his parents settled in Van
Wert county, with whom he remained until he
reached his majority. He then engaged in
farming on his own account for one year on a
tax claim in Union township, when, February
7, 1865, he enlisted in company B, One Hun
dred and Ninety-second Ohio volunteer infan
try, for one year, and served under Capt.
Isaac W. Patrick until honorably discharged at
Wirichester, Va., September 1, 1865; he then
located in Van Wert, and engaged in shoe-
making until 1874, when he joined his brother,
J. F. , in photographic work until 1885, in

February of which year he embarked in the
undertaking business and funeral directing,
which is his present employment, and in which
he has ever since been a public favorite. The
marriage of Mr. Rank took place in Union
township, Van Wert county, October 20,
1863, to Miss Lydia Hattery, who was born in
Columbiana county, Ohio, September 6, 1841,
a daughter of Andrew and Sarah (Jervis) Hat
tery, natives of Virginia, who came to Van
Wert county in 1843 and farmed in Hoaglin
township until the end of their days. The
union of Mr. and Mrs. Rank has been blessed
by the birth of one child Vernilis A., January
7, 1877, but whom they had the misfortune to
lose July 18, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Rank are
members of the Episcopal church, in which he
is a class-leader and exhorter, and he is also a
master Mason, an Odd Fellow, and a member
of the Royal Arcanum and of the National
Union; in politics he is a republican. He owns
considerable property, and in connection with
his undertaking business handles picture frames,
moldings, easels, etc., and is very popular as
a business man generally.

@

EORGE A. RANK, a progressive and
prosperous farmer of Union township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, is a son of
Joseph and Eliza (Myers) Rank, of
whom further mention is made elsewhere in
full detail in the sketch of W. L. Rank, and
was born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1845.
When he was ten years of age his parents
brought him to Van Wert county, where he
has grown to manhood. He was reared on
his father's farm and was an able assistant in
developing the same from the wild woods, and
his education was acquired in the primitive log
school-house of his early days. He resided
with his parents until his marriage, November
12, 1874, with Miss Ada Pope, daughter of

628

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Cordon and Esther (Barrow) Pope, to which
union have been born two children — Alta A.
and Joseph O. Mrs. Rank was born in Dela
ware county, Ohio, February 9, 1850, her
parents being natives of the Buckeye state,
but at the early age of eleven years lost her
mother, after which sad event she lived with
her uncle, Edward Barrow, of Richland county,
until her marriage.
After his marriage Mr. Rank settled on a
part of the old homestead, and with the help
of his young wife continued the improvement
already begun. Later he purchased a portion
of the old home farm, and, on the death of his
father, received yet another portion as his
legacy. He later removed to his present home,
which comprises eighty acres, all but ten acres
cleared, well drained and in an excellent state
of cultivation. Mrs. Rank was christened in
the Lutheran church, but Mr. Rank is an
active and influential member of the Meth
odist church, to both of which denominations
he contributes liberally. In politics he is a
conservative democrat ; fraternally he is a mem
ber of the Royal Arcanum lodge of Van Wert,
No. 196. He is an enterprising, public-spirited
citizen, and he and family are highly respected
throughout the township and county.

M* i' F. RANK, the leading photographer of
A Van Wert, Ohio, is the third son of
A J Joseph and Eliza (Myers) Rank. (For
history of the Rank family see biography
of W. L. Rank.)
J. F. Rank was born August 17, 1847, ar
Shelby, Richland county, Ohio; his parents
moved to Van Wert when he was seven years
of age, and here he was reared and had the
advantage of both the select and common
schools of the town until he reached the age
of eighteen years. He taught in the public
schools of the county for some four years most

successfully; then for a time he became a clerk
in a grocery store. In 1872 he entered the
photograph gallery of Mr. Hartsock as a stu
dent; two months later he purchased the estab
lishment of Mr. Hartsock and carried on the
business successfully for some twenty-one
years, when he disposed of it, and during the
following two years traveled over a large, por
tion of the United States; he witnessed the
stirring scenes attending the opening of the
Cherokee strip in 1893,, and then went south,
obtaining photographic views of the Indian
settlements along the Texas border. After
ward he joined his family in Iowa, and later
located at Schuyler, Nebr., where he was in
charge of a photograph gallery for a short
time. Subsequently he purchased a residence
in Lincoln, Neb., where he remained for some
two years, and then returned to Van Wert,
where he established his present gallery July 1,
1895. This gallery is located at No. ill
West Main street, and contains a suite of eight
rooms, including reception, waiting, working
and operating rooms, all supplied with elabor
ate furniture, and with apparatus of the latest
invention, in every detail up to date. This
establishment is conceded to be the finest in
northwestern Ohio. Success has attended Mr.
Rank in this, his second venture in the busi
ness, for which he is well adapted by reason of
his urbane and courteous manners. In con
nection with his gallery he also carries an
extensive line of all kinds of picture frames.
Mr. Rank, in 1874, married Miss Mary J.,
daughter of W. F. McBride, of Oskaloosa,
Iowa. To this union four children have been
born, viz: Harry, who died at the age of two
years; Ethel and Mabel, twins, and Myrtle.
The twins, Ethel and Mabel, are so wonder
fully alike in size, color of eyes, hair, com
plexion and tones of voice that their parents
are sometimes puzzled to tell which is which.
Mr. Rank has been a consistent member of the

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

629

Methodist Episcopal church since the age of
twelve years; he is an enthusiastic worker in
the Sunday-school, of which he has been
superintendent some two years; politically Mr.
Rank is a republican, and fraternally a mem
ber of the I. O. O. F. , well up in the degrees,
having passed all the chairs. No family in
the community stand higher in the estimation
of their neighbors.

aHARLES EDWIN REDRUP, a loco
motive engineer on the Cincinnati,
Jackson & Mackinaw railroad, and the
oldest employee of the road in any
capacity, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., March
7, 1855. His parents, James and Anna
(Phelps) Redrup, were born in Buckingham
shire, England, in 18 15, immigrated to the
United States in 1836, and settled in Cleve
land, Ohio, remaining there, however, only a
short time, when they removed to Brooklyn,
N. Y. , where Mr. Redrup purchased and
operated a dairy. In this business Mr. Redrup
continued until about 185 1, when he returned
to Ohio, this time locating in Mansfield and
•engaging in the business as a grocer. After
¦several years thus spent he turned his atten
tion to milling and was thus occupied until his
removal to Van Wert county, in 1866. Pre
vious to this removal he had traded his milling
property in Mansfield for a farm in Tully
township, Van Wert county, and it was to this
farm he removed his family, with the view of
following farming the remainder of his active
life, and he did follow farming until 1881,
when he removed to the city of Van Wert and
became engaged in handling musical instru
ments and sewing machines. Three years later
he removed to Warren, Huntington county,
Ind., where he was engaged two years as a
liveryman; then returned to Van Wert, where
he died in 1887. In religious faith Mr. Redrup

was a Baptist, and at the time of his death he
had been a member of that church fifty years.
Mrs. Redrup, a notice of whose family history
may be found in connection with the biography
of Mr. O. A. Balyeat, died in 1885, when she
was fifty-five years of age.
Charles Edwin Redrup, the subject of this
sketch, spent his boyhood in the same manner
that other American boys spend theirs, working
upon the farm and attending school until he
was fourteen years of age. He was then en
gaged in farming until 1880, when he turned
his attention to railroading. At this time the
Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw was still a
narrow-gauge road, and Mr. Redrup began
that year to work for this company, filling
from' that time on the positions of teamster,
section hand, brakman, and finally that of
locomotive engineer, taking charge of the sec
ond engine that ran upon the road, and thus
he is now the oldest employee of the road in
any capacity. He took charge of this engine
in 1884, and has thus been a locomotive en
gineer for the past twelve years, of which six
years has been spent in the passenger service.
Up to the present writing Mr. Redrup has met
with no accident of importance, so fortunate
and so careful has he always been, but it
should be borne in mind that even the great
est possible care and caution will not always
prevent an accident, though in the responsible
position filled by Mr. Redrup, and locomotive
engineers in general, these two qualities are of
the highest value.
With the exception of a short time spent in
Greenville, West Manchester, and Carlisle,
Ohio, Mr. Redrup has lived in Van Wert ever
since he began working for this company, he
being stationed in those places only while the
road was extending southward. He is a mem
ber of the brotherhood of Locomotive Engin
eers, and in religious belief he is a Methodist.
In politics he is a republican, taking a lively

630

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

interest in the success of that party. He and
his family live in a comfortable home on Sec
ond street in Van Wert, surrounded by numer
ous good, kind-hearted neighbors and friends.
On April 20, 1880, Mr. Redrup was mar
ried to Miss Fagan, a daughter of Thomas and
Jane (Crow) Fagan, residents of Van Wert.
Thomas Fagan was born in New Jersey in
1828, and in 1834 was brought by his parents
to Ohio, they locating in Montgomery county.
In 1856 Mr. Fagan was married to Miss Jane
Crow, and removed to Tippecanoe City, Miami
county, Ohio, where he engaged in the ready-
made clothing business. Remaining their un
til 1862 he then removed to Mendon, Mercer
county, where, until 1873, he was engaged as
a lumber merchant, and in the last named
year he removed to Van Wert. Mr. Fagan is
a man of more than ordinary mechanical and
inventive genius. He is a skilled machinist,
and has invented several improved agricultural
implements, among them plows, ditching ma
chines and harrows. His father was born in
New Jersey in 1804, and during his early man
hood was a seacaptain, but in later yearshe was
a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church.
His death occurred in Marion, Ind.; in 1872,
his wife, who was born in 1803, dying in the
same city the same year.
Miss Jane Crow, who married Thomas
Fagan, was born in Miami county in 1836.
Her father was a native of Virginia, born in
1792, and removed to Miami county, Ohio, in
1835. In the latter county, with the excep
tion of a few years, he followed farming until
1875, when he removed to Van Wert and
there conducted a cooper shop, returning to
Miami county and dying there in 1879. Mrs.
Fagan's mother, Mary Rhorer, was born in
Pennsylvania in 1800, came to Ohio in 1835,
and died in Van Wert in 1879. Mr. and Mrs.
Fagan have five children, four daughters and
one son, all married and residents of Van Wert.

sr

ILLIAM J. REED, a prominent cit
izen of Pleasant township, Van
Wert county, is a son of Jacob
Reed, and was born September 8,
1 85 1. Jacob Reed was born in Ashland coun
ty, Ohio, September 15, 1825, was reared on
a farm and is still living in comfortable cir
cumstances on his farm in Ashland county.
He was married, in 1849, to Miss Mary Strick
land, of Ashland county, Ohio, and to this
marriage there were born five children, viz:
William, born in 1851; Joseph, born in 1853;
John, born in 1855; Anna, born in i860, and
Ella, born in 1861. All are living but Ella,
who died in 1862. William and John are both
married and living in Van Wert, Ohio; Joseph
is single and living in Ashland county, and
Anna is married to George Ohl. Jacob Reed,
the father of these children, is in politics a
democrat, and is a member of the United
Brethren church. He is of Irish descent, and
is in every way a very liberal man.
William J. Reed was born in Ashland coun
ty, was there brought up on a farm, and his
education was received in the common schools.
At the age of twenty-one years he left home
and came to Van Wert county, purchasing a
farm in Tully township, upon which he lived
for twenty-two years. At the end of this period,
or in February, 1895, ne purchased another
farm close to Van Wert, upon which he now
lives. In politics Mr. Reed is a democrat, and
in religion a Methodist. He is a man that has
made his own way in the world, has been suc
cessful and is respected by all.
On February 11, 1873, he married Miss
Fanny B. Staman, and is by her the father of
five children, viz: Olin, born in 1873; Myrtle,
born in 1876; Frances E., born in 1879; Pearl,
born in 1,881, and Millie, born in 1884. All
are living except Myrtle, who died in 1879.
Those living are attending school except Olin,
who is a very promising young man, and now

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

631

studying telegraphing in the Van Wert office
of the P., Ft. W. & C. Railroad company.
Miss Fanny B. Staman was born Septem
ber 19, 1852. Her father was born in Penn
sylvania October 9, 18 12, and at an early age
began working for his father, who ran a grist
mill and a tannery. Remaining with his father,
thus engaged until his father's death, he inher
ited some valuable property, and continued the
business his father left him. In this he was
very successful, and being a careful and eco
nomical manager, acquired a good deal of
valuable property. In 1841 he was married to
Miss Fanny Lantz of Pennsylvania. Mr.
Lantz was a German by birth, a republican in
politics, and a member of the Menese church.
He was the father of nine children, viz: Will
iam, Abraham, Anna, Mary M., Curtis J.,
Fanny B., Harriet D. , Francis L. and Lizzie
E. All are living but Harriet, who died in
February, 1885. The rest are married and
the heads of families.
Fanny B. , the wife of the subject of this
sketch, was born in Ashland county, and at the
age of twenty years was married to Mr. Reed.
She was well educated in her youth, and is a
bright, pleasant and intelligent woman, a good
wife and a loving mother. Both she and her
husband stand high in the estimation of the
community in which they live. Both are pub
lic spirited and are willing to aid any material
improvement and any charitable enterprise
that should be sustained by the public at large.

(/^\ ICE BROS. , marble and granite deal-
I ^Z ers of Van Wert, Ohio, are proprie-
f P tors of one of the best appointed
shops devoted to this purpose in the
city, the firm being composed of Samuel and
George W. The parents were Paul and Eliz
abeth (Funk) Rice, the former a native of
Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. Paul

and Elizabeth were married in Pennsylvania,
and later came to Ohio and located in Wayne
county, where Paul was employed in farming
and coopering until 1847, when he moved with
his family to Mercer county, remained there
until 1868, and then came to the city of Van
Wert, where for many years he carried on
cooperage, but is now retired. The children
born to Paul and Elizabeth were ten in number,
viz: Jeremiah, deceased; John, of Delphos;
Hezekiah, of Van Wert; Samuel, of Rice
Bros. ; Thomas, of Delphos; George, of Rice
Bros.; Mary Anna, wife of William Mahan, of
Van Wert; Emma T. , deceased; Rebecca J.,
deceased, and William F., of Van Wert. The
mother of this family was called to her heav
enly home January 23, 1871, dying in the faith
of the United Brethren church.
Samuel Rice, the fourth born in the above
family and one of the firm of Rice Bros., was
born in Wayne county, Ohio, April 8, 1854,
and was but two years of age when his parents
moved to Mercer county, where he attended
school and remained with his parents until he
reached his sixteenth year, when he hired out
by the month as a farm laborer — working five
years for one employer; he then came to Van
Wert and was here employed in teaming until
1889, and also made the moving of buildings
his occupation for five years; he next entered
the fire department, and drove a fire team four
years, and also in 1889 formed a partnership
with his brother George in the marble and
granite trade. Of course it will be seen that
he was engaged in more than one occupation
during the intervals of time mentioned.
George Rice, the sixth of the family born
to Paul and Elizabeth Rice, was bore in Mer
cer county, Ohio, March 28, 1858, and was
brought to Van Wert county by his parents,
with whom he remained until he was twenty
years of age, when he engaged in general labor
until 1882, when he joined his brother Samuel

632

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in his building-moving occupation; in 1889 the
two brothers bought out the marble yard of
WT. S. Hughes, and in this line do a business
of about $6,000 per annum. George Rice
was married in Van Wert, November 1, 1885,
to Millie A. Willett, a native of Hillsboro,
Highland county, Ohio, and this union has
been blessed with two children — Raymond E.
and Helen Idora. Mr. and Mrs. Rice are de
voted members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. In politics he is a republican and has
served in the city council four years. Like
his brother, he is the owner of considerable
real estate.

EARRY C. REDRUP, of Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Wyoming territory,
December 27, 1868, a son of Thomas
and Mary J. (Rickets) Redrup, and
was but one year old when brought by his par
ents to Richland county, Ohio, where they re
sided about five years, and then came to Van
Wert county, where our subject grew to man
hood. He attended the city school the neces
sary period, and the high school held him for
three years; he also took a commercial course,
by which he was well prepared for business
purposes. He remained with his parents until
1 89 1, when he entered the employ of the Daily
Bulletin as general collector and reporter, and
held the position until November 23, 1892,
when he married Miss Elida Maddox, a native
of Ohio, born February 6, 1869, and daughter
of George and Catherine (Tingle) Maddox, also
natives of the Buckeye state, the father being
a Methodist Episcopal minister. For nearly
a year after his marriage, Mr. Redrup employed
himself in general collecting, and in the fall of
1893 he and his wife opened the most fashion
able millinery establishment in Van Wert, at
No. 1 South Washington street. Mrs. Redrup
being a lady of taste and refinement, and be

ing thoroughly acquainted with the business,
soon brought the enterprise to the favorable
notice of the ladies of Van Wert, and the con
cern now does a trade of about $3,000 per
annum. Mr. Redrup, moreover, is a valuable
aid, being a gentleman of tact, ability and in
telligence. Unfortunately for Mr. Redrup, he
is somewhat incapacitated for manual exercise
or labor, having had the misfortune, in the
winter of 1879, of meeting with a fall while
skating, which seriously injured his hip joint,
which injury still, causes him much annoyance,
but his mentality is exceptionally sound.
In politics Mr. Redrup is a republican, and
under the auspices of that party he has served
as assessor in the Second ward two years, in
the Third ward one year, and in the Fourth
ward one year. He and wife are members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, with the
teachings of which they strictly conform. Mr.
and Mrs. Redrup own a nice residence property
in the west end of town, and enjoy the friend
ship and esteem of their neighbors, as well as
the respect of the community at large.

aHARLES P. RICHEY— Or 'Squire
Richey, as he is commonly called,
ex-sheriff of Van Wert county, Ohio,
and at present justice of the peace,
was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, Novem
ber 11, 1 8 19, is a son of George and Catherine
(Porter) Richey, who were both natives of the
north of Ireland, and there married. On
coming to America the father was employed in
teaming until 18 19, in Pittsburg, Pa., when he
and his family moved to Pickaway county,
Ohio, where he entered land on a military
warrant and was engaged in farming until his
decease. They were the parents of seven
children, four of whom died in childhood; the
three that were reared to maturity were named
Andrew, since deceased; Charles P., our sub-

WM. H. H. DENISTON,
DECEASED.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

635

ject, and Eleanor, also deceased. The par
ents died in the Protestant faith, leaving a
well improved farm of seventy acres.
Charles P. Richey was reared on the home
farm in Pickaway county, and there married,
April 21, 1839, Martha T. Maddox, a native
¦of the county, born September 6, 1822, a
daughter of Severn and Elizabeth (Hill) Mad
dox, the result of the union being five children,
viz: Nancy E., now of Delphos, Ohio; Mar
garet J., of Wisconsin; Elizabeth C, deceased;
George W., a farmer of Van Wert county,
¦Ohio, and Martha Ann, deceased. The la
mented mother of this family was summoned
to her final home July 24, 1866, and her mor
tal remains were interred in the Van Wert
cemetery. She was a pious and devoted mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
-beloved by all who knew her. Jauuary 1,
1874, Mr. Richey was married to his second
wife, Mrs. Missouri T. (McConahay) Scott,
widow of Captain William C. Scott, whose bi
ography appears elsewhere in this volume.
In religion Mr. Richey is a Methodist and Mrs.
Richey is a Presbyterian, but this difference in
church membership has in no manner con
flicted with their conjugal happiness. Since
their marriage, 'Squire Richey and wife have
made the city of Van Wert their permanent
home. Charles P. Richey first came to Van Wert
county October 9, 1844, and located in Ridge
township, where he resided eighteen months,
and then bought 120 acres of land in the wild
and dense woods of Pleasant township, built a
cabin and cleared up a farm, on which he
made his home until 1859, when he --was elected
sheriff of the county, in which office he suc
ceeded himself, and then, in May, 1864, en
listed in Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, for one hundred
days, was assigned to guard duty at Point
Lookout, and at the close ot his term was

honorably discharged at Camp Denison, Ohio,
in November, 1864. On his return home he
engaged in the boot and shoe trade in company
with James Clark — a partnership which lasted
eleven years. In the meantime, however, in
1867, Mr. Richie was again the choice of the
republican party for sheriff, an office he had
twice so ably filled, and was elected to serve
one term. In 1875 he sold his interest in the
boot and shoe trade and retired until 1880,
when his party elected him justice of the
peace, in which office he has succeeded him
self every term since — a self-evident indication
of his capability, integrity and popularity.
The squire's property comprises 180 acres of
valuable land in Pleasant township arid con
siderably realty in the city of Van Wert. His
social standing, it is needless to add, is with
the best in the city and county.

ft

sr

ILLIAM H. H. DENISTON, de
ceased, a popular man, and county
official during a portion of his life,
and an ex-soldier of the Union army,
was born in Allen county, Ohio, February 18,
1 841. He was a son of William and Cather
ine C. (Harter) Deniston, natives respectively
of Wales and of Ireland and people of excel
lent qualities as citizens and as individuals.
They lived in Allen county until the death of
Mr. Deniston, and afterward the widow re
moved to Van Wert county and lived in Van
Wert until the death of her son, the subject of
this sketch, when she removed to Middlepoint
and there died in 1882. She and her husband
were the parents of ten children, of which
number the subject of this sketch was the
youngest. Mr. and Mrs. Deniston were con
sistent members of the Methodist Episcopal
church and were highly esteemed by all who
knew them. As a republican he served as
surveyor of Allen county for some years, was

636

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

unusually popular, kind-hearted and honorable.
He was finely educated and well informed on
all current topics, political, religious and indus
trial. Withal, he was a man of fine physique,
and healthy and strong.
William H. H. Deniston was but a small
boy when his father died, and then removed to
Van Wert; he received a good education and
taught school for several terms. Upon the
first call for troops by President Lincoln, to
suppress the southern Rebellion, he volun
teered in company H, Fifteenth Ohio volun
teer infantry, and in the first battle in which
he participated, that of Pittsburg Landing, was
struck on the foot by a fragment of a bursting
shell, which made it necessary to amputate the
injured member. Through this misfortune he
was incapacitated for a soldier's duty, was hon
orably discharged and returned to Van Wert.
Here he was elected county recorder in 1863
and served three consecutive terms, the policy
of the republican party then being to reward
the soldiers as far as practicable for their serv
ices and sacrifices in the war.
Mr. Deniston was married in Van Wert,
Ohio, August 11, 1864, to Miss Eliza J. Blake,
who was a native of Van Wert, and by whom
he had four children, viz: Owen S., of Saint
Louis, Mo. ; Columbus D., also of Saint Louis,
Mo.; Alonzo C, deceased, and Viola R. , a
teacher in the public schools of Van Wert.
The mother of these children died in June,
1872, and was laid to rest in the cemetery at
Van Wert. Mr. Deniston married October 15,
1874, in Van Wert, Miss Matilda L. Gamble,
who was born in Van Wert county, and is a
daughter of Robert and Jane (Patterson)
Gamble, natives of Maryland and Ireland, re
spectively. Mr. and Mrs. Gamble located in
Van Wert county in an early day, some time
in the 'forties. They were the parents of six
children, of which number the wife of Mr.
Deniston was the third in order of birth. Mrs.

Gamble died in 1859 and Mr. Gamble is now
living in Van Wert county at an extreme old
age. He is a member of the Presbyterian
church, while Mrs. Gamble was a Methodist.
Mr. Gamble has always been a republican.
Mr. Deniston was engaged in handling real
estate at the time of his second marriage, and
so continued until his death, which occurred
November 11, 1876, after a protracted illness.
Fraternally he was a member of the order of
Odd Fellows, and of the Improved Order of
Red Men, and was buried under the auspices
of these orders. The subject of this sketch
had been past grand in the Van Wert lodge,
No. 251, of the I. O. O. F. ; also one of the
charter members of the Abenaki tribe, No. 77 ,
Improved Order of Red Men, and also was a
very active member of the Methodist Episco
pal church. He was a man of high character,
honest and respected by all. who knew him.
By his second marriage he had one child,
Georgia A. , who is now a teacher in the To
ledo public schools. Mr. Deniston was ap
pointed agent to investigate a large estate in
England, known as the John estate, and made
a trip to that country for the purpose, but, as
is usual in such cases, without result. Mrs.
Deniston is still living in Van Wert, an ami
able, pleasant lady, worthy of all respect,
which sh? receives in unstinted measure.

(D

ARTIN RIES, a prominent and pro
gressive young farmer of York town
ship, Van Wert county, of which he
is a native, was born November 30,
1868, and is a son of George and Caroline
(Reese) Ries, the former of whom was born in
Hessian Germany in 1821, Caroline Reese
being his second wife. On coming to America,
George Ries located in Richland county, Ohio,
whence he moved to Van Wert county and
entered government land, his first farm com-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

637

prising eighty acres, to which he subsequently
added eighty acres and converted the whole
tract into a prolific and tasteful farm. His
second helpmate, Miss Caroline Reese, was
a native of Hanover, Germany, born in 1830.
George Ries died in 1871, a member of the
Reform church, and a democrat in politics;
his widow survived until October, 1893, when
she, too, expired, having borne her husband
five children, viz: George H. ; Charlotte, wife
of Henry Hoker; Emil, deceased; Benjamin,
and Martin, the subject of this sketch.
Martin Ries was trained to agriculture on
the home farm, and assisted his mother most
filially until his marriage, April 12, 1894, with
Miss Gladolia Ogden, who was born in Craw
ford county, Ohio, July 7, 1875, a daughter of
Miller and Mattie (Snyder) Ogden. Miller
Ogden was a native of Crawford county, and
a son of David Ogden, a native of New York,
of English parentage. When a young man,
David Ogden came to Ohio, settled in Craw
ford county, and married Nancy Miller, who
bore him nine children, viz: Mrs. Phebe
Shoup, deceased; Miller, father-in-law of Mrs.
Gladolia Ries; Hiram, deceased in childhood;
Mary, wife of George Ankney; Obelian, wife
of John Smith; Charles, a traveling salesman;
Abbie and Dow. David Ogden was reared a
farmer, but also became a minister in the
United Brethren church; he served in the late
war with the 100-day troops, and died about
1 87 1, a stanch republican.
Miller Ogden, father of Mrs. Ries, was
born in 1851, was reared a farmer, and in 1873
married Mattie Snyder, who became the mother
of three children — Gladolia, wife of our sub
ject; Laverne, a farmer of Crawford county,
Ohio, and Vesta, also of Crawford county.
Mattie Snyder was born in Crawford county
about 1855, and expired in 1880. After his
marriage, Miller Ogden located in Poplar,
Ohio, where he farmed for three years and

then moved to another farm deeper in the
woods, on which he followed the same voca
tion until 1880, when he engaged in the con
fectionery business at Poplar, in which he was
quite successful, and which occupied his atten
tion until 1884, when he went to Dakota,
where for seven years he re-engaged in farm
ing — owning, the last year, a sheep ranch —
since when he has been traveling in company
with his brother, Charles, selling a valuable
patent fence.
In politics George M. Ries was a democrat
while Martin, our subject, is a republican.
Martin and wife are devoted members of the
Methodist Episcopal church and are among
the most respected of the polite society of York
township.

Sr— * ON. JAMES W. RIMER, civil engi-
l'\ neer of Van Wert, was born in Put-
A .r nam county, Ohio, March 26, 1846.
His parents, Jacob and Eliazbeth
(Rhodes) Rimer, were among the pioneer set
tlers of Putnam county, having located on a
farm in Sugar Creek township in 1833, on
which farm the father still resides, and on
which our subject was reared to manhood.
The preliminary education of Hon. James
W. Rimer was received in the common schools
of Putnam county, and later he attended the
union schools one year in Lima. In the mean
time he spent considerable time in vacation
seasons in teaching school. During the years
1867 and 1868 he was in attendance at Mount
Union college, which is now within the limits
of the city of Alliance. In 1869 he became
associated with L. E. Holtz, a practicing civil
engineer of Ottawa, Ohio, remaining with him
one year. In 1870 he removed to Van Wert,
having been induced by the commissioners of
Van Wert county to so remove by the promise
of doing the official surveying for the county.

'638

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

In October of that year he was elected sur
veyor of the county, and performed the duties
of his office so efficiently and satisfactorily to
all concerned that in 1873 he was elected for a
second term, thus serving six years. In 1877
he was. by the democratic party elected to the
lower house of the general assembly, and in
1879 he was re-elected by a majority of ninety-
five over his opponent, Judge James L. Price.
His services in the legislature were performed
mainly in connection with committee work,
the sessions of 1878 and 1879 being devoted
in part to the codifying of the drainage laws.
Mr. Rimer being the only member of the body
having had practical experience with the exe
cution of those laws, his knowledge was indis
pensable to the committee. During his period
¦of service in the legislature George H. Pendle
ton, James A. Garfield and John Sherman
were elected to the United States senate.
In 1880 Mr. Rimer became interested with
other Van Wert gentlemen in the promotion
¦of the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw Rail
road company, and was made its chief engineer
for the road, which position he held until 1887,
when he resigned. For two years he was a
member of the Van Wert Electric Light &
Power company, but has since been engaged in
surveying and civil engineering, having assisted
to survey the routes for several railroads. Mr.
Rimer is a careful and skillful master of his
profession, and has in preparation a valuable
work on the subject of excavation and em
bankment. He is a knight templar Mason
and a cultivated, most genial, accomplished
and pleasant gentleman.

y^y DWARD RING, a respected citizen of
A J the county and city of Van Wert, was
\^^ born at Crestline, Ohio, July 16,
1863. He was a son of Nelson Ring,
who in 1862 married Miss Jane McFarlane, of

Pennsylvania. Nelson Ring was of English
descent and was but two years old when he
lost his father, and consequently was in early
life compelled to rely on his own efforts for
success in gaining a livelihood. He acquired
the carpenter's trade as early as he could do
so, and after following this trade for some
years he learned the boiler-maker's trade in
Sandusky, from which place he removed to
Crestline, where he has lived for the past
thirty-five years, one of the most liberal men
in thought and deed anywhere to be found.
His success in life, while not phenomenal, has
yet been gratifying, and he is enabled to live
in comfort during his declining years upon the
accumulation of his labors. Politically Mr.
Ring is a republican, and in religious matters
a Methodist. He and his wife are the parents
of three children, viz: Edward, Charles and
Minnie, all of whom are living. Charles is
married and living in Crestline, Ohio; and Min
nie is married and living in the same city.
Edward Ring, while living in Crestline, his
native city, learned the painter's trade, which
he followed with satisfactory success for many
years. When he had arrived at the age of
twenty-two years he left his home and went to
Fort Recovery, Mercer county, Ohio, where
he remained about two years. In 1887 he left
Fort Recovery and located in Van Wert,
where he was married to Miss Catherine Om
lar, of Coldwater, Mercer county, Ohio, and
in Van Wert he began working in the shops of
the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw Railroad
company, where he has given satisfaction to
his employers and where he is still employed.
In politics Mr. Ring is a republican and he is a
Methodist by faith. He and his wife are the
parents of two children, viz: William, born
in 1888, and Edward, born May 11, 1890.
Mrs. Catherine (Omlar) Ring, the mother of
these children, was born June 8, 1868. Sheis
a daughter of John Omlar, a native of Ger-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

639'

many, and a farmer, who came to the United
States previous to his marriage to Miss Cathe
rine Betting, herself also a native of Germany.
Mr. Omlar landed in New York and went from
that city to Fostoria, Ohio, where he remained
some time, and from there went to Jay county,
Ind., whence he removed to Coldwater, Ohio,
locating on a farm. Farming was his occupa
tion for some years, but at present he is en
gaged in draying. In politics Mr. Omlar is a
democrat and in religion a Catholic. Mr. Om
lar and his wife, Catherine, were the parents
of twelve children, viz: Philip, who died in
infancy; Mary, who is married and living in
Coldwater; John, a school-teacher and living
in Carthagena, Mercer county; Anna, living in
Tippecanoe City, Miami county; Rosie, single
and living in Dayton, Ohio; Catherine, mar
ried and living in Van Wert; William, of Tip
pecanoe City; Henry, Frand and Josephine,
all three single and living in Coldwater, and
Joseph, deceased. One child died in infancy
that was not named. Catherine (Omlar) Ring
was born in Saint Anthony, Dubois county,
Ind. , and at the age of two years she was
brought to Ohio by her parents. She and Mr.
Ring met at Fort Recovery, and were married
in Van Wert. Her mother died on June 7,
1895, in Coldwater, after living a life of useful
ness and goodness — kind to all " and with mal
ice toward none."

WOHN G. RINGWALD, an old settler
A and substantial farmer of Washington
A 1 township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born in Jennings township, in the same
county, October 18, 1857, where he was reared
on his father's farm and educated in the com
mon schools. He is a son of Gottleib Ring-
wald, a native of Germany, who in 1852 was
brought to America by his father, also named
Gottleib, and was an only child. Gottleib,

the elder, settled in Jennings township, near
Landeck, where he cleared up forty acres of
land and died, in 1864, a member of the Luth
eran church.
Gottleib Ringwald, the father of our sub
ject, was born May 5, 18 17, and was married
in Van Wert county, to Elizabeth Wolford,
who was born February 20, 1830, in Bradford
county, Pa., a. daughter of Josiah and Bar
bara (Mover) Wolford. After his marriage,
Mr. Ringwald settled on the Wolford farm,
which then consisted of eighty-five acres, and
had been purchased by Mr. Wolford in 1840,
and increased to 160 acres, of which he sub
sequently disposed of a portion. Mr. Wolford
died on his farm in 1870, an aged man, of hon
orable and upright character, and the father of
three children — Elizabeth, Samuel and Josiah.
Gottleib Ringwald lived on this farm until 1 880,
when he settled on his own farm of 160 acres.
He was the father of six children, named as
follows: Barbara, John G., Elias, Mary (died
at six years of age), Sarah J. and William H.
Gottlieb died November 8, 1895, sixty-nine
years of age, in Chippewa county, Wis., of
blood poisoning.
John G. Ringwald early learned the car
penter's trade and engaged in the saw-mill
business. At the age of twenty-three, October
11, 1880, he married Ann Eliza Dalby, who
was born in Washington township in October,
i860, a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth
(Thomas) Dalby. Robert Dalby was a Welsh
man and an old settler, who owned 120 acres
of good farm land, and died in 1891, full of
years and honor, and the father of six children,
Thomas, Robert, Jennie, Annie E.., John L.
and Mary.
Mr. and Mrs. Ringwald, after marriage,
settled on their present farm of sixty acres, a
part of the home place, and in 1883 Mr. Ring
wald engaged in the saw-mill business, buying
a new mill, which he has conducted with sue-

€40

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

cess until the present time. To himself and
wife have been born seven children who are
named, Mary A., Jane D., Annie J., Thomas
C, Robert, Florence and Edna R. Mr. and
Mrs. Ringwald are members of the Presbyte
rian church, to the support of which they liber
ally contribute of their means, and of which
Mr. Ringwald is a trustee. In politics Mr.
Ringwald is a republican, but has never been
an office seeker. He is a member of the Odd
Fellows' lodge at Middlepoint, and a Knight
of Pythias of Venedocia lodge, No. 177. He
is a well known and substantial citizen, whose
bnsiness reputation is without a blemish and
whose word is known and accepted by all as
good for anything he agrees to do.

^Tt'OHN ROAT, farmer of Union township,
A Van Wert county, Ohio, son of Peter
A I and Catherine Roat, is a native of the
state, and was born November 22,
1852, in the county of Hancock. The family
is of German descent, the father having been
born in the old country, where he received his
education. When a young man, Peter Roat
came to the United States, and, according to
the most reliable information, settled in Han
cock county, where he followed the farmer's
vocation the remainder of his days. He mar
ried, about the year 1850 Catherine Flager,
who bore him five children, viz: John, whose
name introduces this paragraph; Mary, wife of
John Gaber; Christina, wife of Hiram Schilling;
George and Christ. Mrs. Roat was born in
Germany, and was brought to the United
States by her parents when a mere child, the
family settled in Hancock county. After his
marriage, Peter Roat purchased land in the
aforesaid county, and earned the reputation of
an industrious and enterprising man. While
in the prime of life he met with an accident
which caused his death. His widow subse

quently married Peter Searbah, and bore him
three children: Fred, deceased; Caroline; wife
of Samuel Gorby, and Eliza, wife of Edward
Boutwell. John Roat, our subject, received his edu
cational training in the schools of Hancock
county, having had instruction in both the
English and German language. He was reared
on a farm, adopted that useful calling for his
life work, and for some time after the death of
his father made his home with his grandparents.
In company with his uncle and guardian,
George Flager, he came, in 1867, to Van
Wert county, and after attaining his majority
worked as a farm hand until his marriage,
which was solemnized November 21, 1878,
with Sabina A. Beck, daughter of Michael and
Mary Beck. After his marriage Mr. Roat
farmed for a part of the proceeds of a farm in
Harrison township for one year, and then
moved to the old Beck homestead, where he
lived about ten years, purchasing in the mean
time his present farm in Union township, to
which he removed his family in 1890. Mr.
Roat is an enterprising farmer, has made a
success of his calling, and has the respect and
confidence of his friends and neighbors. Politi
cally he is a democrat, but is not a partisan,
yet takes an active interest in the good of the
community, assisting to the extent of his abil
ity all worthy enterprises. He belongs to
Center grange, No. 1329, Patrons of Husbandry,
his wife belonging to the same society. The
following are the names of the children born .
to Mr. and Mrs. Roat: Alda G. ; Charles, de
ceased; Goldie I., and Gordon I.

QATTHIAS M. RITTENHOUSE, a
pioneer and prominent farmer of
Union township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a son of Christian and
Esther (Metz) Rittenhouse, and was born in

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

641

Wayne county, Ohio, in 1827. Matthias Rit
tenhouse, the father of Christian, was a Men
nonite minister of Pennsylvania and a wealthy
farmer, who died about 1836; Christian Rit
tenhouse, his son and the father of our subject,
was born in Montgomery county, Pa., in 1803,
learned the shoemaker's trade, then went to
Canada and worked a year, returned to Penn
sylvania, and about 1825 married Esther Metz,
the union being blessed with the following chil
dren: Matthias M., our subject; Joseph, de
ceased; David; Hannah, widow of Zachariah
Brown; Eli; Christian, deceased; Katie, wife
of Frank Kneour, of Williams county, Ohio,
and Samuel. In 1825, the father of this family
came to Ohio and bought in Wayne county a
farm which he cultivated in connection with
shoemaking, and also operated a tannery for
four years. He was a member of the Dunkard
church and in politics was independent. His
wife was called away by death July 15, 1874,
and his own death took place in 1889.
Matthias M. Rittenhouse, the subject
proper of this biography, was educated in the
common schools of his native county and was
also taught the trade of tanning. February
14, 1850, he was united in marriage with
Christena Meely, daughter of George and Mar
garet (Stock) Meely, and then, with a Mexican
war land warrant, took up his land in Van
Wert county, on which he built a log house,
and cleared up a farm from the woods, which
farm is now in an excellent state of cultivation.
In 1875, the log cabin was replaced by a large
modern frame structure, which was erected by
his son Charles C, then not twenty-one years
old. Mrs. Christena Rittenhouse was born in
Adams county, Pa., in 1828, and in 1841 came
with her parents' to Richland county, Ohio,
and in 1850 to Van Wert county, where she
was married. She has borne her husband six
children, as follows: Margaret E., wife of
Richard H. Martin, whose biography appears

in full on another page; Charles C. , now of
Hastings, Nebr.; Salome A., deceased; Katie,
wife of William Reid, of Union township;
Emma J., married to Dr. E. V. Hall, of Fort
Wayne Medical college, and George M., still
at home. Mr. and Mrs. Rittenhouse are mem
bers of the Evangelical Lutheran church; in
politics the former is a democrat and has held
the office of township clerk, township trustee,
and justice of the peace. In 1864 he enlisted
in company B, One Hundred and Ninety-sec
ond Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt.
Patrick, and served in the Shenandoah valley
until honorably discharged in September, 1865.
Mr. Rittenhouse has always been an industrious
man and has made a success of life, and has
won the respect of all who know him.

WOHN C. ROBINSON, present county
A commissioner and a prominent and suc-
A 1 cessful farmer of Pleasant township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, is the second
son and eldest now living, born to Hamilton
and Maria (Riddle) Robinson.
John C. Robinson was born in Richland
county, Ohio, April 6, 1848, and when but
five years of age came with his parents to this
county, where he has lived ever since. He was
educated in the common schools of his day,
was taught industry in his early youth, and
was reared upon the farm by one of the early
settlers of Pleasant township. When but
seventeen years of age, he offered his service
for the preservation of the Union, but was not
received on account of his youth. He re
mained under the parental roof, assisting his
father on the home farm, until his marriage,
which event took place, February 5, 1870, at
which time he was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth Harris, daughter of Elijah and
Ann (Evans) Harris, of Van Wert. To this
happy union one daughter has been born —

642

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Clara, now the wife of Carey Hoghe, an enter
prising young farmer of Pleasant Jownship.
For two years after his marriage, Mr. Rob
inson lived on a rented farm. He then pur
chased near the old homestead a farm of forty
acres, which was covered with woods, lying in
its natural state, which he at once began to
clear and improve. Subsequently, he sold this
farm and purchased the one on which he now
lives. He has added to his farm from time to
time until it now contains 208 acres, is well
stocked and improved, and in an excellent
state of cultivation. Mr. Robinson is one of
the classical, well-read farmers of his county,
and it being his chosen work he has made a
success of it. In 1894 he was elected director
of the agricultural board of .the county. He
is a leading and influential member of Pleasant
grange, No. 399, and has done much to ad
vance the agricultural interests of the com
munity in which he lives. As a farmer, Mr.
Robinson is enterprising and progressive, and
is one of the public-spirited men of the county,
being at all times ready to lend a helping hand
to any enterprise that would tend to the de
velopment and better condition of the com
munity at large. Politically he is a stanch
supporter of the republican party, which party
he has served as a willing and efficient officer.
In 1884 he was chosen infirmary superintend
ent, which place he filled to the entire satis
faction of the directors. At the close of this
official position he was nominated, in the fall
of 1888, to fill the office of county com
missioner of his district, and in November of
the same year was elected by the usual ma
jority. Mr. Robinson and his most estimable
wife take a deep interest in matters educa
tional and the welfare of the rising generation,
with whom they are very popular. They are
generous and benevolent and highly esteemed
wherever known.
Hamilton Robinson, the father of John C,

is one of the oldest and most successful farm
ers of Pleasant township; he is the son of John
and Margaret (Nelson) Robinson, who were botb
natives of Ireland — the former of county Down,
near Belfast, and who immigrated to America.
in childhood. The father of John Robinson
was James Robinson, a Protestant in religion,
who was forced to leave his country on account
of his religious belief in 1788, when he came
to America and settled in Westmoreland county,
Pa., where he died in the year 18 16. There
John Robinson,' grandfather of John C. , was
reared to manhood and received a limited edu
cation in a little old log school-house. He
served in the war of 1812, and soon after his
enlistment was given a captain's commission and
after the war returned to his farm in Westmore
land county, Pa. Subsequently, in 18 14; he
started westward on horseback, accompanied by
a friend by the name of John Law, carrying his-
camp kettle and necessary equipment on pack
saddles, determined to seek his fortune. He
halted in the wilderness of Richland county,
Ohio, where he entered three tracts of land in
the name of himself and two brothers. On
this land, with the help of his companion, he
erected a log cabin, in which he soon estab
lished his young family and began the task of
clearing a farm from the woods. About the
year 1800 he was united in marriage with Mar
garet Nelson, also a native of Ireland, who had
come to America with her parents in child
hood; to their union were born nine children
— Hamilton, the father of J. C, being the
youngest and the only one now living; they
were named as fallows in order of birth : James,.
John, Alexander, William, Thomas, Agnes,
Esther, Margaret and Hamilton. Mr. Robin
son was a man of unusual strength and cour
age, steadfast in his purposes and firm in his
convictions, and was a stanch member of the
Associated Reform church.
Hamilton Robinson was born in Richland

'/LL&L

(ftLeC

^^f^^^/^>^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

647

county, Ohio, December 10, 1817, and there
grew to manhood on the old homestead, which
he assisted in clearing from the woods, and
was educated in the pioneer schools of that
day. January 25, 1842, he was united in mar
riage with Maria Riddle, also of Richland
county and daughter of James and Effie Riddle.
To this union eleven children have been born,
viz: Eliza, deceased; Issabella, wife of James
Leslie, deceased; William, deceased; John C,
county commissioner; Margaret, deceased wife
of Martin North; James H., farmer of Pleas
ant township; Jane, wife of Emanuel Good;
Sarah, Thomas A., Nancy A., and Esther M. ,
the wife of Lemuel Dwyer. Mrs. Robinson
was born in Washington county, Pa. , April 2 1 ,
1822, and when a child came with her parents
to Richland county, Ohio. In early life she
was a member of the Associated Reform church,
but upon locatig in Van Wert county united
with the Presbyterian church, with which she
was connected at the time of her death, De
cember 24, 1779.
In September, 1852, Mr. Robinson moved
to this county and purchased a farm in. Pleasant
township, upon which he resided four years;
then purchased the farm on which he now
lives, and since that time has been prominently
identified with the agricultural interests of Van
Wert county. He -is a life-long member of the
Associated Reform church and has always
been a liberal supporter of church and school
as well as all benevolent enterprises and institu
tions. Politically in early life he was a demo
crat, but being opposed to slavery he joined
the republican party at its formation and has
since been a strong supporter of its principles.
He is one of the few remaining pioneers of
Pleasant township who were instrumental in
the early development of the county, and to
him as much as any other man are largely due
the good roads of the community and the
growth and development of his township and
28

county; thus he can look back upon a long
and useful life well spent, and no man stands
higher for integrity and honor in the county
than Hamilton Robinson.

BREDERICK REED, a prosperous
farmer and ex-soldier, was born in
Van Wert county, Ohio, on his father's
farm in Jennings township, November
9, 1839, a son of Daniel and Mary (Tipton)
Reed, and now resides in Tully township, in
the county of his birth.
Daniel Reed, a native of Pennsylvania,
was a son of Frederick Reed, a Pennsylvania
farmer of good old Dutch stock, and when a
young man came to Ohio, and in Harrison
county married Miss Tipton, who was of En
glish extraction, to which union were born
twelve children. About 1835 he came to Van
Wert county, and settled in what afterward
became Jennings township, bringing with him
considerable money, but, as there were no
stores in the neighborhood in those pioneer
days, he was compelled to go to Sidney,
Shelby county,, to do his trading. Daniel en
tered one-quarter section of land, and three
brothers — -William, Quinton and James — who-
came with him, and a fourth — Peter, who-
come later — all entered farms adjoining, mak
ing quite a settlement of their own, but with
out neighbors. The land was covered with
heavy timber, but they soon made a deaden
ing and raised their corn among the decaying
trees. At one period, for six weeks, they
ground their corn in a coffee-mill, the winter
being too inclement to permit going the long.
distance to mill. But this episode was tri
fling, compared with the many other hardships
inherent to pioneer life, unnecessary to be
mentioned in detail. Daniel Reed assisted,
among other early tasks, in putting in the locks
of the Cincinnati & Toledo canal, but of course

648

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

devoted his efforts chiefly to the development
of his farm, succeeding in clearing up an ex
cellent place of 1 60 acres; but hard work event
ually overcame him and he died at the com
paratively early age of fifty-one years. He
and wife were members of the Christian church,
and his conducl through life was most exem
plary. He aided in organizing his township,
served in several of the township offices, and
at one time was county commissioner. For
fourteen years his brotherWilliam was a justice
of the peace — or until he moved west.
Frederick Reed, our subject, was reared in
the wilderness above aliuded to, doing his
share in clearing up the home farm. He at
tended the first school established in his town
ship, which was taught in a rude log structure,
with the customary primitive adjuncts. He
married, March 24, 1863, Susannah Berry,
daughter of Malachi and Mary (Taylor) Berry,
and the next December, leaving behind his
young bride, enlisted in company G, Second
Ohio heavy artilery, for three years or during
the war, under Capt. Orris King, and served
until December, 1865, wheri he was honorably
discharged at Nashville, Tenn., on account of
the cessation of hostilities. He fought at
Strawberry Plains, Bull's Gap, Knoxville,
Lookout Mountain, Resaca, in many skirm
ishes, and wound up with guard duty at Knox
ville, Tenn. He contracted chronic diarrhea
during his term of service and was laid up a
month in his quarters, and later was attacked
with rheumatism, from which he has never
fully recovered. On his return home he re
engaged in farming, buying eighty acres of the
old home place, on which he lived until his
removal, in 1872, to his present farm of 100
acres in Tully township, which he has cleared
up and thoroughly improved with first-class
buildings. Here he had the misfortune of los
ing his wife in 1884, and on March 20, 1885,
he married Catherine Mozel, the father of

whom came from Germany about 1852, bring
ing his family, which consisted of himself, wife
and one son, Jacob. Mr. Mozel first settled
iri Holmes county, Ohio, on a farm, but about
i860 came to Tully township, bought forty
acres, which he increased to eighty acres, on
which he still resides. The children born to
Mr. and Mrs. Mozel numbered seven, and were
named Jacob, Catherine, Elizabeth, Peter,
John, Louisa arid Louis, the last two of whom
died in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. Reed have
been born five children — an infant, deceased,
Elva M., Nora B., Olive E. and Arthur O.
The parents are members of the Methodist
church, and in politics the father is a repub
lican, but has never been a seeker after office.
He has fully done his duty as a soldier and
civilian, is self-made as to fortune, and enjoys
the respect of all who know him.

>-tjOHN T. ROSS, of York township, Van.
A Wert county, Ohio, is a native of Brown
A- J township, Franklin county, and was
born March 19, 1831, a son of John
and Mary (Tomlinson) Ross, natives of Vir
ginia. The parents were married in Madison
county, Ohio, and came to Van Wert county
in 1835, where they entered 100 acres of land
and an additional forty acres in Mercer county,
all located in the wild woods, but which Mr.
Ross subsequently cleared off, laboring at this
work until his death, in his forty-third year.
Mr. and Mrs. Ross were the parents of the fol
lowing children, namely: Rebecca, wife of
Harrison Boroff, of Mercer county; Robert
and Benjamin, deceased; Nancy, widow of
Robert Dunathan, of Mendon, Mercer county;
William, deceased; John T., our subject;
Lydia, the widow of Washington Price, of
Delphos, Ohio; Lewis, residing in Van Wert,
was a lieutenant in the Civil war; Paul S.,
whose residence is in Colorado; Richard T.,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

649

residing in Payne, Paulding county, Ohio, and
who was wounded, while serving in the Forty-
sixth regiment,. Ohio volunteer infantry, in
the battle of Mission Ridge, from which wound
he has never fully recovered; and Mary Jane,
deceased wife of Rev. William Deal. The
mother of these children for her second hus
band married John Arnold, the union resulting
in the birth of one son, Dallas M., of Mercer
county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are now
deceased, both dying in the faith of the Meth
odist Episcopal church.
John T. Ross was reared to farm life,
though when a young man he spent most of
his time in hunting and trapping, and even as
date as 1865 killed eighteen deer. In 1847 he
entered forty acres of land, which he shortly
afterwards sold and bought eighty acres in
1853, to which he afterward added 200 acres,
all of which he has cleared from the forest and
improved with the exception of twenty acres;
a little old tumbled down cabin still covers the
spot on which he first made his abiding place
in this wild country, where, at the time, the
Wyandot and Cherokee Indians held sway.
Mr. Ross was married to Elizabeth Magda
lena Reas, a native of Hanover, Germany, and
to this union have been born seven children,
namely: Henry, who died at the age of eight
years; Albert, who wedded Emma Hook, and
lives in Van Wert; Rosaltha, wife of J. D.
Anderson, of Van Wert county; Cyrus, mar
ried to Hattie Tellis, and living near the old
home; Julia Ettie, wife of George W. Crone,
of Paulding county, Ohio; Wilhelmina, wife of
John A. Jones, and mother of one child, named
Russell. September 15, 1861, Mr. Ross enlisted in
company A, Forty-sixth regiment, Ohio volun
teer infantry, and had his first fight at Shiloh,
following which he took part at Corinth, Jack
son, Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge, Resaca,
Dallas, Champion Hills and New Hope church;

at Noonday Creek in the Kenesaw valley, the
charge at Kenesaw Mountain; and then at At
lanta, July 23, 1864, and on the 28th of the
same month sustained two slight wounds, one
of which was' in the forehead. At Jonesboro
he was in a fierce fight with Hood's men; he
was next at Blue Ridge, then at Grisselville,
Ga., where the first brigade of the Third divis
ion had a combat with five brigades of Hood's
army. He next took part at Bentonville, the
last battle fought by Gen. Sherman. Mr. Ross
was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., July 27,
1865, and was paid off and discharged at Co
lumbus, Ohio, August 17 of the same year.
Mrs. Ross died January 4, 1894, and Mr. Ross
still lives on the homestead, surrounded by a
large circle of devoted friends.

'w ' EWIS F. ROSS, retired manufacturer
1 r and dealer in drain tile, Van Wert,
M fJi Ohio, is a native of Mercer county,
Ohio, is a son of John and Mary
(Tomlinson) Ross, and was born June 8, 1835.
John Ross, also a native of the Buckeye
state, was reared to manhood in Franklin
county, whence he moved to Mercer county in
1834, and engaged in farming. He had been
married in Franklin county to Miss Tomlinson,
a native of the county, who bore her husband
a family whose names are given in the sketch
of John T. Ross, preceding.
Lewis F. Ross, the subject of this sketch,
was a lad of eight years at the time of his
mother's second marriage, when the family re
moved to York township, Van Wert county,
where Lewis F. worked on the home farm un
til sixteen years of age, when he went to live
with his brother, John F., of the same town
ship, with whom he worked until twenty-one
years of age, and then worked "on shares"
until the breaking out of the Rebellion, when
he enlisted for three years in company A,

650

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, Septem
ber 10, 1861, under Capt. J. W. Heath. He
participated in all the marches, shirmishes and
engagements of his regiment until February,
1.864, when he veteranized at Scottsboro, Ala. ,
was assigned to his old company, and granted
a veteran furlough home. On his way back
to his regiment he was taken ill and was left
at Chattanooga, Tenn., in charge of the camp
equipage of his brigade, until September, 1864,
when he rejoined his command and served with
it until his honorable discharge, at Louisville,
Ky., July 22, 1865. That Mr. Ross was a
true, good and faithful soldier and patroit is
proven by the facts that he was promoted to
Fifth sergeant while in the ranks, and at Camp'
Sherman, one year later, was promoted to the
First sergeancy, and, February 2, 1865, was
commissioned first lieutenant. On his dis
charge from the army he returned to York
township and engaged in farming, having pur
chased a farm of eighty acres. For ten years
he also filled the office of justice of the peace,
and then resigned, and for two years served as
township assessor. In 1884 he sold his York
township farm and came to Van Wert, and for'
two seasons was employed as an assistant to
the county commissioners in opening up and
extending the Little Auglaize river for six
miles, and then for a year was engaged in so
liciting for the Ohio Farmers' Assurance asso
ciation; in 1886 he embarked in the manu
facture of drain tile, which vocation he fol
lowed until 1893, when he sold his plant and
is now living in retirement.
The marriage of Lieut. Lewis F. Ross took
place in York township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, June 16, 1868, to Miss Ida E. Roberts,
who was born iu Knox county, Ohio, January
21, 1 85 1, a daughter of John and Mary
(Mitchel) Roberts, and this union has been
blessed by the birth of three children, viz :
ChauncyC, a merchant of Van Wert, born

August 1, 1872; Otis C, a clerk, born June 8-,
1876; Hallie, born July 21, 1882 — died March
21, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Ross are consistent
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and fraternally he is a member of G. A. R.
He owns 100 acres of fine land in the county,
and has a very pleasant residence in the city,
where he enjoys, with his family, the esteem of
a large circle of friends.

HLBERT J. ROLLER, farmer of Jen
nings township, and ex-county com
missioner, was born in the county of
Mahoning, Ohio-, June 3, 1847, a son
of John and Susanna (Fox) Roller. The
father was a native of the aforesaid county
and the mother of Columbiana county. John
Roller and family moved to Van Wert county
in 1865, and settled in York township, where
Mrs. Roller yet resides. The following are
the names of their children: Martha, deceased
wife of Silas Rice; Albert J. and Allen F. ,
twins, of whom the latter died at the age of
twenty-four; Urban died when thirty-six years
of age; Joseph M., is a resident of Liberty
township; Mary Jane is the wife of, Samuel
Wentz, of Jennings; John lives near Elgin;
Wilson lives with his widowed mother in York
township, and Harriet died in infancy. The
father of these children departed this life Sep
tember 5, 1866.
Albert J. Roller has spent his life as a
farmer, and at the early age of sixteen, owing
to the death of his father, was obliged to fore
go his school privileges in order to assist his
widowed mother, and younger brothers and
sisters. In November, 1868, he entered into
the marriage relation with Mary Jane Guthrie,
daughter of George and Mary J. (Moore)
Guthrie, and now has a family of nine children,
whose names, in order of birth, are as follows:
Walter, a medical student, of Van Wert

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

651

County; Emery, a member of the mercantile
firm of Tracy & Roller, of Elgin, Ohio; Ira,
Ada, Myrtle, Leota, Marion, Ernest and
Dwight. The mother of these children died
October 2, 1894.
In 1886, Mr. Roller, was elected to the
office of county commissioner, in which capac
ity he served six years. During his official
term a number of substantial public improve
ments were made throughout the county, not
ably among which were the handsome jail, the
armory, and over 300 ditches. As an official
Mr. Roller displayed excellent judgment and
business tact, and his course was commended
by the people of the county, who looked upon
as a most obliging and capable servant. His
record, as a guardian of the people's interests,
stands without stain or blemish, and should
he be called to positions of trust in the future
it is safe to predict that his duties will be per
formed in an able, impartial and consciencious
manner. In addition to serving as a member
of the board of commissioners, Mr. Roller
served as trustee of his township and also as
justice of the peace. Politically he is a demo
crat, and has done valuable service in the
councils of his party in Van Wert county. He
has made a success in life in more ways than
one, having an excellent reputation as a neigh
bor and citizen, beside accumulating a suffi
ciency of this world's goods to place himself
in very comfortable circumstances. Mr. Roller
and family are members of the Methodist
church, in which they are highly esteemed.

@EORGE W. ROUSH, of Jackson
township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is
a German by descent, and comes di
rectly from an old Pennsylvania fam
ily, his grandfather, also, named George W. ,
having been born in Dauphin county, in the
Keystone state, and there rearing four sons —

Joseph, John, Jacob and William. Of these,
William Roush came to Ohio, in 1822, settled
in Hocking county, and cleared' up a farm.
He, also, was born in Dauphin county, Pa.,
February 4, 1808, and was but fourteen years
of age when he started in life for himself in
Ohio. He married Susannah Myers, a daughter
of Jacob and Anna (Ditto) Myers, of German
extraction, the union resulting in the birth of
seven children, viz: George W., Sarah, Jacob,
Anna, Elizabeth, Joseph and Margaret, all
born in Hocking county. In 1863 or 1864
William Roush moved to Washington town
ship, Van Wert county, bought 120 acres, and
here followed farming until his death, at the
age of seventy-seven years, a member of the
United Brethren church, of which his wife was
also a devoted member. Mr. Roush sent two
sons to the Civil war, George W. and Jacob,
but was always a democrat in his politics.
Jacob Roush served in the One Hundred and
Fourteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, was shot
through the neck at Vicksburg, Miss., and died
seven days later.
George W. Roush was born January 15,
1 83 1, in Hocking county, Ohio, and in 1856
settled in Washington township, Van Wert
county. He was married, in Hocking county,
January 13, 1853, by Rev. E. Bruce, of the
United Brethren church, to Mary A. Davis,
who was born February 2,6, 1833, a daughter
of Jabez and Jane (McCoy) Davis, of Scotch
Irish descent. After marriage Mr. Roush
lived in Hocking county two years, then went
to Marion county, 111., in 1855, lived on a farm
of eighty acres for a year, and in 1856 came
again to Van Wert county, Ohio; here he
cleared up ten or twelve acres in Washington
township, and then sold out and located in
Monterey township, Putnam county, on a farm
in the woods, cleared it' up and sold it for
$4,000, and in 1882 came to Jackson township,
Van Wert county, bought 120 acres also in

652

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the woods, of which about fifteen acres was
cleared. Of this farm he cleared up and sold
forty acres, retaining eighty acres, which he
likewise cleared, and on which he erected a
comfortable dwelling.
August 1 8, 1862, Mr. Roush enlisted at
Delphos, Ohio, in company F, One Hundred
and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, to
serve for three years or during the war; faith
fully he performed his duty until July 10, 1865,
when he was honorably discharged at Cleve
land, Ohio. He served at Kingston, Tenn. ;
Mossy Creek, Tenn.; Buzzard's Roost, Ga. ; at
the front of Atlanta, Ga. ; at Resaca, Pump-
kinvine Creek, Acworth, Peach Tree Creek,
Kenesaw Mountain and Jonesboro, Ga., and
all the engagements and skirmishes in which
his regiment took part. After the fall of At
lanta he went in pursuit of the rebel general,
Hood, and so on to the close of the war.
To Mr. and Mrs. Roush have been born six
children — Sarah J., William L., Hugh C,
Margaret A., Mary E., and John F. In politics
Mr. Roush is a republican, and he and wife are
members of the Presbyterian church. He is
vice-commander of G. A. R. post at Middle-
point, and a man who is truly honored by all
who know him. His uncle, Joseph Roush,
was a soldier in the war of 181 2, and was with
Gen. Hull at Detroit, but the strain of patriot
ism that has since run through the Roush fam
ily .has been manifested in a far superior man
ner by our subject in the struggle of the late
Civil war.

£-V" J. ROWLAND, of York township,
*^^KT Van Wert county, a native of Harri-
¦^ J son county, Ohio, was born Septem
ber 8, 1836, and died December 2,
1895. His father, Lewis Rowland, was a na
tive of Pennsylvania, and was there married to
Mary Shivers, who bore him six children, in

the following order: William .deceased; Rachel,
wife of George Balor, of Indiana; S. J., sub
ject of this sketch; Eliza Jane, who died at
the age of four years; John and Sarah Ann
(twins) — the latter the wife of T. T. Whitten,
of Van Wert county, and the former killed in
battle near Richmond, Va. , when but eighteen
years of age, being a member of the Fifty-fifth
Indiana volunteers. William Rowland was
also a soldier in the late Rebellion, served in
the Fifteenth volunteer infantry, and in the
performance of his duty contracted the disease
which caused his death. The father of this
family came to Van Wert couniy in the fall of
1838, and first entered land contiguous to that
now owned by Seth Painter. Here, in 1847,
he lost his wife, whom he duly mourned,- but
in 185 1 took to himself what he hoped would
prove to be another help-mate, but the union
proved to be uncongenial and a dissolution of
the tie soon took place, and Mr. Rowland died
a widower. S. J. Rowland, the subject proper of this
sketch, was reared to a thorough practical
knowledge of agriculture, and received a very
good school education. At the age of twenty-
six years he was united in the bonds of matri
mony with Miss Sarah Jane Whitten, daughter
of Philip Whitten, to which union were born
three sons, viz: William H., Barcy A. and
John A. Of these the eldest, William H. , mar
ried Miss Emma Ireland, and now resides in
York township, Van Wert county. Mrs. Sarah
J. Rowland bade her last farewell to her hus
band and children in March, 1890, dying an
ardent lover of her Master; her bereaved hus
band is also a consistent member of the Society
of Friends. Mr. Rowland, in his politics, was an active
republican and served as trustee of his town
ship. His son, William H., is also a repub
lican, but in religion differs with his deceased
father. Our subject was the owner of a fertile

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

653

farm of seventy-nine acres, as well tilled, pro
ductive and attractive as any farm of its size
in the county. Mr. Rowland was looked upon
with great respect and esteem by his neighbors,
and his upright course through life won for him
many deep and lasting friendships.

>^OHN GEORGE RUPRIGHT, senior
A member of the firm of Rupright Bros.,
A 1 Van Wert, Ohio, manufacturers of
brick and drain tile, was born in Union
county, Ohio, January 10, 1844, and is the
eldest son of Gotleib and Catherine (Kried-
lein) Rupright. The father, Gotleib Rupright,
was born in Nuernberg, Bavaria, October 15,
1 818, a son of Phillip Rupright, a farmer who
came to America in 1837 and settled in Union
county, Ohio, where he purchased military
land and followed farming until his death,
in 1859, having lost his wife in 1851. Phillip
and his wife were sincere worshipers at the
German Lutheran church, were quite success
ful financially, and were the parents of two
children, viz: Gotleib, the father of our sub
ject, and Margaret, who died young. Phillip
served three years in the Bavarian army, and
participated in the battles of Waterloo and
Leipsic. Gotleib Rupright lived on the home
stead in Union county, Ohio, until his mar
riage, in 1842, with Catherine Kreidlein, who
was born in Nuernberg, Bavaria, January 9,
1 8 1 7, and came to America in 1836. To this
marriage were born ten children, viz: An in
fant, deceased; John G. , our subject; Margaret;
Catherine, deceased; Dora; Phillip; J. Conrad
(the partner of John G.); Martin; Mary; and
Gotleib, deceased. These parents were mem
bers of the German Lutheran church, and in
politics the father was a democrat. He died
in the fall of 1892, leaving a farm of 400 acres;
his wife died in February, 1891.
John George Rupright was early inured to

the toil of farm life and assisted his father on
the home place until eighteen years of age,
when he enlisted, in Union county, Ohio,
August 18, 1862, in company I, One Hundred
Twenty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, for three
years, was assigned to the army of the Cum
berland, and served with the command until
September 20, 1863, when he was wounded at
the battle of Chickamauga by a minie ball in
the left thigh; he was then taken to New
Albany, Ind. , and, becoming convalescent, was
transferred to company A, Eleventh Ohio
volunteers, veteran reserve corps, which was
engaged in transport duty until the close of the
war, and also took part in the grand review at
Washington, D. C. July 3, 1865, Mr. Rup
right was honorably discharged at Concord,
N. H., and on his return to his home served
an apprenticeship at brickmaking in Union
county, where he remained until 1868, when
he came to Van Wert and engaged in the
manufacture of brick on his own account,
turning out about 250,000,000 brick the first
year, and using the old-fashioned hand-mold;
the succeeding eight years were devoted to the
manufacture of potash, at the conclusion of
which time he began tile-making, and con
tinued thereat until 1882, when he added the
manufacture of brick, which he has continued
until the present time. His brother, J. Conrad
Rupright, joined him in partnership in 1877,
and the firm not only continued in the manu
facture of brick and drain tile, but made a
specialty of the baling and shipping of hay, of
which they handled, in 1894, 1,100 carloads.
They also do a large brokerage business.
The marriage of Mr. Rupright took place
in Union county, Ohio, February 28, 1869, to
Miss Margaret Nichol, who was born in that
county June 21, 1848, a daughter of Leonard
and Ursula (Star) Nichol, natives of Bavaria,
Germany, and this union has resulted in the
birth of four children, viz: Dora L. , Clara N.

654

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

(deceased), Anna K. and William C. Mr. and
Mrs. Rupright are devoted members of the
German Lutheran church, in which he is a
trustee; he has also served as a member of the
school board and as a member of the city
council, and is also one of the trustees of the
city water-works. He is an affable, good-
natured gentleman, of fine personal appear
ance, and is universally respected.

'>Y, CONRAD RUPRIGHT, the junior
A member of the firm of Rupright Bros.,
A j manufacturers of brick and tile, Van
"~" Wert, Ohio, was born in Union county,
October 15, 1852, and is a younger brother of
John George Rupright, whose sketch precedes
this notice. J. Conrad Rupright was reared
on the home farm and educated at the com
mon schools of his district, and at the age of
twenty-one came to Van Wert and for two
years was employed as an assistant to his
brother, J. G. , and was then engaged in the
grocery business in company with Phillip Scaer
for a year, and then was engaged for two years
in the same business on his own account, and
then, in 1877, formed a partnership with his
brother, John G., in the manufacture of brick
and tile, which partnership still exists and is
doing a prosperous business.
J. Conrad Rupright was united in wedlock,
at Van Wert, December 12, 1878, with Miss
Elizabeth Germann, who was born in Van
Wert, March 19, 1859, a daughter of Charles
and Elizabeth (Smith) Germann, and this union
has been blessed by the birth of two children,
Walter A. and Otto C. Mr. and Mrs. Rup
right are consistent members of the German
Lutheran church, of which Mr. Rupright is
also the treasurer. The family are quite prom
inent in the social circles in Van Wert, and
have hosts of substantial friends.

sr

ILLIAM REED, one of the original
pioneers of Tully township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, is a son of Will
iam and Martha (Howey) Reed, the
former a native of Chester county, Pa. Jacob
Reed, grandfather of our subject, was a native
of Ireland, and with his brother, Andrew, came
to America prior to the war of the Revolution.
In that heroic struggle Jacob served as a teams
ter, and Andrew as a brave soldier in the ranks.
After the close of the war Jacob settled in
Chester county, Pa.; later removed to near
Greensburg, in the western part of Pennsyl
vania, while Andrew settled in Virginia. Will
iam Reed, Sr., in April, 18 15, brought his wife
from Pennsylvania and settled in Ashland
county, Ohio, where he clearned up a farm of
100 acres from the woods, and there lived to
be eighty years of age. He, also, was a sol
dier, and served in the war of 181 2, was a
member of the Methodist church, and was an
honored pioneer. His six children, all born in
Ashland county, were named Rebecca, Will
iam, Elizabeth, George, Rachael and Jacob.
William Reed, the subject of this sketch,
was born December 25, 181 5, on the farm
which his father had opened in Ashland county,
Ohio, the previous April. He was taught the
carpenter's trade, and was married, in his
native county, to Martha, daughter of Jacob
and Lydia Martin. For three years after mar
riage he followed his trade in Ashland, then
came to Van Wert county, and in 1839 entered
eighty acres of land in Tully township, on which
he settled October 18, 1842. He built a cabin
in the woods and the first winter went to Fort .
Wayne for his provisions. By hard work and
perseverence he cleared up his original farm
and added to it from time to time until he
owned 200 acres, hewn from a wilderness in
fested with beasts of prey, but abounding in
wild game. Of the eleven children born to
Mr. and Mrs. Reed, six grew to maturity and

,'--.

'*%

%,-

WILLIAM REED.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

657

were named Ann, Lydia, George, Rachael,
Clara and Alice. In politics M. Reed is a dem
ocrat, served one year as justice of the peace,
several times as township trustee, has served
on the school board in his district, and has
been township assessor two terms; in religion
he is a Lutheran, and in this faith, also, Mrs.
Reed was called to rest August 7, 1891. The
six surviving children born to Mr. and Mrs. Reed
were married as follows: Ann to the late John
Keifer, afarmer of Tully township, to which union
were born three children; George a farmer of
Adams county, Ind., married Elizabeth Hines,
who bore six children; Lydia was married to
Alexander Rodgers, a farmer now residing in
Fort Wayne, with five children; Rachel, the
wife of Henry Johnson, of Sacramento, Cal.,
has five children; Clara is married to Isaiah
Clem, an engineer on the Fort Wayne railroad,
¦and has two children; Alice is the wife of Peter
Mozel, a farmer of Tully township, and is the
mother of three children.
William Reed, our subject, has now living
a family of six children, twenty-four grand
children and nine great-grandchildren. He
still retains eighty acres of his well cultivated
farm, which he carved from the primitive
forest when he first settled in the township;
the woods occupied almost every rod of land,
and were filled with game of all varieties, and
it was his custom to carry a gun when visiting,
or when passing through the forest for any
purpose, and he frequently dropped a deer on
the way; his wife herself killed two deer, and
moreover, a turkey or two. These birds fre
quently came near the house in flocks of fifty
or more, and the settlers had all the game
they wanted.
Peter Mozel , father of the younger Peter, the
husband of Alice Reed, is one of the respected
citizens of Tully township, and was born in
Prussia. His father was Ludwig Mozel, who
married Elizabeth Beck, was a soldier in the

wars with Napoleon, at different times fought
in both the French and German armies, and
was wounded in battle. He was the father of
three children — Peter, Ludwig and Mary E.,
and died at the age of about fifty years, a mem
ber of the Presbyterian church. His son
Peter, was reared a farmer and was educated
in Prussia. At the age of thirty years he came
to America, landed in New York in March,
1853, came directly to Ohio, and located in
Holmes county, where he worked as a farm
hand, and in 1854 married Louisa Roswiler,
daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Young) Ros
wiler. Jacob Roswiler was a Hessian, was a
weaver by trade and the father of four children
— Peter, Caroline, Lousia and Elizabeth.
Jacob Roswiler was a Prussian soldier in the
Napoleonic wars, and he and wife died in
Germany at about the age of fifty years.
Peter Mozel and Louisa Roswiler became
acquainted in Prussia, were passengers to
gether on the same sailing ship which brought
them to America — Louisa being accompanied
by her brother, Peter, and sister Caroline —
and they all located in Holmes county, Ohio,
where the marriage of Peter and Lousia took
place, as stated above. In 1862, Mr. and
Mrs. Peter Mozel came to Van Wert county
and bought forty acres of land near Convoy,
on which they resided three years, then sold
and bought their present place of eighty acres
in the forest, which by industry and hard
work, they have converted into a good home.
Mr. and Mrs. Mozel are the parents of four
children — Catherine, Peter (married to Alice
Reed), Elizabeth and John. Mr. and Mrs.
Mozel are members of the German Presbyte
rian church, and in politics he is a democrat.
They are ranked among the most thrifty, in
dustrious and respected farmers of Tully
township, are useful members of society, and
disposed to aid all enterprises- of use to the
general public.

658

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

eMERY RUMMEL, an official of Har
rison township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, and a highly respected citizen,
is remotely of German descent, his
lineage, however, being traced only to his
grandfather, a native of Maryland.
John George Rummel, father of our subject,
was also a native of Maryland, born March 28,
I799> and when but a lad was brought to Ohio
by his father, who located in Mahoning coun
ty. John G. received a very fair education,
learning io read and write the German and
English languages, and being also taught the
carpenter's trade. April 4, 1820, he married
Susannah, daughter of Barney Faustnaught,
a pioneer of Mahoning county. In 1846 Mr.
Rummel brought his family to Van Wert coun
ty, accompanied, with horses and wagons, by
the families of Joseph Whitenbarger, William
May and William Brothers, and also by his
wife's father, who rode in a one-horse bug
gy. Beside his wife, the family of Mr. Rum
mel consisted of eight children — Margaret,
Sophia, Joseph, Susannah, Elizabeth, Caroline,
Isaac P. and Emery. The settled on the
farm now owned by our subject, in section No.
6, Harrison township. The tract was covered
entirely with timber, and comprised 143 acres
in Ohio and thirty-three acres across the line
in Indiana, and through the usual persistency
and industry characterizing the pioneer, a farm
was wrought out, that afterward became the
equal of any in the county. Mr. Rummel
lived to be over eighty-two years of age — dy
ing November 25, 1881, a devoted member of
the Lutheran church and in politics a stanch
democrat. Emery Rummel was born in Mahoning
county, Ohio, August 31, 1845, and was, of
course, a mere babe when brought to Van
Wert county. He was reared on the home
farm and at the proper age was sent to the
pioneer school nearest at hand, and this he at

tended three months in the year until he
reached the age of seventeen years. April 3,
1870, he was married, in Adams county, Ind.,
to Miss Lavina Barkley, daughter of Andrew
and Hannah (Kahl) Barkley. The father,
Andrew Barkley, was born in Ashland county,
Ohio, was of German extraction, and at the
age of eight years lost his father. His wife,
a daughter of Henry Kahl, was born in Penn
sylvania, and became the mother of five chil
dren, viz: Lavina, John, Henry, Mary and
James. Mr. Barkley was a soldier in the late
war and is now living in retirement in Decatur,
Ind., and, with his wife, is a member of the
Church of God. To the marriage of Mr. and
Mrs. Emery Rummel have been born ten
chidren, in the following order: Bertha A., now
wife of Lawson Wallis, Mary E. , John H.,
George A., Delia M., Lavina C. , Mabel E.,
Ora S., Francis V. andTessieH. The parents
are devout members of the Evangelical Lutheran
church, of which Mr. Rummel has been a deacon
for several years, as well as superintendent of
the Sunday-school. In politics Mr. Rummel is a
democrat, and has served two terms as town
ship trustee and two terms as justice of the
peace; he has also been a member of the school
board and has served as supervisor; he is a
member of the grange, and has always been a
warm friend of the agricultural progress of his
township as well as an ardent promoter of its
educational interest.

eLZA N. RUNNION, owner of a fine
farm and a retired educator of Liberty
township, is descended from German-
English ancestry, and dates the pa
ternal side of her family history through several
generations to the old world. His great grand
father. James H. Runnion, was born in Baden,
Germany, came to America in the time of the
colonies, and served eight years in the war of-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

659

the Revolution, a part of the time as member
of Washington's body guard; he was a farmer,
and died a great many years ago in the state of
New Jersey. Joseph Runnion, grandfather of
Elza N. , was born in New Jersey, served in
the war of 1812, married Rachael Logan, and,
later, moved to Belmont county, Ohio; thence
to the county of Richland in the early develop
ment of which he took an active part. His
wife died in 1862, and later he removed to
Williams county, Ohio, where his death oc
curred. He is remembered as a highly re
spectable citizen and a man of much local
prominence. John L. Runnion, son of Joseph, was born
in Belmont county, Ohio, November 26, 18 16,
and when a mere lad accompanied his parents
to the county of Richland. He was a well
educated man, a United Brethren in his church
affiliations, originally a democrat in politics and
later became a republican; he married Emily
Bowers, daughter of Jeremiah and Anna
Bowers, and had a family consisting of the
following children, William A., Elza N.,
Albert, James S. and Logan. Shortly after
his marriage, Mr. Runnion moved to Crawford
county, Ohio, where his death occurred June
4, 1859. His widow subsequently married
Matthias Corothers, and departed this life in
Seneca county, September 8, 1893.
Elza N. Runniori was born in Crawford
county, Ohio, April 12, 1850. He received a
liberal education, attending first the public
schools and later the Baldwin university, and
for a period of eighteen years taught school in
various parts of Ohio. Mr. Runnion has
always been a student, and since retiring
from the profession of teaching has paid con
siderable attention to literature, being one of
the best read men in the county. On the 3d
day of October, 1872, he entered into the
marriage relation with Arietta Dellinger, daugh
ter of John and Mariah (Leister) Dellinger, of

Crawford county. The father of Mrs. Run
nion is a prominent citizen of the aforesaid
county, a large farmer and stock raiser and
successful business man.
After his marriage Mr. Runnion settled in
Crawford county, where he engaged in farming
and teaching, purchasing land there and re
siding upon the same until his removal to the
county of Van Wert. He has been a resident
of Liberty township of the latter county for
twelve years, owning a good farm which is
well improved and successfully cultivated. He
has been a member of the school board of
Ohio City since coming to the county, takes
an active interest in matters educational and
has done much for the schools of his town
ship. He is an earnest supporter of the re
publican party, and fraternally belongs to
Wide-awake lodge, No. 571, I. O. O. F., in
which he has passed all the chairs, and is also
a member of the P. of H. and K. of P. orders.
Mr. and Mrs. Runnion have had a family of
six children, viz: Florence E., Minnie M. J.,
John E., Verna E., Viola and Albert, the last
two both deceased.

HLBERT RUNNION, a prominent citi
zen of Pleasant township, Van Wert
county, is a native of Ohio, born in
the county of Crawford, in the year
1853. His paternal ancestors came originally
from Germany, and were among the early set
tlers of Pennsylvania, in which state his grand
father, Joseph Runnion, was born and reared.
Joseph Runnion was a pioneer of Richland
county, Ohio, where, in 18 17, his son, JohnL.
Runnion, father of the subject of this mention
was born.
John L. Runnion spent the years of his
youth and early mauhood in his native county,
and began life for himself as a farmer in the
county of Crawford, Ohio, where the remainder

'660

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of his life was passed. On the tenth of No
vember, 1842, in Richland county, Ohio, was
•solemnized his marriage with Emily Bowers,
rand six children resulted from the union, as fol
lows: Rachael, deceased; William, of Seneca
¦ county; ElzaN., of Van Wert; Albert, whose
name introduces this sketch; James F. of
.Pleasant township, and John, deceased. Mrs.
Runnion was born in Richland county, Ohio,
in April, 1823, and is descended from Welsh
^ancestry. John L. Runion was known as an
enterprising and successful farmer, a useful
¦citizen, and a man of unquestioned integrity.
He was for years a consistent member of the
United Brethren church, for the promotion of
which he gave liberally of his means, and po
litically supported the republican party in its
infancy. He was a man of marked individu
ality, firm in his convictions of right, and en
deavored to guide his life according to the
principles of truth and justice. He took' a
• deep interest in matters educational, possessed
the confidence and esteem of all who knew
,him, and his death, which occurred in 1859,
was an event sadly deplored in the community.
About the year 1864, Mrs. Emily Runnion was
united in marriage to Matthias Corothers,
whose death occurred in 1877 (see sketch of
J. L. Corothers). His widow survived him
•several years, and departed this life October
2, 1893. Albert Runnion received his elementary
education in the common schools, and subse
quently took a two-year course at Heidelburg
college, Tiffin, Ohio, where he made substan
tial progress in the higher branches of learning.
During a part of the time spent in college, and
six years thereafter, he taught school in the
.-counties of Crawford and Huron, and at inter
vals followed agricultural pursuits, in which he
met with well deserved success. In 1882, he
sold his farm on the boundary of Huron, Seneca
and Crawford counties, and invested the pro

ceeds in real estate in Pleasant township, Van
Wert county. Three years later he purchased
the farm where he now resides, which he has
brought to a successful state of cultivation.
Mr. Runnion is an intelligent farmer, a public-
spirited citizen, and one of the well-informed
men of the community in which he resides;
politically he wields an influence for the re
publican party, and was honored by the citi
zens of Pleasant township, in the years 1893
and 1894, by being electen to the office of tax
assessor, the duties of which position he dis
charged in a manner with credit to himself
and satisfaction to all concerned. Mr. Run
nion was married, in 1877, to Jennie M. Coroth
ers, daughter of John and Susan (Mowery)
Corothers, a union blessed with three children,
namely: Francis, Loie B. (deceased) and
Susie. Mrs. Jennie M. Runnion was born
March 2, 1865, in Huron county, Ohio; she is
a member of the Society of Friends, with which
church her husband is also identified.

>-j* F. RUNNION, son of John L. and
A Emily A. Runnion, and brother of
A I Albert, notices of whom appear in the
preceding sketch, is an Ohioanby birth,
and first saw the light of day in'the year 1856,
in Crawford county. Left fatherless at the
age of four years, his early training devolved
upon his mother, who spared no pains, nor left
unimproved any opportunity of instilling into
his youthful mind the principles of truth and
right which have since borne fruit in his active
and useful life. His early educational training
was received in the schools of Seneca county,
supplemented by a two years' course in Heidel
berg college, and later, for a year and a half,
he pursued his studies in the normal school at
Valpariso, Ind., preparatory to engaging in
the profession of teaching. At intervals,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

661

while attending college, he taught in the
schools of Crawford county, and thus suc
ceeded in procuring means to enable him to
pay his way in the institutions above men
tioned. His success in the educational field is
attested by the fact of his having taught four
teen terms in the schools of Crawford, Seneca
and Van Wert counties; and when not en
gaged in his profession, he gave his attention
to the pursuit of agriculture. In October,
1886, Mr. Runnion and Miss Lizzie Shade,
daughter of Simeon and Louisa Shade, of
Crawford county, were made man and wife,
and three children have resulted from the mar
riage — Lester Cleon, Simon Delbert, and an in
fant daughter, deceased. On the 12th day of
April, 1 88 1, Mr. Runnion, with his mother
and brother, E. N. Runnion, moved to his
present home in Pleasant township, where, for
six years thereafter, he was engaged in teach
ing in connection with tilling the soil. At the
end of that time he concluded to retire from
educational work and devote his time exclu
sively to agriculture, which he has since done.
He and wife are members of the Methodist
church, and while taking no very active inter
est in matters political, he supports the repub
lican party with his ballot. Mr. Runnion has
a well-stored mind, keeps himself posted in
current events, and his educational training
enables him to discharge intelligently the
duties of American citizenship.
The following is a brief outline of the lead
ing facts in the history of Mrs. Runnion's fam
ily. Her father, Simeon Shade, was born in
Columbiana county, Ohio, of which his father,
a native of Pennsylvania, was a pioneer, and
a farmer, which useful calling he followed all
his life. He was married, in 1857, to Louisa
Knierremen, who was born in Stark county,
Ohio, in the year 1839. The following are the
names of their children: Ilona, wife of Q. R.
Brown, of Bloomville; Lizzie; Simeon A., of

Crawford county, and William E., of the
county of Seneca. Both Mr. and Mrs. Shade
are still living in Crawford county.

aHARLES N. SCHEIDT, a well-knowm
dealer in coal and wood in Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Bavaria, Germany,.
at Kaulbach, Rhine-Pfalz, August 20,
1855, a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Gehm).
Scheidt. The parents were also natives of
Bavaria, were there married and engaged in
farming, and died respectively in 1861 and
1878, the parents of twelve children, viz:
Jacob, Elizabeth (deceased)-, Michael, Phil-
ipina, Henry (died in 1893), Catherine, an un
named infant (deceased), John, Caroline, Mar
garet, William (of Van Wert), and Charles N.
(our subject). The father of this family was a.
very prominent man in his day, was for eight
years mayor of his city, accumulated an estate
valued at $20,000, and died a member of the
German Protestant church, of which his wife-
was also a member.
Charles N. Scheidt, our subject, was edu
cated in Germany, and when sixteen years old,
on the anniversary of his birth, sailed from
Bremen for New York, in which latter city he
landed September 11, 1871, and there found
employment as a laborer in a furniture factory
until March 29, 1879, when he came to Van
Wert, and here entered the shop of Fife &
Scheidt as an apprentice at the blacksmith
trade, and served two years, after which he
worked in Delphos, Ohio, at this trade, for
nine months, when he returned to Van Wert,
worked for the Van Wert Carriage company
for one year, and then started his present place
and did horse-shoeing and blacksmithing until
1 89 1, when he engaged in the coal and wood.
trade, which he has since most successfully
carried on, and now handles about seventy-five
car-loads of coal per year. He has amassed.

662

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

considerable property and has his residence on
the corner of Walnut and Jackson streets; he
also owns a lot, 44x132 feet, on North Market
street, well improved with good buildings; also
a residence block at the corner of Race and
Greenwalt streets, and the lot No. 377 Tyler
street, the greater portion of which property
is the result of his prudent foresight and busi-
nesssagacity, backed up by his untiring industry.
Mr. Scheidt was married, in Van Wert,
February 5, 1882, to Minnie Heuschkel, an
adopted daughter of Charles E. Heuschkel.
This lady was born in Shelby county, Ohio,
in March, 1861, and has borne her husband
two children — Florence and Clara H. Mr. and
Mrs. Scheidt are members of Saint Peter's Re
form church, and fraternally he is a member
of the Improved Order of Red Men. The
family are highly respected in their neighbor
hood as well as throughout the city, and Mr.
Scheidt stands in the front rank of the ener
getic and responsible business men of the city
of Van Wert.

'JrVOHN T- SCOTT, founder of the thriv-
A ing little city in Van Wert county, Ohio,
A 1 bearing his name, ;s a son of Richard
and Margaret (Lynn) Scott, and was
born in Warren county, Onio, March 25, 185 1.
Richard, the father, was also a native of War
ren county, and was born March 31, 18 16, a
son of Thomas Scott, a native of New Jersey,
who, in turn, was the son of Jonathan, also
of New Jersey. Thomas Scott, the grand
father of our subject, was the father of two
children and of Scotch descent.
Richard Scott was reared a farmer, and
about 1839 married Margaret Lynn, daughter
of James and Esther (Thongson) Lynn, the
union resulting in the birth of eleven children,
as follows: Mary, wife of Alonzo Crawford, of
Columbus Grove; Esther, wife of William Ex-

line, formerly for thirteen years auditor of
Van Wert county, but now a farmer and gen
eral superintendent of the wheel company at
Delphos, Ohio; Anna, wife of the Rev. Thomas
J. Harbaugh, minister of the United Brethren
church and residing on the old Scott home
stead in Putnam county; Thomas, a farmer of
Allen county; James, a deceased Methodist
minister of Athens, Tenn. ; Samuel, a Metho
dist minister of Jackson Center, Shelby county,
Ohio; John T., the subject of this memoir;
Richard, deceased; Henry, a farmer of Har
din county, Ohio; Margaret, deceased; and
Charles, deceased.
September 10, 1859, Richard Scott, with
his family, moved to Putnam county, Ohio,
where he purchased a tract of 2,100 acres of
land, on which he lived until 1875, when he
purchased 160 acres near Athens, McMinn
county, Tenn., where he passed the remainder
of his life, dying at the age of seventy-eight
years. For six years he was a minister of the
Methodist church, and afterward of the United
Brethren church, was a pious, eloquent and
faithful worker in the Lord's vineyard, and his
loss was deeply deplored by a large circle of
friends and admirers, whose grief at his loss
was truly heartfelt. Mrs. Margaret ( Lynn )
Scott was a native of Pennsylvania, was a
daughter of James and Esther ( Thompson )
Lynn, and was but a child when brought to
Ohio by her parents, who settled in Warren,
then known as Preble county; she also became
prominent in the Methodist Episcopal church,
and later in the church of the United Brethren,
while her parents were both devoted, sincere
Presbyterians. John T. Scott, the subject of our sketch,
was reared on the home farm and educated in
the common schools of Warren and Putnam
counties, and attended one term at Kalida.
December 28, 1872, Mr. Scott married Miss
Marvilla Uhrich, a native of Uhrichsville, Tus-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

663

carawas county, Ohio, born June 12, 1851,
and. a daughter of William and Catherine
(Houston) Ullrich, and this marriage has been
crowned by the birth of twelve children,
namely: Mittie L. , Richard S., Margaret C,
William H., Sina M., Anna E. , Jessie I.
(deceased), Fannie F. , Lizzie F., Ruth,
Wreath, and an infant, deceased. The father
of Mrs. Scott, William Uhrich, was also born
at Uhrichsville about 1820, was there educated,
and there learned the blacksmith's trade.
About 1842 he married Catherine Houston, to
which union were born four children, viz:
Mrs. Jane Collins, of Steubenville, Ohio;
Florenda, wife of John Buffington, a mechanic
of Uhrichsville; Catherine, deceased wife of
William McClusky, also of Uhrichsville, and
Marvilla, wife of Mr. Scott, our subject. When
Mrs. Scott was quite small she lost her mother,
and her father married, for his second wife,
Susan Meyers, who became the mother of the
following children: Dula Belle, wife of Alpha
Exline, of Van Wert county; William, de
ceased; Adam, a farmer of Van Wert county;
Scott F., of Tuscarawas county, and Edward,
of Scott, Ohio. Mr. Uhrich lived in Tuscara
was county until 1870, when he came to Van
Wert county, where he passed away the re
maining years of his life. He was for more
than a quarter of a century a steward and class
leader in the Methodist Episcopal church, in
which faith he died in 1882.
After his marriage Mr. Scott located in
Putnam county, and also bought a tract of land
on the Van Wert county line, hired a surveyor
and parceled the tract out in town lots, thus
founding the city of Scott, and presenting to
W. H. Drury, at the same time, two lots, on
condition that the latter would build and en
gage in business. Mr. Scott is altogether "a
man of enterprise, push and energy, and now
operates the largest tile factory in the county,
and is moreover a self-made man. He is

thoroughly upright in all his tranactions and
moral to the core, having, ever since a boy of
seventeen, been a steward in the Methodist
Episcopal church, and he has been the means
of having organized the Methodist church at
Scott, of which he has been a leader three
years, as well as trustee; of this denomination,
also, Mrs. Scott has been a devout member
ever since girlhood. Miss Margaret Scott,
daughter of the above, graduated April 9,
1895, with honors, with the first graduating
class from the Scott high school, and the en
tire family have more than a local reputation
for native intelligence and amiability. Cer
tainly no one person has done more to advance
the business, moral and educational advantages
of botb Van Wert and Putnam counties than
John T. Scott.

>fj» OSEPH SCHULTZ, deceased, was a
A son of Joseph and Sophia (Cope)
A 1 Schultz, and was born in Germany, in
September, 1819. The father Was born
in Mecklenburg, Germany, received an excel
lent education, and was a prominent member
of the Lutheran church. In January, 1843,
subject married Miss Mary Foning, a daughter
of Christopher and Sophia (Rose) Foning, the
former of whom was born in Mecklenburg,
Germany, in 1786, and died in 1844. The
union of this respected couple was blessed
with three children, viz: Henry, deceased;
Mary, wife of subject, and an infant, deceased.
Mrs. Schultz was born in Germany in 1824,
was educated there and was a devoted mem
ber of the Lutheran church. In 1855 she
came to America with her husband, who
bought a tract of thirteen acres of land near
Dayton, Ohio, and carried on farming for five
years, then rented more land, and continued.
this vocation five years longer, utilizing both
tracts. In 1865, Mr. Schultz sold his tract

664

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

near Dayton and came to Van Wert county
and bought a farm, which he cleared up, and
on which he erected a modern dwelling, hav
ing heretofore lived in a house of logs. To
his marriage were born the following children:
Henry, of Auglaize county, deceased; Rachel,
widow of George Slife, of Decatur, Ala., but
now at home with her mother; Mary, wife
of Chris Thompson, of Van Wert county; Joe,
of Van Wert county, and an infant boy and
an infant girl, deceased.
Joseph Schultz, our subject, had three
brothers and two sisters, as follows: Charles,
of Berlin, Germany; John, who came to Amer
ica two years after his brother, Joseph, had
come, passed five or six years in Canada and
then came to Van Wert county, where he died;
Herman J., of Auglaize county, who came over
with Joseph; Elsby, wife of John Schroeder,
of Chicago, and Sophia, who died in her
native Germany.
About fourteen years age our subject was
kicked by a horse and for several weeks was
not expected to live, but finally he recovered,
yet was never a strong man again. Some four
years before his death, Mr. Schultz began to
complain of pain in his right arm, and for two
years- had it under medical treatment, and
then went to Fort Wayne, where it was am
putated. His death took place, in 1869, from
cancer of the lungs, two years after the am
putation had taken place — and this disorder
was presumably what caused the pain in the
right arm.
Mr. Shultz was in politics a democrat and
was also a prominent citizen; he was a hard
working man, energetic farmer, a good pro
vider for his family, and was much respected
by a large circle of friends His remains were
interred in the family lot at Van Wert, and his
loss was deeply deplored by his sorrowing
family and neighbors. Since this sad event,
Mrs. Schultz has rented out the farm, but still

makes her home on the place. Mrs. Schultz:
has now reached her seventy-first year, is a
devout member of the Lutheran church, and
is truly beloved by her family and honored by
all who know her. Her aged mother, who-
came to this county with her, was called to
her final home three years before the family-
left Dayton.

HNDREW RICHTER, deceased, a
man of excellent characteristics, with
varied experience and with varied
fortune, was born in Saxony, Ger
many, October 19, 1836. As is common with
most if not all of the children in his native land
he early began attending school, and was
graduated from one of the best schools in his
home city. Afterward he took a course of
study in a religious school. Thus well equipped
he began the battle of life for himself, at first
being employed in a soap factory for three
years, and then engaging in the mercantile
business for himself with gratifying success.
When twenty-four years of age he left his own
country for the United States, landing in New
York, and coming thence directly to Mansfield,
Ohio, where he was married, and near which
city he settled down on a farm with his wife's
parents. His wife dying, he removed to Van
Wert, in 1861, where he married again, this
time, Miss Louisa Bieber, in 1865. After be
ing employed as clerk for some time he again
went into business on his own account, and
again met with success. In 1889 he removed
with his family to Willshire, Van Wert county,.
where he once more engaged in business, re
maining there until his death, which occurred
August 6, 1 88 1. Mr. Richter for some portions
of his life was engaged in speculating, but in
this line of activity was not uniformly success
ful; for which reason he was not so well off
when he died as he probably otherwise would

ANDREW RICHTER.

MRS. LOUISA RICHTER.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

669

have been. He was, however, a liberal and
charitable man, using this last word in its two
senses, as applied to his mental attitude toward
other people, and also as to the free use of his
means in aid of worthy persons and worthy
objects. He assisted in founding Saint Peter's
Evangelical church of Van Wert, of which he
was a consistent member; and other institu
tions and causes found in him a ready helper in
time of need. Politically he was a democrat.
Mr. Richter and his second wife were the
parents of four children, viz: Emma, Anna,
William and Oscar, all of whom are living but
Emma, who died October 16, 1895, in Del
phos, Ohio. Emma Richter was a most ex
cellent young lady, modest, true, and well be
loved by all. She was employed for several
years in the telephone exchange in Lima, Ohio,
where her absence will be keenly felt by all
her former associates. Anna is married and
living in Delphos, Ohio; Orcar is engaged in
business in Corning, Ohio, and is single, and
William is living with his mother in Van Wert.
Miss Louisa Bieber, second wife of Air. Rich
ter, was born in New York city, September 12,
1846. After her husband's death she found it
necessary to work for a subsistence. At first
she engaged in the millinery business in Will
shire, where she remained for some time, when
she and her children removed to Portland,
Ind., whence after some time she moved to
Van Wert, where she now resides. At the
death of her father she inherited some valuable
property, and is now so situated as to live in
comparative ease and comfort.
One incident in her life is well worthy of
noting in this connection. She was once
sailing down the Mississippi river in company
with her father on a steamboat, when eight or
nine boats, the one she was in being included
in the number, were racing. The boat she and
her father were on struck a snag and was sunk,
the accident occurring during the night. Her
29

father grasped her in his arms, sprang into the
river, and managed to get upon a piece of the
wreckage, saving himself and his daughter, but
not saving $2,000 in gold which he had in his
clothes, the money and the clothes sinking to
the bottom of the river with the boat. Mr.
Richter also had the misfortune to have his
nose broken in the accident.

*-»-* OUIS J. SCHUMM, an enterprising
a | farmer, was born in Willshire town-
;¦! ^ ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, April
26, 1 85 1, and is a son of George M.
and Mary (Pflueger) Schumm, and grandson of
John Schumm, of whom mention in full is
made in the biography of Henry G. Schumm,
on another page. Louis J. was, like his pio
neer ancestor and his children, reared to farm
ing, but was also taught the trade of a carpen
ter, and for thirteen years he followed this
calling, proving himself to be an excellent me
chanic and a master of his trade, erecting, dur
ing the period mentioned, some of the finest
dwelling houses and barns in Willshire town
ship. He received a very good education, was
taught both the English and German lan
guages, while his business training was in no
manner neglected. He was joined in matri
mony, February 8, 1883, with Miss Sarah
Breuninger, the accomplished daughter of
Lewis and Mary (Seckel) Breuninger. The
parents of this amiabel young lady were born
in Wurtumberg, Germany, and were married
in Green Bay City, Wis., where the father had
for many years held a position as clerk, then he
engaged in merchandising on his own account,
and finally came to Van Wert county, Ohio,
where he purchased a farm of 100 acres,
which he cultivated until his death. His
widow resides on this farm and is a respected
member of the Lutheran church, of which her
husband has also been a member. To the

1570

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

'happy marriage of our subject has been born
one child — Frieda E. Schumm — now the idol
of his parents and the pet of his relatives.
Mr. Schumm had bought his present farm
before his marriage, and it now comprises ioo
acres. It is drained with over 1,500 rods of
tiling, and is improved with a neat modern
frame dwelling and a bank barn of his own
planning and construction, and which, owing
to his skill as a carpenter, surpasses any simi
lar structure in the county. The most of his
property Mr. Schumm has realized through his
personal industry and the exercise of a sound
discretion in the management of his affairs, and
to his skill both as a mechanic and farmer. In
politics. Mr. Schumm has always exercised his
franchise in the interests of the democratic
party. With his wife he is a devout member
of the Lutheran church, and his and her social
standing is with the best families of Van Wert
county, Ohio.

>ENRY M. SCHUMM, a thriving
young general merchant, at Schumm
post-office, Willshire township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, is a native of the
township and was born June 18, 1861. His
father, Frederick Schumm, was a native of
Wurtemberg, Germany, born April 24, 18 14,
and at the age of eighteen years came to the
United States with his father, John Schumm,
and family, as related in several sketches in
proximity to this biography. After a residence
of five years in Holmes county, Ohio, Fred
erick was married to Magdalena Meyer, which
union resulted in the birth of the following
children: William, John M. (deceased), Fred
erick, Catherine (married to David Stamm),
Jacob (deceased), Hannah (Mrs. John Zimmer
man), Mary (Mrs. John Zimmerman), Louis
G., George F., Barbara A., Henry M. and
Ferdinand C. G. Soon after his marriage,

Frederick settled in Willshire township, Van
Wert county (1839), among the earliest set
tlers. At one time Frederick owned 500 acres
of fine land, of which he retains 160 acres for
his own homestead, having generously divided
the remainder among his children. He is an
elder in the Lutheran church, is a charter
member of the congregation at Willshire, and
was one of the most liberal contributors to
ward the erection of the present Lutheran
house of worship.
Henry M. Schumm was born on his father's
farm, assisted in its cultivation until he was
twenty-four years of age, and then entered
into the general mercantile trade. Having re
ceived a solid education, and having, been well
grounded in the German and English lan
guages, he was well prepared for this business,
and has succeeded therein most admirably. He
carries an extensive and well selected stock,
suited to the wants of his patrons, and, being
polite, affable and accommodating, never loses
a customer who once deals with him. Beside
carrying on his store, he is agent for the Clover
Leaf railway, and for six years has been post
master at Schumm, a position he has filled to
the entire satisfaction of the public; he is also
secretary and superintendent of the Schumm
creamery, and is the proprietor of a modern
elevator at this point, which is operated under
his personal supervision.
The marriage of Mr. Schumm was solemn
ized May 5, 1887, with Miss Wilhelmina H.
Hoppe, daughter of John and Abbie (Guenther)
Hoppe, and this marriage has been blessed by
the birth of five children, viz: Agnes, Alma,
Emanuel H. J., Emil and Edna. In politics
Mr. Schumm is a stanch democrat, and, like
his ancestors, is an ardent and consistent mem
ber of the Lutheran church. His reputation
as a business man is without a stain, and his
success is due, to a large extent, to his un
flinching integrity. His social standing is

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

671

among the best people of the county and his
pioneer descent is also a factor in his highly
social respectability.

EENRY G. SCHUMM, a progressive
young farmer of Willshire township,
Van Wert county, descends from a
very old German-American family.
His grandfather, John Schumm, was born in
Wurtemberg, Germany, where the major por
tion of his life was passed in farming, and
where he was considered one of the well-to-do
men of his day. After the death of his wife,
he immigrated, with his four sons and one
daughter, to the United States, locating in
Holmes county, Ohio. In 1837 the family
reached Van Wert county, and here Mr.
Schumm entered 160 acres each for his four
sons and his daughter, who were named in
order of birth as follows: Rosanna (Mrs.
Shueler), George M., Frederick, Jacob and
Louis. At the date mentioned, Van Wert
county was a primitive wilderness, abounding
with pregnant frog ponds, with not a tree
felled on the land entered by this family. But
all hands set to work, built cabins, and after
undergoing the oft-told hardships of pioneer
life, the fine farms and dwellings of the
Schumm family that adorn the landscape of
Willshire township to-day were the result of
their well-directed energies. John Schumm
died a member of the Lutheran church, of
which his wife had also been a member.
George M. Schumm, father of Henry G.
Schumm and son of John Schumm named
above, as will be seen, was born in Wurtem
berg, Germany, and had received a good edu
cation before coming to the United States with
his father, sister and brothers. After reaching
man's estate he married Mary Pflueger, to
which union children were born in the follow

ing order: Frederick, Louis, George, John
(deceased), Mary (deceased), Jacob (deceased),
Crist (deceased), Henry G., our subject, Martin,
Sophia, William (deceased), Margaret (de
ceased). After marriage the father and mother
immediately erected a cabin and set to work
to improve the 160 acre farm originally entered
when the Schumm family came to the county,
and this in due course of time was converted
into one of the finest farms of the township.
When first the Schumm family came to Van
Wert county, George M. and his father walked
through the wild country from Holmes county,
Ohio, where the family had made a short stay,
and on settling on his farm, George M. made
trips to Fort Wayne, Ind., where was the
nearest mill, in order to have corn ground.
George M. Schumm and wife were both char
ter members of the Lutheran church, to the
construction of which he aided liberally, and
in the faith of which he died in June, 1871.
His death was a sad blow, not only to his
family, but to the community at large, in
which he had lived so long and of which he
was so useful and beloved a member. Henry
G. Schumm was born November 14, 1854, a
son of George M. above mentioned. He was
reared on his present farm and received a com
mon education. He married, in 1879, April
1, Anna M. Roehm, who was born in Tully
township, Van Wert county, May 24, 1857,
a daughter of Andrew and Catherine (Bienz)
Roehm, and to this union five children have
been born, viz : Amelia, Anna, Henrietta,
Walter and Esther. Mr. Schumm is a democrat
in politics, and in religion he and wife are
Lutherans. He has been a trustee in his
church since twenty-five years of age. He is
at present a trustee of his township, and has
been since 1893. He owns 160 acres of fine
land, and is also interested in the Van Wert
County Mutual Aid association, and many
other tilings not herein stated.

672

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

BRANCIS M. SHAFFER, a popular
traveling salesman and machinist of
Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Hagers-
town, Carroll county, Ohio, May 14,
1834, a son of Samuel and Ruth (Croghan)
Shaffer, who were married in Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, and subsequently moved to
Hagerstown, where the father followed his
trade of cabinet maker until i860, when he
relinquished his trade and thenceforth devoted
his attention to his very extensive farming in
terests in Mercer county until his death, in
1886, his widow being still a resident of Mercer
county. Of the ten children born to Samuel
and Ruth Shaffer eight still survive, viz:
Francis M., our subject; Sarah A., wife of
William Lumison, of Lima, Ohio; Jemima,
now Mrs. H. Walters; L. B. and W. W. of
Mercer county; Elizabeth, married to J. Heath,
of Oklahoma territory; Matilda, wife of G.
Laurel, of Mercer county, Ohio, and Bird,
wife of George Klime, of Leipsic, Ohio. Sam
uel Shaffer was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church and in politics was a repub
lican; as a business man he was successful, and
left to his heirs 254 acres of land, besides other
valuable property.
Francis M. Shaffer was reared in Mercer
county, he being but a child when his parents
settled there, and remained on the home farm
until twenty-three years of age, when he mar
ried and engaged in saw-milling in company
with a brother, and this business he followed
until the fall of 1873, and then took the posi
tion of foreman of a stave factory at Middle-
point for a year, when, his health failing, he
came to the city of Van Wert, and here has
been engaged as a merchant or followed the
vocation of a salesman ever since. He is now
agent for the Port Huron Threshing Machine
company, and travels through northwestern
Ohio, disposing of this excellent agricultural
piece of machinery.

The marriage of Mr. Shaffer took place in
Van Wert county, Ohio, in July, 1857, to Maria
Putnam, who was born in Van Wert county,
Ohio, July 11, 1840 — a daughter of Peter Put
nam of Van Wert county.. To this union have
been born two children, viz : Samuel W. , a dray
man, and Mary B., at home. Mr. Shaffer is a
republican in politics, and has served as town
ship treasurer, assessor, clerk, and for four
years as city cocncilman, and at present is
trustee of Pleasant township. He is popular,
not only as a salesman and as a party man,
but is a favorite through the community. Mr.
Shaffer had the misfortune, in 1,888, to lose
his right foot at Ohio City, by a railroad acci
dent, for which he received a judgment of
$6,000.

^t^OHN SHAW, deceased, was born in
A Stark county, Ohio, on the seventeenth
A J day of June, 1820, a son of George and
Dorcas (Smith) Shaw. George, the
father, was born in Franklin county, Ohio, made
his way to Stark county and there married Dor
cas Smith, by whom he became the father of
eleven children, of whom eight lived to ma
turity -and were named as follows: John
(whose name opens this biography); George,
Lewis, Thomas and Charles, all deceased;
Mary; Elizabeth, now of Ottowa, Ohio, and
Jane, of Hancock county. George Shaw re
moved from Stark county to Hancock county,
some time after marriage, and there made his
home until his decease in the faith of the
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he and
wife had been life long and honored members.
In politics Mr. Shaw was a stanch democrat,
and his social standing was with the best and
wealthiest agriculturists of his county.
John Shaw, the subject proper of this
sketch, was reared to manhood on the home
farm in Hancock county, remaining with his

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

673

parents until twenty-one years of age, when
he began the study of law and civil engineer
ing. October 26, 1843, in Findlay, Hancock-
county, Ohio, he married Miss Eleanor Day,
and January 1, 1844, came to Van Wert
county, and for the first few years was em
ployed in surveying; he was elected county
auditor in 1853, filled the office for three con
secutive terms, and then in 1856 was elected
state representative from Van Wert county,
and served one term, with great credit to him
self; in 185,7 he bought a farm in Tully town
ship, Van Wert county, and engaged in buying
and snipping live stock until 1881, when he
returned to Van Wert city and assisted in the
promotion of the construction of the Cincin
nati, Jackson & Mackinaw railway, securing
the right of way through means of township
bonds; in 1883 he was appointed postmaster
¦of Van Wert and served three years, when ill
health compelled him to resign the office, after
which he lived in retirement until May 29,
1893, when he passed away, mourned alike by
his extensive family connection and the com
munity at large. Mr. Shaw was a gentleman
possessed of considerable property at his de-
imise, had always been an active and useful
¦citizen, and had led a consistent christian life;
in politics he was a democrat. He was a
Mason, and Odd Fellow and Patron of Hus
bandry, and was interred with Masonic honors.
Mrs. Eleanor (Day) Shaw was born in Fair
field county Ohio, January 22, 1823, a daugh
ter of Ezekiel P. and Margaret (Barr) Day.
Mr. and Mrs. Day were natives of New York
¦and Pennsylvania respectively, but were mar
ried in Fairfield county, Ohio, where Mr. Day
.engaged in coopering and where he and family
resided until 1832 and then moved to Han
cock county, Ohio, where Mr. Day died in
•October, 1856, his widow surviving until March
•5, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Day were the parents
of ten children, of whom Mrs. Eleanor Shaw

is the eldest, and who is herself the mother,
by her union with the late John Shaw, of seven
children, as follows: James B., deceased;
Frances, widow of William Engleright, and
the mother of three children — Harry, a grocery
merchant, Anna, wife, of H. H. Hill, and
Eleanor S., wife of G. H. Center; Melville D.,
ex-senator, a very prominent citizen and states
man, and now a resident of Wapakoneta; Elva,
deceased; Emma J., the wife of John Redrup;
Stephen A., a fruit merchant of Arkansas City,
and John J., deceased. Mrs. Shaw's years are
filled with honor, and no one in the county is
more highly respected as a lady and a christian
like member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

?"V'AMUEL SHEETS, a pioneer farmer
*v^^kT of Harrison township, Van Wert
h\^_l county, Ohio, is a native of the Buck
eye state, and was born in Unity
township, Columbiana county, September 20,
18 1 3. His grandfather was a native of Ger
many, was an early settler of Pennsylvania,
but moved from that state to Columbiana
county, Ohio, bringing his family and settling
in the wilderness. John Sheets, a son of the
original pioneer above alluded to, was born in
Pennsylvania, came to Ohio, when a boy, with
'his parents, and was reared in Columbiana
county, where he married Catherine Rupert,
daughter of Adam and Catherine Rupert, and
to this union were born fourteen children, all
of whom grew to maturity, and were named
Samuel, Adam, Jehu, John, Solomon, Fred
erick, Benjamin, Isaiah, Elias, William, Mar
garet, Barbara, Mary and Ann. About the year
of 1850 John Sheets sold his farm of 190 acres
in Columbiana county and came to Van Wert
county and purchased a partly cleared farm of
160 acres in Willshire township, where he
passed the remainder of his days, dying at the
age of over eighty-four years, an elder in the

674

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Lutheran church and a democrat in politics.
He had served in the war of 1812, and was
highly respected by all who knew him.
Samuel Sheets, a" son of John and Cath
erine (Rupert) Sheets, was reared on 1 •J-~+ker's
farm, receiving about three months' education
in a subscription school of the neigh, rhood.
In September, 1837, he married, in Columbi
ana county, Miss Mary Cress, a daughter of
George and Barbara Cress, natives of the Key
stone state and parents of ten children — Cath
erine, Susan, Sarah, Barbara, Laura, Mary,
George, Michael, Isaac and William. Mr. and
Mrs. Samuel Sheets, after the birth of their
first child, John, started in the fall of 1840 for
Van Wert county, and, after a journey of four
teen days, arrived at their destined home on
October 1. Samuel's father had entered this
land in 1836, but Samuel paid him the govern
ment price, $1.25 per acre, and thus secured
the 160 acres for $200. The tract was covered
with a dense growth of timber, but in due
course of time Mr. Sheets, after expending an
immense amount of labor and energy in the
task, succeeded in hewing out from the woods
a farm that easily rivals any other in the town
ship. Of the nine children born to Mr. and
Mrs. Samuel Sheets, John, mentioned above,
died at the age of four years; Catherine was
married to Joseph Lare, a farmer of Tully
township, and is the mother of seven children:
Barbara, the wife of Patterson Rummel, a
farmer of Harrison township, is the mother of
five children ; Elias, who married Alvira Thorne,
is the father of four children; Adalina, mar
ried to Allen Pancake, a farmer of Harrison
township, is the mother of seven children;
Olivia, wife of Abraham Pancake, has two
children; Laura B., wife of Cornelius Bresler,
h-ES three children, and William, who married
Rachael Bowers, is the father of three chil
dren. Mr. Sheets is now, as will be seen, the
grandfather of thirty-eight children, and is also

great-grandfather of one child. Mr. and Mrs.
Sheets were united with the Lutheran church
in Columbiana county, and since coming to
Van Wert county have been instrumental in the
formation of the congregation in Harrison
township. He contributed freely of his means
in aid of the erection of the first Lutheran
church building in the township, and has also
contributed over $400 in cash and labor toward
building the present edifice. For many years
he has been an elder. In politics he is a strong
republican, and has held the office of township
trustee for a number of years. He was a
stanch Union man during the late Rebellion
and sent two of his sons to join the Union
army. These boys served 100 days each and
were in several skirmishes, but came out un
harmed. Mr. Sheets is well known through
out Harrison and adjoining townships as an en
terprising farmer and as a man of the purest
integrity. His wife died February 25, 1895,
— a lady of many womanly excellencies, whose
death was, although not unexpected at her
ripe age, a sad loss to her family.

%y^\ ANIEL SHEPARD, of Convoy, Van
I I Wert county, Ohio, and prominent
/A^J as a manufacturer of staves, heading
and lumber, is a man formed to en
dure adversity and to overcome the obstacles
of business life. .marily he is of Danish de
scent, and from Denmark his forefather
reached France, and from the province of Nor
mandy reached England with William the
Conqueror. Two brothers, Thomas and Rich
ard, descendants of these Norman-invaders,
were soldiers under Oliver Cromwell in his in
vasion of Ireland, and after the protector's
conquest of that green isle, the brothers men
tioned made their home there and founded the
family which eventually found a home in
America by settling in New Hampshire, where

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

675

Thomas Shepard, grandfather of our subject,
passed his life as a farmer and died at the
great age of ninety-seven years, or over, the
father of the following children : Thomas,
Richard, Joseph, Sarah and Elizabeth. Of
these children, Richard, the father of our sub
ject, was born in New Hampshire, and when
a young man located one-half mile north of the
Vermont line, in Canada, and cleared up a
farm of 300 acres, on which farm he passed
the remainder of his life. To his marriage
with Christine Bresee, a daughter of Nicholas
Bresee, were born six children, in the follow
ing order : Corinne, Electa, Richard, Charles,
Daniel (our subject) and Thomas P The father
of this family died at the age of fifty-six, on
his own farm, a member of the Episcopal
church, while his wife was a Baptist.
Daniel Shepard, whose name opens this
sketch, was born April 1 1, 18 19, on his father's
farm in Canada. At the age of eighteen years
he forsook the parental roof to learn the
cooper's trade at North Toronto, and, having
learned it, followed it for twenty years or more
at various places. He married, in Hamilton,
Catherine McNamara, the result of the union
being three children — Richard, Anna and
Electa. After his marriage Mr. Shepard lo
cated in Antwerp, Ohio, and engaged in grist-
milling, and in that town Mrs. Shepard was
called to her final rest. In.,1873 Mr. Shepard
came to Convoy and enG.. ^ :d in his present
business in partnership with his son Richard,
under the firm name of D. Shepard & Son.
Richard, however, died in 1891 and since then
Mr. Shepard has been settling up the business
of the firm.
Richard Shepard, the son of Daniel, was
married in York state to Sarah M. Dunn, who
bore two children, Daniel and Edward. The
father of these two children was always asso
ciated with his own father in business and died
at the age of forty-seven years, a member of

the Masonic fraternity and a republican in poli
tics. Anna Shepard was married to W. G.
Edwards, a business man of Van Wert; Electa
remained at home. Mr. Shepard may well be
called " isiness man and a self-made one, as
he began, life with no capital, but, through de-
termii, ,ion, aided by a strong constitution,
has won his present competency and reputa
tion for integrity and business capacity.

>fj»OHN SHERBURN, a reliable and ex-
A perienced farmer of Hoaglin township,
A 1 Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of
~" the Buckeye state, and was born in
Fairfield county January 20, 1846. His grand
father was a native of Pennsylvania, of Ger
man descent, and was born in Lancaster
county, where he was reared and was married,
and whence he moved to Fairfield county,
Ohio, where he followed farming until the end
of his days. Joseph Sherburn, father of our
subject, was born in Fairfield county in De
cember, 1 8 1 8, and there married Mary Lutz,
daughter of John Lutz; they now are ranked
among the old and wealthy families of the
county, and are leading members of the United
Brethren church. Their children are nine in
number, and were born in the following order:
Eli, Sarah, Lydia, John, William H., Minerva,
Ellen, Calvin and Isabel.
John Sherburn 's patriotism was earby
aroused by the clang and crash of war, and as
soon as old enough, at the age of eighteen
years, he enlisted in defense of his country's
flag, February 24, 1864, in company A, Sev
enteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and gallantly
served until the close of the war, participating
in the entire Atlanta campaign and seeing
eighteen months of active and severe service,
being confined, however, at its close, for a few
weeks in hospital. He married Catherine
Huddle, daughter of Daniel and Barbara Hud-

676

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

die, and by this union became the father of
seven children, named as follows: Ida B.,
Daniel E. , Charles E. , Joseph, Edith, Mamie
and Earl; of these Ida B. graduated from the
Middlepoint Normal college, and for eight
terms was a most successful school-teacher.
Mr. Sherburn owns a well cultivated farm
of eighty acres, improved with a good dwelling
house and barn, and supplied with all modern
conveniences and modern farm implements,
and stocked with choice cattle and other farm
animals. Mr. Sherburn has served as town
ship treasurer, and is a leading member of the
church of the United Brethren in Christ. Mr.
Sherburn is not only honored for his early mil
itary record, but is esteemed for his usefulness
as a citizen and for his moral and straightfor
ward course as a neighbor. In politics he is
a republican.

QF. RICHIE, deceased, was born in
Beaver county, Pa., September 19,
1807, a son of Samuel, also a native
of Pennsylvania and of Irish and
French extraction. When but a mere child,
M. F. Richie was brought to Ohio by his
parents, who located in Columbiana county,
where he was reared a farmer, was married and
followed his calling until 1835, when he moved
to Crawford county, farmed until 1839, then
came to Van Wert county, and located in
Harrison township, whence he moved, in i860,
to Ridge township; finally, in 1873, he returned
to the town of Convoy, where his decease oc
curred October 14, 1892. Sarah Eaton, to
whom he was married in Columbiana county,
Ohio, was a, native of that county, and a daugh
ter of John Eaton, a native of the Buckeye
state. The children born to M. F. Richie and
wife were ten in number and named as follows:
Olivia, wife of W. N. Longsworth; Catherine,
wife of D. R. Bonewitz; John E. , common

pleas judge of Lima, Ohio; Ruth A., now Mrs.
J. H. Bailey; George, who died in 1856; Per-
melia, deceased; Horace G. , whose biography
will be found below; Elmira, wife of Samuel
Price; Walter B., one of the most influential
and leading citizens of Lima, Ohio; and Eber,
deceased.

EORACE G. RICHIE, prominent as an
attorney, was born in Van Wert
county, Ohio, August 18, 1844, a son
of M. F. and Sarah (Eaton) Richie.
He was reared on his father's farm and edu
cated in the common schools of Harrison town
ship, his birthplace, until sixteen years of age;
he then attended two terms at the school in
Ridge township; at nineteen he engaged in
farming, which he followed until 1875, when
he began the study of the law at home, and
this he continued until 1877, passing less than
three months in a law office; in May of this
year he opened his office in Van Wert, and
met with success from the start, his earlier
clients being his boyhood friends, and these
are still among his patrons. The marriage of
Mr. Richie took place in Harrison township
May 17, 1863, to Miss Mary M. Brittson, who
was born in Adams county, Ind., November
30, 1842, a daughter of Isaac Brittson. This
lady died March 24, 1892, and on May 30,
1893, Mr. Richie took, for his second wife, in
Nevada, Iowa, Mrs. Minerva B. Scott, widow
of John H. Scott, formerly of Van Wert and a
manufactuer, who died in Story county, Iowa,
in 1889. Mrs. (Scott) Richie was born in
Ridge townshtp, Van Wert county, Ohio, a
daughter of Samuel Brown, who was one of
the very early pioneers. Mrs. Richie, by her
first husband, was the mother of three chil
dren, viz: Elizabeth, Lutie and Margaret Scott,
who all make their home with Mr. Richie, at
his pleasant residence on Washington street.

¦

J

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

679

Mr. Richie is a Knight of Pythias, being the
first past chancellor and first representative of
that order in Van Wert. Outside of his fam
ily and fraternal relations, Mr. Richie's time is
almost exclusively devoted to the duties per
taining to his large and growing practice, and
he is considered to be one of the most success
ful and prosperous general attorneys within the
limits of Van Wert county.

>-j* R. SHOTWELL, a prominent real
A estate dealer and loan agent at Scott,
A 1 Ohio, is a son of John C. and Elizabeth
'" (Conn) Shotwell, and was born in Perry
county, Ohio, September 18, 1855. The
father, John C. Shotwell, was born in Penn
sylvania in 1 817, and was a son of Joseph
Shotwell, a native of Germany, who, while
still a young man, came to America and set
tled in the Keystone state on a farm, and took
an active part in the war of 1812. To Joseph
and his wife (who died five days, only, prior
to her hundredth birth-day) were born two
children — Clarissa, who died in infancy, and
John C. The latter was reared to farming,
and in early manhood came to Ohio, locating
in Carroll county, where he married Miss Eliza
beth, daughter of Alexander Conn, a native of
Carroll county, the result of the union being
ten children, viz: George C. , who, after serv
ing his country three years, was wounded in
battle and died in hospital in South Carolina;
Fannie, wife of Joel Nuzum, farmer of Vernon
county, Wis. ; Hester, now Mrs. Newton
Deaver, of the same place; John W., of Okla
homa; Rebecca, wife of Henry Silbaugh, also
of Vernon county, Wis.; J. F., a farmer of
Lawrence county, Tenn.; Sarah E., wife of
S. N. Shaw, of Oklahoma; Willie, who died in
infancy; J. R. , our subject, and Mary C. , who
also died in infancy. The mother of this

family died in Wisconsin April 10, 1892, a de
voted member of the Presbyterian church.
John C. Shotwell, upon locating in Carroll
county, Ohio, bought a farm, on which he re
sided with his wife and elder children for a
number of years, and then moved to Perry
county and purchased a farm on which he lived
for twelve years; he then sold out and moved
to Hocking county, where he bought still an
other farm, on which he lived twenty years,
then sold out again and went to Wisconsin, to
act as superintendent of a farm belonging to
Gov. Rusk, and at the end of four years died,
while holding this position, a prominent mem
ber and officer of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and universally recognized as an up
right and useful citizen.
J. R. Shotwell, the subject proper of this
biographical sketch, was reared to the pursuit
of agriculture and received the education im
parted at an ordinary country school. In Hock
ing county Ohio, February 13, 1878, he was
united in marriage with Phebe Poling, a native
of what is now West Virginia, born August 1 1,
1856, and a daughter of Remus and Nancy
(Weaver) Poling. In 1865 this lady was
brought to Hocking county, Ohio, by her par
ents, her father having been compelled to leave
his native state on account of his Union senti
ments. He had acted as a scout for Federals
in West Virginia, was captured by his neigh
bors, and his life spared only on account of old
and friendly relations and his promise to leave
the country. He is still living in Hocking
county, and of his five children three still sur
vive, viz: Mary E., wife of E. H. Bennett, a
merchant of Scott; Arinda, wife of B. Brian,
and Phebe, the wife of our subject. Mr. Shot-
well and wife continued to reside on a farm in
Hocking county until 1883, when they came
to Hoaglin township, Van Wert county, and
purchased a farm about two miles from Scott,
on which they lived until 1886, when they

680

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

moved to their pleasant home in town. Here
Mr. Shotwell established his present real estate
and loan business, of which, through his native
shrewdness, he has made a grand success, his
transactions being carried on in Ohio, Kansas,
and several other states.
Mrs. Shotwell is a sincere member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr.
Shotwell is a republican and takes a deep and
active interest in the success of his party. By
his energy and enterprise, his foresight and in
nate business qualifications, he has greatly
aided the growth of Scott, and has been a
potent factor in promoting its general prosper
ity. Scrupuously just and inflexibly upright
in all his transactions, he has won the respect
of all his follow-citizens, and well deserves the
high esteem in which he is held.

>t,OHN F. SIDLE, ex-county treasurer of
A Van Wert county, Ohio, and at present
A I a prominent business man of the city of
"~" Van Wert, is a son of James and
Elizabeth (Julien) Sidle, and was born in
Hocking county, Ohio, November 30, 185 1.
James Sidle was born in Maryland in 1826
and was a son of Daniel Sidle, a farmer who
came from Maryland to Ohio and located in
Fairfield county, where he resided until 1872,
when he came to Van Wert county with his
son, James, and here expired in 1875, the
father of seven children, viz: Harriet, John,
Eliza, Henry, Jane, Isabella, and James, who
was the father of John F. Sidle, our subject,
and was reared on the home farm until eighteen
years of age, when he began learning the car
penter's trade, which he followed until 1865,
when he re-engaged in farming, settling in Van
Wert county, where his decease occurred Sep
tember 19, 1885. His wife, Elizabeth, was a
native of Piqua, Ohio, a daughter of Richard
Julien, and bore her husband twelve children,

as follows: Caroline, Zelda Jane, John F.,
Catherine, Mary, G. W., Malinda, Jacob,
Charles, Josephine, Lucy and Hattie. The
father of this family was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church and in politics
was a democrat. He died possessed of a very t
comfortable fortune, and was a highly respected
gentleman. The mother and companion was
a member of the German Reform church.
John F. Sidle passed his early years in the
usual training for the life of a farmer. He
was educated in the district schools, and at
the age of twenty-one years left the parental
roof and for three terms taught school in
Liberty township, Van Wert county; then
married and engaged in farming in Pleasant
township for a year on a lease of land in the
woods given him by his father; then rented a
tract known as the Johns Farm, which he oc
cupied eight years; he next purchased eighty
acres of timber land, which he cleared and
cultivated, and on which he made his home
until 1888, when he was elected by the demo
crats as treasurer of Van Wert county by a
majority of 185, and so great was the satis
faction given by him in executing the duties of
the office, that he was re-elected, in 1890, by
a majority of 700 votes. On the expiration of
his second term as county treasurer, Mr. Sidle,
in company with S. Balyeat, engaged in the
furniture business at Van Wert under the firm
name of J. F. Sidle & Co., and in this trade
he has met with the most flattering success,
the stock invoicing at about $7,000. Mr. Sidle
is also the secretary of the Van Wert Building
& Savings company, one of the most prosper
ous in the state; he also owns 135 acres of
finely improved land in Van Wert county, be
side valuable city property, the result chiefly
of his own industry and skillful management.
The marriage of Mr. Sidle took place October
30, 1872, in Pleasant township, Van Wert
county, to Miss Sarah Edson, who was born in

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

681

Portage county, Ohio, and who is a daughter
of John and Sarah (Atwater) Edson, and by
this marriage four children have been born and
named Harry, Charles, Mabel and Norma.
Mr. and Mrs. Sidle are members in the Pres
byterian church, and in his fraternity relations
he is a Knight of Pythias and a member of the
National Union, and also of the Grange. He
is a genial and popular gentleman, is practically
self-made, and is prominent in all his relations
with his fellow-citizens.

M*~f OSEPH A. SIMPSON, formerly a
A prominent farmer of Union township,
A 1 Van Wert county, three and one-half
~~ miles west of Scott, was born in the
historic old Mormon town of Nauvoo, 111.,
in 1843, and is a son of Samuel and Elinor
(Griffith) Simpson, and now resides in the
township of Blue Creek, Paulding county, Ohio.
Alexander Simpson, our subject's paternal
grandfather, was of good old sterling Scotch
ancestry, and was one of the earliest settlers
of the Green Mountain state. Alexander Simp
son was a carpenter by trade, and also by oc
cupation a farmer. He was born about 1766,
and while still a young man came with his two
brothers to Licking county, Ohio, at that time
unorganized and a part of the great North
west territory. There they probably entered
a tract of government land upon which they
built homes, and where the three lived until
1842. In that year Alexander Simpson sold
his farm and moved to Hancock county, 111.,
and entered a tract of government land adjoin
ing the great Mormon settlement. Here he
lived until his death, which occurred in 1846.
Samuel Simpson, son of the above men
tioned, and father of our subject, was born in
Vermont in 1 82 1 , and received his education in a
little log school-house in Licking county, Ohio.
He grew to manhood and became a mechanic,

and accompanied his father to the new home
of the family in Illinois. In 1846 he went to
Peoria, where he built boats first for himself
and afterward on contract, the boats being
used for the Illinois river trade. In August of
1848 he sold his ship-yard and started for his
old home, going by steamer. The boat, the
Edward Bates, blew up at Hamburg Landing,
111., and he was badly scalded, taken to St.
Louis, and died there August 18, 1848. He
was a man of genius, enterprise and ability,
and at the time of his death was rapidly win
ning his way to the front rank of the business
men of the day. In politics he was an old line
whig, and ever took a deep interest in the pub
lic affairs of his country. Our subject's mother
was born in Wales in 18 16, and when twelve
years of agr age came with her parents to
Butler county, Ohio, where they were among
the earliest pioneers of that section. In 1831
the family removed to the then new county of"
Allen, where she was married to Samuel Simp
son in 1842 and became the mother of three-
children: CylindaJ., wife of James S. Zim
merman, of Nebraska; Josephine M., deceased
wife of Horace Kohn of Van Wert county;
Joseph A., subject of this mention. She was
left a widow in 1848, and in 1849 was married
to S. R. Morton, of Nauvoo, 111. To them
were born three children: Lucius W. , Edwin
W., (deceased), and Alonzo A. The husband
died in 1892, since which time the widow has
made her home with her family. In 1853 the
family moved to Allen county, and the follow
ing year to Van Wert county. She is an ear
nest christian lady, and a member of the M. E.
church, in which she takes a deep interest.
Our subject, Joseph A. Simpson, laid the
foundation for his education in the common
schools of Nauvoo, 111., and Allen and Van
Wert counties, Ohio, and then learned the
carpenter's trade. At the early age of eighteen
he enlisted, in April of 1861, for three months"

682

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

service in company E, Fifteenth Ohio volun
teer infantry, and saw active duty for this
length of time in West Virginia, until his dis
charge, August 28, 1 86 1. October 18 of the
same year he re-enlisted, this time in the Sixth
Ohio independent battery, John Sherman's
brigade, and was sent to Louisville, Ky., thence
to blockade the Cumberland river. After the
fall of Nashville they were sent to Pittsburg
Landing, thence on to Corinth, Miss., doing
continuous duty all of the way. After its
evacuation they went across Alabama, to Louis
ville and Perryville, then to Nashville, having
been on the march almost continuously for
fifty days. Then they returned to Murfrees
boro and fought the battle of Stone River,
where our subject was captured, but released
by Union cavalry in a few minutes. They
took part in the Tullahoma campaign and the
battle of Chickamauga. After this he received
a furlough of thirty days, and visited his
family, afterward rejoining his command at
Chattanooga. Then he started with Sherman
on the famous Atlanta campaign, and in the
battle of Resaca he was wounded in the arm,
but kept his post with his right arm disabled.
After the fall of Atlanta he was sent back with
his battery to Pulaski, Franklin and Nashville,
Tenn., where they encountered Hood. After
the numerous encounters in this vicinity he
went to New Orleans, en route to Mexico after
Maximillian. He received honorable discharge
September 1, 1865, after having fearlessly and
faithfully served his country all through the
war. At Bull's Gap, April 8, 1865, he was
run over by a heavy gun, and suffered a frac
ture of his ankle, but refused to go to the hos
pital, and was taken care of by the comrades
of his battery. He was first a corporal and
later a sergeant.
After the close of his military career he be
gan farming in Van Wert county, but his dis
abled ankle caused him to give this up and re

turn to the carpenter trade. Three years later
he went to the vicinity of Vincinnes, Ind., as
foreman for a lumber company, and in 1871 he
engaged in the mercantile business at Vaughns-
ville, Ohio, being quite successful in this line.
In 1874 he purchased a saw-mill, and in 1877
he added thereto a tile factory, continuing in
the business until 1881. At this time he re
entered the store and remained four years,
after which he again engaged in the mill and
tile business until the mill burned, •July 14,
1894. Then he bought a farm of eighty acres
in Union township where he resided until his
removing to Paulding county, as mentioned in
the opening paragraph.
Our subject was united in marriage, No
vember 28, 1867, to Miss Rachel Collar,
daughter of Joshua and Jane (Weddle) Col
lar, natives of Warren county, N. Y. , and resi
dents of Putnam county, Ohio. Mrs. Simpson
was born in 1845. To them have been born
three children, the order of birth being as fol
lows: Jessie A., Effie and Joseph S. Mr.
Simpson is a member of the Masonic order, by
which he is held in high esteem. He is also a
comrade of Joe Collar post, No. 192, G. A. R. ,
and is reckoned as one of the successful busi
ness men and public spirited citizens of this
section. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are members
of the Methodist Episcopal society, to the sup
port of which they contribute most liberally.

sr

9 ILLIAM SMITH, M. D., of Van
Wert, Ohio, and one of the oldest
practitioners in the county, was
born in Washington county, Pa.,
February 28, 1822, and is the fifth of a family
of twelve children born to W7illiam and Mary
(Lyle) Smith, the former born November 5,
1788, and the latter February 1, 1794, and
married in Washington county, Pa., June 23,
1 8 14, where they resided until the summer or

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

683:

fall of 1822, when they came to Ohio and
located in Richland county, near Mansfield,
where the father was chiefly engaged in mill
ing and farming until 1844, when he sold his
farm of 120 acres and his mill and retired to
Mansfield, where his death took place May 5,
1846, at the age of fifty-seven years and six
months; the widow continued her residence in
Mansfield until 1856, after which she made
her home alternately with our subject and her
daughter, Mrs. Sarah Ann Clark, near Mans
field, dying at the home of the latter, October
3, 1876, at the age of eighty-two years and
eight months. Her remains were interred
beside those of her husband in Mansfield ceme
tery. The seven sons and five daughters of the
deceased were born in the following order:
James, February 7, 18 15, married Ellen Ham
mer of Mansfield, emigrated to California in
1853, died in Sacramento August 9, 1863,
leaving a widow and one son — Charles Ray
Smith; the widow subsequently married but is
now deceased; Sarah Ann (deceased), born
April 1, 1 8 16, married James Clark of Mans
field November 14, 1850, and had two chil
dren — Allen E. and Anna M.; Robert Lytle,
third child of William and Mary Smith, was
born April 11, 1818, died December 14, 1831;
Abigail McF., born June 28, 1820, died Octo
ber 6, 1 831; William, our subject; David Lyle,
born April 27, 1824, emigrated to California
in 1850, and engaged in business with Weister
& Co., of San Francisco, traveling most of the
time on the Pacific coast ; Mary Jane, born
March 4, 1826, died July 3, 1828; Rebecca,
born May 24, 1826, died August 29, 1828;
Ebenezer, born August 1, 1829, was a school
teacher and printer, emigrated to California in
the spring of 1850, and died in San Francisco
May 23, 1 851; Robert Ray (deceased), born
October 9, 1831, emigrated to California with
his brothers, David and Ebenezer, in 1850,
remained there until 1853, when he returned

to Mansfield, Ohio-, and cast his first vote,
which was for John Sherman for congress.
March 9, 1858, he married Esther Ann Grant,
of Mansfield, who has borne four children, viz:
George Ray, born March 7, 1859, a black
smith; May Elizabeth, born November 3, 1861 ;.
Eleanor Eureka, born, November 29, 1865,
and Robert Grant,, born September 1, 1877.
After the birth of his first child, Robert Ray
Smith revisited California, returned to Mans
field, Ohio, October 2, 1862, and followed his
vocation of sign painter and stencil cutter until
death. Samuel Lyle (deceased), the eleventh
child of William and Mary Smith, was born
December 26, 1833, near Mansfield, came to
Van Wert county in 1856 and engaged in mill
ing until the breaking out of the Civil war in
1 86 1, when he enlisted in the Sixth Ohio bat
tery and served throughout the entire struggle,
and on his return, in 1865, resumed milling,
which he followed until his death, November
17, 1874; be had married, November 12, i860,
Citney Ann Saltzgaber, who bore him four
children, viz: Emma Gertrude, born October
10, 1861 — died April 25, 1878; Saphronia
Grace, born December 13, 1865 — died Febru
ary 10, 1877; Manona Lyle, born February 1,
1868, and Samuel Saltzgaber, born January
11, 1 87 1. The mother of- this family died in
Van Wert June 4, 1886. Issabelle, the
youngest child of William and Mary (Lyle)
Smith, was born May 18, 1836, and died
March 29, 1837.
In May, 1846, on the first call for volun
teers for the war with, Mexico, our subject and
his eldest brother, James, enlited at Mansfield,
Ohio, James being at that time engaged in the
photograph business, and' William, our sub
ject, in the- study of medicine and its practice
with his preceptor,. Dr. A. G, Miller, of Mans
field, who gave him strong- letters of recom
mendation to Gov. Bartley, of Ohio, and
Gen. Curtis,, fori the position of assistant sur-

684

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

geon, but these letters were not used, as, on
its organization, his company elected him their
second lieutenant, and he stayed with them
until mustered out at New Orleans, June 30,
1847; James acted as assistant in the commis
sary department. The doctor and his youngest
brother, Samuel L. , both enlisted at the break
ing out of the great rebellion in 1861, Samuel
L. attaining the rank of sergeant in the Sixth
Ohio battery, and the doctor entering with the
rank of second lieutenant, and advancing to
captain, major and lieutenant-colonel in the
Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry. In this
last war the doctor carried the same saber
that he wielded at Buena Vista, and still has
it in his possession.
To revert to the medical career of this sol
dier-physician, it may be stated that, on his
return from Mexico, he resumed his study of
the science and attended lectures at Cleveland,
Ohio, and after graduation located in the vil
lage of Ganges, Richland county, Ohio, where
he practiced his profession from the first day of
April, 1848, until April first, 1856, when he
came to Van Wert. While a resident of
Ganges the doctor wedded Miss Almira Mul
ford, of New Haven, Huron county, Ohio, De
cember 5, 1848, died July 4, 1892, the result
of this union being eight children, viz: Mary
Eveline, born December 14, 1849; she was
married to George W. Clark, July 21, 1870,
and their only child, Emma Georgianna, was
born December 27, 1872, and died April 7,
1873. Mr. Clark died December 12, 1872, of
pulmonary consumption; his widow then made
her home with her parents until June 20,
1883, when he married Henry Butler, a manu
facturer of staves, at Van Wert. Harriet
Loretta, the doctor's second daughter, was
born March 18, 1852, and married George
Martin Hall, May 28, 1873; Mr. Hall is a
dry-goods merchant of Van Wert and he and
wife are parents of six children, viz: Eva

Barbara, born April 9, 1874; Jessie Lucille,
born September 29, 1878; Grace Mulford,
born March 8, 1883, and Mabel Loretta (de
ceased), born January 17, 1885; Erma Joyce;
Raymond Richards; Mira Bell, the doctor's
third daughter, was born November 18, 1854;
she married, July 3, 1880, Aaron Lewis Doram,
a stave manufacturer of Van Wert. William
Mulford, the doctor's eldest son, was born
July 19, 1857, -studied medicine, graduated in
the spring of 1880, and on November 18,
1880, married Harriet Lucretia Harnley; they
have two children, Roxana Burt Smith, born
December 1, 1881, and Donald Harnley, born
January 4, 1891. Wilbur Simpson Smith, the
doctor's second son, was born May 5, 1859,
and died of brain fever, May 3, i860. Ida
May, the fourth daughter of the doctor, was
born November 26, 1864, and married Charles
W. Webster, June 26, 1895. Thomas Morton
Smith, the third son, was born September 30,
1866 — married Hannah Brenner, October 16,
1889. and has one son, Roy Brenner, born
November 16, 1890. Zora Lyle Smith, the
fifth daughter and youngest child of the doctor,
was born February 14, 1871, and is still at
home, unmarried.

a APT. TOM M. SMITH, of company
D, Second Ohio state infantry, (Gilli
land Guards), was born in Van Wert,
September 30, 1866, and is a son of
Dr. William Smith, whose biography appears
in close proximity to this sketch. Tom M.
Smith was educated in his native city, in the
high-school, and when but eighteen years of
age, while yet a student, began his business
life as an assistant to A. W. Scott in the gro
cery trade during vacations, continuing in this
employment until July, 1881. Leaving school
in 1884, he engaged as clerk with G. W. Sidle
in the restaurant and grocery business, with

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

685

whom he remained until July 14, 1886, and
then clerked for S. K. Ream & Co. , in the
grocery line of trade, until 1888, when he en-
, tered the store of his brother-in-law, G. M.
Hall, a dry-goods merchant. July 22, 1884,
Mr. Smith began the study of military tactics
under Capt. D. M. Boreland, of Van Wert.
In eight months after entering Boreland's
company he was promoted from private to
corporal; in 1886 he was elected second lieu
tenant, and as such served two terms, and on
July 14, 1889, was elected captain. He has
proven to be an efficient disciplinarian as well
as tactician, and is, withal, very popular with
his company and in general military circles.
The marriage of Capt. Smith took place Octo
ber 16, 1889, in Van Wert, to Miss Hannah
Brenner, who was born in Willshire township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, July 13, 1871, a
daughter of John and Mary (Kreiselmeyer)
Brenner, the fruit of the happy union being
one son — Roy B. Capt. Smith is a member
of lodge No. 1 30, Knights of Pythias, also of
the National Union, and with his wife, is a
member of the German Lutheran church. He
has a large side interest in the poultry busi
ness, and resides in a pleasant residence on
West Main street, where he and wife enjoy to
the fullest extent the respect of their neighbors.

«^^V AVID SMITH, one of the pioneer
I I farmers of Willshire township, Van
/A\^J Wert county, Ohio, was born in
Washington county, Pa., June 5,
1826. His grandfather, Nicholas Smith, came
from Holland when a boy, lived several years
near Philadelphia, and then settled in Wash
ington county, Pa. , where his death occurred.
His son, John A. Smith, was born in Wash
ington county, Pa., April 23, 1798, and was
reared on his father's farm. April 19, 18 18,
he married Mary Zedeker, daughter of Lewis

and Catherine (Smith) Zedeker, and by this
marriage became the father of the following
children: Sarah A., Lewis (deceased), Marga
ret, David, John, Elizabeth and Catherine.
In 1838 the family came to Ohio and lived for
some time in Franklin county, but later, about
1847, came to Van Wert county and settled
011 eighty acres in Willshire township. Here
the mother died, October 29, 1854, and the
father died January 7, 1870, both in early life
having been members of the Presbyterian
church, but later becoming associated with the
United Brethren.
David Smith, subject of this sketch, was
twenty-one years of age when he came to Van
Wert county with his parents, and here he has
since been identified with the agricultural in
terests of Willshire township, besides having
rendered for some years his services as an
educator. In February, 1849, he married
Mary Hartzog, daughter of Solomon and Cath
erine (King) Hartzog, originally from Pennsyl
vania, but later pioneers of Fairfield county,
Ohio, and finally settlers of Van Wert county.
To David Smith and his wife were born the
following children: Mrs. Mary L. Walters;
John H. , a minister of the Methodist Episcopal
church; Wilbur P., deceased; Mrs. Eliza H.
Harrod; Emma J., deceased; Mrs. Clara A.
Johnson (her husband being an assistant pro
fessor in the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Law school,
and also ex-representative in the Ohio legisla
ture); Jesse M., deceased; and the remaining
two are King B. and Barda M. Soon after
marriage our subject and wife settled on his
present farm of 160 acres, which is now well
improved, but which he wrenched from a state
of wilderness. Mr. Smith had the misfortune
to lose his wife August 15, 1876, and after his
children, who felt disposed to do so, had mar
ried, Mr. Smith took for his second wife, April
21, 1892, Mrs. Sarah A. Byer, widow of
George Byer, and daughter of Peter Fisher.

686

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

In politics Mr. Smith is a republican, and for
three terms has served as township trustee;
for fifty years he has been a class leader in the
Methodist church, in which he has taken great
interest since the days of his youth. He is
one of the oldest pioneers of Van Wert county,
and stands very high in the estimation of his
fellow-citizens.

>-ji UDGE OBADIAH WELLINGTON
A ROSE, deceased, was born in Guern-
A f sey county, Ohio, June 9, 1820, a son
of Robinson and Elizabeth (Mosier)
Rose, who were natives of Somerset county,
Pa., were there married, and about the year
i8i8cameto Ohio and settled in Guernsey
county, where the father followed farming and
stone-masonry, and where both parents passed
the remainder of their days. There had been
born to them nine children, named as follows:
Chilnissa, Abraham, William, Obadiah W.,
all now deceased; Perry, of Kansas City, Mo. ;
Carolina; John, deceased; Joseph, of Van
Wert; Johnson, deceased. The father of this
family was a republican in politics and in re
ligion a Presbyterian, while the mother was a
Dunkard. Obadiah W. Rose remained with his par
ents until twenty-one years of age, and then
worked as a laborer in a saw-mill at thirty-
seven and one-half cents per day, and at odd
jobs, until 1845. Being devoid of an educa
tion, and keenly feeling this deprivation, he
formed a rigid resolution to acquire knowledge
sufficient, at least, to enable himself to be of
some use to society, and, if possible, to make
his mark in the world. Accordingly, from his
meager earnings he saved sufficient money to
purchase books, and with indomitable will be
gan a course of self instruction, which resulted
in his becoming competent to be a school
teacher, which vocation he followed for sev

eral winters, and continued at hard-labor work.
in the summers. In the meantime, also, hav
ing come to Van Wert county in 1844, he be
gan the study of the law in 1846, and in 1848:
was admitted to the bar. In the interval, in
1847, he was elected county recorder, served
two terms, and in the spring of 1 848 was elected
justice of the peace, but persisted continuously
to pursue his studies and practice his profes
sion. In 1865 Gov. Brough appointed him
judge of the court of common pleas, an office
he filled for eighteen months with an unswerv
ing sense of justice that won the approbation
of the legal fraternity; he then resumed the
practice of his profession, which he followed
until his lamented death, September 23, 1867.
Judge Rose was a sir knight of the Masonic
fraternity, an honored Odd Fellow, and a
member of the Young Men's Literary com
gress. His remains were interred under the
imposing auspices of the Masonic order, and
the obsequies were attended by members of
the various societies to which he belonged, in
cluding the Bar association. Suitable resolu
tions were passed by Van Wert lodge, No. 218,
F. & A. M., Van Wert lodge, No. 257, I. O..
O. F., by the officers and members of the
court and bar of Van Wert, and by the Young
Men's Literary congress, held November 1,
1867. In religion, Judge Rose had first been
a Methodist, having joined that denomination
in 1850, but seven years later became a Uni
versalist, and died a Spiritualist. To quote
from a local newspaper, ' ' To young men the
example of Judge Rose will furnish the highest
motives to diligence and a noble spirit of em
ulation. To will and to do were the main
springs of the judge's success in life. Such
efforts must ever succeed." In politics the
judge was a republican.
The marriage of Judge Rose took place in
Liberty township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
January 11, 1847, t° Miss Nancy Slater, who

CJ>££/

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

691

was born in Somerset county, Pa., February
1 1, 1828, a daughter of John and Phebe (Dull)
Slater, pioneers of Van Wert county, Ohio.
To the judge and his wife were born three
children, viz: Orlando P., deceased; Ora Cum
berland, at home; and Maud P., deceased.
The estate of the deceased comprises twenty
acres within the corporate limits of Van Wert,
and a residence on South Washington street.
The wife and daughter are enthusiastic mem
bers of the Christian Spiritualist church.

*| * ENRY SCHUMM, one of the lead-
|f\ ing farmers of Willshire township,
^^_^r Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native
of the place, and was born Novem
ber 2, 1844. His father, Louis Schumm, was
born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 181 7, and
was sixteen years of age when he came with
his father's family to America — said family
then consisting of the father, John Schumm,
and his five children, viz : Rosanna, George
M., Frederick, Jacob and Louis — the mother
having died in Germany. After passing about
five years in Holmes county, Ohio, Louis,
about 1 839 or 1840, came to Van Wert county,
about two years later than an elder brother,
who had settled here, bringing his wife, Bar
bara Pflueger, whom he had married in Holmes
county. This lady was a daughter of Chris
tian Pflueger, who lived to the remarkable age
of ninety-six years. Louis and his wife imme
diately settled 'on a farm of 160 acres in the
primeval forest, erected a log cabin, and after
undergoing the inevitable hardships attendant
on pioneer life for fifteen years, succeeded in
making a beautiful home, embellished with a
fine frame dwelling and all other necessary
improvements. Here Mr. Schumm continued
diligently to labor at his vocation until his
death, which occurred August 22, 1855, at the
comparatively early age of thirtv-eight years.
30

Henry Schumm. who was reared on the
home farm, received an excellent education
both in the German and English languages.
October 20, 1872, he was united in the bonds
of wedlock, first with Miss Rosa A. Schinnerer,
daughter of Frederick Schinnerer, and this
marriage resulted in the birth of the following
children: John M., Clara R., Minnie M.,
Hannah B., Edward Z. (deceased), Gustavus
J., William I., Tillie S., Joseph H. and Charles
F. (the last named also deceased). Mrs. Rosa
A. Schumm was called to her final rest Janu
ary 15, 1890, in the faith of the Lutheran
church, of which she had long been a devout
member. The second marriage of our subject,
took place January 27, 1891, to Anna M.
Geisler, daughter of George and Rosanna
(Hoffman) Geisler, and this union has been
blessed by the birth of two children: Lewis F
and Andrew, both being trained to speak in
German and English. In politics Mr. Schumm
is a stanch democrat, but has never been am
bitious for public office; with his wife he is a
member of the Lutheran church, of which he
is a trustee, and in which he has held several
other offices, contributing, at. the same time,
liberally toward its support. Mr. Schumm's
farm comprises 171 acres, is well improved
and stocked, and is in all respects thoroughly
cared for and cultivated. The social standing
of Mr. Schumm and family is inferior to none
in the county, as throughout his life he has
been a rigidly honest gentleman and has been
a credit to his pioneer ancestry.

HMOS SLATES, a skillful and success
ful carpenter of Van Wert, Ohio, was
born December 30, 1846, and is a
son of Adam Slates, a native of Car
roll county, Ohio. John Slates, grandfather
of our subject, was born in Loudoun county,
Va., August 2, 1784, and was married April

692

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

3 0, 1807, to Miss Elizabeth Ruse, also a na
tive of Loudoun county, the union resulting in
the birth of seven children, viz: * Mrs. Cath
erine Albaugh, Mrs. Elizabeth Shanover, Mrs.
Margaret Woods, Mrs. Mary Richey, Adam,
John and Frederick Slates. In 181 1, John
Slates came to Ohio and entered the land in
Loudon township, Carroll county, now occu
pied and owned by Adam Albaugh. He was
by trade a shoemaker and was also a farmer;
he accumulated considerable property, gave to
each of his children an eighty-acre tract, and
still had enough left for his own needs. In
politics he was a democrat, and in religion was
a member of the Lutheran church, in the faith
of which he died in 1859, having lost his wife
in 1855. Adam Slates was a farmer by occupation,
and resided in Carroll county until his death.
Being a man of industrious habits and an ex
cellent manager of his property, he left his
family in comfortable circumstances. His death
occurred in Carroll county in 1851. Politically
he was a democrat, and he was a Lutheran in
religion, and always a straightforward and up
right man. He married Miss Mary A. Sawvel,
of Harrison county, Ohio, by whom he had
four children, viz: William, John, Amos and
Martha, two of whom are still living, viz:
William and Amos, the latter the subject of
this sketch.
Amos Slates was born in Carroll county,
Ohio, was brought up on his father's farm,
educated in the common schools, and at an
early age learned the carpenter's trade, for
which he was found to possess especial fitness,
and at which he has always been unusually
successful. In 1872 he removed to Van Wert
county, where he has resided more than twenty
years, successfully following the trade he early
took a fancy to, and he has long been consid
ered one of the most skillful carpenters of the
city of Van Wert. He has also given some

attention to architecture, and is now one of
the principal reliances of Mr. Rumph, of Van
Wert, in this line.
After arriving in Van Wert Mr. Slates mar
ried Miss Mary Jane Goff, October 5, 1872.
She is a native of Harrison county, Ohio, was
born March 27, 1849, and is a daughter of
William Goff, who was born in Carroll county,
January 13, 1812. Mr. Goff was a farmer and
followed that occupation all his life. In 1848
he was married to Miss Elizabeth Markley, of
Harrison county, and by her he became the
father of seven children, viz: Mary J., only
child of his first wife, and the rest by his sec
ond wife: Elizabeth, William, Samuel, Frank
lin, Edgar and John. Elizabeth died in in
fancy, and Franklin on October 5, 1877. The
rest are still living. Mary Jane Goff was four
years old when she was brought to Van Wert
county by her parents. She and Mr. Slates,
as stated above, were married in 1872, and
they are the parents of one child, Lelia Maud,
who is at present attending school in Van
Wert. Mr. Slates is a democrat iu politics
and a Lutheran in religion, while Mrs. Slates
is a faithful member of the Presbyterian church.
This small family live in their beautiful home
in Van Wert, mingling in its polite and fash
ionable society, and enjoying the respect of all.
Independence and self-reliance are the princi
pal characteristics of the American people, and
these two qualities have been the combined
cause of whatever of success has fallen to the
lot of Mr. Slates. These, together with hon
esty and integrity of motive, will in most cases
lead to success in life, and are what those who
desire independence must cultivate and rely
upon. Miss Lelia Maud Slates was born in 1878.
She is a beautiful young lady of rare accom
plishments and^of most charming disposition
and engaging manners. She has fine musical
talent, and takes great delight in entertaining

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

693

her friends, all of whom are strongly attached
to her. Being the only daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Slates, she is the idol and the comfort of
their declining years.

aHRIST SPARBER, one of the oldest
and best-known farmers of Pleasant
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born in Germany in 1819. His
father, Conrad Sparber, also a native of Ger
many, was born in 1789, married Barbara E.
Kerfes, and of the six children born to this
union two only now survive, Christ and Mary
— the latter now the wife of Franz Halfridge,
of Dayton, Ohio. After having served three
years in the German army, in which he took
part in the famous battle of Leipsic, Conrad
Sparber, in 1846, brought his family to the
United States, and located in Dayton, Ohio,
where he died in December, 1855, a member
of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Conrad Spar
ber, also a native of Germany, was born in
1 79 1 and died in Dayton, Ohio, December 25,
1855, preceding her husband to the grave one
week, and also dying within the pale of the
Lutheran church.
Christ Sparber, whose name opens this bio
graphical sketch, was educated in his native
land, learned the trade of weaver, served two
years in the army in 1839-40, and in 1845
married Elizabeth Wollenhaupt. To this union
were born ten children, of whom none are now
living. In 1846 Mr. Sparber came to America
and for twelve years made his "home in Day
ton, Ohio, where he was employed in various
sorts of labor. In 1859 he purchased the farm
in Pleasant township, Van Wert county, on
which he still has his home, but which was
then an almost unbroken wilderness. Although
not one of the earliest pioneers^ of the county,
he was an early settler of his township, and
underwent all the hardships and deprivations

incident to pioneer life, through which, how
ever, he succeeded in clearing up one of the
best farms in the township. This farm con
sists of eighty acres and is located about a mile
and a half from the city of Van Wert, and here
he is passing the quiet and happy days of his
declining years. Mr. and Mrs. Sparber are
members of the Lutheran church of Van Wert,
in the work of which he takes a deep interest.
In politics Mr. Sparber, although taking a deep
interest in the affairs of his adopted country,
is conservative in his views and votes as his
conscience dictates, and not according to the
platforms of any party.

«V^\ENJAMIN F. SLATER, an artistic
|<^^ house and sign painter of Van Wert,
^A\^JI Ohio, is a native of Stark county, in
the same state, and was born July 5,
1837. John Slater, his father, was born in
Pennsylvania in 1800, a son of Henry Slater,
also a native of that state and of Irish descent.
John Slater married, about 1825, Phebe Dull,
of German extraction, was engaged in farming
in his native state until he moved to Stark
county, Ohio, where he continued to follow
farming until 1838, when he came to Van
Wert county and settled on a farm in Liberty
township, on which he resided until his death,
which occurred September 18, 1845 — ms mortal
remains being interred in the Slater cemetery,
Liberty township. In 1865 his widow removed
to Van Wert city, where her days were ended
August 11, 1883. To John and Phebe Slater
were born the following large family of chil
dren: Joseph, of Van Wert; Mary A., de
ceased; Mrs. Nancy Rose, widow of O. W.
Rose, a sketch of whom will be found on an
other page; Mrs. Sarah Balyeat, widow of
Abraham, whose biography will also be found
elsewhere; Mrs. Catherine Conn, widow of R.
Conn, a biography of whom may also be found

694

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

on another page; an infant, deceased; Han
nah, wife of Z. A. Smith, of Kansas; Judith,
deceased; Benjamin F. , whose name opens
this sketch; Elizabeth, widow of G.W. Edson,
to whose sketch the attention of the reader is
invited; Jane, wife of H. McGaugh, of Will
shire, Van Wert county; Samuel, of Washing
ton, Ind, and John, of St. Louis, Mo. The
parents of this family were sincere believers in
Christian Spiritualism, and the father was a very
industrious man, who made a host of friends.
Benjamin F. Slater was an infant of one
year when brought by his parents to Van Wert
county, and here he was reared on the home
farm until sixteen years of age, when for two
terms he taught school in Liberty township
and in Mercer county; he then passed a year
in Hartford academy, Licking county, Ohio,
after which, for twenty-seven successive years,
he taught school in the winter season in Van
Wert, Mercer and Licking counties, Ohio, and
followed painting during the summer seasons.
In 1887 he abandoned school-teaching, and
has since devoted his entire time and attention
to painting. In 1 861 Mr. Slater enlisted for the war and
was taken to Mansfield to be mustered into the
service, but was rejected on account of dis
ability. April 21, of the same year (1861), he
was united in marriage, in Liberty township,
Van Wert county, with Miss Delilah Fortney,
who was born in Wayne county, Ohio, March
21, 1843, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth
Fortney. To this marriage were born three
children, viz: Victor V., deceased; Charles
C. , editor of the Mechanicsburg (Ohio) News,
and Claudia Marie, who keeps house for her
father and is also a stenographer of skill and
experience, now in the employ of C. C. Glea-
soa's Sons, commission merchants. The mother
of the?e children was called to the spirit land
November 7, 1883. She was a member of the
Lutheran church and her mortal remains now

rest in Woodland cemetery, at Van Wert. Mr.
Slater is a sincere believer in Christian Spirit
ualism, and is a trance medium and clairvoy
ant. In politics he is a republican, and for the
past ten years has been a member of the board
of health of Van Wert. He has a fine resi
dence property on West Main street, and counts
his friends by the score.

\S~\ UCKLEY A. ROSE, the leading
l,""^ dentist of Van Wert, Ohio, is a native
JA^J of the Buckeye state, having been
born in Washington, Guernsey coun
ty, September 2, 1826, a son of John and
Lydia (Luellen) Rose. The father, John Rose,
was born in Washington county, Pa., was
there reared to manhood and served through
out the war of 181 2, at the close of which he
located in Washington, Guernsey county,
Ohio, where he was engaged in the manufacture
of fine hats until his death, in 1847, his widow
surviving him until 1854. Their only child,
Buckley A., our subject, at the age of eighteen
began learning the stone-cutter's and mason's
trade, becoming an expert. He laid the first
stone in the foundation for the suspension
bridge across the Ohio river at Wheeling, Va.
(now West Virginia), and continued to work
on this structure until 1850, when he began a
three years' course .of study in dentistry under
S. P. Hullihan, D. D. S., of Wheeling. Be
coming proficient, he located at Logan, Ohio,
and practiced his profession until 1856, and
then removed to Urbana, Ohio, where he
occupied the same suite of dental parlors until
1888, at which period he came to Van Wert,
where he has won a high reputation as a
dentist and is still actively engaged in the
practice of his art, making a specialty of bridge
and crown work, which, it is well known, is
the acme of, or superlative process in, the
art of odontology.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

697

Dr. Rose was joined in the bonds of wed
lock June 30, 1862, in Champaign county,
Ohio, to Miss Isabella L. Fielding, who was
born in Philadelphia, Pa., April 9, 1842, a
daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Whittaker)
Fielding. To this marriage have been born
two children — Harry F. , a practical dentist of
Wapakoneta, Auglaize county, Ohio, and
Charles W., also a successful dentist, doing
business in Paulding, Ohio.
Dr. Buckley A. Rose has always stood high
in the estimation of his fellow-practitioners,
and has been largely instrumental in advancing
the material progress of the profession. He
was one of the five to organize the Madriver
Dental association of Springfield, Ohio, which,
like its cogeners, is promotive of the science of
dentistry. The doctor owns considerable real
estate in Fostoria, Seneca county, Ohio, and
his standing in Van Wert is indicative of the
possession here of a comfortable share of this
world's goods. In his political proclivities the
doctor is a democrat, and in religion he and
his wife give their adherence to the Presby
terian church, to the maintenance of which
they liberally contribute.

^^EORGE W. SQUIBB, of Union
¦ ^\ township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
^L^J son of William and Nancy (Hines)
Squibb, was born in Morrow county,
Ohio, August 9, 1843, and is a gentleman well
and favorably known in this portion of Ohio,
where a goodly portion of his life has been
passed. His father was probably born in
Pennsylvania, the date of his birth being De
cember 21, 1816. Our subject's paternal
grandfather, Caleb Squibb, was of stanch old
Pennsylvania Dutch stock, and one of the
early pioneers of the old Quaker state. He
afterward settled in Marion, now Morrow,
county, Ohio, where our subject's father grew

to manhood on the home farm. The latter,
William Squibb, there learned the trade of
cooper, and in addition to this business owned
and operated a small farm. In politics he was
an old line whig, and a man who was uni
versally respected. William was married
August 18, 1842, to Miss Nancy Hines, daugh
ter of Adam and Elizabeth (Hickman) Hines.
To this union two children were born — George
W., subject of this sketch, and Charlotte,
wife of Joseph Goss, of Fulton county, Ind.
The wife was born in Ross county, Ohio, her
father, Adam Hines, having been born in
Pennsylvania, January 2, 1790. When a boy
Adam Hines moved with his parents to Ken
tucky, and a few years later to Ross county,
Ohio, being among its early settlers. His
death occurred in Marion county, Ohio, in
1878, that of his wife having taken place in
the year 1850.
Our subject, George W. Squibb, laid the
foundation of his education in Morrow county,
and after working on a farm for a short time,
he responded to the call of his country, and in
August, 1862, enlisted in company E, Capt.
Samuel Coulter, Ninety-sixth Ohio volunteer
infantry, for three years' service. He served
first in the Kentucky campaign, then in the
Mississippi river campaign, where he partici
pated in the battle of Chickasaw Swamp,
where his regiment suffered defeat. After cap
turing Arkansas Post on the White river, they
returned to Young's Point, in front of Vicks
burg, where they remained four weeks, the
command in the meantime suffering greatly
from sickness. After the blockade was run
they were transferred to the opposite side of
the river, below the city, where they fought
the battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Champion
Hills and Black River, and May 22 took part in
the charge on Vicksburg. They participated in
the siege and remained there until the capitu
lation of the city. Then they were sent to the

698

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

siege of Jackson, and after its surrender went
to New Orleans. After an attack at Bayou
Island they were sent by steamer to Texas,
where they remained for several months, after
ward returning to Franklin, La. March 16
they started on the Shreveport campaign,
marching continually until April 8, when they
encountered the enemy at Sabine Cross Roads,
where a battle was fought, in which our sub
ject was taken prisoner with i, ioo others. He
was imprisoned at Tyler, Tex., until October
23, when he was exchanged, taken to New
Orleans and given a furlough. After a few
days' visit with the folks at home he rejoined
his command at the mouth of the White River,
Ark. , and from there went to New Orleans and
Fort Morgan. There he took part in the
Mobile campaign, besieged Spanish Fort,
which soon capitulated, then charged Fort
Blakeley, which they captured — this being his
last battle. He was mustered out of service
July 7 at Mobile, and received honorable dis
charge at Columbus, July 29, 1865. For a
time thereafter he worked as a farm hand, and
was identified with the farming interests of
Marion and Morrow counties until 1873, when
he came to Hoaglin township, Van Wert
county, where he purchased a farm of eighty-
seven acres, which he proceeded to clear and
improve. In 1891 he embarked in the grocery
business, in Scott, in which he was quite suc
cessful. Two years later he sold his grocery
business, since which time he has been engaged
in looking after his property.
He was united in marriage, April 19, 1866,
to Abigail Rogers, daughter of William H. and
Mary (Curtis) Rogers. To them four children
have been born, as follows: Mary, wife of J.
C. Sells, of Scott; Della M., wife of J. P
Glover, of Van Wert; Deborah, wife of John
H. Hyman, of Scott; and an infant who died
unnamed. The wife was born in Morrow
county, December 10, 1844, her father being

a native of Pennsylvania, and a prominent
farmer of Morrow county.
Mr. Squibb is quite conservative in politics,
taking no great active interest, but supporting
the national democratic platform. He is a
prominent member of Vance post, G. A. R. ,
of Scott, and is also a member of the Improved
Order of Red Men. Mrs. Squibb is a member
of the Evangelical church, to which both Mr.
and Mrs. Squibb contribute liberally. Upon
the death of their infant son they adopted and
reared a nameless orphan, to whom they gave
the name of Harley M. Mr. Squibb is recog
nized as a successful farmer and an honorable
business man, who stands among the foremost.
in the community.

(D

RS. MAGDALENA STEMPFLEY,
widow of the late Nicholas Stemp-
fley, is a native of Switzerland, born
in the city of Berne, in the year
1828. Her father, John Schoeyer, also a na
tive of Switzerland, where he was born in the
year of 1800, and where he spent his youth
and early manhood, was united in marriage, in-
1826, to Christina Stempfley — daughter of
Nicholas and Elizabeth (Schiller) Stempfley..
Four children resulted from this union — Mag
dalena, Christian, of New Philadelphia, and
Rosanna, wife of Peter Tschenbern, also of
New Philadelphia. In 1847, having in the
meantime brought his family to America, Mr.
Schoeyer located in Tuscarawas county, where-
he spent the remaining years of his life, dying
in 1875. His wife was born in Switzerland in
1798, was a life-long member of the Reform
church, lived a useful life, and died, in the
Christian faith, in 1848.
Mrs. Magdalena Stempfley, the subject of
this sketch, attended the schools of her native
country, in her youth, and in 1847 was brought
by her parents to the United States, and on

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

699

the 16th day of January, 1855, became the
wife of Nicholas Stempfley. He was born
November 16, 1826, in the canton of Berne,
Switzerland, and the names of his parents
were Benedict and Magdalena (Craig) Stemp
fley. After attending school for some time in
his native land, Mr. Stempfley there learned
the trade of sawyer, and about the year 1847
came to the United States, stopping in Tusca
rawas county, where, for some time, he found
employment as a farm laborer. Later he pur
chased a farm upon which he lived until 1865,
when he disposed of the same and invested his
means in a tract of woodland, in Van Wert
county, to which he soon afterward moved his
family. The task of clearing this land was by
no means an easy one, but by dint of constant
labor he succeeded in removing the forest
growth, and lived to see his place one of the
best cultivated and valuable farms in Pleasant
township. Mr. Stempfley was a self-made
man, and began the battle of life with no cap
ital save his own strong arm and a determina
tion to succeed. Politically he was a demo
crat, worshiped with the Reform church, and
in his death, which occurred on the 29th of
November, 1889, the community lost one of its
most valued citizens.
The following are the names of the children
of Nicholas and Magdalena Stempfley: Mary
E., wife of Peter Hoverman; Caroline, wife of
Martin Lindermuth; Emma A., wife of George
Roder; Tilda; Christena, wife of Eugene
Lewis; Victoria T. M., wife of Charles Ger-
hiser; Seymour, deceased; and James N. Mrs.
Stempfley has for years been interested in the
success of the Reform church, to which she
belongs, and her life in the community has
wielded a potent influence for good upon all
with whom she has come in contact; she has
done well her part in the rearing of her family,
and has been rewarded by the words of her
children as they rise up to call her blessed.

j/AHEBE STEWART, widow of Sarn
ie W uel P. Stewart, and daughter of John
_g and Nancy (Spence) Boyd, was born
in Hancock county, Ohio, on the pres
ent site of the city of Findlay, in the 1827.
Her father was born in Pennsylvania, near old
Lancaster, in 1799, the son of David Boyd,
who was a descendant of a well-known Scotch-
Irish family of eminent respectability, which
settled in the Keystone state at a very early
period of its history. David Boyd married
Phebe Clark and became the father of four
children, two sons and two daughters. John,
the eldest, received a good education in his
native state, early learned the blacksmith trade,
and in 1 826 was united in marriage with Nancy
Spence, above mentioned. This marriage was
blessed with the birth of three children: Phebe,
whose name introduces this sketch; William,
a resident of Kansas, and Joseph, of Lawrence
county, Ohio. The mother was born in 1794,
grew to womanhood on the country home of
her parents, was a consistent member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and died in 1830.
Subsequently Mr, Boyd married Mary Fogle-
song, of Richland county, Ohio, who bore him
eight children, whose names are as follows:
Ruth, deceased; Mrs. Matilda J. Wilkins, de
ceased; David J., deceased: Mrs. Mary F.
Wright; Mrs. Harriet A. Hughes; Sarah F;
Emma, and James E., who lives in Michigan.
The mother was born in Richland county,
Ohio, in 18 14, and is still living.
In 1826 Mr. Boyd brought his young wife
to Hancock county, Ohio, where he purchased
a forty-acre tract of land, which he subse
quently improved, and to which, from time
to time, he made additions, in the meantime
working at his trade. About 1830 he moved
to Richland county, thence several years later
to Michigan, in which state he spent the re
mainder of his life, dying in April, 1881. In
religion he was a member of the Adventist

700

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

church, and politically was first a democrat
and later, on account of his intense opposition
to slavery, became a republican, remaining a
member of that party from its formation until
his death. He is remembered as quite a suc
cessful business man and upright and honor
able citizen, highly esteemed by all with whom
he came in contact.
Phebe, eldest daughter of John Boyd, re
ceived a fair English education in the common
schools, and in her twenty-third year was mar
ried, in Richland county, Ohio, to Samuel P.
Stewart. Five children were born of this
union: Perry E., who died in infancy; George
W., an artist of Montpelier, Ind. ; William L.,
deceased; Edward E., killed in a railroad acci
dent in March, 1890, and John L. , who lives
on the old home place.
Samuel P. Stewart was a native of Ohio,
born in the county of Richland September 9,
1825, the son of Samuel and Hannah (Perry)
Stewart. In early life he learned the carpen
ter's trade, and after his marriage worked at
the same very successfully for a period of
seven years, or until his removal to the county
of Van Wert, in 1857. On coming to this
county he located on a farm which he had pre
viously purchased, and which, through his un
tiring industry, was cleared and brought to a
successful state of cultivation. At intervals he
worked at his trade in the neighborhood, and
in May, 1864, entered the army, as a member
of company I, Twenty-ninth Ohio volunteer
infantry, for the 100-day service. He was
sent to the army of the Potomac, and did
guard duty until August 19, 1864, at which
time his death occurred. Mr. Stewart was
highly respected in the community where he
resided, was a strict member of the Baptist
church, and contributed liberally of his means
toward the advancement of all moral and re
ligious movements. Politically he was a re
publican, but, while an earnest supporter of

his party, never sought nor desired official
preferment at the hands of his fellow-citizens.
John L. Stewart, who resides on the home
place in Pleasant township, was born October
14, 1862, and received his education in the
country schools of Van Wert county. Like
many other sons of Ohio, his early life was
passed amid the uneventful scenes of the farm,
and he grew to manhood possessed of a rugged
vitality and sterling honesty, factors necessary
to successful citizenship. Early deprived of
the father's care, he assumed the management
of the farm, in which he displayed wise fore
thought, and soon became one of the intelli
gent and progressive agriculturists of the town
ship. He has given his whole attention to
farming, believes in the nobility of his calling,
and belongs to that large and intelligent class
of people who, in a quiet way, have done so
much toward developing and building up our
great western country. Mr. Stewart and Mar
garet E. Callendine, daughter of George and
Samantha (Bodkin) Callendine, of Van Wert
county, were united in marriage in the year
1889, and to them have been born the follow
ing children: Adessa, Verda, Royal P. and
Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are members of
the Baptist church, and take an active part in
the work of their home congregation.

aHARLES F. STEWART, the popular
liveryman of the city of Van Wert,
was born in Van Wert county, Ohio,
March 28, 1855, and is a son of Eb-
zon and Elizabeth (Capper) Stewart, the
former of whom was a native of Carroll county,
Ohio, where he was engaged in farming, and
where he was married. On coming to Van
Wert county he located in Harrison township,
where he entered 160 acres of land, which he
cultivated and made his home until 1869,
when his wife was taken away. His home be-

HENRY RUMBLE.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

703

ing thus broken up he removed, in 1871, to
Ridge township and bought 470 acres, where
he residgd until his death. The children born
to these parents were sixteen in number, of
whom thirteen were named, Edward, Mary
(deceased), Ellen, Jane (deceased), David,
Mahlon (deceased), John (deceased), Charles
F., Alonzo (deceased), Amanda (deceased),
Milton, Newton, Emma and two twins, un
named. The parents were members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics Mr.
Stewart was a republican; he held the office of
township assessor and trustee, w.as an or
ganizer of grange No. 72, and died worth at
least $20,000.
Charles F. Stewart was reared and edu
cated in Ridge township, and at the age of
twenty-one years hired out for two years as a
farm laborer; he then married and engaged in
farming on the old homestead until 1880,
when he bought ninety-five acres in Harrison
township, but at the end of a year sold out and
purchased seventy-eight acres in Ridge town
ship, on which he lived until 1865, and then,
in 1866, returned to the old home farm;
shortly afterward he again bought a farm of
small dimensions in Ridge township, on which
he made his home until 1892, when he moved
to Washington township, Paulding county,
and purchased a farm on which he resided until
1894, when he came to Van Wert city, in the
month of September, and bought his present
livery stock and barn on North Market street,
which he has successfully conducted to the
present time.
The marriage of Mr. Stewart took place in
Ridge township, Van Wert county, May 22,
1877, to Miss Julia B. Hill, who was born in
the same township May 11, 1824, a daughter
of Harrison Hill, the result of this union being
two children — Homer F. and Viola Pearl.
The parents are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and in politics he is a re

publican. He is the owner of eighty-four
acres of good land in Paulding county, and his
livery and feed barn in Van Wert, which is
the most popular establishment of the kind in
the city.

Sr-* ENRY RUMBLE, a retired farmer
|f% and now residing in the city of Van
A .r Wert, Ohio, was born in Fayette
county, Pa., April 3, 1825, a son of
Jacob and Susanna (Gans) Rumble, an old-
settled family of that state. Jacob Rumble,
also a native of Fayette county, Pa., was born
January 1, 1795, and was a son of Henry
Rumble, who was born in the same county
and was a son of Jacob, who came from Ger
many in the earlier part of the century, bring
ing his wife, and founded the family in the
county spoken of. Henry Rumble, grand
father of our snbject, married early in life and
moved to Virginia, where he farmed until 1825,
when he returned to Fayette county, Pa. ,
where he followed charcoal burning until his
death, which occurred in 1855; his widow fol
lowing him about the year 1858. Their five
children were named Jacob (father of our sub
ject), Godfrey, David, Rosanna and Catherine.
They were Protestants in religion and in poli
tics the father was a democrat. Jacob Rum
ble grew to manhood on the home farm, and
at twenty-one years of age married Susanna
Gans, began farming on his own account, and
followed the calling until his death in 1833.
The children born to Jacob and Susanna were
six in number and were named Elizabeth,
Henry (our subject), Catherine, Alexander,
Bathsheba and Anna. The mother of this
family died in Fayette county, Pa., January
1, 1868, a member of' the Protestant church,
of which her husband had also been a mem
ber; politically he was a democrat.
Henry Rumble, whose name introduces this

704

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

biography, was reared to manhood on the
home farm in his native county, arid was there
first married, November 14, 1849, to Pauline
Leech, who was born in West Virginia, March
16, 1 83 1, a daughter of Jessie Leech, and this
union was blessed with five children, viz: B.
W., a merchant of Ironton, Ohio; Anna, wife
of P. F. Remagen, of Hoaglin township, Van
Wert county; A. C. , a civil engineer of Cali
fornia; Susie, wife of C. H. Hymen, of Hoag
lin township, and James W. of the same town
ship. The mother of this family died Febru
ary 1, 1875, and her remains were interred in
the Smithfield cemetery, Fayette county, Pa.
At his first marriage Mr. Rumble located on a
farm in his native county, on which he resided
until 1875, when he came to Ohio and bought
120 acres of land in Hoaglin township, Van
Wert county, to which he afterward added
eighty acres, making 200 acres, which he still
owns and which he retrieved from the forest
and made to "bloom like the rose." He
there married, January 31, 1884, Maria Seal-
scott, who was born in Hocking county, Ohio,
May 8, 1841, a daughter of L. W. and Sarah
(Hoffman) Snyder and widow of Henry Seal-
scott, who was a native of Ohio also, and to
whom she bore four children, viz: Charles,
deceased; Sarah, wife of A. Schickedantdz, of
Union township, Van Wert county; William,
of Hoaglin township, and Benjamin F. , de
ceased. Henry Sealscott was a farmer of
Mercer county, Ohio, was a Lutheran in re
ligion, and in politics was a democrat; he died
February 1, 1875, the owner of sixty acres
of good farm land, well improved. Mr. Rum
ble was a man of much prominence in Hoaglin
township and served his fellow-citizens as
county commissioner three years, as justice of
the peace six years, and as trustee two terms.
W7ith his wife he resided on the farm until
March, 1895, when they came to the city of
Van Wert and purchased a fine residence on

Water street, where they are passing their de
clining days in ease and comfort and in the
enjoyment of the love and esteem of all who
know them.

- J. STITES,' one of the prominent
farmers of Van Wert county, and a

(U\JLA manufacturer oi brick and tile, was
born in Butler county, Ohio, in
1856, and is a son of Hiram and Emeline
(Lewis) Stites. Hiram Stites was born near
Madison, Ohio, in 1828, and is of Pennsyl
vania-Dutch ancestry. Reared a farmer, he
naturally adopted that calling for his own and
followed it through life, though for some years
in his youth he was a butcher in Cincinnati.
His education was received in the common
schools, and was sufficient for all the practical-
purposes of life. In 1854 he married Emeline
Lewis, born in 1838, and daughter of James
and Nancy (Bone) Lewis, a fuller mention of
whom reference is made to the biographical
sketch of George Lewis, elsewhere in this vol
ume. To Hiram and Emeline Stites there
were born three children, viz: W. J., the
subject of this sketch; Nannie, widow of John
Owens, and Emma, wife of Samuel Montfort,
of Lebanon, Ohio. It is believed that Hiram
Stites was a member of the Universalist
church, and politically he was an old-line whig
in his early days, but later he became a re
publican. He was a member of the Odd Fel
lows' fraternity, by which he was highly es
teemed. He was industrious, even a hard
working man, and it is thought that his hard
work hastened his death, which occurred in
1 86 1. His wife was a member of the Method
ist Episcopal church, and died in 1868.
W. J. Stites, being thus left an orphan by
the early death of his parents, lived with rela
tives for some years, receiving his education in
the common schools of Perry county. At the

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

705

age of fourteen he began working as a farm
hand for his uncle, David Stites, and remained
with him several years. Then he removed to
Van Wert, and in 1882 purchased the farm
upon which he still lives. In 1892 he married
Miss Hannah Thompson, daughter of Theo
dore and America (Hart) Thomson, of Warren
county, and to this marriage there has been
born one child, viz : Nannie May. Mrs.
Stites was born in Warren county in 1872.
Her father was a native of the same county,
having been born in 1842, and followed farm
ing in that county. There she was reared and
educated, and became a woman of bright in
tellect and most excellent character and dis
position. Mr. and Mrs. Stites, though not
members of any church, always take great in
terest in everything pertaining to the moral and
material welfare of the community in which
they live, and are highly esteemed members of
society. Mr. Stites is a member of Van Wert
lodge, No. 251, I. O. O. F., and is a promi
nent member of Van Wert County grange,
No. 399, P. of H.
In 1883 Mr. Stites added a tile manufac
tory to his business of farming and has carried
on the manufacture of tile and brick for some
thirteen years. Taken all in all, he has been
a very successful man. His farm is in a high
state of cultivation and bears everywhere the
indications of his careful industry and attention.
Having been left an orphan at an early age
and having by his own efforts acquired a com
fortable competency, he has set an example to
all young people, well worthy of their imitation
and emulation.

WOHN STRANDLER, dealer in harness
A and saddlery, Van Wert, Ohio, was
A J born in Bensheim, Hesse Darmstadt,
Germany, March 19, 1841, a son of
John and Barbara (Heilman) Strandler. At

the age of four years he lost his father, and
until sixteen years of age he remained with his
mother. In April, 1857, he sailed from Havre,
France, on a sailing vessel, for America, and
after a voyage of forty-two days was safely
landed in New York. A week later he reached
Tiffin, Ohio, where his uncle, Jacon Heilman,
was engaged in the manufacture of brick. For
one season our subject worked in the brick
yard, and was then apprenticed for three years
to Jacob Ebert, to learn harness-making, re
mained with him for three months only, when
he went to Attica, Ohio, where he worked in
a harness shop until i860, and thence went to
St. Louis, Mo., where he worked under in
structions at the same trade until April, 1861.
The Rebellion having now become an assured
and serious fact, he enlisted, at St. Louis,
April 21, 1 86 1, in company A, First Missouri
infantry, for three months, and, having served
out his term, re-enlisted at the same place for
three years, and was assigned to company A,
First Missouri light artillery. With this com
pany, of which he was quartermaster ser
geant, he participated in the battles of Camp-
Jackson, Boonville, Duck Springs, Wilson's
Creek, Fredericktowm — all in Missouri — and at
Cache River, Bolivar, Port Gibson, Champion
Hills, and siege of Vicksburg, in Mississippi,
and was finally discharged at Greenville, La.,
October 8, 1864. He then returned to Attica,
Ohio, where he worked as a journeyman at
harness-making until January, 1865, when he
bought his employer's store and stock and car
ried on the trade until January 5, 1867, when
he came to Van Wert and opened a shop on,
West Main street, which he conducted until
sometime in 1868; he then moved to Monroe
ville, Ind., carried on his trade until the spring
of 1870, then returned to Van Wert and spent
one summer at farming; then worked a year
and a half at his trade for B. F. Shoop in Van
Wert as a journeyman, and then became his

'706

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

partner. In 1873 this partnership was dis
solved and the stock equally divided. Mr.
Strandler then purchased the lot at No. 10
North Washington street, at that time occu
pied by a frame building, in which he carried
on his trade until 1889, when he erected his
present brick building, 22x97 feet, in which
he has his store and workshop. Here he is
doing a thriving trade in light and heavy har
ness, robes, blankets, saddles, whips, trunks,
valises, bicycles, and everything usually found
in an establishment of that kind, his stock
being full and varied and worth several thou
sand dollars. Mr. Strandler is what is termed
a self-made man, commencing with but a
small capital, and has succeeded in accumu
lating a comfortable competence. In politics
Mr. Strandler is a republican, but has never
been an office-seeker. His marriage took place
in Attica, Ohio, November 13, 1866, to Miss
Fannie A. Moltz, a daughter of M. R. Moltz,
and born in Attica, June 28, 1844.

SI

9 ALTER L. SCOTT, manager of the
Union Mills Flouring company, Van
Wert, Ohio, was born October 6,
1829, in the shire of Banff, Scot
land, a son of James and Jane (Findley) Scott.
The father, James Scott, was born in Banff
shire, in 1773, and was the son of James, a
native of the same place, a farmer, and the
father of five children, viz: John, Alexander,
James (father of our subject), Jane and Ellen,
the majority of whom were members of the old
Scotch Presbyterian church. James Scott, a
son of James and father of Walter L. Scott,
at the age of sixteen years, was apprenticed by
his parents to an architect and builder, for
four years, and after having served his term of
apprenticeship followed his profession through-
cut the south and north of Scotland all his
life. He married in Banffshire, in 1807, Jane

Findley, who was born in 1763, and became
the father of nine children, viz: James and
John, now deceased; Alexander, a builder in
Banffshire, Scotland; Jane, in Ireland; Jessie,
deceased; William, a merchant tailor in
Scotland; Walter L. , subject of this
sketch; George, who was a soldier in the
Crimean war and is now a teacher of mili
tary tactics, at Woolwich arsenal, England;
Ellen, deceased. These parents lived to the
good old age of ninety-three and eighty-three
years, and died in the place of their nativity.
Walter L. Scott, the subject of this sketch,
at the age of fourteen, was apprenticed to a
miller at a point about five miles from the
place of his birth, served out his term and fol
lowed milling until he left Scotland in 1854.
He was united in marriage in January, 1854,
with Miss Mary E: White; they immediately
afterward came to America, and located near
Toronto, Canada, where Mr. Scott was em
ployed in milling until 1862. They then came
to Ohio, where Mr. Scott followed his vocation
at Fremont for six years and then at San
dusky from 1868 to 1 87 1, when he came to
Van Wert and purchased an interest in the
People's Mill, of which he took general man
agement. He at once set about to overhaul
the milling department and put it into repair
to do fine custom work, and early in March,
1872, the mill began doing business, Mr. Scott
acting as miller for three years' time, after
which he assumed general management until
1879, at which he purchased an interest in the
Union mills, which were owned by a stock
company composed of the following-named
gentlemen: D. R. Bonewitz, Samuel Swine
ford, O. D. Swartout, William Snashall, and
Mr. Braham. The capital stock at this time
was $16,000, but which has been reduced by
cancelation, so that the capital stock of the
company is now $12,450, of which Mr. Scott
owns about one -third. Upon purchasing the

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

709'

interest in this mill he was chosen as general
manager, which position he has held ever
since, and, under his intelligent supervision,
the enterprise has proven a success and is
known as one of the leading industries in the
city of Van Wert. Mr. Scott also owned an
interest in the Fire and Burglar Proof Safe
business, with headquarters at No. 155 Dear
born, street, Chicago, 111., which he recently
sold; he also was one of the promoters and
was largely interested in the manufacture of
furniture in Van Wert.
In politics Mr. Scott is a republican, has
served his fellow-citizens four years as council
man, and has been president of the board of
education for twelve years. He is a knight
templar Mason, and his high social standing is
with the best people of Van Wert. He is one
of the conservative, safe business men of the
city, affable, and interested in all benevolent
and worthy enterprises, to which he contributes
liberally of his means and time as well. He
and wife are members of the church of his
forefathers — the Presbyterian — and the chil
dren of whom they are the parents were named
Edward J., and Mima J., deceased; Alfred, of
Chicago; Minnie, wife of H. Kemper; and
Walter H., in the hardware business at Green
field, Ohio. Mr. Scott owns a fine residence
at No. 13 South Avenue, where his domestic
life in passed in the companionship and friend
ship of a large circle of acquaintances.

@EORGE W. STRIPE, one of the
most progressive and prosperous
young farmers of Hoaglin township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, is "native
here and to the manor born," October 11,
i860. His grandfather, Jacob Stripe, a native
of Pennsylvania, was of English descent, and
was an early settler of Fairfield county, Ohio,
and, when married, all his earthly possessions

could be carried in a common pocket handker
chief, but at his death in that county his landed.
possessions entitled him to the appellation of a
substantial farmer and citizen. His son, also
named Jacob, the father of our subject, was,
born in Fairfield county, Ohio, May 17, 181 1,
was reared to farming, a vocation he always-
followed, and with success. He married.
Elizabeth, daughter of William and Sarah
Harvey, and had born to him the following
children: John, William H., Jacob L. , and-
George W. , all born in Van Wert county,
where the parents were married. The father
of this family, Jacob Stripe, Jr., at his mar
riage was the owner of a farm of eighty acres,.
but later, in partnership with a brother, ac
quired 1,600 acres, of which at the time of his
death, May 16, 1882, he bequeathed to his chil
dren eighty acres each. He was a Jacksonian
democrat and a strictly moral man. His
widow still resides on the homestead, respected
and honored by all her neighbors.
George W. Stripe, our subject, who has:
been thoroughly trained to farming and well,
educated in the district school, on January 21,
1885, married MissHermiaA. Hattery, daugh
ter of Nathanial and Ellen (Atchison) Hattery,
and a sister of Mrs. Addison A. Giffin, whose-
name will be found in the sketch of her hus
band on another page. Three years after-
marriage, Mr. Stripe and wife located on their
present farm of eighty acres of most fertile land,
improved with modern farm residence, barn
and other necessary buildings, and well stocked.
and highly cultivated. The union of Mr. and-
Mrs. Stripe has been blessed by the birth of
one child, Marie, now attending school, the
parents being ardent advocates of popular in
struction and admirers of educating the young
under all circumstances. Mr. Stripe is in pol
itics a stanch democrat and is energetic in his-
aid to his party. He is a member of grange
No. 400, of which, be has been, assistant stew-

'10

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ard, and through his township stands high in
the estimation of his neighbors, not only as a
useful citizen but as a progressive farmer.

^^V ILLIAM H. STRIPE, a native of
mm I Hoaglin township, Van Wert couuty,
\JLj| Ohio, and a most prosperous farmer,
was born November 14, 1847, and
is a brother of John and George W. Stripe,
the biography of the latter being in immediate
juxtaposition with this sketch, and in which the
genealogy of the family will be found in full.
William H. Stripe, our subject, was reared to
practical farming, receiving, in his boyhood, a
sound education. January 14, 1869, he was
united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss
Sarah D. Lamson, daughter of Alfred and
Avahne (Scott) Lamson, who were, until 1850,
residents of Geauga county, but who, since
that date, have made their home in Van Wert
county, the parents of two children, Sarah D.
(Mrs. Stripe) and Horace A. To the union of
William H. and Sarah D. Stripe, have been
born a family of six children, named Frank E.
(deceased), Charles S., Leola I. (deceased),
Ada L. , Clarence O. (deceased) and Ethel A.
After his marriage Mr. Stripe at once settled
on part of the old homestead, of which he now
owns fifty- five acres, improved with a good
new modern house and other farm buildings,
and under such a state of cultivation that no
one, excepting an experienced farmer like him
self, could have placed it.
In his party affiliations William H. Stripe
is a pronounced democrat, and has been hon
ored by his party with election to several local
offices, including those of township trustee,
township clerk and township assessor, and un
der the old law he served as school director
fifteen years. Mrs. Stripe in religion adheres
to the faith of the Seventh Day Adventists.
For twenty years Mr. Stripe has been a mem

ber of the Patrons of Husbandry, grange No.
400, of Hoaglin, and has filled all the offices
— his wife being also a member of this organi
zation. Mr. Stripe is an intelligent and pro
gressive agriculturists, and understands the
needs of the farmer as well as he comprehends
the needs of the soil.

^"^AMUEL STUMP is among the self-
*^^%T made men and successful farmers of
Y\^_J Pleasant township, few are as widely
and as favorably known, and the
leading facts of his life are herewith pre
sented. Mr. Stump's paternal ancestors came
originally from Holland and settled in Pennsyl
vania at a very early period in the history of
that state, and there his father, Peter Stump,
was born on the 21st day of May, 1787.
Peter Stump was one of the pioneers of
Pickaway county, Ohio, and served in the war
of 1 81 2, participating in a number of battles
during that struggle and making for himself
the reputation of a brave and gallant soldier. At
the close of the war, he returned to his farm in
Pickaway county, where he resided until about
1822, at which time he moved to Fairfield, now
Hocking county, where he continued the pur
suit of agriculture until his death, December
10, 1873. About the year 1815, Peter Stump
was united in marriage to Mary Culp, daughter
of Peter and Mary Culp, to which union the
following children were born : Lydia, wife of
James Deffenbaugh; Sarah, wife of Samuel
Miller; Esther, wife of George Deffenbaugh;
Abigail, deceased; Mrs. Mary Bryner; Joseph
C, and Samuel, the subject of this mention.
The mother of these children were born in
Pennsylvania, February 13, 1795, of German
parentage, was a consistent member of the
Presbyterian church, and died October 11,
1884. In his church relation, Peter Stump
was for many a Lutheran, and he contributed

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

711

liberally toward the promotion of all religious,
moral, and charitable movements. Politically
he was a democrat of the old school, but never
took a very active part as a partisan, having
been somewhat conservative in political mat
ters, yet voting when so disposed.
Samuel Stump was born in Pickaway
county, Ohio, June, 10, 1819, and, like the
majority of our western people, was largely
deprived of educational advantages in his
youth, having been permitted to attend the in
different schools of that period at intervals
during the winter season only. At the age of
fifteen he left the parental roof and returned
to his old home in Pickaway county, where he
learned wool-carding and the saw-milling busi
ness, at which he worked in one place for a
period of sixteen years. About 1846, thinking
to better his condition by moving further west
ward, he came to Van Wert county and pur
chased forty acres of woodland, to which he
subsequently made an addition of a like num
ber of acres, previously taken up on his fa
ther's soldier's warrant. After improving his
place to some extent, Mr. Stump, in 185 1,
moved his family from Pickaway county to the
new home in Van Wert, making the trip by
wagon over almost impassable roads, camping
at night by the roadside, and consuming a
number of days in the journey. His life for
the first few years in Van Wert county was by
no means an easy one, and he was obliged to
toil early and late in order to remove the dense
forests, underdrain the land, and otherwise fit
it for cultivation. Knowing no such word as
fail, he persisted in his labor, and was finally
rewarded with a home much better than that
of the majority, and he now owns a fine farm
of 160 acres, which, with other wealth, repre
sents his own unaided efforts.
In 1840 Mr. Stump and Elizabeth Resslar,
daughter of George Resslar, were united in
marriage, and the union was blessed with the

birth of the following children: Isaac, deceased;
Rufus; Lewis; Mary, wife of David Weagley;
Peter, deceased; and Abigail, also deceased.
Mrs. Stump was born in Pennsylvania in the
year 18 16, was descended from German an
cestry, and departed this life in February,
1893. Religiously she was a Methodist, and
she proved a true companion and valuable
helpmate to her husband during their long
married life, contributing not' a little to his
success during their early struggle in making a
home. As already stated, Mr. Stump is essen
tially a self-made man, and is noted for his
upright character, honorable dealings and strict
integrity of purpose. He is a man firm in his
convictions of right, intensely practical in busi
ness affairs, and has decided opinions, which he
has the courage to express. His has indeed
been an active and prosperous life, and this
tribute to his worth well deserves a place
among the biographies of Van Wert county's
representative men.

Sr-» EWIS STUMP, a successful farmer
1 j and representative citizen of Pleasant
1 ^ township, and son of Samuel and
Elizabeth (Resslar) Stump, was born
in the year 1844, in Pickaway county, Ohio.
When but seven years of age, he was brought
by his parents to the present family home in
Pleasant township and has since been one of
the leading citizens of the same and a man
whose reputation is well known throughout the
county of Van Wert. For some years he at
tended the common schools and received a fair
English education, which, supplemented by
intelligent observation and contact with men
in business capacities, has enabled him to ac
cumulate a fund of practical knowledge such
as schools and colleges fail to impart. He
early selected the noble calling of agriculture
as a life-work, and has followed the same with

712

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

encouraging success over since. In politics
Mr. Stump is conservative, but, always sup
ports the democratic party, though never ask
ing or desiring official preferment at the hands
of his fellow-citizens. All objects for the gen
eral welfare of the community find in him a
friend and liberal patron, and, while not identi
fied with any religious organization, he believes
in the work of the church and is by no means
scant in his contribution towards the success
of the same.
In 1868, Mr. Stump was united in mar
riage to Mary E. Tomlinson, daughter of
James and Nancy (Smith) Tomlinson, and to
their union have been born the following
children: Samuel T. ; Effie B., wife of Elmer
Smalley; Francis H., Ethel B., Claude,
Florence M., Grace E., Gertrude and Harriet
R. Mrs. Stump was born in Van Wert county,
Ohio, in 1850; she is a consistent member of
the Society of Friends, in which she takes '
deep interest and is widely and favorabl;
known throughout the township.

^y/'w' ILLIAM SHEETS, deceased, in his
mm I day a most able farmer and useful
^JL^ citizen, was a son of Samuel Sheets,
a biography of whom is on page 673,
and was born in Harrison township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, February 14, 1843. His youth
ful days were spent on his father's farm, on
which he was thoroughly trained to agricul
ture, receiving at the same time the education
that the common schools of his district
afforded. At about twenty-six years of age he
married, April 23, 1869, Miss Rachael Bower,
daughter of William and Sarah (Tenner)
Bower, whose sketch may be likewise found
on another page. The children resulting from
the union of William and wife were three in
number, named Ettie I. , Cora A. and Sarah M.
After marriage Mr. Sheets settled on the

farm now occupied by his family, and which
then comprised 142 acres. This farm he suc
ceeded in clearing up and in placing under a
fine state of cultivation, securing for his family
a good home and a source of income. In pol
itics Mr. SheeJs was a republican, and during
the late war enlisted in the 100-day service,
and took part in the battle of Point Lookout,
and the fight at Youngstown. In religion he-
was a Lutheran, and a deacon in his church.
He was industrious, skillful and frugal, and
honest to the core, and his death, which took
place May 8, 1886, was deeply mourned
throughout the whole community, in which he
was known to be a gentleman of the strictest
integrity and at the same time of a most char
itable and benevolent disposition. He was a
kind and loving husband and father, and a.
faithful friend, as well as a public-spirited and
useful citizen. Since the death of her husband
Mrs. Sheets has managed the farm with a
practical knowledge of the details necessary
for the purpose, and has made a thorough suc
cess of her undertaking, and when it is remem
bered that she had no sons to render her aid
or assistance, the more credit may be given
her for keeping out of debt. She has had her
daughters well educated, and has brought
them up in the Lutheran faith, of which
church Mrs. Sheets has long been a strict and
ardent member, and of which her daughters-
have more recently become communicants.
Ettie Sheets is now the wife of Henry R.
Ainsworth, and has one child, Homer C.

>-yi OHN M. STUTSMAN, M. D., deceased,
A was born in Greene county, Ohio, Jan-
A J uary 12, 1840, a son of David and
"~* Elizabeth (Merrick) Stutsman, and was-
the eldest son in a family of nine children born
to his parents. David Stutsman was a native
of Pennsylvania, but a pioneer of the Buckeye:

WILLIAM SHEETS,
DECEASED.

mi

ft

MRS. RACHAEL SHEETS.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

715

state. Our subject was reared, to manhood on
the home farm in his native county, and prior
to his remarkable professional career expe
rienced a military record equally as remarkable.
On June 10, 1861, he enlisted as private and
was chosen first lieutenant of company A,
Twenty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, acting
as captain of the company for about four years.
He was the first one in his neighborhood to
enlist, and last one to return, having faithfully
served his country for four years and nine
months. He was in Texas with Wagner's di
vision nine months after the close of the war,
and carried several severe wounds received in
battle, of which he seldom spoke. Although
he merited a high-grade pension, he never
made application for it. In 1869 he graduated
at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Sur
gery, practiced six years in Harrisburg, Mont
gomery county, Ohio, then came to Van Wert
in 1877, where he continued up to the day of
his death to do a most successful and highly
honorable practice.
Dr. Stutsman was united in marriage in
Harrisburg, Ohio, November 6, 1869, to Miss
Ella N. Hyre, who was born in Montgomery
county, Ohio, March 5, 1851, a daughter of
Daniel and Sarah (Stouder) Hyre, natives of
North Carolina and Pennsylvania, respectively,
the union resulting in the birth of two children
— Albertus C. and Florence E. In politics the
doctor was a republican, but was never an
office seeker. He was the owner of eighty
acres of good farming land in Union township,
Van Wert county, and considerable residence
property in the city of Van Wert, and the in
come derived from the practice of his profes
sion formed a competence for his family. He
died at his home in Van Wert June 19, 1894.
He was a good physician, a safe prescriber, a
faithful counselor, a zealous student and an
honored gentleman. He was an honest, in
dependent and bold thinker on all subjects
31

likely to engage the thoughtful mind. For fif
teen years or more he had been an active mem
ber of the Van Wert Medical society and the
Northwestern Ohio Medical association. The
high esteem on the part of the Van Wert
county medical staff was manifested by their
presence at the funeral in a body. As a hus
band and father he was affectionate, pure and
faithful, as well as indulgent, yet firm, in his
life's amenities.
Albertus C. Stutsman, son of Dr. John M.
and Ella N. (Hyre) Stutsman, was born in
Harrisburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, De
cember 3, 1 87 r , and was but five years of age
when brought to Van Wert by parents, and
here he attended school until sixteen years of
age, when he was employed in clerical work in
the office of the auditor of the C. , J. & M.
Railroad company, under G. H. Wappner,
and as chief from 1890 to 1892 under F. C.
Cheney, and then, in July, 1892, succeeded
H. A. Keller, and now holds the auditor's po
sition. He is industrious and, competent, neat
and accurate, and is obliging and courteous —
qualities that render him exceedingly well
adapted for the position, the duties of which he
is performing to the entire satisfaction of the.
company and to the public.

WOHN W. SWARTZ, a prominent farmer
A of Pleasant township, Van Wert county,
A 1 and a gallant ex-soldier, is a native of
Ohio, born in the county of Van Wert,
April 17, 1844, having first seen the light of
day on the old paternal homestead in the town
ship of Willshire. His father, William Swartz,
was born in Lycoming county, Pa., about the
beginning of the present century, and was a
descentant of the stanch old German settlers
who did so much toward the development of
the latter state.
When a young man, William Swartz emi-

716

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

grated to Richland county, Ohio, being one of
the earliest pioneers of that section, and was
there united in marriage with Elizabeth Mozier,
also a descendant of an old Pennsylvania fam
ily, who bore him the following children:
Henry, deceased; John W. , Jacob A., Lewis
P., and Lydia J., wife of Samuel Young. Mrs.
Swartz was born in Pennsylvania about the
year of 1818, and her marriage with the sub
ject's father occurred in the year 1841, she
being his second wife. She is remembered as
a woman of excellent character, a devout
member of the Wesleyan Methodist church, in
which she always manifested a great interest,
and her death occurred in 1856. Mr. Swartz's
first wife was Peggy Mozier, also a native of
Pennsylvania. The issue of this marriage was
three children — George, William and Katie,
all deceased. In 1858, Mr. Swartz was mar
ried a third time, choosing for his wife Mrs.
Laura Allen, who died in 1873. Subsequently
he was again married, his last wife being Mrs.
Eliza Johns. ,
William Swartz was identified with the
farming interests of Richland county for a
period of five years, at the end of which time
he became a resident of the county of Van
Wert, locating upon a tract of wild land which
he previously purchased from the government.
At that time the country was in a wilderness
state and the town of Van Wert contained but
three or four rude log cabins, giving little
promise of the development which it subse
quently attained. Mr. Swartz built a rude
cabin on his land, set to work with a will to
remove the forest growth and make a home for
his young family. That he succeeded in his
new undertaking goes without saying, and in
due season a good farm was cleared and put
under cultivation. In 1850, actuated by a
desire to acquire a fortune in the gold fields of
of California, he made an overland trip to that
far-away state, spending several months on the

road, enduring many harnships, and meeting
with numerous adventures during the journey.
After spending a year in the mines with but
fair success, he returned to Ohio, making the
trip from San Francisco to New York by the
long and perilous passage around Cape Horn.
He remained upon his farm in Van Wert county
until 1875, at which time he disposed of the
same and removed to Kent county, Mich.,
where he spent the remaining years of his life,
dying there at the age of eighty-five years. In
his early life he was identified with the demo
cratic party, but at the breaking out of the
Rebellion changed his political faith, and until
his death supported the principles of the repub
lican party. He was a man of energy, enter
prising in everything he undertook, and was
public spirited in all matters pertaining to
the moral and material well being of the com
munity in which he lived.
John W. Swartz, some of the leading facts
of whose life are herewith presented, laid the
foundation of his education in the common
schools of his native county, and grew to man
hood on a farm, assisting his father in the work
of the same. At the breaking out of the great
Rebellion he responded to his country's call
for volunteers, enlisting, October 12, 1861, in
company F, Sixteenth Ohio volunteer infantry,
for three years or during the war. His com
mand was at once sent to the front, and in
January, 1862, he participated in the battle of
Mill Springs, Ky. , from which time until June
18 he was almost constantly engaged in skir
mishing with the enemy. He took part in the
battle of Tazewell, Tenn., September, 1862,
and the same year was captured and remained
a prisoner of war for about one month. Sub
sequently he was exchanged, and, rejoining his
command at Vicksburg, took part in the siege
of that city; he also distinguished himself in
the bloody engagements of Chickasaw Bayou,
Arkansas Post, Port Gibson, Champion Hills,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

717

Black River Bridge, and the general charge at
Vicksburg. Later, his command was sent to
New Orleans, and took part in the Bayou
Tesche campaign; was afterward transferred
to Texas and the Red river country, with almost
continuous fighting for several months. His
next move was again into Louisiana, where on
the Atchafalaya river, his command was en
gaged in skirmishing for some time, and then
went by river to Cairo, 111., thence to Colum
bus, Ohio, where he was honorably discharged
in September, 1864. Mr. Swartz feels justly
proud of his military record, as he gave freely
and unreservedly some of the best years of his
life to the service of his country. His was, in
deed, a trying experience, and for injuries re
ceived while doing battle for the national
Union, he now receives from the government
a liberal pension. On quitting the service, Mr.
Swartz returned to Van Wert county, and on
the 22d day of December, 1864, was united in
marriage to Matilda E. Walters, daughter of
William aud Harriet (McDermot) Walters, to
which union the following children have been
born: William E.', of Farmers City, 111., Ker-
enhappuch, wife of Frank Johnson, of Will
shire township; John C, of Decatur, Ind.;
Ersa V., Mary M. and Charles W. Mrs. Swartz
was born in Petersburg, Ohio, in 1834, her
father being a native of Pennsylvania and one
of the earliest settlers of Richland county,
Ohio, where for many years he followed the
trade of tanner, and was also engaged in
general farming.
Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Swartz
settled on a farm in Liberty township, Van
Wert county, where he resided until 1884, in
which year he purchased his present place in
the township of Pleasant, where he now lives.
He is a progressive man in all the term im
plies, and an example of what may be accom
plished by industry and energy, when directed
and controlled by good judgment. Politically

he is a republican, in the success of which
party he has manifested an active interest ever
since he attained his majority.

Sr— * ENRY SAUM, one of the original
¦^^¦k pioneer farmers of Washington town-
A .r ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a
native of the Buckeye state, and was
born in Licking county, July 14, 1828. Louis
Saum, his grandfather, came from Germany
when about seventeen years of age, served five
years under the old apprenticeship system to
reimburse his passage money and expenses,
and found a home near Richmond, Va. His
son, Adam Saum, the father of our subject,
was born in the vicinity of Richmond; in the
Shenandoah valley, Va. , was reared to farm
ing, and in that state married Margaret Miller,
a daughter of George and Margaret Miller.
The father, George Miller, served through the
Revolutionary war and later was held a cap
tive by the Indians of Kentucky for three
years, he having been one of the compatriots
of the famous Col. Daniel Boone.
Adam Saum and wife were the parents of
thirteen children, named as follows: Levi,
David, Gideon, Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Leah,
Rachael, Henry, Adam, Jacob, John and
George, all of whom lived to become adults,
with the exception of Rachael, who died in
infancy. The father, Adam Saum, lived in the
Shenandoah valley until after the birth of his
eighth child, when he came to Ohio and settled
in Licking county, where he cleared up a farm
from the woods, but later moved to Knox
county and purchased a farm of 160 acres near
Centreburg, and also cleared it from the wil
derness. November 4, 1847, ne came to Van
Wert county, and settled on eighty-eight acres
near Middlepoint, Washington township, and
while he had his residence on this farm fell
dead at Delphos, in April, 1854, of heart dis-

718

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ease, at the age of seventy-one years. He and
wife were members of the Lutheran church;
in politics he was a democrat, and as a citizen
no man was more respected.
Henry Saum, our subject, received the usual
schooling granted to farmer lads, and in 1847
came to Van Wert county with his father.
Before he had reached his twenty-fifth year he
had purchased 129 acres of his present farm,
and at the age named he married Miss Re
becca Clendening, who was born September
27, 1828, in Vermont, a daughter of John
Clendening, of Irish birth and a resident of
Montreal, Canada, after coming to America,
and later of Vermont, and then of Holmes
county, Ohio, and then, about 1847, settled
on eighty acres in Van Wert county. He was
a whig in politics, and for eight years a post
master, and for many years a member of the
school board. A highly respected citizen at all
times, he died at the age of seventy-six years.
After marriage Mr. Saum worked at his
trade as cooper, also followed farming, and by
thrift and industry acquired 202 acres of good
land, which he tiled and fenced, cultivated and
made to "blossom as the rose." He erected
a first-class brick dwelling in 1866, and made
every out-building on his premises correspond
in appearance and substantiality with his man
sion. He has been blessed with a family of
seven children, who have been named, in order
of birth, as follows: Nettie, Frank, Elnora,
Vasta, John, Jennie, and Bell. Mrs. Saum
always led a christian life as a member of the
Methodist church, and died, in 1875, at the
age of about forty-five years, in the full hope
that simple faith imparts. By a second mar
riage Mr. Saum had two children — Beuben and
Garfield, and his third marriage was to the
widow Pott, who bore the maiden name of
Jennie Reding. Mr. Saum is a typical pioneer,
has expended a very large amount of capital
and intelligently applied labor in developing

the material prosperity of his township, and he
deserves the high esteem in which he is held
by his fellow-townsmen.

a APT. WILLIAM C. SCOTT, deceased,
was born in Washington county, Pa. ,
July 1, 1833, a son of William and
Rebecca (Hughes) Scott, both natives
of the Keystone state, in which they were mar
ried and in which the father was a prosperous
farmer, until his removal, with his family, to
Richland county, Ohio, where he followed his
vocation until the end of his days and where
his wife also died.
William C. Scott was the eldest in a fami
ly of eight children, and was a mere child
when brought by his parents to Richland coun
ty, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood,
and received a sound preparatory education,
which was supplemented by a three years'
course in Haysville college (Dubois county),
where he was prepared for school-teaching,
which profession he followed in Richland coun
ty until 1853, when he came to Van Wert and
taught until 1859, including two years in high
school. During this period he began reading
law, in 1857, with his brother-in-law, Judge I.
D. Clark, and was admitted to the bar in 1858,
but never entered upon active practice. In
1859 he bought the Van Wert American, but
changed the name of the paper to that of the
Van Wert Bulletin, which he edited until the
spring of 1861, when he sold out and assisted
in recruiting a company of infantry, with which
he served as first lieutenant, in the late Civil
war, until after the battle of Pittsburg Land
ing, when he resigned arid came home, anima
ted with a nobler, higher, and more patriotic
ambition, and recruited company A, Ninety-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, was elected
and commissioned captain of the company,
and was assigned to. the army of the Cumber-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

719

land, with which he marched and fought until
the battle of Stone River, January 2, 1863;
here he was mortally wounded, surviving only
two days after sustaining the fatal injury. For
meritorious conduct on the field and for other
valuable service rendered, Capt. Scott had
been brevetted major; the commission had
been prepared and would have been presented
to him, had he survived his wounds.
Capt. Scott had married, in Van Wert
county, Ohio, August 25, 1856, Miss Missouri
T. McConahay, who was born in Lewistown,
Mifflin county, Pa., October 10, 1833, a daugh
ter of John and Margaret (Lovell) McConahay,
who were also natives of the Keystone state.
To the union of the captain and Miss McCon
ahay were born two children — Avery Wasson,
now an engineer on the C, J. & M. R. R. , and
Jennie A., deceased. The captain was mild in
his disposition, was self-contained, and was a
member of the Presbyterian church. In poli
tics he was a republican, had served as special
school-examiner. He left a comfortable home
to his widow and orphaned children, and his
untimely death was deeply deplored by a
large circle of devoted friends. The marriage
•of his widow to C. P. Richey has been duly
recorded elsewhere.

aHARLES C. SHEETS, a well-known
veterinary surgeon of Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Ashland, in the
same state, in October, 1849. His
father, William Sheets, was the first white
male child born in Ashland county, and his
mother, Mary (Swineford) Sheets, was born in
Pennsylvania, a sister of Simeon Swineford, of
whom a biography is given elsewhere in this
work. These parents were married in Ash
land county in 1840 and there resided on a
farm; the mother died in October 1886, a
member of the Presbyterian church. Their

family consists of the following children:
Joseph, Alfred M., Almond, Eli, Charles C. ,
John S. and Emma.
Charles C. Sheets was reared on the home
farm in Ashland county, and attended the pub
lic schools until twenty-one years of age, when
he came to Van Wert (in 1871) and for six
years clerked in the dry-goods houses of J. S.
Brumback & Co., and McKim & Hall, follow
ing which he returned to Ashland county and
resumed the vocation of farming, which he
pursued until the spring of 1887. He then
entered the famous Ontario Veterinary college,
studied diligently, and graduated in the spring
of 1889, locating at once in Van Wert. While
in college he made a specialty of the study of
dentistry as applied to his particular science,
in the practice of which he has achieved an
enviable reputation.
Mr. Sheets was auspiciously united in wed
lock in Van Wert, October 18, 1876, with
Miss Lizzie McGavren, a daughter of Judge
McGavren, and this felicitous union has been
crowned by the birth of one child — Fred F.
Dr. and Mrs. Sheets are members of the Pres
byterian church, and fraternally the doctor is
a member of the Royal Arcanum and of canton
No. 251, I. O. O. F. The doctor resides in a
neat modern home on Sycamore street, is con
nected with the best families in the county,
and is personally quite popular. In politics,
like his father, who still resides in Ashland, he
is an ardent republican. He was elected to
fill a vacancy on the school board in the spring
of 1894, and again elected in the spring of
1895 by a large popular vote.

f~>T AMUEL W. SHAFFER, the obliging
*y^^%* proprietor of a line of drays at Van
K^_J Wert, was born in Mercer county,
Ohio, March 20, 1859, a son of
Francis M. and Maria (Putnamj Shaffer. The

720

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

father, Francis M., was born in Carroll county,
Ohio, and the mother, Maria (Putnam)
Shaffer, was born in Stark county, Ohio. They
were married in Van Wert county, in 1857,
and soon after this event located in Mercer
county, where the father was engaged, in a
saw-mill until 1873, when he was given the
position of foreman of the Middlepoint stave
factory, in Van Wert county, which position
he held about two years; he then engaged in
the sale of machinery, a calling he still follows,
making his home in Van Wert, to which city
he came in 1874. He is the father of two
children — Samuel W., whose name opens this
sketch, and Mary B., who resides with her
parents. Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer are members
of the Friends' church. In politics Mr. Shaffer
is a republican; was assessor of Pleasant
township several terms, was assessor in
Mercer county two terms, and has served as
councilman two terms in Van Wert.
Samuel Wellington Shaffer was reared in
Mercer county and was educated in the com
mon schools. At the age of twenty-one he
engaged in general labor and so continued
until 1886, and then entered into general
merchandising, which he followed nine months;
in 1887 he purchased a dray line, which has
since claimed his attention, and he now owns
four drays and is one of the most accommo
dating teamsters in the county. He also buys
and sells horses, as opportunity offers. The
marriage of Mr. Shaffer occurred in Van
Wert, October 29, 1884, with Miss Minnie
Hott, a native of the city, born April 23, 1866,
a daughter of Philip and Mary (Hoffman) Hott.
This union has been blessed with two children
— Frances R. and Frederick Earl. Mrs.
Shaffer is one of German descent and is a de
vout member of the Presbyterian church. Mr.
Shaffer is in politics a republican, and in 1891
was elected a member of the city council, was
re-elected in 1893, and is one of the leading

men of his party in the city and county. Fra
ternally, he is a member of the I. O. R. M.„
and he and family enjdy the esteem of the en
tire community. He owns two residence prop
erties on Chestnut and Franklin streets, and
also four vacant lots.

\S~\ AVID SHINDOLLAR, a prosperous
I I farmer of Jennings township, Van
sA^_J Wert county, and a gallant ex-sol
dier, was born February 2, 1842, in
Delaware county, Ohio, son of Michael and
Frederica (Yager) Shindollar, both parents na
tives of Germany. Michael and Frederica
Shindollar were acquaintances in the old coun
try, but were not married until after leaving
the fatherland and coming to the United States.
They resided in Delaware county, Ohio, where
the husband's death occurred in 1846; his
widow survived him until 1878, on the 20th of
October of which year she was called to her
final reward. They reared a family of nine-
children, eight sons and one daughter, and it
is a fact worthy of note that all the sons served
with distinction in the late war, and did valiant
service in defense of the flag. The following
are their names: Henry, a member of company
E, Sixty-sixth Ohio infantry, died from .disease-
contracted in the army; John served in the
Seventeenth Illinois, and is now a resident of
Delaware county, Ohio; Philip died while in
the service of his country, at Saint Louis, Mo. ;.
Louis, who was a member of company E,.
Sixty-sixth Ohio, lives in Spencerville, Allen
county, Ohio; Reuben served in the Seven
teenth Illinois, and is now a resident of Spen
cerville; William, who was a member of com
pany H, Fourth Ohio infantry, was killed at
Spottsylvania C. H., Va. ; David, subject of
this sketch, and Samuel, a resident of Mercer
county, fought during the war in the One Hun
dred and Seventy-first Ohio volunteer infantry.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

721

The daughter, Sevilla, became the wife of
Levan Miller, and makes her home in Dela
ware, Ohio.
David Shindollar remained with his parents
in Delaware county until his nineteenth year,
at which early age he responded to the coun
try's call for volunteers, enlisting April 17,
1 86 1, in company I, Fourth Ohio regiment,
being among the first to go to the front in re
sponse to President Lincoln's first appeal. He
served three months in the aforesaid regiment,
and on the 5th of June, 1861, re-enlisted for
three years, being mustered out June 21, 1864.
During the long and varied experience of
Mr. Shindollar while in the army, he partici
pated in many of the bloodiest battles of the
war, and his record as a brave and gallant
soldier is one of which he feels deservedly
proud. It will be impossible, in a sketch of
the nature of this biography, to give more than
a passing notice of the leading events of his
military career. The following are among the
more important battles and campaigns in which
he participated: Rich Mountain, July 12,
1 861; Romley, September 23, 1861; second
battle of Romley, October 26, 1861 ; Winches
ter, March 23, 1862; thence across the mount
ains, 116 miles, to Fredericksburg, to join the
forces of Gen. McDowell; then to Front Royal,
where the regiment did some fighting of minor
importance, after which the army marched up
the valley to Port Republic, and Alexandria,
joining the army of the Potomac at Harrison's
Landing. The next battle was at Fredericks
burg, which Mr. Shindollar considers the
hardest fight in which he was engaged; thence
to Chancellorsville, where the Union forces
were defeated in May, 1863. The next move
ment was the pursuit of Lee through Maryland,
and then the bloody battle of Gettysburg, and
the pursuit of the Confederate forces back into
Virginia. About August 15, Mr. Shindollar's
regiment was called to New York city, in order

to enforce the draft, and after a short time
there, it returned to the army of the Potomac
at Culpeper, Va., thence to the Rapahannock
and back to Bull Run, where the rebels were
forced back, and the regiment went into winter
quarters. In February, 1864, Mr. Shindollar
accompanied his command across the Rapidan,
then re-crossed the river, and went into winter
quarters until May, 1864, at which time the
camp was broken and the regiment ordered to
the front, to take part in the bloody battle of
the Wilderness. From May 6 until his dis
charge, on the 24th of the following June, Mr.
Shindollar was engaged in almost continuous
fighting, under Grant, in that general's opera
tions against Richmond.
After leaving the army, Mr. Shindollar re
turned to the home of his birth, and for some
time worked as a helper in a blacksmith shop
in the city of Delaware. On July 5, 1866, he
married Anna Sperchberger, of Crawford coun
ty, Ohio, after which he began farming, in that
county, as a renter. One year later he moved
to the county of Auglaize, where he followed
farming until 1883, and then became a resident
of Allen county; thence he moved to the county
of Mercer, where he remained one year, and
in 1885, purchased his present farm in Jen
nings township, Van Wert county. Mr. Shin
dollar has pursued agriculture with success and
financial profit, owning, at this time, 1 1 1 acres
of land, upon which may be found a comfort
able modern dwelling and other improvements
in keeping. The condition of Mr. Shindollar's
farm bespeaks the presence of one who thor
oughly understands agriculture, it being one of
the best improved places of the township. Mr.
and Mrs. Shindollar have a family of four chil
dren — Cora, Henry, Albert and John; they are
also raising a little niece, Bessie May, daughter
of Samuel May. In politics Mr. Shindollar is
a republican; in religion, a member of the
German Methodist church, and he belongs to

722

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the G. A. R. Mrs. Shindollar is also a mem
ber of the aforesaid church, and an active
worker in the local congregation with which
she is identified.

eLISHA F. SUNDERLAND, a sub
stantial farmer of Union township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, is a son of
Daniel and Lucinda (Washburn) Sun
derland, and was born in Allen county, Ohio,
August 14, 1835. The father, Daniel Sunder
land, was born near Dayton, Ohio, June 4,
1805, and when a child was taken by his par
ents to Allen county, where he was reared to
farming. July 5, 1824, he married, in Allen
county, Miss Washburn, a native of the
county, born March 2, 1806, and to this union
were born five children, viz: Ruth, deceased;
Lydia, wife of Jonathan Hamilton; Samuel,
deceased; Ebenezer, a farmer of Allen county,
and Elisha F, , our subject. About the year
1837 Daniel Sunderland moved with his family
to Michigan, where he lost his wife in 1838,
when he soon returned to his old home in Allen
county, Ohio, where he was laid to rest on
December 12, 1841.
Elisha Franklin Sunderland, it will have
been observed, was left an orphan at the early
age of six years, and was reared by his grand
father, Samuel Washburn, of Allen county,
until fourteen years of age, acquiring in the
meantime a good common-school education;
he then worked on a farm in the northern part
of the county for five years; in 1855 he went
to Missouri, where he worked the following
year on a farm, when he joined a company of
emigrants and went overland to California,
consuming three months' time on the trip, ex
periencing exciting adventures and having sev
eral skirmishes with the Indians. Having
arrived at his destination, he devoted his at
tention to gold digging the Sierras until 1861,

when he went to Oregon and had further ex
perience in the mines there for some time;
then engaged inteaming goods from the Colum
bia river to the mining region of Idaho and
Montana until 1869, when he retarned to his
old home in Allen county, Ohio, and the fol
lowing spring came to Van Wert county, and
bought a farm in Ridge township. Twelve
years later he purchased his present farm of
157 acres in Union township, which he has
cleared from the woods and underdrained, and
on which he has built a neat, modern dwelling
and excellent barns, and in connection with his
agricultural pursuits is engaged in breeding
Duroc Jersey swine, and is altogether an enter
prising and progressive farmer. The marriage
of Mr. Sunderland took place March 6, 1870,
to Miss Francis Little, daughter of George W.
and Fannie (Walters) Little — the father a na
tive of Virginia and the mother of Pennsylva
nia. Mrs. Sunderland was born in 1837, and
is now the mother of three children, viz: Lu
cinda B., deceased, Mary F. and William E.
One of the daughters is now a teacher in the
schools of Van Wert county, and the son is
teaching in Paulding county. Mrs. Sunder
land is a consistent member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and with her husband en
joys the respect of the entire community. In
politics Mr. Sunderland is a stanch republican.

^""V'AMUEL NORTON SIMPSON, form-
*\^^t erly of York township, Van Wert
ks^J county, is a native of Hardin county,
Ohio, and was born November 28,
1840, and there grew to manhood on the home
farm, receiving the usual common-school edu
cation. From the age of sixteen until the
breaking out of the Civil war he was employed
in carrying the mails. On the 4th day of
June, 1861, he enlisted in company D, Fourth
Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until June,

"* Mr*.

ELISHA F. SUNDERLAND.

MRS. FRANCES L. SUNDERLAND.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

727

1864, doing faithful and gallant work. During
this period, in July, 1861, he took part in the
battle of Rich Mountain, and in October of the
same year he fought in the battle of Romney;
on March 22 and 23, 1862, he again faced the
rebels in an engagement at Winchester, Va.,
and took part in the pursuit of Gen. Stonewall
Jackson up the Shenandoah valley to Harris
burg, returning down the vallev to New
Market, crossing the mountains to Fredericks
burg, joining McDowell's forces then doubled
the road to Port Royal, the regiment doing
some skirmishing; he then descended Luray
valley to Port Republic, and had an engage
ment June 9, 1862, where the Union boys
were repulsed; then by rail and water he went
to Harrison's Landing, where they went into
camp until August 15; here our subject had an
atttack of diarrhea, and was confined to the
convalescent camp until October ist, when he
joined his regiment at Harper's Ferry; but,
having a relapse, was sent to Camp Ohio, for
recuperation. The following spring he joined
his regiment at Falmouth, and in May, 1863,
fought at the battle of Chancellorsville; the
regiment then crossed the Rappahannock,
marching on to Gettysburg, Pa., and partici
pated in the engagement there, in July, 1863;
after this battle the troops started after Gen.
Lee in Virginia, and while in camp at Bristol,
they were ordered to report at New York,
where they remained three weeks, thence were
ordered to Alexandria, Va., and thence to Cul-
peper, whence the entire forces were driven
back to Bull Run, from which point the troops
went into winter quarters at Brandy Station.
In February, 1864, the brigade waded in
Rapidan river, the water reaching to their
arm-pits, but soon recrossed again and there
rested until May 4, 1864. May 6, of that
year, they fought the battle of the Wilderness,
and their next engagement was in Spottslvania
C. H., charging the breastworks on the 12th,

where, on the 1 3th, the boys in blue captured
3,000 prisoners and twenty-two pieces of ar
tillery; the next battle was at Cold Harbor
June 3, 1864, where the rebels were driven
back, our subject barely escaping capture; June
6, they fell back to where the wagons were
guarded, and on the 7th took boat for Wash
ington city. June 24, he received his dis
charge at Columbus, Ohio, and reached home
on the 26th.
In 1865 Mr. Simpson came to Van Wert
county, and for a brief time was engaged in
farm work, and in the summer of 1868 he at
tended the college at Oberlin, in the fall fol
lowing he returned to Van Wert and began
teaching school and for fifteen years followed
this calling, and during this long period was
employed in three districts only in York town
ship. In 1866 he bought forty acres of land,
which land he sold in 1875 and bought another
tract of forty acres, which he sold in Novem
ber, 1880. September 2, 1875, he wedded
Mary A. Hughes, daughter of an old pioneer;
seven sons were born to this union, viz: Ed
win Elsworth, born in June, 1876, and died
November 7, 1878; Harley Alvin; Charles
Eugene, died November 17, 1884; John
Thomas, died at sixteen months of age; LeRoy
C. , Wilbur Guy, and Forest Talford.
In the spring of 1882, Mr. Simpson was
elected to the office of township clerk, being
located in Jonestown, where he was also
made station agent of the T., St. L. & K. C.
Railway company, and was also engaged in
general merchandising. In 1887 he was nom
inated for county recorder but went down with
his party; in 1882 he was appointed postmaster
in Jonestown, the name of the post-office being
Tokio. In October, 1895, Mr. Simpson sold
out his business at Jonestown and moved to
the city of Van Wert, where he is now pros
perously engaged in the grocery trade. The
father of our subject was John Simpson, who

728

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

married Margaret Clark, the former a native
of Beaver county, Pa., born in June, 1812,
and the latter was born March 9, 18 18, and
died December 13, 1883, the mother of two
sons and six daughters, viz: William C, who
died in September, 1877; Samuel N., our sub
ject; Eliza E., Margaret J., Mary Ann, Har
riet E. , Leora M. and Fannie E. — the last
named deceased. John Simpson, father of our
subject, still resides on the old homestead in
Hardin county, Ohio. Samuel N. Simpson
was one of the most useful citizens of York
township and is highly respected by his neigh
bors of the city of Van Wert.

>--t'ACOB W. SMALLEY, M. D., retired,
A the father of Dr. W. M. Smalley of
A J Ohio City, was born in Wayne county,
Ohio, August 30, 1822. He is the son
of Richard and Catherine (Emmons) Smalley,
natives of New Jersey, and of Holland descent.
They were the parents of thirteen children, all
attaining their majority, and two living at the
present time (1896), viz: Abraham and Jacob
W. They removed to Wayne county in 18 16,
Mr. Smalley having entered 320 acres of land
one year previously, where they resided until
his death in April, 1845, aged seventy-seven
years. Mrs. Smalley died in 1861, aged
eighty-six years. Dr. Smalley, the subject of
this sketch, was brought up on the farm, and
shared such advantages of education as the dis
trict schools afforded. He remained at home
with his parents until twenty-one years of age,
at which time he entered college at Ashland,
Ohio, taking a preparatory course, and begin
ning the study of medicine at the age of twen
ty-four, under the instruction of Drs. Cook &
Maxwell, at Berlin, Holmes county, Ohio. He
graduated at the Western Reserve Medical
college, Cleveland, and began the practice of
his profession at Shanesville, Tuscarawas coun

ty, forming a partnership with Dr. Strese. He
removed to Fredericksburg, Wayne county, in
1848, and in 1862 to Upper Sandusky, where
he formed a partnership with Dr. R. A. Hen
derson. In 1869, Mr. Smalley withdrew from
the partnership, and resumed his practice in
dependently, continuing the same until 1878,
when he retired from the profession. Dr.
Smalley was married in Fredericksburg, April
15, 1856, to Margaret C. Armstrong, nee Por
ter, daughter of William and Mary (McNeal)
Porter, early settlers of Holmes county. Mr.
Porter was at time representative of Holmes
county; he died about 1839. Mrs. Porter died
in her eighty-second year, at Peru, Ind. Mr.
and Mrs. Smalley are the parents of seven
children, four now living — William P., born
June 8, i860; Walter M., January 19, 1862;
Charles E. , February 21, 1864; Richard E.,
May 10, 1871. The deceased are : MaryC,
born March 13, 1857, died April 6, 1861;
Anne E., born September 5, 1858, died March
21, 1861; Rolla, born June 25, 1867; died
September 30, 1868. Mrs. Smalley was born
June 8, 1832. Mr. Smalley has been a mem
ber of the F. & A. M. since 1847, an(i was a
member of the Upper Sandusky school board
nine consecutive years. In politics he is a
strong republican.

tV^AR. WALTER M. SMALLEY, of
1 I Ohio City, Van Wert county, Ohio,
/*A^J and one of the best known practi
tioners of his town and township,
was born in Holmes county, Ohio, January 19,
1862, and descends from one of the early set
tlers of the Buckeye state. His grandfather,
Richard Smalley, was a wealthy farmer of
Ashland county, where his son, Jacob W. , the
father of our subject, was born August 31,
1822. Jacob W. married Margaret Porter,
April 15, 1856. This lady was a daughter of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

729

William Porter, who, for a number of years,
represented Holmes county in the state legis
lature. To Jacob W. and Margaret (Porter)
Smalley the following children were born:
William P., Walter M., Charles E., Rollie
(who died at the age of two years) and Richard
E. The father, who was also a physician of
much note, was educated to his profession at
the Western Reserve college of Medicine, at
Cleveland, Ohio, was married in Holmes coun
ty, and immediately thereafter commenced
practice in Fredericksburg, Wayne county,
whence, after acquiring a professional reputa
tion, he removed to Upper Sandusky, where
for twenty-five years he was the leading physi
cian, accumulated a competence, and retired,
an honored member of the Masonic order. (See
his sketch immediately preceding.)
Dr. Walter -M. Smalley passed his early
days in his father's office, graduated from the
Sandusky high school in 1879, and for a year
or two thereafter was employed in mercantile
business. He then entered the Western Re
serve Medical college of Cleveland, but after
one term of study therein, changed to the Fort
Wayne Medical college, from which he gradu
ated in March, 1889, receiving honorable men
tion by dean and faculty. Immediately there
after he located in his present field, where his
profound knowledge of his art has won him a
most enviable reputation and a lucrative prac
tice — his rooms in the new Union block, where
he also has his residence, being hourly crowded
by expectant visitors. His library is well sup
plied with standard medical works, and he is a
subscriber for the best current medical litera
ture of the age, through which he keeps abreast
of every step made in the advance of medical
science. His relations with his fellow-practi
tioners are intimate and close, being a member
of the Van Wert county Medical association,
and of the Northwestern Ohio State Medical
association. In politics he is a republican,

but not at all radical, and in religion he is
equally liberal, contributing freely to all de
nominations. On April 23, 1890, he was united
in marriage with Miss Myrtle Kenan, an old
schoolmate of Upper Sandusky, and a daugh
ter of Alvin and. Elizabeth (Tory) Kenan, the
former of which is engaged in the real estate
business. Two children have blessed the mar
riage of the doctor, viz: Margaret E., who is
the idol of the household and was born Feb
ruary 9, 1892; and Alvin Kenan, born August
14, in the year 1895.

>-y*OHN A. SMITH, late a prominent
A resident of Liberty township, Van Wert
A 1 county, Ohio, was a native of Germany,
and came to the United States after his
father's death, in 1832, in company with his
mother and a brother, Adam Smith, all three
of whom stopped for some time in Pennsyl
vania. Within a short time, however, Mrs.
Smith and her sons moved to Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, which was their home for seven
teen years, when she moved to the county of
Richland. From the latter county Mr. Smith
came to the county of Van Wert, in 1848, and
entered eighty acres in Liberty township, upon
which he placed his mother. Mr. Smith then
went to Piqua, where he worked at his trade
of blacksmith; then went to California, in
1849, where he spent four years in gold mining
and other business, when he returned to Piqua
and engaged in the blacksmith business. In
1856 he settled upon his farm in Liberty town
ship and engaged in blacksmithing, and added
to his farm 160 acres. He raised the first
sorghum cane and made the first syrup in the
county. He purchased a saw-mill in 1868,
but was burnt out in 1871, and rebuilt in 1872.
He was one of the organizers and one of the
principal stockholders and directors of the Clo
ver Leaf railroad. He was a justice of the

730

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

peace from 1858 to 1867, and later was county
infirmary director. In politics he was a re
publican. He died August 9, 1890.
John A. Smith was married September 27,
1854, to Rebecca Hardenbrook, daughter of
Peter and Mary (Wagner) Hardenbrook, and
became the father of the following children:
Lucinda J., born in 1857; Cora L. , born in
i860; Ralso L., born in 1865; Celia G., born
in 1867; and Roscoe G., born in 1869, and
¦died in infancy. After their marriage Mr. and
Mrs. Smith spent one year and a half in Piqua,
Ohio, and settled on the present home farm,
Liberty township, in the year 1856. At that
time the country was but sparsely settled, a
few log cabins, at remote distances from each
¦other, being the only residences in the neigh
borhood, and the country was covered with a
dense forest grove, interspersed with swamps
and quagmires. To rid the ground of these
incumbrances required patient and persistent
toil, but in due time the task was accomplished,
•and a fine home of 240 acres developed. This
is one of the best places of the township, and
•contains a large two-story residence, and other
improvements usually found on all first-class
-and well cared-for farms.
Peter Hardenbrook, father of Mrs. Smith,
Tvas a native of New Jersey, but early moved
to Hamilton county, Ohio, where he married
Mary Wagner. He then emigrated to Iroquois
county, 111., where his wife died; thence he
returned to Ohio, settling in the county of
Miami. He was a successful farmer, a sub
stantial citizen, and left to his family an un
tarnished reputation. The following are the
¦names of the brothers and sisters of Mrs.
Smith: John G. , deceased; Phoebe, deceased,
wife of a Mr. Kuhl; Mrs. Leah Buckles, de
ceased; Mrs. Mary A. Eisley, deceased, and
Laura. Peter Hardenbrook, some time after
•the death of his first wife, married Susan
Merit; he was a well known and highly re

spected man in Hamilton and Miami counties,
and his life was one of great industry; he de
voted himself to the interest of his family, and
while not wealthy, always gave liberally of his
means to worthy charities. James Harden
brook, father of Peter, was also a native of
New Jersey, where he married Phcebe Smith;
he was one of the first settlers of Hamilton
county, Ohio, where he spent the greater part
of his life in clearing up farms and following
the pursuit of agriculture.

>-tjAMES B. SMITH, organizer of, and the
A junior partner in, the Leeson Cooper-
A J age company of Van Wert, Ohio, was
""" born in Saint Catherines, Canada, July
15, 1838, a son of John and Ellen (McDermott)
Smith. The father, John Smith, was born in
Ireland, came to America in 1832, and at
Buffalo, N. Y., in 1835, met and married
Ellen McDermott, also a native of Ireland and
who also came to America in 1832. Immedi
ately after marriage tbey located in Lockport,
N. Y., where Mr. Smith followed his trade of
cooper until 1837, when he moved to Canada,
worked there until 1840, then returned to
Lockport, N. Y. , remained until 1850, and
then moved to Jackson, Mich., and followed
his trade until his death in i860. His widow
then removed to Kalamazoo, Mich. , where
her death occurred in 1892. They were the
parents of five children, viz: James B., our
subject; George C. , a cooper of Kalamazoo,
and Stephen B., Marie and John C, all three
deceased. The parents were Protestants, and
in politics the father was a democrat.
James B. Smith was educated in the schools
of Jackson and Albion, Mich., and for four
years was himself a school-teacher. He lived
with his mother until 1861, when he married,
and September 24, of that year, located in
Hamlin, Mich., where he followed his trade of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

73r

cooper for about a year, and in 1862 moved to
Kalamazoo, Mich., where he worked until
1865; thence he went to Plainwell, Mich., fol
lowed his trade until 1868; and then went to
Wayland, Mich., where, in company with
W. P. Manly he engaged in hotel-keeping until
1 871; he that year went to Saint Louis, Mo.,
and until 1883 was superintendent of the
cooperage establishment of Jaynes & Co. ; he
then came to Van Wert, Ohio, and was here
employed as book-keeper and office man by
George H. Marsh, and then, in the fall of
1887, organized the Leeson Cooperage com
pany, of which he is at the present the secre
tary and manager — the firm now doing a busi
ness of $80,000 per annum.
The date of marriage of Mr. Smith was
September 21, 1861. His bride, Eunice Whit-
comb, was born iu Eaton county, Mich., and
is a daughter of Luther and Louisa (Pierson)
Whitcomb, natives of New England. This
union has been blessed with three children,
viz: Ella L. , at home; Byron J., superin
tendent of the Mill Shoals (111.) Cooperage
company, and Burton L. In politics Mr.
Smith is a democrat, and fraternally he is a
knight templar Mason; socially, the family
enjoys the acquaintanceship of some of the
best people in Van Wert.

^V^ETER SNYDER, one of the most
A m substantial farmers of Jackson town-
1^ ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, and
an ex-soldier of the Civil war, is of
sturdy German descent.
John M. Snyder, father of Peter, was born
in Hesse Darmstadt in 1808, and was taught
shoemaking. He came to America in 1829 or
1830, coming across the sea in the same vessel
with his intended wife, Mary Ann Heist,
landed in Baltimore, where they married, at

once went to Washington,, Pa., and near the-
college there followed his trade until 1835 or
1836, when he came to Ohio and located in
Mansfield, Richland, county, where he fol
lowed his trade until 1853, when he moved to
Morrow county and bought a farm of 300
acres near Mount Gilead, on which he died.
about the year 1887. At Mansfield he formed
the acquaintance of Senator John Sherman,.
who had then just begun the practice of law,
and who was in the habit of discussing poli
tics in the shop owned by Mr. Snyder, and
was ever after a life-long friend. The latter
became a stanch republican, voted for John C.
Fremont, the first candidate of that party for
the presidency of the United States, and dur
ing the Civil war was a warm friend of the
Union cause, to which he gave the services of
his two sons — Peter and George, the latter
serving 100 days in an Ohio regiment and do
ing ge'neral duty at Washington, D. C. John
M. Snyder, with his wife, Mary Ann, was a
member of the German Reformed church, in
Mansfield, in which he was a leader and a
member of the building committee, and was
known throughout life as an honorable indus
trious and strictly moral gentleman. To his
marriage, with Mary Ann Heist, were born
eight children, all of whom are still living, viz:
Peter, George, Elizabeth, Louis, Annie,
Margaret A., John R. and John M.
Peter Snyder, the subject proper of this
biography, was born in Washington, Pa.,
August 30, 1832, was educated in the com
mon schools, learned the trade of shoemaking
from his father, and was also reared to farm
ing — going with his father to Morrow county,
and working on the home farm, and there mar
rying Miss Martha A. Imes, whose brothers
and sisters were named Frank, Samuel,
Matilda, Nancy, Mary and Thomas, of whom
Samuel and Thomas were soldiers in the
Union service during the late war, in the same-

732

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

regiment with our subject, and with him
marched with Sherman to the sea.
After marriage Mr. Snyder remained on the
home farm a short time, then for two years
lived in Knox county, and then, in 1859, came
to Van Wert county, where he had already
purchased, from his father, 160 acres of the
farm on which he now resides, and which the
latter had entered from the government. This
land was all in woods, as was nearly all of
Jackson township at that time, when there
were but fifteen or sixteen settlers in the town
ship, and the forest was the home of game of
all descriptions. Mr. Snyder set about the
usual pioneer duties of erecting a log cabin and
clearing up his place, and had made consider
able progress when he responded to the call to
arms and enlisted on the home farm in Morrow
county, in company K, Eighty-first regiment,
Ohio volunteer infantry, and was enrolled at
Lima, Allen county, August 21, 1862, to serve
three years or during the war, and received an
honorable discharge at Louisville, Ky., July
13, 1865, by reason of the termination of hos
tilities. Among the other battles in which he
took part may be mentioned Austinola River,
Dallas, Rome, Kenesaw Mountain, Nickajack
Creek, the general engagement at Atlanta,
Ebenezer church, in the siege of Atlanta and
Jonesboro. After the fall of Atlanta he
marched with Sherman through Georgia to the
sea, taking part in numerous skirmishes; was
in the battle of Columbus, Bentonville and
Goldsboro, N. C. , and on to Raleigh, and was
present at the grand review at Washington,
D. C. Mr. Snyder was never wounded, nor
taken prisoner, but was always on active duty,
doing full, faithful and cheerful service through
out the term of his enlistment, and participat
ing in all the engagements, skirmishes and
marches in which his regiment took a share.
After his honorable discharge, Mr. Snyder
returned to Morrow county, Ohio, where his

two children, Clorilda A. and John M., borne
him by his first wife, still lived. The mother
of these passed away in Morrow county, at her
father's residence,, January 3, 1862, a few
months before Mr. Snyder's enlistment, and
the latter remained on her father's farm until
1869, on February 28th of which year he mar
ried at Gallion, Ohio, Mrs. Amelia Elizabeth
Spraw, who was born January 4, 1835, a
daughter of George A. and Mary (Patterson)
Spraw. George A. Spraw, of Crawford county,
Ohio, was the father of the following named
children: Amelia E., Sarah, Kate, Louis, Will
iam, Israel, Halmina and Elizabeth. Mr.
Spraw was a member of the German Reform
church, and died at Gallion, in that faith, when
seventy-six years of age, respected as among
the representative agriculturists and citizens of
the township in which he had lived so many
years of his useful life.
In 1869 Mr. and Mrs. Snyder came to the
homestead in Jackson tpwnship, on which he
had lived prior to his entering the army, and
on which he had erected a cabin, and from
which he had cleared three acres of the forest
growth. But he found on returning that his
cabin had been destroyed by fire. With in
defatigable energy he immediately erected
another dwelling and cleared up an excellent
farm of 230 acres, that will now favorably
compare with any other in the county. To
his second union there were born three chil
dren, of whom two are still living — George F.
and Lola A. Mrs. Snyder, a woman of many
christian virtues, died in the faith of the Ger
man Reform church April 17, 1892 — a true
helpmate to her husband and a loving and
affectionate mother. Mr. Snyder, since his
last bereavement, has continued to reside on
the homestead, honored as a pioneer, as a de
fender of his country's flag, and as a true citi
zen — and through industry, as a farmer, has
accumulated a competence, enjoys that respect

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

733

with which the efforts all .men are met, who
faithfully use the best efforts of life to make,
through their individual efforts, an independ
ence. Possibly no gentleman of Jackson
township stands to-day higher in the esteem
of his fellow-men than Mr. Snyder, and cer
tainly no man has done more, though a long
and upright, useful and patriotic life, than he,
to win the esteem in which he is universally held.

?"V* ERGT. JOSEPH C. SPRAY, of Wash-
*^^%T ington township, Van Wert county,
h\_y Ohio, is a veteran of the late Civil
war who lost his good right arm in
the service. He came from an old North Car
olina family of English-Irish extraction, and
was born in Shelby county, seven miles south
of Wapakoneta, in Auglaize county, Ohio,
February 4, 1842.
James Spray, father of Sergt. Spray, was
reared a farmer in Warren county, Ohio, his
father having first emigrated from North Car
olina to western Pennsylvania, and thence
came to Ohio, being among the pioneers of
Warren county. James was still a young man
when he went to Auglaize county, Ohio, and
there married Nancy Lucas, daughter of Ebe
nezer Lucas, to which union were born five
children, of whom two died young and three
reached adult age — Ebenezer, Hester and Na
omi. Mrs. Spray died in Auglaize county, and
Mr. Spray took for his second wife, in the
same county, Jane Huey, daughter of John
Huey, a native of Scotland, and this union was
blessed with two children — James M. and
Joseph C. Mr. Spray was one of the original
pioneers of Auglaize county, and settled four
miles south of Wapakoneta, when the country
thereabout was all a wilderness, and assisted
the United States authorities to remove the
Indians west. He was an expert marksman
and hunter, shot many a deer and wild turkey,

and enjoyed life in the forest. The United
Brethren church was the first religious denom
ination in Auglaize county, and. Mr. Spray was
one of the earliest converts. He ardently es
poused its cause, euentually became an or
dained minister, and for twenty-two years was
an itinerant preacher of acknowledged elo
quence and power. The second wife of Mr.
Spray was also called away by death, and his
third marriage was with Harriet Givens, of
Hardin county, Ohio, to this marriage were born
four children — Jane, Mary, Nancy and Helen.
Mr. Spray gave three sons to the service of
his country during the late Civil war, who
served as follows: Ebenezer L. , three years
in company G, Seventy-first Ohio volunteer
infantry, returned without wounds but with
shattered health, and died in November, 1876,
as a result; James M., served four months and
ten days in company K, Fifteenth Ohio volun
teer infantry, and then three years in company
G, Seventy-first regiment, then veteranized
for three years, February 1, 1864, and was
honorably discharged in June, 1865; was shot
through the right hip December 16, 1864, and
died July 3, 1883, near Wapakoneta, from the
effect of the wound. The father himself died
December 25, i860, at the age of fifty-five
years, on his farm, in politics a Jacksonian
democrat and a greatly respected citizen.
Sergt. Joseph C. Spray was educated in an
old log cabin frontier school-house, learned to
read, write, became quite thorough in arith
metic, and was reared on a farm. At the age
of about nineteen years he enlisted at Wapa
koneta in company K, Fifteenth Ohio volun
teer infantry, for three months, under Capt.
George W. Andrews, served four months and
ten days, and was honorably discharged August
28, 1 861; he re-enlisted at the same place
September 1, 1861 — this time in company G,
Seventy-first Ohio infantry, under Capt. John
W. Moody, for three years or during the war,

734

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

filled out his term and was honorably dis
charged and mustered out at Gallatin, Tenn.,
February i, 1-864, an(f veteranized the same
day for three years longer, or during the war,
and was finally again honorably discharged
May 17, 1865, at Cincinnati, with the rank of
duty sergeant. During this long and faithful
service|_Sergt. Spray took part in the following
principal engagements, which list. is not en
tirely completed: Red House, W. Va. ; Co
lumbus, Ky. , 1862; Shiloh; Fort Donelson;
Clarkesville, Waverly, Tenn. ; several fights
with Wheeler's cavalry; the second fight at
Fort Donelson, 1863; Flin Lick, Hartsville,
Tenn. ; all through the Atlanta campaign, be
ing nearly four months under fire; Dalton,
Resaca, Big Shanty, Snake Creek Gap, At
lanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, on the
march to Nashville with Gen. Thomas; at
Columbia, Spring Hill, Franklin, November
30, 1864, then for two weeks on a skirmish
around Nashville, and then the siege, Decem
ber 15 and 16, 1864, and on the 16th was shot
through the right arm while carrying the regi
mental colors as a volunteer, two of his com
rades having already fallen while performing
this duty, and, after our subject fell, his own
brother, James M. Spray, fell shot through the
hip, with the flag in his hands. Sergt. Spray
was confined in Cumberland hospital two
weeks and in the hospital at Louisville, Ky.,
two and a half months, and here the arm was
twice amputated before it would heal, the sec
ond amputation being made January 22, 1865,
close to the shoulder.
The marriage of Sergt. Spray took place,
while he was home on a furlough, March 6,
1864, near Wapakoneta, to Miss Tamzon Cath
erine Shinn, who was born in Warren county,
Ohio, November 17, 1844, a daughter of
Thomas and Rebecca (Roberts) Shinn. The
father was a farmer in Warren county, moved
to Auglaize county, in 1848, and settled on

160 acres in the woods, and died June 19,1855,
aged about thirty-seven years, the father of
the following children: Robert, Franklin, Tam
zon C. , Martha, Ruhamie, Adrew, and George.
Mrs. Shinn, the mother, lived to be over
eighty years of age and died at the home of
our subject. The son, Franklin Shinn, served1,
in the Civil war in company G, Seventy-first
Ohio volunteer infantry, and also in the Seven
teenth Indiana volunteers — making a total of
four years. After the war Mr. and Mrs. Spray
settled in Spaulding county, on thirty acres of
land, all in the woods, resided there eleven
years, the sergeant teaching school thirty-seven
months of the time, and then came to Van.
Wert county, in August, 1879, and bought a
home in Middlepoint and other valuable real-
estate in the town.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Spray has
been blessed with seven children, now living,
and named as follows; Arthur A., Jane, Mar
tha G., Emma, Laura, Joseph S., and Blaine.
Mr. and Mrs. Spray are conistent members of"
the United Brethren church, in which he is a
trustee, and in politics he is a republican. He
is very popular with his party, and under its-
auspices has served as mayor two terms, and
town marshal, six years as city councilman,
and as president of the school board for six
years; also as assessor two years, and is now a.
notary public. He also served four years as
postmaster of Middlepoint under the Harrison
administration. He was one of the charter
members of the Zeller-Hamiltonpost,No. 260,
G. A. R. , has served as post commander two
and one-half years, and is now filling the office-
of quartermaster. As a citizen, the sergeant
holds a most enviable position in the esteem of
the community, and his military record shows-
that he was one of those grand soldiers never
to shrink from duty in time of action, and his
bravery at Nashville will make him for all time:
an honored man.

<&ci*iaj?J .^^n^&st

MRS. MARY A. SNYDER.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

739

^>^V ANTEL SNYDER, one of the promi-
i| I nent and influential farmers of Union
yA^J township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born in Perry county, Ohio,
January 30, 1834, a son of John and Catherine
(Nunnamaker) Snyder, of whom the former
was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., May
5, 1808. The father of John Snyder was
named Henry, who was also born in Pennsyl
vania, about the year of 1769, and was the
son of a colonel in the Revolutionary army of
German birth. Henry Snyder settled in Perry
county, Ohio, in 181 7, where he entered a
tract of 160 acres, built a two-story log house
— an unusual feat for that day — and also a
large barn of logs, and, being a mechanic,
made most of his house-hold furniture; he
also, beside clearing up his farm, planted a
large orchard. He died in 1852, an active
member of the Presbyterian church.
John Snyder, father of our subject, Daniel
Snyder, was a mere lad when brought to Ohio
by his parents, and was here reared in- Perry
county, where he was married, in -1828, to
Catherine Nunnamaker, who bore him ten
children, five of whom are still living, viz :
Susan A., wife of S. A. Shockey; Catherine,
wife of Henry Good, of Auglaize county; Eliza
J., wife of William Hill, of Allen county; Har
riet, wife of Jacob Brown, of Allen county, and
Daniel our subject. The father of this family
had early learned tanning in addition to farm
ing, but after his marriage he devoted his en
tire attention to agriculture. In 1852 he
moved to Allen county and purchased a farm
of exceeding fertility, which he converted into
one of the finest in the state and on which he
grew the largest tree in Ohio — a walnut — thir
ty-three feet, nine inches in circumference,
and seventy-four feet in height from the ground
to the first branch. For many years Mr. Sny
der was a lieutenant in the state militia; he
was an active member of the United Brethren
32

church, and was noted for his liberal contri
butions thereto; in politics he was a stanch
democrat. His death occurred June 28, 1890,
and that of his wife September 22, 1883.
Daniel Snyder, whose name opens this bio
graphical sketch, grew to manhood on his
father's farm and received a sound common-
school education in his native county. May
31, 1855, he was united in marriage with Miss
Mary A. Smith, daughter of John and Sarah
(Miller) Smith, of Allen county, Ohio, and to
this union have been born five children, viz :
William H.; Howard M., deceased; Izilla A.,
wife of J. W. Willmore; Sarah L., deceased,.
and Minda A. , wife of Jasper Collins. In 1862;
Mr. Snyder settled on his present home in
Union township, Van Wert county, buying at
that time eighty acres of swampy woodland,
which he has cleared, underdrained and im
proved and added to, until he now owns as
fine a farm of 220 acres as there is in the
county. In February, 1865, Mr. Snyder en
listed in company C, One Hundred and Nine
ty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt.
James W. Titus, and served in Virginia until
mustered out in September, 1865. He is now
a member of Van Wert post, No. 100, G. A.
R. , and in politics is independent, but was
elected township trustee in 1866, and served:
one term. He is highly thought of in Union
township, and the social standing of himself
and family is with the best in the county.

<*yyW* ILLIAM SPRINGER, a retired farm-
m A | er> an ex-soldier of the Union army,
^J^J and a highly esteemed citizen of
Van Wert, was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, November 18, 1827. Remain
ing in Fairfield county until 1849, he then re
moved to Van Wert county, and has since
been a resident thereof. Up to the breaking
out of the war of the Rebellion he followed

740

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the quiet and uneventful, but hard working,
life of the farmer, and when thirty-four years
of age was drafted into the army, becoming a
member of company I, Forty-sixth Ohio volun
teer infantry. He served under Col. Walkit
in the grand army commanded by Gen. Sher
man. He fought at the battle of Hollow
Springs, Cannon county, Tenn., and in other
battles, but was so fortunate as not to receive
a wound. He was faithful in the discharge of
every duty as a soldier, and won the confidence
of all his comrade, private soldiers and officers
alike. He was honorably discharged in 1863,
and then returned to the peaceful pursuits of
private life. For his services in the war he is
now receiving a pension of $12 per month.
Since the war Mr. Springer has followed farm
ing until within the last few years, and now he
is living a quiet, retired life in Van Wert, en
joying the reflection that although his life has
not been as eventful as those of some others,
yet the duties that have confronted him as he
has passed along on the pathway of life have
been done conscientiously and well.
William Springer was married, February
11, 1849, to Miss Susanna Wycuff, by whom
he became the father of ten children, as fol
lows : Henry, who was born in Fairfield
county, November 13, 1849, and died in Van
Wert, February 20, i860; Sarah, born March
2, 1852, married January 21, 1870, to John
Myers, and living in Van Wert; Wesley, who
was born in Van Wert county, October 20,
1855, and died in same county, May 3, 1866;
Louis, born in Van Wert county, June 28,
1858, married Etta Buskirk in 1881, and is
living in Van Wert county; Margaret, was born
in Van Wert county, December 30, i860, and
died in the same county, May 30, 1874; Will
iam, born in Van Wert county, May 20, 1863,
married Catherine Hurless, March 22, 1885,
and lives in Van Wert county: Amanda, born
in Van Wert county, March 16, 1866, died in

the same county August 1, 1867; Albert, born
in Van Wert county, October 27, 1868, mar
ried Cora Miller, December 27, 1891, and re
sides in Van Wert county; Melvian, was born
November 18, 1871, and resides in Van Wert
county, and Alexander, born in Van Wert
county, December .26, 1875, resides in Van
Wert county.
Susanna Wycuff, wife of William Springer,
was born in Hocking county, Ohio, January
13, 1 83 1. In 1847 she removed to Perry
county, where she married Mr. Springer, when
she was eighteen years old. Her father, John
Wycuff, was born in Ohio, December 3, 1807,
and died January 14, 1870. His wife, Sarah,
was born in Ohio, April 8, 18 10, and died De
cember 26, 1878, aged sixty-eight years and
nine months.
Henry Springer, father of the subject of
this sketch, married Margaret Fast. They
were the parents of twelve children, as follows:
Catherine; Jemima; Sarah, who died in Adams
county, Ind.; Henry; William, the subject;
Samuel, who died in Adams county, Ind. ;
George; Jacob, who died in Mercer county,
Ohio; Margaret; Melinda, who died in Monroe
ville, Ind. ; David, and Delilah. Jemima,
Henry, George, Margaret, David and Delilah,
all resides in Harrison township, Van Wert
county, Ohio.

>-j,AMES SPRIDGEON, a well-to-do and
A experienced farmer of Ridge township,
A I Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of
Lincolnshire, England, and was born
December 30, 1834, a son of William and
Mary (Robnet) Spridgeori, who were the par
ents of four sons and one daughter. In July,,
1 85 1, Mr. Spridgeoncameto the United States,
with other members of his family, and passed
one year in the northern part of Indiana; he
then came to Van Wert county, Ohio, and for

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

741

a while worked on the grading of the Pittsburg
railroad. In the winter of 1853, he and his
brother Thomas made a trip to the gold fields
of California, where they were moderately suc
cessful. At the end of two years our subject
returned to Van Wert county and purchased
eighty acres of land in Ridge township, and
this land he resided on and cultivated for six
years, then sold, and purchased his present
farm, which then comprised 100 acres, to
which he has since added twenty acres. In
the month of September, 1856, Mr. Spridgeon
was united in marriage with Miss Susanna
Chaffin, daughter of William and Nancy (Spen
cer) Chaffin, and this union has been blessed
with four sons and three daughters, viz: Will
iam, a farmer of Ridge township; Mary, wife
of Simon Steward; Addie, married to Philip
Balyeat, of Van Wert city; Webster, Joseph;
Clara, deceased wife of William McCleary;
and Elmore, at home.
In religion Mr. and Mrs. Spridgeon are sin
cere Methodists, and in politics Mr. Spridgeon
is an unswerving republican. He has served
for more than twenty years as trustee of his
township, and during this long term of service
has made many friends, both inside and out
side his party, having been greatly instru
mental in promoting the efficiency of the pikes
of Ridge township. He was at one time a
candidate for county commissioner, but, owing
to his advanced ideas regarding the necessity
of good roads, met with defeat. During the
World's Fair Mr. and Mrs. Spridgeon paid a
visit to that famous exposition, and from it not
only learned numerous valuable lessons, but
derived much pleasure and entertainment. Mr.
Spridgeon's farm is a model in cultivation and
adornment, giving evidence on every side of
the skill and good taste of the owner. In their
social relations the family stand very high, and
very few people in their township are more
highly respected.

t^\ AVID STEWART, a prudent and
!«| I sagacious farmer of Ridge township,
/A^J was born in Van Wert county, Ohio,
February 25, 1849. His father,
Ebgon Stewart, was a native of Carroll county,
born March 6, 1818, and there married Eliza
beth Capper, who was' born in the same county
in 1824, the union resulting in the birth of
sixteen children, viz: Mary, who died at the
age of forty-four years, the wife of H. H.
Hudspeth; Edward, married to Adelaide Zim
merman and residing in Wisconsin; Martha,
wife of John F. Leathers, of York township,
Van Wert county, Ohio; Ellen, married to J.
S. Baxter, also of York township; Jane, de
ceased wife of M. H. Mullen; David, subject
of this sketch; Mahlon, who wedded Nettie
Baxter, but who is now deceased; Amanda,
deceased wife of William Knittle; John, who
died in infancy; Charley, the husband of Belle
Hill; Alonzo, who died in infancy; Milton,
who married Ida Crates and now resides in
Gas City, Ind. ; Emma, wife of P. M. Ireland,
of Lima, Ohio; Newton, of Putnam county,
Ohio, and married to Mattie Hill; also there
were born to this union twin daughters, who
died unnamed. In the fall of 1 841 Mr. Stewart
came to Van Wert county and located on land
in Harrison township that had been entered
by his wife's father, Mr. Capper, and there
Mrs. Stewart died in 1868; for his second wife
Mr. Stewart married Harriet Boyer, and in
1870 removed to Ridge township and pur
chased a farm of 300 acres, on which he re
sided until his death, which occurred January
28, 1887. In religion Mr. Stewart was a
Methodist, and in politics was a republican.
David Stewart, the subject of this sketch,
was reared on his father's farm, also received
the full benefit of the local schools, and for a
time attended the Van Wert high-school, be
coming well qualified as a teacher, and for six
terms followed that vocation. In 1871 he

742

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

wedded Miss Malissa Gilliland, the only living
child of Hugh Gilliland, of whom an extended
notice is given elsewhere in this volume. To
the marriage of David and Malissa Stewart
have been born four children, viz: Nannie,
wife of A. B. Osborn, a book-keeper of Van
Wert; Hugh G., Oscar D. and Clyde M. In
1882 Mr. Stewart purchased his present home
of eighty acres in Ridge township, on which
he has made many modern improvements and
placed under a fine state of cultivation. Mr.
Stewart is a member of lodge No. 218, F. &
A. M. , of Van Wert, and in politics is a re
publican. He is held in great esteem by his
neighbors in Ridge township and by his friends
in Van Wert, and is regarded as an enterpris
ing farmer and useful citizen, who will in the
near future stand forth as a leader among the
residents of the county.

>-j*OHN M. STEMEN, deceased, was an
§§ old pioneer of Washington township,
A J Van Wert county, and was born in
Fairfield county, Ohio, August 13, 1825,
a son of Christian and Margaret (Moyer) Ste
men, of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent. At the
age of about nine years he was taken to Allen
county by his father, and was there educated
in the district schools, as well as instructed in
the mysteries of farming. At about thirty
years of age, November 15, 1855, he married,
in Allen county, Miss Lydia E. Myers, who
was born in Fairfield county, September 14,
1839, a daughter of Levi and Rachael (Spitler)
Myers, the former of whom was a son of
Daniel Myers, who was also of Pennsylvania-
Dutch stock, a substantial farmer of Fairfield
count}', Ohio, and the father of fifteen chil
dren, of whom fourteen lived to adult age and
one to adolesence, and were named as follows:
Nancy, Fanny, Inda, Mary, Rebecca, Lee,

Caroline, Elizabeth (died at fourteen), Reuben,
Etta, Samuel, Levi, Daniel, Noah and Joseph.
The father of this family died in Fairfield
county at an advanced age, a member of the
German church.
Levi Myers, the father of Mrs. Lydia E.
Stemen, married in Fairfield county, and had
born to his union with Rachael Spitler seven
children, viz: Aaron, Catherine, Lydia E.,
Alvina, Louis H., Noah and David Y. , all
born in Fairfield county, where the father
owned a fertile farm of eighty acres. In 1852
he moved to Allen county, Ohio, and settled
on a farm of eighty acres in Sugar Creek town
ship, which had been p&rtly cleared, and which
he afterward made into a good farm and culti
vated until his death, at the comparatively
early age of forty-one years, a member of the
German Reform church. Of his sons, Aaron
served during the Civil war, about one year, in
an Ohio regiment; Louis served three years in
the Ninety-ninth Ohio infantry, and Noah,
when a lad of eighteen, served about six months.
John M. Stemen, after marriage, settled,
September 11, 1856, on the farm now occu
pied by his widow. The tract comprised
ninety-five acres of dense woodland, on which
he built a log cabin, which is still standing.
But he was an industrious, hard-working man,
and changed this primitively rude condition of
things to one of comfort and beauty. To him
self and wife were born eight children, viz:
David B., Mary A., Martha A. (who died at
the age of twenty-one years), William E.,
Louis H. (who died when twenty-five years
old), Benjamin F., and two- that died in in
fancy. The death of Mr. Stemen took place
at the age of fifty years, on his farm, October
9, 1875, in the faith of the Lutheran church,
and in politics a democrat. He was a kind
and affectionate husband and father, a good
farmer and obliging neighbor, and a patriotic
and useful citizen, whose death was deeply de-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

743

plored by his sorrowing family and a large cir
cle of friends.
After the death of her husband Mrs. Ste
men managed the farm with care and prudence
and reared her children to become respected
members of society, giving them all good edu
cations and thoroughly preparing them for the
duties of life. Mary A., now twenty-one
years old, is an accomplished school-teacher;
David B. is united in marriage with Mary E.
Bressler, lives on the home farm, and is the
father of six children; Mary A. is married to
James Wallace, of Ridge township, Van Wert
county, and is the mother of two children;
William E. married Leah Stemen, is a farmer
of Ridge township and is the father of one
child. Mrs. Stemen is a devout member of
the Methodist church, and enjoys the esteem
of a large circle of friends, who truly honor
her for her many motherly, neighborly and
christian virtues.

sr

'ILLIAM G. STREIT, a native of
Plymouth, Ohio, was born Ayril 18,
1858. He is a son of John G. and
Catherine C. (Seitters) Streit, the
former of whom was born in Baden Baden,
Germany, in 1829, and emigrated to the United
States with his parents when he was twelve
years of age. They located in Sandusky city,
Erie county, Ohio, where the father established
a grocery, and where the son, John G. , after
receiving his education, assisted for a time in
his father's store.
From Sandusky city, John G. Streit re
moved to Plymouth, where he also established
a grocery and operated it until within three
years of his death, which occurred October
12, 1891. His wife, Catherine, who was a
daughter of Jacob and Martha (Allbright) Seit
ters, had died in December, 1881. To them
were born four children, viz: William G. , the

subject of this sketch; Josephine, born in Jan
uary, 1 860, and married to Charles McClinchey,
and now residing in Plymouth, Ohio; Albert
G., who was born in 1866, and died when ten
years of age at Plymouth, and Harriet Ada,
who was born in 1870, is married to Fred. E.
Schaeffer, and now resides at Marion, Marion
county, Ohio.
William G. Streit received the rudiments
of his education in the public schools of Ply
mouth, and afterward took a thorough course
in a commercial college at Sandusky city, Ohio.
After clerking with his father and two years
with a grocery firm in Monroe, Mich., here-
moved to Van Wert, Ohio, in 1882, and there
embarked in the grocery business for himself.
This he followed three years, and then sold
out and went on the road as a commercial
traveler for the Moore Bros., wholesale grocers
of Lima, Ohio. Remaining with these gentle
men four years he resigned to accept a similar
position with Berdan &Co., the largest whole
sale grocery firm in the state, and located in
Toledo, Ohio. With this firm he is still
engaged. Mr. Streit was married November 22, 1883,
to Miss Olive McGavren, of Van Wert, Ohio,
and daughter of Dr. HugbC. McGavren, a full
biographical sketch of whom may be found
elsewhere in this volume.

•w * ON. CHARLES M. SUTPHEN, a
W ^k prominent citizen and attorney-at-
A .F iaw of Van Wert, was born in Fair
field county, Ohio, March 6, 1850,
and is a son of Richard D. and Sarah (Zirkle)
Sutphen. Richard D. Sutphen was born in Somerset
county, N. J., August 30, 1807, and lived with
his parents in that state until 1832, when they
removed to Fairfield county, Ohio, where
Richard D. engaged in farming until 1865.

744

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Then, removing to Toledo, he there lived six
years, then removed to Carey, Wyandot coun
ty. He was married in the state of Virginia,
August 15, 1833, to Sarah Z.irkle, who was
born in Virginia in 1809. To this marriage
there were born the following children: Judge
S. T. , of Defiance. Ohio; James Z. , of Carey,
Ohio, a clothing merchant; Catherine, residing
in Carey, widow of Henry Houk; Mary, de
ceased wife of Noah Blauser; D. C, a grocery
merchant of Columbus, Ohio; Edward G., a
clothier of Carey, and Charles M., the subject
of this sketch. Richard D. Sutphen is a pros
perous man. Religiously he and his wife are
Presbyterians, and politically he is a democrat.
He has served as justice of the peace for
twenty-one years in Fairfield county. He has
also served as lieutenant-colonel and as colonel
in the Ohio state militia, two years in each po
sition, and assistant sergeant-at-arms of the
Ohio house of representatives, besides having
held minor political offices. He has always
been held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens,
and has lived a life of usefulness and patriotism.
Charles M. Sutphen was reared with his
parents until 1870, when he went to Toledo,
Ohio, to attend the public schools of that
place. Accepting, after his school days were
over, a position as traveling salesman for Hol
lister & Co., manufacturers of baking powder,
he represented that firm on the road for one
year, afterward having charge of a branch
house at Saint Louis one year. In 1872 he
began reading law with Judge I. D. Clark, of
Van Wert, and was admitted to the bar in
1873. Not long afterward he began practicing
with C. P. Edson, remaining with him two
years, and when Mr. Edson was appointed
probate judge, Mr. Sutphen became his deputy
and served in this capacity until the expiration
of Mr. Edson 's term of office. Forming a
partnership with his brother, Judge Sutphen,
of Defiance, Ohio, he remained there in the

practice of the law a year and a half, and then
returned to Van Wert, where he practiced a
short time, and was then appointed to a clerk
ship in the state insurance department at Co
lumbus, Ohio. In this capacity he was em
ployed three years, and has, since retiring from
that position, been engaged in the practice of
law in Van Wert. As the democratic candi
date for mayor of Van Wert, in 1894, he" was
defeated by a small majority; he has, never
theless, served as clerk of the board of elec
tions for three years.
Mr. Sutphen was married in Van Wert, in%
November, 1872, to Mary E. Clark, -who was
born in Van Wert and was a daughter of Judge
I. D. Clark. To this marriage were born five
children, as follows: Clarence and Clark, both
of Van Wert; Hattie, of Carey, Ohio, and
Walter and Bell, both deceased. The mother
of these children died in March, 1883, and on
March 22, 1894, Mr. Sutphen was married to
Mrs. Kate A. Green, of Wyandot county,
Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Sutphen are communi
cants of the Lutheran church, and are promi
nent people not only in their church but also
in general society. April 6, 1896, at the elec
tion held in Van Wert, Mr. Sutphen was
elected mayor of the city over his opponent by
179 majority.

ORLANDO D. SWARTOUT, a popu
lar young business man of Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Clifton Park, Sar
atoga county, N. Y. , December 27,
1843, a son of Depew and Anna M. (Sherman)
Swartout. The father, Depew Swartout, also-
a native of Saratoga county, N. Y., was born.
December 30, 1809, a son of John and Jemima
(Rosencrans) Swartout, the former of whom
was a son of an immigrant from Holland, who
settled in Dutchess county, N. Y., as a farmer.
John Swartout was born in Dutchess county in

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

745

1 78 1, was there reared, and in early manhood
moved to Saratoga county, where, in 1802, he
married, and had born to him ten children,
viz: Sarah, Harry, Depew, Caroline, John,
Amanda, Benjamin, Amelia, William, and
Richard — all deceased save Depew and Amelia,
now of Washington, D. C.
Orland D. Swartout, when a lad, changed
the spelling of the family name from the orig
inal, Swartwout, to its present form, which has
been adopted by the family ever since. Depew
was reared in Saratoga county, and was there
married, in 1839, to Ann M. Sherman, who
was born in Rensselaer county, N. Y. , in July,
1 8 16, a daughter of Zebulon and Mary (Phillips)
Sherman, and to this marriage of Depew and
Ann M. have been born three children — Sher
man, of New York city, Orlando D., our sub
ject, and Richard, a wholesale dealer in no
tions at Grand Rapids, Mich. Depew Swartout
and wife still reside in Saratoga county, where
the former followed his calling of carpen
tering and building for many years, but is now
retired; he is a republican in politics, and he
and wife are highly respected members of the
Baptist church.
Orlando D. Swartout was educated in the
common schools of Saratoga county, N. Y. ,
and in addition attended, for eight months,
the business college at Poughkeepsie; then for
two years held a clerkship in the office of the
inspector-general, of New York state, and
then, in 1867, came to Van Wert, Ohio, and
accepted a position as deputy probate judge
under Andrew McGavren, with whom he re
mained fifteen months; he next became book
keeper in the Van Wert County bank, then be
came assistant cashier, and then cashier, his
term of service running from 1869 until 1877;
he next engaged in the insurance business in
company with- 1. R. Beery for two years, since
when he has carried on the business for his sole
account; he has also acted as secretary for the

Building & Loan association, and as secretary
of the Agricultural society of Van Wert county
since 1880; was formerly secretary of the Citi
zens' National Gas company and is the present
secretary of the Van Wert Natural Gas com
pany; he is also book-keeper for the Oil Well
Supply company, limited, and is one of the
park commissioners, all of which positions he
has filled with marked ability and to the un
bounded satisfaction of all concerned. Mr.
Swartout was married in Van Wert, Septem
ber 18, 1872, to Miss Mary A. Swineford, a
native of Crawford county, Ohio, born in 1850.
and a daughter of Simon Swineford, and this
happy union has been crowned by the birth of
three children — Alice M., Ella and Rachael.
Mr. Swartout is a thirty-second degree Mason,
and is a knight templar, and at present is cap
tain-general of Ivanhoe commandery, No. 54;
also a member of the Royal Arcanum. His
military experience was varied and brilliant, as
will be seen by the following narration. He
enlisted in July, 1862, in company H, One
Hundred and Fifteenth New York volunteer in
fantry, for a period of three years, or during
the war, and was sent direct to Harper's Ferry,
where 10,000 men were taken prisoners, and
was paroled, and soon after exchanged; then
was sent to the South Carolina and Florida
campaign and sea service in Olusta, Fla. , and
numerous other engagements; he was wounded
at Olusta by a rifle-ball in the hip, and was
sent to Buford hospital, in South Carolina, and
was there confined from February 18 to May
10, when he again went to the front at Peters
burg, Va. , and was almost constantly in battle
until wounded at Deep Run in the shoulder,
and for four months was confined in the
Hampton, Va. , hospital. Prior to this he was
in front of Petersburg, and participated in that
struggle and was present at the explosion of
the mine. After discharge from the Hampton
hospital he was detached from his regiment

746

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and placed in charge of the discharge depart
ment in the general office at Hampton, Va.,
where he remained until the close'of war.

Mrj'OEL. STIVERSON. one of the oldest
A and most experienced farmers of Wash-
A 1 ington township, Van Wert county,
^~" Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state
and was born in Hocking county January 8,
1829. John Stiverson, father of Joel Stiverson,
our subject, was born in Lancaster county,
Pa., in 1803, was of German extraction, and
when a young man came to Ohio, settling in
Washington township, Hocking county, before
1825, and in that year there married, for his
first wife, Elizabeth Hensel, a native of the
county and a daughter of Henry Hensel, who
was born in Pennsylvania, of German descent.
Mr. Stiverson settled upon and cleared up a
farm of 280 acres, and became quite a promi
nent citizen of Hocking county. He had born
to him, by his first marriage, twelve children,
as follows: Katie, Emanuel, Josie, Lemuel,
Sallie, Susan, Lizzie, Samuel, Mary, Lucinda,
John and one who died young. After the
death of his first wife Mr. Stiverson married
Sarah Proach, this union resulting in the birth
of two children — Delilox and Lydia. Mr.
Stiverson was a respected member of the United
Brethren church, of which he was a trustee,
and in politics was a republican. He lived to
be about seventy-two years of age and died on
his farm in Hocking county, a pillar of his
church and a much respected citizen.
Joel Stiverson received the usual education
granted to the farmer lads of his native county,
was reared a first-class farmer, and in Hock
ing county chose for his first wife Elizabeth
Giberson, a native of the county and a daugh
ter of Joel Giberson, of the state of New
Jersey. Mrs. Stiverson became the mother

of one child — Eliza J. — and died in her native
county. The second marriage of Mr. Stiver-
son took place August 23, 1855, to Elizabeth
Roush, who was born in Hocking county
December 18, 1837, a daughter of William
and Susan (Meyers) Roush. William Roush
was born in Lancaster county, Pa., lost his
mother when young, and came with his father,
after his second marriage, to Ohio, where he
was reared among the'pioneers of Fairfield and
Hocking counties. In the latter county he
attained considerable influence, became a
farmer of substantial means, owning 200 acres,
and there had born to his marriage seven chil
dren, who were named George, Sarah, Anna,
Elizabeth, Margaret, Jacob, Joseph and one
that died unnamed. Mr. Roush lived on his
homestead in Hocking county until quite ad
vanced in years, when he came to Van Wert
county, bought 160 acres in Washington town
ship, and with his son, Joseph, cleared up one
of the best farms in the county. He had two
sons in the army during the late Civil war —
George, who served three years in the One
Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio infantry, and
Jacob, who was killed at the battle of Pitts
burg Landing. Mr. Roush was a useful citizen
in all respects and died an honored member of
the United Brethren church and a member of
the republican party.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stiver-
son resided on a farm in Hocking county
until 1 86 1, when they came to Van Wert
county and settled on eighty acres in the
woods of Washington township, which tract
Mr. Stiverson has since increased, by patient
and judicious industry, to 1 14 acres, and con
verted into a model home. To Mr. and Mrs.
Stiverson have been born the following
children: John, William (who died at the
age of eighteen years), Margar.et A., Susan,
Lincoln, Noah, Ida M. (who died a mar
ried woman), Samuel (who died at the age

i Ji.^i^M

'•^m-»

*M». 4. </*.&„%

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

751

¦of twenty-three years), and four who died
young. Mr. and Mrs. Stiverson have long been
members in high standing of the United Breth
ren church, and in politics Mr. Stiverson has
always been a stanch republican. He has
•ever been a true friend of public education,
and has seen to it that his children have lost no
advantages that the schools within his com
mand could afford. Socially, he and his faith
ful wife mingle with the best residents of
Washington township, and none are more
highly respected.

eLIAS DULL, a retired farmer, but
still making his residence on the old
homestead in Willshire township, Van
Wert county, is of German descent,
but comes from an old colonial American
family of Pennsylvania— -his great-grandfather
and grandfather both now lying at rest beyond
the mountains in the Keystone state. John
Dull, father of Elias, our subject, was' born,
reared and married in eastern Pennsylvania,
Hannah Lenhart becoming his wife. After his
marriage John Dull located in Fayette county,
Pa., where he farmed for some years, and
then, in 1832, moved to Stark county, Ohio,
wnere he entered 320 acres of land and set to
work to hew out a home, but at the end of
two years both he and wife, in 1834, were
swept away with the scourge of that year —
Asiatic cholera. They were members of the
Lutheran church and the parents of the follow
ing children; Peter, Mary, Joseph, Phebe,
John, Elizabeth, Lenhart, Jacob, Hannah,
Elias, Catherine, and two died in infancy.
Elias Dull the subject of this sketch, was
born in Fayette county, Pa., February 3, 1822,
and has always lived on a farm. He was quite
small when he lost his parents, and at the age
of twelve years was bound out until eighteen
years old for his board, clothes, and education

as far as the single rule, of three; yet, during
this term of apprenticeship he attended school
from three to six months only, but after its
termination he devoted two years to school at
tendance, as he felt the necessity of such ac
tion. Mr. Dull then went to work to make
his way in the world, and after settling in Van
Wert county, Ohio, he married, September 5,
1850, Jane Walters, whose genealogy will be
found in the sketch of William G. Walters, on
another page. This marriage took place in
sight of the farm on which they have contin
uously lived ever since their wedding-day. It
was at that time a literal wilderness, and Van
Wert city was then a hemlet of but three
houses. The children born to this union were
named Harriet E., Hannah L. , John W. ,
William W., Rebecca J. and Mary R. Mr.
Dull continued to prosper and at one time
owned a farm containing 645 acres in one tract,
and latter owned 1,000 acres in detached par
cels. With the exception of 200 acres, Mr.
Dull has generously divided this property
among his children — and it was all made through
his own industry an persistent toil. In his
politics Mr. Dull has always been on the side
of freedom, first voting with the free-soil party
and now being a prohibitionist. For several
terms he served as township trustee. For
fifty years he has been a member of the radical
branch of the United Brethren Church in
Christ, and for twenty-five years a class leader.
He is widely known in the county, and stands
out prominently as a pioneer and useful citizen
of his township.

>-j* AMES M. DULL. -The subject of this
A biography is one of the leading farmers
A J and stock raisers of Liberty township,
Van Wert county, Ohio, and son of
Lenhart Dull, now deceased. James Monroe
Dull was born in the township of Willshire,

752

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

January 23, 1846, obtained his early education
in the common schools, and, while still young,
began teaching, which profession he followed
with gratifying success for several years. He
grew to manhood in his native township, and
May 17, 1868, was united in marriage to Mar
tha A. Lintemoot, daughter of Martin and
Amanda (Hackett) Lintemoot,, who were
among the first settlers of the township of
Liberty. Mr. and Mrs. Dull, immediately
after their marriage, located on a part of the
place where he now lives, in Liberty township;
he has made additions to his farm from time
to time until at present it embraces an area of
200 acres, nearly all of which is in an advanced
state of cultivation. Mr. Dull is a model
farmer, as is evidenced by the condition of his
place, which is reputed to be one of the finest
farms in Van Wert county; his improvements
are of the latest and his residence, a fine two-
story brick structure, supplied with all modern
conveniences, is, without doubt, the best build
ing of the kind in Liberty township.
In addition to his farming interests, Mr.
Dull owns and controls a third interest in the
Rockford Milling company, and also owns a
general merchandise store at Dulls station,
which is managed by his eldest son. He is
postmaster at said station, and through his
push and determination, the post-office at this
point was secured. Mr. Dull has been an un
swerving democrat ever since attaining his ma
jority, and for a number of years has served,
almost continuously, as a member of the
county central committee. Mr. and Mrs. Dull
have an interesting family, consisting of the
following children, whose births occurred in
the order named: Wilbert A., Arthur P.,
Maurice L. , Fannie M., Edgar M., Serena M.,
Daisy F. , Curtis E., James M., Herbert O.,
G. Cleveland and Thurman, all living. Mr.
and Mrs. Dull are members of the United
Brethren church, and he belongs to to the

I. O. O. F. , lodge No. 771, Ohio City, in
which he has passed all the chairs.
Mr. Dull is one of the leading citizens of
his township, and is universally respected in
the community where he lives. He has made
a success of life, and believing in the outset
that a good name was of all things the most
desired, and with no overweening ambition for
public position, he has been governed since
youth by those fixed principles of honor and
rectitude which stamp him to-day as an honest
man and exemplary citizen. As stated in a
previous paragraph, the parents of Mr. Dull
were pioneers of Liberty township, where the
father died in October, 1893; the mother is
still living on the home farm. The following
are the names of the children of Martin and
Amanda Lintemoot: Martha A., wife of the-
subject; Ellen E. , Catherine, Serena, Daniel
W. and Cora.

BRANK P. DULL, one of the prosper
ous farmers of Liberty township, and
well known citizen of Van Wert coun
ty, Ohio, of which he is a native, was
born in the town of Willshire, January 31,
1855. When ytiung he attended school in one
of the first plank school-houses of Willshire
township, and by close application succeeded
in obtaining a good English education, which,
supplemented by business contact with his
fellow-men in different capacities, has made
him a well informed man. He early chose
agriculture for his life-work, and, after his-
marriage, which was solemnized January 6,
1 88 1, with Hattie E. Martin, daughter of Will
iam and Nancy C. (Fitsimmons) Martin, he
settled on the farm where he has since resided,
consisting of 120 acres of well improved land
in Liberty township. His improvements corn-
pare favorably with those of his neighbors; he
has a large, commodious barn, and his place

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

753

is well stocked; he is progressive in all the
term implies, and few people of the communi
ty stand higher than he does in the estimation
of the public.
In company with his brother, James M.,
Mr. Dull owns a third interest in the Rockford
Milling company, which, with his farm, has
enabled him to accumulate a comfortable com
petence. Mr. Dull is a democrat in politics,
is a prominent member of the Patrons of Hus
bandry, and, with his wife, he belongs to the
United Brethren church. The following are
the names of the children of the subject and
wife : Curtis O. , accidently killed by falling
from a building, when a little past seven years
of age; Dorothy G. ; Flossie died at the age of
twenty-one months; Edna J.; Ray F., and
Eleanor I.
The father of Mrs. D.ull, William Martin,
was born in Lancaster county, Pa., October 9,
1 812, and his wife was born in Franklin coun
ty, of the same state, on the 20th day of Au
gust, 1827. They were married in Pennsyl
vania, afterward came to Crawford county,
Ohio, of which they were early pioneers, and
still later became residents of the county of
Wayne; they came to Van Wert county in
1862, and here the father died; the mother is
residing, at this time, with the subject of this
brief sketch.

BRANK BEVINGTON.— The Beving
ton family is of English origin. Henry
Bevington, the grandfather of the
subject of this biography, was born in
one of the eastern states, and came to Van
Wert county, Ohio, in a very early day, locat
ing in the township of York, of which he was
one of the first pioneers. He married Betsy
Heath, and accumulated good property, mak
ing a farm of 150 acres, in the township of
York, on which he lived until his death. His

son, James H. Bevington, the subject's father,
was born in York township, January 20, 1837.
He married Malinda Hooks, daughter of
William S. and Lydia (Harp) Hooks, whose
birth occurred September 19, 1837, and reared
a family of three children, viz: William F. ,
Philip H. S., and Frank, all living. James
H. Bevington was one of the leading farmers
of York township; he served in the Forty-
sixth artillery during the late war, was a
prominent Methodist, and departed this life
in the year 1877. His widow subsequently
married John Johantgen, with whom she is
still living, their home being in the township
of Ridge. Frank Bevington, under whose name this
biography is written, was born in York town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, September 20,
1869. After attending the common schools
during his youth, he took a course at the
Normal college at Ada, Ohio, and for several
years thereafter was engaged in educational
work, teaching, in all, about forty-five months.
He achieved quite a reputation as an instructor,.
and is still in the profession as a teacher.
Mr. Bevington was married December 27,
1890, to Martha Roebuck, daughter of Paul
and Catherine (Harp) Roebuck, and soon
thereafter settled on the farm where he now
lives in Liberty township, and has since been
engaged, with most encouraging success, in
agriculture pursuits. Mr. Bevington is a man
of more than ordinary intellectual endow
ments, is well acquainted with general litera
ture and keeps himself fully informed on the
current questions of the day. His standing
among his fellow-citizens is first-class, and he
numbers his friends by the score in the town
ship where he lives. Mr. and Mrs. Bevington
have three children, Lillie, born September
24, 1 891; Normie, September 20, 1893, and
Harry Guy, born September 20, 1895. The
father of Mrs. Bevington was a farmer, living

'754

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in Dublin township, Mercer county, but her
mother is deceased. The following are the
names of her brothers and sisfers, Dellie,
Nancy, James, Perry, Clark, Harvey and
.Nellie Roebuck.

^rT* OSEPH BOWMAN, now of Jackson
A township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
A 1 born in Fairfield county, in the same
%~~"' state, October 15, 1844, and when five
¦or six years of age was taken to Allen county,
where he was reared on a farm until his en
listment at Lima, July 24, 1862, as a team-
-ster in company E, Ninety-ninth Ohio volun
teer infantry, to serve three years or during the
war. He is of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent,
and his grandfather, Daniel Bowman, was an
•early settler near Lancaster, Fairfield county,
Ohio, where he entered a farm in the woods
and became the father of two children, Jacob
.and Daniel, of whom the latter died in Illinois.
Jacob, the father of our subject, was born in
Fairfield county, March 4, 181 3; was there
married, October 23, 1835, to Mary Fickle,
who was born in Perry county, Ohio, April 24,
181 5, a daughter of Joseph Fickle, of Scotch
¦descent. To Jacob Bowman and wife were born
fourteen children, viz: Mary, Donald, Eliza
beth, Sarah, Joseph, Henry, Rachael, John,
Leah, Benjamin, Catherine, Rebecca, Will
iam and Isaac.
After his marriage, Jacob Bowman lived on
the farm in Fairfield about a year and then
moved to Illinois, but in 1 840 returned to Fair
field county, Ohio, and in 1849-50 moved to
Allen county and bought 300 acres of land east
¦of Lima, part of which was cleared. He soon
sold this property, and for a time resided near
Westminster, and then moved to Paulding
county about 1865, bought 200 acres in the
woods of Washington township, cleared up the
farm, and there died June 11, 1891, aged

seventy-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Bowman
were members of the Christian church, and
Mr. Bowman was in politics a democrat and
a man of mark and great prominence, and a
successful farmer. To each of his five sons he
presented a forty-acre farm, and thus started
them well in life.
Joseph Bowman was but a little past his
seventeenth year when he was enrolled for the
Civil war, and served until July, 1865, when
he was honorably discharged at Camp Chase,
Cincinnati, Ohio. He served at Perryville and
at other points in Kentucky, and at Stone
River in Tennessee, serving from December
31, 1862, until January 2, 1863; was at Chick
amauga, Ga. , September 19 and 20, 1863;
Lookout Mountain, Tenn., November 24,
1863; Missionary Ridge, Tenn., November 25,
1863; Rocky Face Ridge, Ga., May 7, 1864;
Resaca, Ga., May 13-16, 1864; Dallas, Ga.,
May 25 to June 4, 1864; Snow Hill; Ringgold,
Ga., Pine Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Ga.,
June 27, 1864; Atlanta, Ga., Jonesboro, Buz
zard Roost, Lovejoy Station, September 2-6,
1864, and Northwestern, December 15-16,
1864. In fact, he took part in all the engage
ments in which his regiment was concerned,
and was injured by the concussion of a shell
at Jonesboro, and wounded at Stone River,
January 2, 1863, when he was captured and
sent to Libby prison until January 27, 1863,
when he returned to his regiment and filled out
his time. After his discharge he returned to
his father's place in Paulding county and mar
ried, March 11, 1866, Miss Amanda Kohn,
who was born March 12, 1847, m Franklin
county, Ohio, a daughter of John and Lydia
(Wilson) Kohn, natives of Virginia and of Ger
man descent Mr. Kohn was married in Vir
ginia, and in 1853 located in Paulding county
on eighty acres of land, but subsequently
moved to Franklin county, where he died in
1 86 1, at the age of fifty-one years, a member

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

755-

of the United Brethren church, and the father
of twelve children.
After his marriage Mr. Bowman located in
Lotta township, Paulding county, where he re
sided two years and a half, then lived in Pleas
ant township, Van Wert county, until 1883,
when he bought his present farm of eighty
acres, which he has converted into a'n excel
lent farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Bowman have
been born four children, viz: Jacob (died
young), Mary, Josephus (deceased) and Vic
toria. He is a good citizen and was a brave
soldier; he is an excellent farmer and an up
right man, and has won the respect of all who
know him.

^V" TEPHEN S. BUCHANAN, undertaker
*^^k and dealer in hard and soft wood,
N^^/ lumber and furniture, at Willshire,
Ohio, was born November 15, 1848,
in Fairfield county. His grandfather, George
Buchanan, a native of Scotland, was there
married to Miss Paden, and early came to
eastern Ohio. He took part in the war of
18 1 2, and was a whig in politics, and with his
wife was an adherent of the Seceders' church.
His son, Stephen Buchanan, father of our
subject, was born in eastern Ohio in 1806, was
well educated, and for several years was presi
dent of Lancaster academy, Fairfield county —
the leading educational institution of its day in
that part of the state. He was also a colonel
in the state militia, took a deep interest in
military affairs, and was a man of splendid
physique and noble bearing, and intellectually
was in advance of his age. He married Emily
Crane, daughter of Harvey Crane, and there
were born to the union five children, viz : Mrs.
Amanda Goss, Harvey, Mrs. Elizabeth Gunda,
James and Stephen S., our subject.
Col. Buchanan was a man of generous" im
pulses, and, although he acquired, through his

industry and frugality, a fine farm near Lan
caster, and was prepared to enjoy at ease
a well-earned rest, although a comparatively
young man, in an evil moment he went securi
ty for a friend, the result being the loss of his
fortune, with the exception of a few hundred
dollars. His model farm and most of his ac
cumulations were swept away, and with the
pitiful remnant he went to Logan county, Ohio,
in 1847, and bought a small farm in the green
woods; he was, however, spared for two years
only to aid in the development of his new
home, as his death took place in 1849. His
widow soon disposed of this land and returned
to Fairfield county, Ohio, where she was
enabled to purchase a small farm, and where
she devoted the remainder of her life to the
education of her children.. A noble christian
woman, she died in March, 1866, a devout
member of the Lutheran church, of which her
husband was also a pious communicant.
Stephen S. Buchanan was seventeen years
of age when he left the parental roof to learn
the trade of carpenter and joiner, working four
consecutive years at bridge building in the be
ginning. He became a most excellent me
chanic, and his skill as such is fully recog
nized even to the present time. In March,
1870, Mr. Buchanan married Saphronia.
(Struckman) Fairchild. The children born to
this union were named. in order of birth as fol
lows : Emily A., Claude E., Daisy D., James
H., Homer V. , and Lulu C. The parents of
Mrs. Buchanan were early comers to Fairfield
county, where they were married and where
the father died, his widow afterward marrying
Johnson Nye, a farmer of Van Wert county.
For four years after their marriage our sub
ject and wife continued to live in Fairfield
county, and then, in 1874, moved to Adams
county, Ind., where another period of four
years of life was passed away. Mr. Buchanan.
then settled in Willshire, Van Wert county,..

756

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

where he has since operated a saw-mill, and
for the past three years has conducted, in addi
tion, a furniture and undertaking establish
ment up-town.
In politics Mr. Buchanan is a republican
and has served nine years as township trustee,
the office having been thrust upon him. He
has long been a class leader in the Methodist
church and is now a Knight of Pythias. Mr.
Buchanan is a good business man, is affable to
his customers, and enjoys the esteem of the
entire community.

>>j*ACOB D. CARMEAN, a substantial
A farmer of Jackson township, Van Wert
A 1 county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier, is a
~ son of William and Margaret (Miller)
Carmean, and was born in Buckskin township,
Ross county, Ohio, September 28, 1830. He
received but little education, as he was but ten
years old when his father died, after removing
to Allen county, where there were but few
schools. Jacob D. was reared on a pioneer
farm and also served three years at the car
penter's trade. September 23, 1852, he mar
ried, in Ross county, Miss Harrietta Miller, a
native of that county and a daughter of Ben
jamin and Elizabeth (Adams) Miller, the union
resulting in the birth of four children — Chris
tian and Jesse, who reached maturity — and
Nancy and Elizabeth, who died young.
After marriage Mr. Carmean resided in
Ross county one year, then, in 1853, moved
to Auglaize county, rented land for a year, and
in 1854 removed to Allen county; there he
enlisted, at Lima, September 24, 1864, in
company G, One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio
volunteer infantry, for one year or during the
continuance of hostilities, and was honorably
discharged at Washington, D. C, April 13,
1865. During his service he was seized with
lung fever through lying on the wet ground,

and was first confined in hospital at Nashville,
Tenn. , and later at the point of his discharge,
where be was confined about two months, and
has ever since been troubled with bronchial
complaints. He fought in Tennessee and
Alabama and gave every evidence of being a
valiant and gallant soldier.
In 1870 Mr. Carmean moved to Van Wert
county, and bought a tract of eighty acres in
Jackson township, uncleared and unimproved.
He cut a space in the woods whereon to erect
a cabin and worked hard for one in his condi
tion of health, and with the aid of his son
succeeded in making a good farm. Here Mrs.
Carmean died in 1874, and May 6, 1875, Mr.
Carmean chose, for his second helpmate, Mary
Ogden, a daughter of James and Sarah (Frey)
Ogden, of Allen county. This lady died eleven
months after marriage, leaving no offspring.
The third marriage of Mr. Carmean took place
September 3, 1867, to Virginia F. Ogden, who
was born June 4, 1848, in Fairfield county —
a sister of the second Mrs. Carmean. James
Ogden, the father, was a native of Rocking
ham county, Va. , born March 1. 1780, was a
soldier in the was of 1812, and became a
pioneer of Fairfield county, Ohio, whence he
moved to Hocking county in 1852, where he
followed his trade of blacksmithing and died
August 29, 1865; his widow, Sarah, who was
born in Rockingham county, Va. May 9, 1799,
survived until September 14, 1891, when she
expired at the residence of our subject. To
Mr. and Mrs. Ogden were born ten children —
Henry, Malinda, David, Jane, Abraham, Re
becca, James, Mary, Sarah and Virginia F.
To Mr. and Mrs. Carmean have been born
four children — Charles, Mary, Cora and Frank.
In religion Mr. and Mrs. Carmean are identi
fied with the Christian Union church, of which
he was formerly a trustee, and in politics he is
a democrat, having always been a friend and
promoter of religious and educational estab-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

757

lishments. He is one of the most successful
farmers of the township, although he has suf
fered much from the illness incurred during his
military term of service. He has reared a re
spected family and is himself highly esteemed
by his fellow-citizens as an upright, industri-
, ous, and strictly moral gentleman.

aS. CARMODY, a well known resident
of Van Wert, Ohio, came to this city
from Bradford, Pa , as general man
ager of the interests of the Oil Well
Supply company of the latter city. In 1881
this company established its sucker-rod factory
in Van Wert, and since then Mr. Carmody has
filled the position of superintendent and general
manager of the plant, having been placed here
by the company for that especial purpose, on
account of his well known efficiency. The Oil
Well Supply company of Bradford, Pa., em
ploy in their factory in Van Wert over thirty
men, besides others, who are constantly on the
road, buying ash and hickory throughout Ohio,
Indiana and Michigan, and they ship their
product over the wide world, including Java,
Burmah and other parts of Asia, Venice
(Italy), Austria, and other points in Europe,
besides California and Texas in America, their
sucker-rods being adapted for use in pumps of
every style of make or fashion. Mr. Carmody
has become identified, also, with the material
progress of Van Wert, having invested largely
in real estate in the city of Van Wert and
surrounding country.

sr

'ILFORD COPPER, a progressive
farmer and and an old soldier of
Tully township, Van Wert county,
is a son of Richard H. and Cather
ine (Crotinger) Copper, and was born in Knox
county, Ohio, April 10, 1835. Richard H.

Copper was of French descent, was born near
Pittsburg, Pa., August 22, 1800, and his wife,
of German descent, was born July 16, 18 10.
The great great-grandfather of our subject was
a sailor and shipowner of France, and is sup
posed to have left a considerable estate. in that
country prior to the revolution which over-_
threw monarchy, and Alexander Copper,
grandfather of our subject, was a patriot in the
American Revolutionary war and an early set
tler in Pennsylvania, near Pittsburg. Richard
H. Copper, father of our subject, was first
married in the Keystone state, to a Miss Hud
son, who bore one son, Richard, March 31,
1826; by his second wife, Catherine Crotinger,
he was the father of Rhoda, born March 27,
1831; Louisa, born August 21, 1833; Wilford,
born as above; Benjamin, born February 5,
1837; Margaret, born November 4, 1838;
Martha, born March 1, 1 841 ; Alexander,
born August 27, 1843; Chester F. , born No
vember 19, 1845; Sarah C. , born April 27,
1848, and Isabelle, born May 23, 1851.
Richard H. Copper was a farmer and mechanic
and came from Pennsylvania to Knox county,
Ohio, and thence, in the fall of 1848, came to
Van Wert county and settled in Harrison
township, where his death took place in 1851,
at the age of about fifty years — a member of
the Christian church.
Wilford Copper came to Van Wert county
with his father's family in 1848, and was here
reared to farming. June 25, 1857, he married
Sarah A. 'Smith, daughter of Henry and
Catherine Smith, the union resulting in the
birth of nine children, in the following order:
Aaron, August 26, 1858; Warren, July 13,
i860: Sarah, February 6, 1862; Dora A.,
July 28, 1864; Flora B., September 2, 1866;
Ellen C, August 18, 1868; Emma C. , Decem
ber 21, 1870; Wilford H., June 26, 1874, and
one that died and infant. Of the above, Aaron
died at the age of four years; Warren died at

758

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the age of two, and Emma C. , at the age of
nineteen years. »
After his marriage Mr. Copper settled in
Tully township, and on September 21, 1864,
was enrolled at Lima, Ohio, in company G,
Sixty-fourth Ohio veteran ¦ volunteer infantry,
under Capt. W. G. Patterson, and served-un-
til honorably discharged at Nashville, Tenn. ,
June 19, 1865, the war having- then been
ended. He fought in the battles of Franklin,
Nashville, Spring Hill and Columbus, and also
participated in several skirmishes and a num
ber of battles, the names of which are for
gotten. During his service he was attacked
with rheumatism, and much against his will
was placed in a hospital for a time, but he
was badly disabled by the attack, and on his
discharge it was necessary for his comrades to
assist him on the cars, and it was also neces
sary to assist him off again on reaching his
home destination, and he has since been laid
up many times with renewed attacks of the
disorder. When he became able to do any
work at all on his return home he resumed
farming, buying his present place in 1864.
May 5, 1877, Mrs. Copper was called away
at the age of thirty-eight years, and Mr. Cop
per continued a widower until August 16,
1892, when he married Alfaretta, daughter of
Philip and Catherine Saylor and widow of
Andrew Shutt. Philip Saylor was a native of
Pennsylvania, was a soldier in the Eleventh
Pennsylvania cavalry, and was killed in battle
during the late war. He was father of the
following-named children, viz: James A.,
Christian J., Edwin G. , John M. , Alfaretta N. ,
Carrie, Jane and Samuel P. The first hus
band of Mrs. Alfaretta Copper, Andrew Shutt,
was a farmer of Van Wert county, Ohio, and
by her was the father of seven children, viz:
Carrie M., Harrison J., John W. , Effie C. ,
Ella A., Millie E. and Daisie B. — the last
three dying in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. Wil

ford Copper have been born two children —
Chester A. and Elmer Wilson. Mr. and Mrs.
Copper are members of the United Brethren-
church, and in politics he is a democrat. Three
of the Copper family, in September, 1855,
died of cholera within five days. These were-
the mother of our subect and two of her sons,
Alexander and Chester. The people had so-
great a dread of the epidemic that no one
would assist in interring the dead, and Wilford
buried the corpses with his own hands. Mr.
Copper is noted for his generous impulses and
his straightforward conduct and enjoys the re
spect of the entire community.

<^/^\ AVIS JOHNSON, deceased, was a
|| I son of Joseph Johnson, who was born
/A^_J in Virginia, near York River, May
23, 1776. Joseph Johnson was a-
son of Abel and Anna (Alexander) Johnson,
the former of whom was a native of England,
and a son of Benjamin Johnson, who, accom
panied by his family, upon emigrating from
England, landed in Philadelphia about 1744,
when Abel was a babe. In Philadelphia Abel
Johnson was educated and there learned the
cooper trade. There, also, in .1768, he mar
ried Miss Anna Alexander, daughter of Joseph
Alexander. Abel Johnson and his wife were-
the parents of fifteen children, twelve of whom
grew to maturity, those who died young being
Ephraim, Isaac and Jacob, all dying the same
year. The others were named: as follows:
Rachel, wife of William McCleary, of Tusca
rawas county, Ohio; Benjamin and Joseph,
twins, the latter of whom is mentioned at ¦
length in this sketch; Joel; William; Josiah
and Nancy, twins; Isaac; Elizabeth, wife of
William Meek, of Wayne county, Ohio; Amos,
Margaret and Elias. In 1782, removing with
his wife and children to- Virginia, now West
Virginia, he there followed his trade, and later

-4l/<xaAs> J^crfcts^b

&^*^

MRS. DAVIS JOHNSON

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

763

went to Fort Pitt. In religious faith he was a
Quaker, and was possessed of all the admi
rable qualities belonging to that denomination.
His death occurred in 1824, when he was eighty
years of age.
Joseph Johnson was reared and educated
on a farm, and, like his father before him,
learned the cooper trade, though he never fol
lowed it as a means of earning a livelihood.
On April 12, 1806, he married Miss Mary Davis,
daughter of William and Rebecca (Thorly)
Davis, and to them were born ten children, as
follows: Benjamin, who died in infancy; Anna,
wife of John Wagers, who lives in Van Wert
county, and who was eighty-seven years old
July 15, 1895; Rebecca, deceased wife of
Josiah Foster, of Van Wert county; Abel,
formerly of Van Wert county, now deceased;
Davis, the subject of this sketch; Benjamin,
who died in infancy; Ama, deceased wife of
Robert Baxter, also deceased, formerly of Van
Wert county; Catherine, who died when fifteen
years old; Mary, deceased wife of James Daily,
of Adams county, Ind., and Joseph, who died
at the age of twenty-two.
Mary Davis, wife of Joseph Johnson, and
the mother of his children, was a native of
Northumberland county, Pa., having been
born January 3, 1783. Her father was a na
tive of Wales. The next day after his mar
riage Mr. Johnson removed to Harrison connty,
Ohio, making the journey on horseback, and
entered at different times three quarter-sections
of land, 480 acres, on which he lived thirty
years, and during the war of 1812 was made
adjutant of a regiment, but could not remain
in the service, on account of having been kicked
in the mouth by a horse, which affected his
speech to a considerable extent. He was the
first white man to locate in Harrison county,
Ohio, and his daughter was the first white
child born in Stock township, that county.
Removing to Van Wert county in 1837 he

33

there entered one quarter-section fof each of
his children, and one quarter-section for a
grandchild (brought up by himself), and he
still continued to own of the original entry, 240
acres, until his death. The entire number of
acres of land entered by Mr. Johnson for him
self, his children and his grandchild, was 2, 160
broad acres.
In politics Mr. Johnson was what was known
as an old-line whig, and while a citizen of Har
rison county was a justice of the peace for
twenty-five or thirty years. Upon removing
to Van Wert county he became one of the first
county commissioners, and as such assisted to
lay off the county. He also served as town
ship trustee for many years. His death oc
curred July 29, 1855, and that of his wife on
January 21, 1851. She was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and a lady of most
excellent character and disposition.
Davis Johnson, deceased, and the subject
of this narrative, was born June 17, 18 14, in
Harrison county. In that county he was
reared, educated and married, his marriage
taking place upon his return to that county
from Van Wert, whither he went with his
parents upon their removal there in 1837.
During his earlier life he was inured to the
arduous duties of life upon the farm, but se
cured an excellent education, and was well
prepared for teaching school and for the pro
fession of a civil engineer. For several years
he was devoted to the former vocation to a
considerable extent, but gave a portion of his
time to surveying, assisting in the original sur
vey of the entire county of Van Wert. At
length he settled down on a farm in Willshire
township, and there lived until the death of
his wife, by whom he had one child, Angie,
now the wife of Mr. J. I. Cable, of Van Wert.
Upon becoming a widower he returned to his
father's home, where he remained until 1856,
when, having been elected to the responsible

I. I

764

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

s;

office of county treasurer, he removed to the
city of Van Wert.
In the meantime Mr. Johnson had been
married the second time, the ceremony having
been performed in September, 1854, the lady
most interested in this ceremony being Mrs.
Susan A. Lennox, widow of Dr. John Lennox
and a daughter of James and Jane Short, of
Richland county, Ohio. To this marriage
there were born nine children, viz: Mary Alice,
deceased; Ella, living at home; W. Scott,
whose sketch follows; Brough, a farmer; Anna,
wife of T. Tumbleson; Lorenzo, a member of
the fire department of Van Wert; and Charles,
Emma C. and Abel, all three deceased. After
removing to Van Wert to reside there perma
nently, Davis Johnson speculated largely in
land, and being a man of keen foresight and
great prudence, he realized from his specula
tions a handsome competency. His death oc
curred March 19, 1890, and his loss was
mourned deeply by his immediate family and
relatives, and was widely felt by the commu
nity at large. In politics he was a republican,
fraternally The was a Mason, and a charter
member of Van Wert lodge; in religion he was
a Quaker, while his widow is a member of the
Presbyterian church. Mrs. Johnson retains
her residence at the corner of Main and Mar
ket streets in Van Wert, and enjoys the esteem
and confidence of a large circle of devoted
friends and acquaintances.

sr

SCOTT JOHNSON, present deputy
probate judge of Van Wert county,
Ohio, and an attorney at law, was
born in Van Wert city March 19,
1 86 1, was educated, preliminarily, in the pub
lic schools of that city, and in 1879 withdrew
from the Van Wert high school to enter the
National Normal school of Lebanon, Ohio,
which he attended during the summer term of

that year, re-entered the Van Wert high
school in September, 1879 and pursued his
studies therein until June, 1880. In Septem
ber of that year he entered the preparatory de
partment of Kenyon college, known then as
Milnor Hall, from which, in the fall of 1881,
he was advanced, as a student, to the college
proper. In the spring of 1882 he returned to
Van Wert and was engaged in ' the grocery
business until the spring of 1883, when he was
appointed deputy county recorder under W.
P. Walcott, and held that position until the
spring of 1885, when he resigned, to accept
the agency of the United States Express
company, in connection with which he as
sumed the agency in Van Wert for all the
leading newspapers of Chicago and Cincinnati.
In October, 1886, he disposed of these agen
cies to Jacob Wyant and entered the law office
of Saltzgaber & Glenn as clerk and student,
remaining until January 1, 1889, and during
two years of that time filled the position of
secretary of the Van Wert Gas company. On
the day last named he resigned his position and
entered the law department of the university
of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, from which he was
graduated in June of the same year, with the
degree of bachelor of laws, having completed
a two-year course within six months — an ex
traordinary collegiate career — and was admit
ted to the bar by the supreme court of Ohio,
he standing second in a class of sixty-six ex
aminees. He then formed a partnership with
Hon. H. C. Glenn in the practice of the law,
which partnership was dissolved in July, 1891,
when Mr. Johnson entered practice on his sole
account and was actively engaged therein until
February, 1894, when he was appointed, with
no solicitation on his part, as deputy judge of
probate for the county of Van Wert — a position
he has filled with great ability until the present
time, May, 1896.
In February, 1893, Mr. Johnson organized

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

765

the Fraternal Building & Loan association of
Van Wert, and for one year was its secretary .
and attorney, and under his management and
counsel the Fraternal Building & Loan asso
ciation at once became one of the substantial
institutions of the county.
In his politics Mr. Johnson is one of the
stanchest of republicans, and since reaching
his majority has been a constant and effective
factor in the manipulation of his party's polity
in the city and county. Possessing in a re
markable degree that magnetic power which
makes a man a leader of his fellows, his influ
ence has ever been distinctively felt as an or
ganizer and guide in his party affiliations.
Prior to and during the years 1894 and 1895
he held the responsible and somewhat delicate
position of chairman of the republican county
executive committee, and most ably fulfilled
the duties of that office. Mr. Johnson's con
duct of the campaign of 1895 was specially
complimented by Mr. Bushnell, candidate for
governor, and also by the chairman of the
state committee, and he has several times been
selected to represent his party as delegate to
its county and state conventions. Although
never a candidate for any office, Mr. Johnson
is looked upon as one who will some day be
called upon by the people to fill some position
of honor and responsibility.
Fraternally, Mr. Johnson's connections are
very broad and comprehensive, as well as prom
inent and influential. He is a member of the
I. O. O. F., K. of P., I. O. R. M. and the M.
W. of A., being a charter member of the Van
Wert lodge of the last named order, as well as
charter member of the order of Ben Hur at
Van Wert. He has filled the office of V. C.
of the M. W. of A., and was the first delegate
elected to the state camp; as a member of the
I. O. R. M. he has held all the stumps in
Abenaki tribe, and was its representative to
the grand councils at Dayton and at Newark,

Ohio. In December, 1895, he was elected
great junior sagamore of the great council of
Ohio, receiving a majority of all the votes cast
against five candidates for that office, which is
the third highest in the order — that of great
sachem being the highest, and there is every
indication that Mr. Johnson will in due time
be elected to the highest position in the gift of
that fraternity.
In his religious convictions Mr. Johnson is
a Presbyterian, of which church he has been a
member since 1876. His marriage relations
were assumed on the 2d day of August, 1883,
by his union with Miss Mary Isabel Raker,
daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Raker, of
Fulton county, Ohio, Rev. F. M. Porch,
pastor of the English Lutheran church, offi
ciating. Their marriage has been blessed by
the birth of three sons, viz: Davis, born May
14, 1884; Glenn, born April 1, 1888, and
Paul Hastings, born March 28, 1894. The
social relations of Mr. Johnson and his estima
ble companion are with the higher and better
citizens of Van Wert and the surrounding
country, and as a business man and public
official Winfield Scott Johnson has by close
attention to business and good habits won a
high and enviable position among his fellows.
The reader is here referred to the sketch above
of Davis Johnson, father of the gentleman
whose name opens this memoir.

>^* OSEPH CUSTER.— The well known
A gentleman whose name introduces this
A 1 paragraph is a retired farmer and
prominent citizen of the township of
Liberty. Mr. Custer is of German descent,
and members of the family settled many years
ago in Maryland, in which state his grandfather
John Custer was born and reared. John Cus
ter married in Maryland, and as early as 18 16
immigrated to Ohio., settling in Warren coun-

766

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ty; thence, in 1827, he moved to the county
of Mercer couuty, where his death subse
quently occurred.
Peter Custer, son of the aforesaid John,
was born in Frederick county, Md., in Novem
ber, 1800, married in Mercer county, Ohio,
Lydia Heath, daughter of John and Nancy
(Tomlinson) Heath, and became the father of
the following children: John, Joseph, William,
Amanda A., George, Lavina, Jemima, James,
Mary Jane, Milton, Elizabeth, Nancy E. and
Henry. Peter and Lydia Custer began house
keeping in Mercer county, and there resided
until about 1870, at which time they removed
to the county of Van Wert, locating in Liberty
township, where they passed the remainder of
their days, Mr. Custer dying in February, 1882,
and his wife on the 20th day of January, 1888.
Joseph Custer, for whom this biography is
written, was born September 16, 1832, in
Mercer county, Ohio, and grew to manhood
on the farm, attending in the meantime the
district schools. On the second day of May,
1864, he enlisted in company H, One Hundred
and Thirty-ninth Ohio infantry, with which he
participated in some' campaigning in Maryland,
his principal duty, during a part of his service,
being the guarding of public property at Point
Lookout. He was for some time an inmate of
the hospital on account of sickness, from
which he has never entirely recovered, and he
was honorably discharged August 25, 1864.
Mr. Custer, on the 28th day of September,
1856, was united in the bonds of wedlock with
Sarah J. Smith, daughter of James and Sarah
(Grogan) Smith. The father and mother of
Mrs. Custer were natives of South Carolina, in
which state they were married, November 12,
1 8 1 2, and immediately thereafter moved to
Mercer county, Ohio, of which they were
among the pioneers. Mr. Smith became a
substantial farmer, was an old-line whig in
politics, and served in the war of 1812. He

was a devout Methodist, and his name appears
in the list of charter members of the old Bethel
' church in the county of Mercer. Mr. Smith
died December 3, 1852, and his wife June 16,
1879. The following are the names of the
children born to James and Sarah (Grogan)
Smith: Elizabeth M., born October 10, 1813,
died September 11, 1840; Mary G., born No
vember 13, 1815, died September 12, 1843;
John, born December 18, 1817; Daniel, born
December 14, 1819; Sallie L. , born August
23, 1822, died in 1824; James H., born Sep
tember 22, 1824, died June 6, 1853; William
F. , born December 8, 1826; Nancy K. , born
May 21, 1829; Martha Ann, born October 12,
1 831; Drury J., born September 21, 1834,
died in February, 1894; Sarah Jane, born
February 12, 1838.
After their marriage the subject and wife
located on a farm in Van Wert county, with
the growth and development of which Mr.
Custer was for many years prominently identi
fied. As a farmer, he has met with success
such as few attain, has accumulated a com
fortable fortune, including a considerable
amount of as valuable land as lies within the
limits of the county, and he is now spending
his declining years in retirement from the act
ive duties of life. As an evidence of the esti
mation in which he is held by his fellow-citi
zens, it is only necessary to mention the fact
of his having, for the last twenty years, filled
the office of trustee of his township. Mr. Cus
ter has always taken an active interest in local
politics, and was for six years elected on the
republican ticket to the office of trustee in the
township of Pleasant, being the first repre
sentative of his party honored with the position
in said township. He is a man of public spirit,
is a liberal patron of all movements and enter
prises for the well being of the community,
and, while quite liberal in his religious beliefs,
contributes of his means to the support of

DAVID H. EDWARDS.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

769

various church organizations. He belongs to
the Odd Fellows' order, holding membership
with Wide Awake lodge, No. 771. The chil
dren of Mr. and Mrs. Custer, all of whom are
living, are named as follows: William, Ade
line, James, John, Louella, Ida M., Joseph
D. and Ira C.

^>^V AVID H. EDWARDS is a represent-
I I ative of one of the old and substan-
/M^J tial Welsh families which settled in
the southern part of Van Wert county,
and did so much toward the moral and material
improvement of that section of the country.
Mr. Edwards was born April 25, i860, in
Hamilton county, Ohio, and is a son of Thomas
and Margaret (Thomas) Edwards, both par
ents natives of Wales — the father coming to
the United States when about six years of age,
and the mother before she had reached her
tenth year. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards were wed
ded in Covington, Ky.,- and they became the
parents of six children, four sons and two
daughters, viz: John, a resident of Venedo
cia; David H. ; Sarah J., wife of David J.
Evans; Thomas L. , a physician of Caba, Wis. ;
Margaret, who died iri early youth, and Rees
F. , a student of McCormick seminary, Chicago.
For some years Thomas Edwards followed
steamboating on the Ohio river, but in 1866
moved his family to the county of Van Wert
and purchased forty acres of land in Jennings
township, now in possession of his son. He
died February 8, 1872, and on September 30,
1892, his widow was laid to rest.
David H. Edwards was but eleven years
old when his father died, from which early age,
until his twentieth year, he was deprived of the
advantages of acquiring such an education as
he desired to obtain. When twenty years old
he entered the Normal school of Ada, Ohio;
later attended one term at Angola, Ind., after

which he engaged in teaching, following that
profession for a limited period. He next. pur
chased forty acres of land adjoining the home
stead, and after the death of bis mother bought
the home farm, which he now owns.
Mr. Edwards early displayed a decided
preference for matters of public interest, be
came a republican, and when but twenty-one
years of age was elected assessor of Jennings
township, which position he filled very credit
ably during two terms. He was then elected
to the more responsible position of township
trustee, and discharged the duties of the same
in a manner highly satisfactory to all con
cerned, for a period of six years. He was
postmaster at Venedocia during President Har
rison's administration, was also elected three
times justice of the peace, and, in 1893, was
elected to the office of county commissioner,
being one of the youngest men ever called to
fill that position in Van Wert county. He de
feated his competitor by a handsome majority,
although the county for a number of years
previous to the election had been largely dem
ocratic. Mr. Edwards displayed excellent busi
ness qualifications and executive ability of a
high order in various positions with which he
has been honored. It is a fact worthy of note
that, during his incumbency as justice of the
peace, not a single appeal was ever taken from
any of his decisions, and since becoming a
member of the board of commissioners his
good judgment, conservative course, and deep
interest in the welfare of the people, have
commended him to the citizens of the county.
In 1887 Mr. Edwards engaged in the mer
cantile trade at Venedocia, in partnership with
Thomas E. Williams, under the firm name of
Edwards & Williams, but disposed of his in
terest in the business when elected to the office
of commissioner. Mr. Edwards was happily
married June 20, 1885, to Mary D. Jones,
daughter of David S. and Ann Jones, and

770

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

their home has been brightened by the birth
of five children, viz: Anna, Frances,(deceased),
Margaret Lena, Rachael Caernogwen, and
Thomas. Mr. Edwards has taken an active
interest in Ihe party's success ever since at
taining his majority. In religion he is a mem
ber of the Welsh Presbyterian church, to which
his wife also belongs.

?"""Y HAPHET DWIRE, an old settler and
*^%KT substantial farmer of Harrison town-
K^ J ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a
son of Joseph and Lucinda (Johnson)
Dwire, who were natives of Somerset county,
Pa., respectively of Irish and German desceijt,
and the parents of four children, viz: Benja
min, Matilda, Shaphet and Rebecca. The
father, Joseph Dwire, shortly after marriage,
came to Ohio, and settled in New Harrisburg,
Carroll county, where he was employed in the
county offices as clerk, and where he died a
comparatively young man.
Shaphet Dwire was born in New Harris
burg, March 9, 1831, and was but four years
of age at the time of his father's death. From
the age of six until twenty-two years he lived
with David Maple, a substantial farmer of Car
roll county, receiving a fair education and
acquiring a knowledge of farming. September
13, 1853, Mr. Dwire married Sarah J. Figley,
daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Dennison) Fig-
ley. Joseph Figley was a native of Pennsyl
vania, was a farmer and blacksmith and an
early settler of Carroll county, where he be
came quite prominent in politics, having served
as justice of the peace for many years and hav
ing been quite prominently mentioned as a
candidate for the state legislature. He owned
500 acres of land and died in Carroll county at
the age of fifty-one years — the father of twelve
children, viz: Andrew, Elizabeth, Joseph,
Mary A., Matilda, William, Mary and Ellen,

twins, James, Robert, George and Mrs. Dwire.
After his marriage Mr. Dwire farmed for a few
years on the Maple homestead, then, in 1858,
came to Van Wert county, lived one year in
Pleasant township, and then located on eighty
acres in the woods of Harrison township. He
later sold this property, and in the fall of 1865,
bought eighty acres of his present farm, which
he has increased to 120 acres, and on which
he has erected a tasteful dwelling and substan
tial farm buildings. His fields are remarkably
well tilled, and drained with hundreds of"
dollars' worth of tiling, In politics Mr. Dwire-
was one of the earliest of free soilers and re
publicans, and voted for John C. Fremont and
Abraham Lincoln, the first candidates of those-
parties for president of the United States. He
also served from September, 1864, until June-
18, 1865, in company F, Sixty-fourth Ohio-
volunteer infantry, and has ever shown himself
to be a patriotic and public-spirited citizen..
Mr. Dwire has had, also, some considerable
experience as a salesman of agricultural imple
ments and machinery, and sold and put up the-
first Buckeye mower in Van Wert county-
Mrs. Dwire is a member of the Presbyterian,
church in good standing, and Mr. Dwire is a
member of Scott post, 'No. 100, G. A. R., off
Van Wert. Mr. and Mrs. Dwire have had
born to their marriage eleven children, viz::
Rebecca, Lemuel, Edna, William, Orlando,
Joseph F. (who died at the age of seven years),
Laura (died at sixteen years), Endorie (died at
two years), Flora, Minnie (died at one year),.
and Leroy. Of this family, Rebecca married
William Brown, of Van Wert, and has eight
children; Lemuel married Esther Robinson,
lives in Tully township, and has three chil
dren; Edna was married to the late George
Sheehan, and has three children, who, with
their mother, are living with Mr.. Dwire; Will
iam married Lizzie Holmes, and is the father
of two children, and Flora is married to John

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

771

Hurless, farmer of Harrison township. Mr.
Dwire has been a successful man in business,
is most highly respected by all who know him,
and his children move in close touch with the
best people of the county of Van Wert.

sr

'ILLIAM B. HARD, the subject of
this memoir, was born in Erie coun
ty, N. Y., on May 4, 181 7, of New
England ancestry. His father, Cy-
rene Hard, was born in 1783, in the state of
Vermont and reared on a farm. His wife,
Nancey Barney, a granddaughter of Gov. Chit
tenden, of Vermont, was also a native of that
state. To them were born nine children, viz:
Fondany, married, deceased; Rollin C, mar
ried, deceased; Affa, deceased; Harriet, de
ceased; Mary E., married, deceased; Lucy,
married, deceased; Ezra B., married; Erastus,
who died in infancy, and William B., the sub
ject of our sketch. Of this numerous progeny
William and Ezra are the only ones living.
Cyrene Hard, the father, after his marriage
emigrated to Erie county, N. Y. , where he
purchased a tract of fifty-five acres of forest
land, and began the arduous life of a pioneer,
clearing and fencing, and struggling to over
come the obstacles which nature had placed
in his way. There he lived some twenty years,
and reared his family. About the expiration
of this time he sold his farm and moved to
Licking county, Ohio, where he bought a farm
of about fifty-five acres, upon which he lived
the remainder of his days. Mr. Hard, Sr.,
was long a member of the Presbyterian denom
ination, and in politics a whig. His death oc
curred in 1848. He had ever borne the repu
tation of a very liberal-hearted man, and left
his family in somewhat close circumstances at
his demise. His wife, who was also a devout
member of the Presbyterian faith, survived him
some twenty years, dying in 1

William B. Hard, the immediate subject
of this biography, was born and reared on the
homestead in Erie county, N. Y. ; he led the
usual life of a boy in pioneer settlements, at
tending the neighborhood schools in the win
ter, and plowing, sowing and reaping in the
spring and summer months; he remained with
his father until his marriage with Miss Mary
A. Jones, of Brown county, which was sol
emnized in Licking county, Ohio, in 1846. At
his father's death, in 1848, he fell heir
to the paternal acres, upon which he
lived and labored for four years, after
which he sold the homestead, bought twelve
acres in the same neighborhood, upon which
he lived two years, and in 1874 sold this
place. He then moved to Van Wert county,
Ohio, where he bought a tract of eighty acres
of timbered land, and and set to work to clear
up a home. This he did, but in 1872 sold it
and moved to Willshire, where he engaged in
the boot and shoe business, which he carried
on successfully for a period of four years. He
then bought a property containing six acres,
which he improved with a commodious resi
dence in which he lived some four years, when
he traded it for one in Ohio City, in which he
now lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Hard have been
born seven children, named as follows: Jasper
C. , deceased; Elvira, deceased; Flora E. ,
married; Ezra C. deceased; Martha C, mar
ried; Francis E. , deceased; William Dayton,
married. Mr. Hard and his amiable spouse
are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, to which denomination they are liberal
contributors. In politics Mr. Hard is a stanch
republican. He has been a township trustee,
school director, assessor, and supervisor, which
positions of trust he has discharged with credit
to himself and to the satisfaction of his fellow-
townsmen. Mr. Hard from his boyhood days
was an earnest worker in the Sabbath-school,
and was instrumental in organizing the first

772

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Sabbath-school in Liberty township, Van
Wert county. The greater portion of his life
he has labored earnestly as superintendent of
some Sabbath-school, beginning at the age of
ninteen, and also filled many official places in
the church. All his life he has been a strong
advocate of temperance and organized the first
temperance society in Lima township, Licking
county, Ohio.

H

'NDREW HARP, a native of York
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was born October 30, 1854, a son of
Jonas and Mary (Putman) Harp, and
was early taught the lessons of industry, thrift
and agricultural skill on his father's farm.
Although his early school advantages were
slight, he has been a close observer of men
and things, and his knowledge of books is self-
acquired. On reaching the years of maturity
he wedded Loretta North, a daughter of Daniel
North, of whom an extended biography ap
pears in this work, his residence being now in
Ridge township. To Mr. and Mrs. Harp have
been born five children, named as follows:
Goldie M., William E., Stella R., Gracie I.
and Alma S.
Mr. Harp is the owner of 120 acres of fer
tile land, which he has wrested from the wil
derness, improved with commodious and sub
stantial farm buildings, and thoroughly under-
drained with tile, and whose blooming fields
are now the admiration of all beholders. This
beautiful farm is the result of Mr. Harp's own
laborious exertions, and much credit should be
given him for the magnificent result which he
has produced, especially when it is remem
bered' that the land was in the wildest possible
condition when he first applied the ax. In
politics Mr. Harp is a democrat, but has never
sought public office, being content to exercise
his franchise, and never neglecting to attend

the polls. In his social position Mr. Harp
stands with the best people of the township,
and like all other members of his family, enjoys
the highest respect of the citizens of the com
munity in which he lives.

sr

ILLIAM DAYTON HARD, an en
terprising young business man of
Van Wert county, Ohio, of the firm
of Dunathan & Hard, dealers in
agricultural implements, was born in Liberty
township, Van Wert county, August 5, 1862.
Of his parents, William B and Mary A. (Jones)
Hard, mention is made in detail on another
page of this volume, to which the attention of
the reader is respecfully invited. When our
subject was but eight years of age, he was
taken by his parents to Willshire township,
where he was educated until the age of eight
een, when he came to Van Wert city and
engaged as clerk with L. F. Zimmerman, with
whom he remained five years, gaining a thor
ough knowledge of mercantile affairs during the
engagement. He then purchased one-third
interest in the retail business of the firm of T.
S. McKim & Co., general merchants, which
interest he retained two years, and then, in
1887, joined Capt. D. P. Dunathan in the
agricultural implement business, under the
firm name of Dunathan & Hard, to which firm
allusion is made elsewhere in these pages, and
which is now doing one of the largest and most
prosperous trades in its line of any in north
west Ohio. Mr. Hard was most happily
wedded in Delphos, Ohio, October 24, 1888,
to Miss Viola M. Mills, who was born October
12, 1864, and to this union have been born
two bright little daughters — Ethel, on August
19, 1889, and May, on June 5, 1891. Mr.
and Mrs. Hard are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church and in politics Mr. Hard is a
republican; he is also a Mason of the council

/U/^ c^czjJt&iT^

$Jjl^(>jd^

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

777

•degree (Knights Templar), and is very popular
in the community in which he lives, both as a
businessman and a member of society, of which
latter, Mrs. Hard is quite an ornament.

sr

'ILLIAM TAYLOR, one of the trus
tees of Tully township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, springs from an old
colonial family of Orange county,
Va., of the same stock from which descended
the late Zachary Taylor, the famous general
and president of the United States. Richard
Taylor, grandfather of our subject, was a soldier
in the war of the Revolution, was a school
teacher, and was for many years a resident of
Page county, Va., where he was a county
¦officer most of his life and a highly respected
citizen, as well as official.
Jacob M. Taylor, the father of our subject,
was born in Shenandoah county, Va., in Pow
ell's Ford, December 22, 1804, was educated
in the old time subscription schools and also
learned shoemaking. He made several trips
to New Orleans, to Ohio, and to Indiana, on
foot, when under twenty years of age, work
ing at his trade. About 1828, at Urbana,
Ohio, he married Miss Anna M. Kane, who
was born January 22, 1808, a daughter of Asa
Kane, a soldier of the Revolution. Mr. Taylor
lived in Urbana two years, then for a year at
Woodstock, Va. , and then moved to Millers-
town, Ohio, where he resided until 1855, at
which time he settled in Monroe township,
Allen county, Ind. , purchased eighty acres of
land in the woods, cleared up a good farm and
made a comfortable home. Mr. and Mrs.
Taylor had born to them ten children, of
whom the following lived to maturity: Lavina,
Silas, George W. , Catherine, Philip, Joseph
and William. Of these children, Silas served
in the Civil war in an Ohio regiment for three
years, took part in several battles and in the

Atlanta campaign, was at one time captured
and confined in Libby prison four months and
twelve days, and was twice wounded in battle.
Jacob M. Taylor, the father, was an honored
old settles of Allen county, Ind., was a con
sistent member of the Baptist church, and was
a democrat in politics.
William Taylor was born at Westville,
Champaign county, Ohio, March 15, 1841,
was educated in the district school and was a
mere lad when he cleared up sixteen acres of
the home farm in Monroe township, Allen
county, Ind. November 4, 1862, he married
Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Eleanor
(Tipton) Bower, the former of whom was one
of the original pioneers of Allen county, Ind.,
and descended from a German family from
near Little York, Pa. Jacob Bower was born
in 1812. His father was one of the pioneers
of Harrison county, Ohio, where he settled
when Jacob was ten years of age, or about
1822. At the age of twenty-two, or about the
year of 1834, Jacob walked from Harrison
county, Ohio, to Fort Wayne, Ind., and en
tered 160 acres of woodland in Monroe town
ship, Allen county, Ind., where he afterward
cleared up two farms and became a wealthy
man. There were but eight cabins in Monroe
township, and a few log huts in Fort Wayne
when Mr. Bower made his entry of land in
Allen county. Here he reared a family of
eight children, named as follows: Christian,
Elizabeth, John T., Mary A., Delila, Henry,
Jacob and Eleanor. Mr. and Mrs. Bower
were members of the new school Lutheran
church, in which he was a deacon and an elder
for many years. In politics he was a demo
crat. He was a warm friend of public educa
tion and was a liberal donator at the founding
of Wurtemberg college at Springfield, Ohio.
He was upright, charitable and kind-hearted,
and at his death left a goodly estate to his
children.

778

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

After his marriage our subject lived on his
farm in Monroe township, Allen county, Ind.,
until October 8, 1879, when he moved with
his family to Spencer, Tenn., and there bought
a farm of 237 acres, on which he lived for two
years, and then came to Tully township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, and bought his present
farm near Convoy. To Mr. and Mrs. Taylor
have been bbrn nine children, three of whom
died when young; the six surviving are named
Levi F., Matilda C, Henry K., Jacob B.,
John M. and Bessie. Mr. Taylor is an hon
ored citizen and has the full confidence of the
people. In politics he is a democrat, has been
a supervisor for many years and takes great
interest in matters pertaining to public educa
tion, having served as a member of the school
board for a long time and as trustee of Tully
township for five years, and he and wife have
been life-long members of the Evangelical
Lutheran church. Their son, Levi F. Taylor,
is a student of Wurtemberg college, studying
for the ministry, and has passsed two years of
the nine necessary to the course. Another
son, Henry K. , is a highly respected farmer of
Paulding county, Ohio, is married to Sua B.
Coil, and is the father of six children.

aHRISTOPHER HOFFMAN, of Lib
erty township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, and the well-known gentleman,
whose name introduces this biography
is an American by adoption, and has had a
long and varied career as soldier, official and
citizen. His father, Adam Hoffman, was a
wealthy farmer of Bavaria, Germany. He
was a liberal in politics, and on account of his
radical opinions he incurred the displeasure of
the government during the troublous times of
1848, in consequence of which his property
was confiscated. He married Caroline Schaf-
fer, daughter ot Christopher and Magdaline

(Schoffer) Schaffer, and became the father of
one child, the subject of this sketch. Christo
pher Schaffer was a prominent man in Bavaria,
was chosen for two terms of six years each as
representative in the legislature at Frankfort
on the Main, and for twenty years served as
mayor of the city of Thuncen; he became quite
wealthy and lived to the unusually great age
of 105 years.
Christopher Hoffman was born May 31,
1 83 1, in Bavaria, attended the high school in
his native country, and at the breaking out of
the Revolution of 1848, entered the patriotic
army and participated in two desperate battles.
His property, which was by no means incon
siderable, was also confiscated, and he only
escaped with his life by concealing himself in a
dry-goods box, which was shipped from Frank
fort to Moentz. On arriving at that city, he
was unloaded so roughly that his shoulder was
dislocated, and he received other injuries,
which for some time rendered his life most
miserable. He soon afterward took ship at
Rotterdam and escaped to America, having
been forty-nine days making the voyage on a
sailing vessel. Immediately after landing on
the shore of the new world, Mr. Hoffman
made his way to Richland county, Ohio, where
he soon became interested in local politics,
identifying himself with the democratic party.
He made a canvass of the township in which
he located, speaking at all public points, and
carried the same by a majority of seventy
votes, the township having formerly been
strongly republican. In recognition of his
services in this campaign, Mr. Hoffman was
appointed to the office of deputy sheriff, which
position he resigned at the end of eighteen
months in order to become clerk with a steam
boat company at Sandusky, Ohio. About this
time the country was visited by the terrible
cholera scourge, during the prevalence of which
he did much to assist the sufferers, fearlessly

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

779

devoting his life to their comfort. He helped
to care for the sick and assisted in burying the
dead during that dread period, but escaped the
disease himself.
During the three succeeding years Mr.
Hoffman was engaged in agricultural pursuits
in the county of Richland, and in 1853 came
to the city of Van Wert, where for thirteen
years he carried on the bakery business, in
which he was very successful, realizing thereby
the foundation of the comfortable fortune which
he now enjoys. In 1865 he located on his
present farm in the vicinity of Ohio City, where
he purchased valuable land, the greater part
of which he recently sold for $100 to $150 per
acre. He retained a small farm of forty-five
acres, upon which he expects to pass the re
maining years of his life. As already stated,
Mr. Hoffman is a democrat, and as such has
done yeoman service for his party in Van Wert
county. He served nine terms as assessor of
his township, discharged the duties of real
estate appraiser two terms, and for a period of
eighteen years served as a member of the
school board. He planned and superintended
the construction of the large modern school
building near where he resides, and has done
much for the cause of education in Liberty
township. He is a man of progressive ideas,
has been successful in his various undertakings,
and stands high in the estimation of his fellow-
citizens of Van Wert county. In religion he
is a Lutheran; his wife belongs to the Meth
odist church. ¦
Mr. Hoffman was married November 25,
1856, to Margaret Hofman, daughter of Peter
and Mary (Wendle) Hofman. The father and
mother of Mrs. Hoffman were natives of Ger
many, but immigrated to America many years
ago, and in 1857 located in Van Wert county,
Harrison township, where Peter Hofman is
now a leading farmer. The following are the
names of the children born to Christopher and

Margaret Hoffman : Charles P. , Christopher
J. C, Benjamin F,, Philip A., Callie C,
Emma C. and Mary M.

Sr-* ENRY KANNEL, a prosperous farmer
|r\ of Pleasant township, Van Wert
I F county, Ohio, is a son of Joseph and
Peggy (Welch) Kannel, and was born
in Richland county, Ohio, in 1848. Joseph,
the father, was born in Adams county, Pa., in
181 5, and was a son of Jacob, who was born
in Germany about the year 1770, and when a
young man settled in the Keystone state. About
1832 Jacob came to Ohio, located in Stark
county, where be passed four years, and then
removed to Richland county, where he died in
1845. Joseph Kannel, the youngest son of
Jacob by a marriage to a lady who bore the
maiden name of Hoover, came to Stark county
with his parents, learned the trade of carpen
ter and builder. In 1853 he moved to a farm
he had long previously purchased in Crawford
county, and there died February 2, 1890.
Miss Peggy Welch, whom Joseph Kannel mar
ried December 6, 1839, in Richland county,
bore to her husband seven children, viz: Mary
and James, who died in childhood; Margaret;
Henry, the subject of this sketch; Sarah J.,
 and John, who still lives on the
homestead in Crawford county. The mother
of these children was born in Richland county,
Ohio, April 14, 1817, and is still living on the
farm in Crawford county, a member of the
United Brethren church, of which her husband
had also been a member.
Henry Kannel, the subject of this sketch,
was educated in Crawford county, Ohio, first
attending the little log-cabin school of his
neighborhood, and later attending a seminary
at Lexington, Richland county, and for two
terms an institution of learning in Ashland
county. In his early youth he had learned the

780

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

carpenter's trade, but preferred teaching for a
livelihood, and in 1869 entered upon this vo
cation in Crawford county. For eleven terms
be followed the profession, and of these eleven
terms three were taught in Seneca. The mar
riage of Mr. Kannel took place December 25,
1877, to Miss Lucy A. Briegel, daughter of
Michael and Elizabeth (Shafer) Briegel, and to
this union one daughter has been born and
named Alvira C. Mrs. Lucy A. Kannel is a
native of Crawford county, Ohio, and was born
in 1853. Her father was born in Baden
Baden, Germany, about 18 12, and when
•twenty-one years old came to America and set
tled in Pennsylvania, where he married Eliza
beth Shafer, who bore eleven children to the
union. After his marriage Mr. Kannel lived
in Bloomfield, Seneca county, about eleven
years, following his trade of carpenter. In
1886 he purchased the farm on which he still
lives, in Pleasant township,, Van Wert county,
where he has since been engaged most suc
cessfully in agricultural pursuits. Mr. and
Mrs. Kannel are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and by their daily walk
through life give full evidence of their sincere
belief in its teachings. In politics Mr. Kannel
is a republican, and, though no office seeker,
never fails to show his loyalty to his party
through the exercise of his franchise.

HBRAHAM HOGHE, deceased, form
erly a prosperous farmer and a prom
inent citizen of Van Wert county,
Ohio, was born in Schuylkill county,
Pa., June 16, 1810. Both of his parents were
natives of Pennsylvania, and with them he
came to Ohio in 1826, they locating in Picka
way county, where they engaged in farming
and lived until death.
Abraham Hoghe removed to Van Wert
county in 1843, locating on what has for many

years been known as the Hoghe farm, in Lib
erty township. There he became the owner
of 200 acres of land, a part of which he pre
empted from the government, and a part of
which he purchased. At the time Mr. Hoghe
came to Van Wert county, the greater part
thereof was still a wilderness, and where the
city of Van Wert now stands there were but
two cabins, and, as it is but natural to infer,
he endured all the privations and hardships
known to pioneer life; but in his old age Mr.
Hoghe had the satisfaction of knowing that he
had made one of the best farms in the county.
Mr. Hoghe was dintinguished for many things.
He was the first man in the county to make a
distribution of bibles, selling to those able to
buy, and giving to those too poor to buy, and
he found the latter class largely in the major
ity. On February 20, 1842, he was married
in Franklin county, Ohio, to Eliza Caldwell,
a daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth (Cogan)
Caldwell, both natives of Tuscarawas county,
and at the time of his marriage to their
daughter, residents of Franklin county. By
trade and occupation Mr. Caldwell was both a
farmer and a carpenter, and he was unusually
successful in life. Mrs. Caldwell died in 1847
and Mr. Caldwell some few years later.
Mr. Hoghe lived on his farm in Liberty
township until his death, but toward the latter
part of his life he did not engage actively in
any kind of business or labor. For many
years he was a true and consistent member of
the Presbyterian church, and in politics he was
one of the old-time democrats. His death
occurred February 4, 1891, when he was
eighty-one years old. Mrs. Hoghe, his widow,
still survives, is living with her son, Clinton A.
She is a member of the Presbyterian church,
and is seventy-four years of age. She and her
husband were the parents of the following
children: Clement R. ; Andrew W., deceased;
Charles Merrit, deceased; Elizabeth A., wife

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

781*

of George Copeland, a resident of Lima; Sarah
Jane, widow of Milton Curtis; Clinton A.;
Alice, wife of D. O. Cooper, and Irene, wife of
J. A. Vance, all residents of Van Wert county.
Clinton A. Hoghe was born April 2, 185 1,
on the old homestead. His boyhood was spent
at home and in acquiring such education as the
country schools then afforded. With the ex
ception of three years, 1877-80, inclusive, he
has lived upon the home farm, those three years
having been spent in Kansas. April 10, 1882,
he married Alice B. Watt, a daughter of W.
N. and Margaret T. (widow) Watt, a biogra
phy of the former of whom appears on another
page in this volume. Mr. Hoghe is one of the
most successful farmers of the county, and is
one of its best citizens. He has 160 acres of
land of his own four miles from Van Wert.
To his marriage with Miss Alice B. Watt, three
children have been born, viz: Hallie A. ; Earl
C, and Willie Guy. In politics, like his
father, Mr. Hoghe is a democrat, has served
on the school board of his township, and is in
every way a representative citizen, worthy of
and receiving all respect from his fellow-men.

>Y»OHN I. MOOREHEAD, a respected
A citizen of Tully township, Van Wert
A J county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the
Civil war, is a son of Alexander and
Delilah (Pickens) Moorehead, and of Scotch-
Irish descent through an old Pennsylvania
colonial family.
Alexander Moorehead came from Pennsyl
vania with his parents to Ohio and located in
Fairfield county in the pioneer days, and was
first married there, after which event he moved
to Putnam county. His children by his first
marriage were named Winton, Emanuel,
Thomas, Elija, Lorena, Rebecca, and several
who died while still young. This first wife
died in Putnam county, and Mr. Moorehead

there married Delilah, Pickens, and to this-
union were born nine children, viz: David,
Jefferson, Rachael, Henry, John I., Calvin,
Phebe, Delilah and Emma. December 25,
1 839, Mr. Moorehead came to Van Wert county
and settled in Willshire township, where he
entered 240 acres in the forest afar from any
other settler. With the assistance of his sons
he wrought out a good farm from the wilder
ness, and reared a family of sturdy pioneers.
In politics he was a democrat until the first
Lincoln campaign, when he joined the repub
lican party and became an ardent Union man;
although over sixty-five years of age, would
have enlisted to preserve the nation from dis
ruption, but was, of course, rejected by the
government on account of age; however, he
furnished five sons for the defense of the Union,
as follows: David, who served three years in
the Forty-sixth Ohio infantry, company H;
Henry, in the same company, was drowned by
being crowded off a boat while at the battle of
Pittsburg Landing; Jefferson died from sickness
at Moscow, Tenn., while serving in an Indiana.
regiment; Calvin, at first in the Fifteenth
Ohio infantry, veteranized, and had a record
running through five years, being promoted to
orderly-sergeant; the experience of John I. will
be related further on in this sketch. The
father of these soldiers lived to be about
seventy-five years old, and died near Leipsic,
Putnam county, a member of the United
Brethren church, an honored citizen and a sub
stantial farmer.
John I. Moorehead, whose name introduces
this biography, was born in Putnam county,
Ohio, December 23, 1837, and when but two
years of age was brought by his father to Van
Wert county, and here reared on a farm. He
married Miss Edith, daughter of William and
Rhuama Brown, on the 25th day of December,
1859, and had born to him nine children, who
were named Eliza, Alzina, Susan, Calvin,

782

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Sherman, John J., George M., Leonne M. and
Ettie M. Mr. Moorehead, after his marriage,
first went to housekeeping on his father's farm
and next settled on sixty acres in Liberty town
ship, Van Wert county. This land he labored
hard at improving, until his enlistment for ioo
days, on May 2, 1864, in company H, One
Hundred and Thirty-ninth Ohio infantry, under
Capt. Singleton W. Davis, and on the organi
zation of the company was elected corporal.
He served ten days over his time, and during
his service, which was chiefly at Point Lookout,
on the Potomac river, doing guard duty, he
was stricken with cholera and also had a severe
sunstroke, from which latter he has never fully
recovered. He was honorably discharged in
August, 1864, and on his return home resumed
farming in Liberty township. He had the
misfortune to lose his wife June 17, 1888, and
lived a widower until 1892, when he sold out,
moved to Mercer county, bought twenty acres
of* land, and on December 29, 1892, married
the widow Hannah M. Shope, whose maiden
name was Snediker. In the spring of 1894 he
came to Convoy and bought the pleasant home
in which he at present resides. Mrs. Moore
head is a member of the Society of Friends,
while her husband is a member of the United
Brethren church, in which he has been a stew
ard, class leader, exhorter for two years, and
a licensed preacher for ten years. In politics
Mr. Moorehead is a republican, has filled the
office of township trustee, and has ever been a
gentleman in whom the community has never
hesitated to repose its confidence.
James Snediker, the father of Mrs. Hannah
M. Moorehead, was born in Pennsylvania, east
of the Allegheny mountains, and in the pioneer
days came to Ohio with his parents, who set
tled near Yellow Springs, in Greene county.
Here he married Martha Hopkins, daughter of
Moses Hopkins, the union resulting in the birth
of four children, named as follows: Hannah

M., Mary J., Emily and Joseph. The Snedi
ker family was of German and the Hopkins
family of Irish ancestry. The Snediker family
were early settlers of Jay county, Ind. , and for
a time resided three or four miles from any
neighbor in a dense wood* without roads and
swarming with wolves and other wild animals.
Mr. Snediker reached the age of sixty-six years,
and died a devout member of the Methodist
church. Mrs. Moorehead was first married to
George Clauson, of Adams county, Ind., and
next to William Shope, and last to Mr. Moore
head. The daughter of John I. Moorehead,
Rhuama, was married to George W. Jones, a
stationary engineer of Willshire township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, and became the mother of
six children: Emma Eliza, married Philip
Krisher, a farmer of Tully township, and has
five children; Susanna married Sylvester Myers,
of Harrison township, and has four children;
Calvin married Lizzie Ackom, and has two
children; he is a railroad man and lives in
Glenmore; Ira S. married Mary Holder, and
the rest of Mr. Moorehead's family are unmar
ried and at home.

'HOMAS REDRUP.— Few men, not
one in a thousand, have had the
varied experiences, and have gone
safely through the hardships and
dangers, that have fallen to the lot of the sub
ject of this sketch. Thomas Redrup was born
in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, June 23, 1842, and
is a son of James and Ann (Phelps) Redrup.
James Redrup was a native of Devonshire,
England, and there received his education,
following farming as his occupation until 1840,
when he came to the United States. While
on the voyage across the sea, he met and
courted Miss Ann Phelps, whom he married on
reaching Cleveland, Ohio, in 1841. After
their marriage they located in Parma, Cuya-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

783

hoga county, and there Mr. Redrup engaged
in farming until 1850, when he removed to
Brooklyn, N. Y., and there was engaged in
dairying until i860. Removing then to Mans
field, Ohio, he went into the grocery business,
and not long afterward exchanged his grocery
store for a grist-mill five miles northeast of
Mansfield, and conducted his mill until 1871.
He then removed to Van Wert county and
bought a farm in Tully township, upon which
he resided until 1880. This farm he exchanged
for land in Harrison township, upon which he
lived until 1895, selling it then and buying
property in the city of Van Wert, where he
lived until his death, which occurred in 1886.
His wife died in 1884. James Redrup and his
wife were the parents of eleven children, viz:
Thomas, the subject of this sketch; Hattie;
Mary; Emma, deceased; John; Charles;
Alice; Fannie, deceased; George; Lottie,
wife of O. A. Balyeat, and James, deceased.
The parents of these children were both Bap
tists, and in politics Mr. Redrup was an un
compromising republican.
Thomas Redrup was ten years of age when
his parents removed to New York, and from
that time until he was eighteen he assisted his
father in the dairy business. Upon arriving
in Mansfield he assisted his father in the grocery
business until he attained his majority, when
he apprenticed himself for three years to the
harness and saddler's trade. At the breaking
out of the war, when President Lincoln called
for 75,000 three-month troops, he enlisted in
company H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry,
and with his regiment was assigned to the
army of the Cumberland. At Columbus, Ohio,
he was made corporal, at Zanesville he was
made sergeant, and at Grafton, W. Va., he
was appointed hospital steward, acting as
such until the expiration of his term of enlist
ment. Afterward he served with a regiment
of "squirrel hunters," in the capacity of

orderly-sergeant. Returning to Mansfield in
1862, he, in company with J. Hetrick and
eight others, drove freight wagons from Grin-
nell, Iowa, to Virginia City, Mont., and there
engaged in gulch mining at $8 per day, in gold.
While en route from the former to the latter
place they suffered many privations, were
many times attacked by Indians, and drove
over mountains were they where compelled to
lower and elevate their wagons by chains —
traveling some times not more than three
miles per day. Streams they crossed by
means of pontoon bridges, and at times they
had as many as thirty-six yokes of oxen at
tached to a single wagon in crossing a stream.
Mr. Redrup worked in the mines until the
fall of that year, when, in company with about
fifty others, he started for home with a mule
train, via Denver. When about 600 miles
from Denver, in the Black Hills, they were
overtaken by a tremendous snow storm, and
lost half their train, the fall of snow being
eight feet deep. Returning to the stage road,
Mr. Redrup engaged with the company opera
ting a stage route from Atchison to Salt Lake
City, a distance of 1,800 miles, and remained
with them one and a half years, and was express
agent over the same route for six months. At
Virginia Dale station he located an express
agency, and remained there three years, his
family joining him at that point. Removing
to the North Platte river he remained there
until 1869. While there a flood swept away
the building of the agency, but by good fortune
all escaped in row boats, after which they
lived in tents until the house could be re-
erected. Returning to Mansfield, Ohio, Mr.
Redrup engaged in farming in Ashland county,
where he remained until 1871. For six months
he was then engaged in the grocery business
in Mansfield, when he removed to Van Wert
county, and purchased a saw-mill eight miles
west of Van Wert, which he operated one

784

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

year, and then removed to Van Wert, still,
however, operating his saw-mill two years
longer. Selling his saw-mill he* was elected
constable, serving in that office ten years, in
the meantime serving four years as marshal
and four years as street commissioner. He
was deputy United States marshal eight years
and game warden three years. He owns ten
acres of land within the corporation.
Mr. Redrup was married in Mansfield,
Ohio, to Mary J. Rickets, by whom he has had
five children, viz: Charles J., of Fort Wayne,
Ind. ; Harry C. ; Nellie, wife of James Miller,
manager of the Singer Sewing Machine com
pany's agency in Van Wert; and Alice, wife of
Charles Hunt, passenger conductor on the C. ,
J. & M. railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Redrup are
members of the Baptist church, and Mr. Red
rup has been a member of the Improved Order
of Red Men ever since the organization of that
lodge in Van Wert.

HDAM HIRN, an industrious and ris
ing farmer of Jennings township, Van
Wert county, was born in Morrow
county, Ohio, October 9, 1852, and
is a son of Christopher and Veronica (Schaub)
Hirn. The father, Christopher Hirn, was a
son of Jacob Hirn, and was born in Weisloch,
in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany, June
13, 1 8 14. Jacob, the grandfather of Adam,
our subject, was a farmer and married a Miss
Scholl in 1798, to which marriage were born
three children, viz: Englehart, of Iowa, de
ceased; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Fred
Hecker, of New York, and Christopher, father
of Adam, our subject. The wife of Jacob Hirn
having died sometime late in the 'forties, the
bereaved husband started for America in 1852,
but died at sea in June of that year, a prom
inent member of the Evangelical church.
Christopher Hirn, father of our subject,

was reared to farming, but resided in town.
He received a good education, served one year
in the German army, and, August 31, 1843,
married Veronica Schaub, who was born June
12, 1816, in the same place in which her hus
band was born — a daughter of Nicholas Schaub.
To this union were born ten children — the first.
five in Germany, and the second five in Amer
ica — in order as follows: Frederick, August
26, 1843 — now a butcher in Spencerville, Ohio
— who served four years and four months in
company K, Sixty-fourth Ohio volunteer infan
try, and was wounded in the head; Barbara,,
born March 6, 1846, died an infant; Philip,
born April 30, 1847, served one year and four-
months in company B, Thirteenth Ohio cav
alry, and is now a farmer in Ridge township,.
Van Wert county; Englehart, born March 13,
1848, is a stockman of Seward county, Kans.,
and is also a teacher; Catherine, born De
cember 24, 1850, died an infant; Adam is.the
subject of this sketch; John, born December
9, 1853; Louisa, born February 10, 1855, and
Nicholas, born September 7, 1856— the three
last named deceased; Anna Louisa was born
March 10, 1859, was the wife of William F.
Marbough, a farmer of Union township, Mer
cer county, and died September 15, 1895.
Chistopher Hirn, with his wife and three of
the children above named, viz: Frederick,
Philip and Englehart, came to America in June,
1852, and located in Morrow county, Ohio,.
where he bought a farm, on which he lived
until 1865, when he sold out and brought his
family to Van Wert county and purchased 160-
acres of half-cleared land in Jennings township^
— the same being now occupied by his son
Adam. Here he lost his wife January 31,
1874, she dying in the faith of the German-
Reform church. Mr. Hirn continued to culti
vate the home farm until about 188 1, when he-
gave the control of the place to his son Adam,
and with him made his home till, his own death,.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

787

which occurred August 16, 1895 — some four
teen years later. Mr. Hirn was a republican
in politics, and for years was an elder in the
German Reform church, in the affairs of which
he took a very prominent part in managing.
He was universally respected, and his loss was
deeply and sincerely deplored by the entire
community. Adam Hirn, our subject, was reared a
farmer, but received a first-class literary edu
cation — attending, primarily, the common
schools of Morrow and Van Wert counties, and
for three terms the normal school at Lebanon,
Ohio, entering the latter in 1873; he began
teaching, following the profession in Auglaize,
Van Wert, Allen and Mercer counties — never
more than three and a half miles from home,
and chiefly in the home district. After eight
een years passed in this vocation, he relin
quished it on account of other duties. June
9, 1 88 1, Mr. Hirn was united in mariage with
Miss Anna Elizabeth Hight, who was born in
Mercer county, Ohio, July 29, i860, a daugh
ter of William and Thirza (Perkins) Hight.
William Hight was born January 21, 1831, in
Juniata county, Pa., and was one of the ear
liest settlers of Mercer county, Ohio, where his
death took place April 24, 1877; Mrs. Thirza
Hight was born in Auglaize county, Ohio, is
now the wife of John Schamp, and is living in
the county of her nativity — Auglaize. By her
first husband she became the mother of two
children beside Mrs. Hirn, viz: Catherine, the
wife of O. Kennedy, of Auglaize county, and
Myrtle, wife of Charles Giesler, machinist, of
Dayton, Ohio. By her marriage to Mr. Schamp
she is the mother of one child — Grace.
Mrs. Anna Elizabeth Hirn was educated at
Celina, Ohio, and for three years before her
marriage was a school-teacher. To her happy
union with Mr. Hirn she has borne five chil
dren, in the following order: William Cullen,
August 22, 1882; Mary Gertrude, October 27,
34

1883; Carl Dewitt, October 1, 1885; Thirza,
April 3, 1888 (died July 29, 1888). and Lois
Louise, November 10, 1889. After marriage
Mr. Hirn located in Pierceton, Ind., where for
two years he had previously been clerking, and
there remained six months, when he returned
to the home farm and engaged in agriculture
and in teaching. In 1890 he was elected
justice of the peace by the republican party,
and still holds the office. In 1895 he was also
prominently mentioned before the convention
of his party as a candidate for clerk of courts.
For thirteen years he has been an elder in the
Presbyterian church, of which church Mrs.
Hirn is also a devout member; for two years
he has been a member of Deep Cut lodge, No.
311, I. O. O. F. , at Spencerville, and is one
of the best posted agriculturists of Jennings
township, in which he and family are held in
the highest esteem.

\S~*\ OBERT B. RHODES, mayor of Will-
I /"^ shire, and a retired farmer of Mercer
i^ P county, Ohio, was born August 25,
1833, in Caledonia county, Vt., and
is a son of Josiah K. and Mary (Brown) Rhodes.
His father was a native of New Hampshire,.
born in 1801, and was a son of Oliver and
Lucy Rhodes. Oliver Rhodes, the grand
father of the subject of this sketch, was a
native of England and a farmer, who, after
coming to this country, passed the remainder
of his life in New Hampshire. Josiah K.
Rhodes was reared on a farm and learned the
cabinet-maker's and joiner's trades, at which
he worked for many years. In 1821 he mar
ried Miss Mary Brown, a daughter of Robert
Brown, a native of Ireland, born in 1795,, and
came to the United States with her parents
when she was five years of age. The parents
located in New Jersey, and in that state they
spent the rest of their lives.

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

To Josiah K. Rhodes and his wife there
were born four children, as follows: Mary Ann,
deceased, who married Pascal I. Horton, of
Granville; John S. , a farmer of Fort Recovery,
Ohio, who enlisted in the Union army as sec
ond lieutenant of company C, One Hundred
and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and
came out at the close of the war as captain of
his company; Martha J., wife of John Milli-
son, cabinet-maker and undertaker of Ostran- ,
der, Delaware county, Ohio, and Robert B.,
the subject of this sketch.
After his mat riage Josiah K. Rhodes located
in Groton, Caledonia county, Vt. , and lived
there until 1838, when he removed to Ohio,
settling temporarily in Strongsville, Cuyahoga
county, where he lived until 1840, and then
removed to Licking county. Here he lived un
til 1 86 1, when he removed with his son, Rob
ert B., to Mercer county, Ohio. Josiah K.
Rhodes fought in Canada during the war of
1 81 2-1 5, and was in his political views a whig
until the formation of the republican party,
when he united with that organization. During
his middle life he was a good deal of a politi
cian, and he was a devoted member of the
Baptist church, while his wife was a member
of the Covenanter church. She died in July,
1870, and he died in November, 1893.
Robert B. Rhodes was educated in Gran
ville, Licking county, Ohio, and there learned
the trade of gunsmith. In that county, also,
he was married to Miss Catherine Calvert, Oc
tober 9, 1859. She is a daughter of Elisha
and Sarah (Wichheiser) Calvert, and to their
marriage there were born three children: John
F. , who died in 1882; Martha A. and Jennie
L. , both at home. The mother of these chil
dren was born in Savannah, Athens county,
Ohio, November 18, 1840, her father having
been one of the early settlers of Delaware
county, Ohio.
After his marriage the subject of this sketch

settled in Delaware county, where he followed
his trade, in which he was very proficient and
skillful. In i860 he removed to Indiana,
bought a farm and lived upon it five years,
when he sold out and bought a farm in Mercer
county, Ohio, where he lived until 1878. Dur
ing all of this time he carried on his trade as
well as his farming. In 1878 he removed to
Willshire, where he has lived ever since, and
where he worked at his trade until within a
few years, and now is living retired from all
active labor. In politics he is a stanch repub
lican, with strong predilections toward prohi
bition. For twelve years Mr. Rhodes has
served as mayor of Willshire, and at the pres
ent time holds that office. He is a member of
the Christian or Disciples' church and has al
ways been prominent in religious matters. He
is one of the most public-spirited men in the
county, and has done much toward building up
the town of Willshire; in fact, he is nearly
always the first to move in this direction. He
was a most skillful workman in his trade, and
through it made a good living for many years.
His younger daughter is a most gifted artist,
is a fine musician and an excellent teacher.
The elder daughter is the housekeeper, and
makes a most successful one, home always be
ing pleasant where she is. His son, who was
a very promising young man, died shortly be
fore he was to have graduated, to the great
regret of his family and friends. He was the
last male descendant of his line, and with his
death the last hope of preserving the name to
posterity became extinct.

EARMON FREDERICK RUMP, the
popular and enterprising contractor
and builder of Van Wert, Ohio, is a
native of Germany, was born in
Whithling, March 4, 1849, and at the early age

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

789

of seven years was brought to America and
landed in New York. From that metropolis he
was taken to Saint Louis, Mo., and later to
Fort Wayne, Ind., where he made his home
for eight years, learning the carpenter's trade
while a resident of that city. In 1875, on the
1 8th day of Nbvember, he was united in mar
riage with Miss Lucette Bell Newcomer, a
native of Richland county, Ohio, and in 1876
settled in the city of Van Wert, where he has
since been most successfully employed in his
present business, in all its various branches.
His marriage has been blessed by the birth of
two children — Harry, in 1877, and Romane,
in 1894. The elder is now a promising young
man and is pursuing a course of study in phar
macy at the university at Ann Arbor, Mich.
David Newcomer, the father of Mrs. Lu
cette Rump, was born in Mansfield, Ohio, in
1827, was reared a farmer, and married Eliza
beth Ruth, a native of Richland county, Ohio. In
1857 Mr. Newcomer settled in Van Wert city
and at first embarked in the dry-goods business,
and later in the grocery trade — in both lines
being very successful. In politics he was a
warm republican, and after withdrawing from
active business was elected to the office of in
firmary director, and also to that of township
trustee for three years. He is the father of
four children, named as follows: Hermie Albert,
Lucette Bell, Emma May and Carey Bert, of
whom the youngest alone is single and is now
in China, attached to the United States man-
of-war Detroit. In religion Mr. Newcomer
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. and Mrs. Rump affiliate with the American
Lutheran church, in which both are earnest
workers, and to the support of which they are
free contributors of their means. In his busi
ness Mr. Rump has been quite prosperous and
has established a most excellent reputation
both as to superiority and his fair and square
method of dealing.

HE TAYLOR FAMILY.— Conspicu
ous among the well-known and suc
cessful men of Union township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, was the late
Henry Taylor, the leading facts of whose family
history are herewith given. His father, Fred
erick Taylor, was born in 1780, in England,
received his education there, and when a young
man came to the United States, settling in
Pennsylvania, where he married and reared a
family of five children. His vocation was that
of a wood-worker, in addition to which he gave
some attention to agriculture, after becoming a
resident of this country. He served seven
years in the American army and bore a dis
tinguished part in the war of 1812. He spent
the later years of his life in Van Wert county,
Ohio, at the home of his son, Henry Taylor,
and died in i860, his wife following him to the
grave a few years later. The following are
the names of his children: Margaret, wife of
William Golliver ; Mary, wife of John Stabaugh ;
Susan, who married John Hipshire, and Henry.
Henry Taylor was born near Harrisburg,
Pa., in 181 5, was reared a farmer and adopted
that as his calling for life. About 1835 he
made a trip from eastern Ohio to Van Wert
county on horse-back and entered 120 acres of
government land in Hoaglin township, after
which he returned to his home in the county
of Carroll. In 1836 he again came to Van
Wert county, and the following year was united
in marriage to Naomi Keever, daughter of
Jacob and Annie (Hoaglin) Keever. Mrs.
Taylor was born in Jefferson county, Ohio,
October, 181 8, her father having been an
early pioneer of that part of the state. When
quite young she was brought by her parents to
Van Wert county, making the greater part of
the journey on horse-back, and here she grew
to womanhood on the family farm in Tully
township. (See sketch of Aaron Keever.)
After his marriage Mr. Taylor built a rude

790

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

log cabin for the reception of his young wife,
and proceeded to clear a small patch of ground
to which the term, field, could not, appropri
ately, be applied. The next year his small
crop failed, in consequence of which he was
compelled to abandon his little home for awhile
and rent a larger farm, in Allen county, where
he lived for two years. He then returned to his
former place, went to work with a will, and in
due time succeeded in removing the greater
partof the forest from his land, and otherwise
improving the same, until he had a very good
farm in cultivation. In 1855 Mr. Taylor pur
chased the present home of the family in Union
township, which, under his skillful manage
ment and industry, became one of the best
places in the northern part of the county.
Mr. Taylor was an industrious, enterprising
man, and useful, public-spirited citizen; he was
noted for his liberal charities and kindness to
the poor and unfortunate, and had an enviable
standing among the people of his township.
In politics he was a stanch democrat, and was
frequently honored by his party with elections
to local offices; he belonged to that hardy
class of early settlers to whom the country
owes so much for its development, and whose
work tells the story of lives fraught with many
hardships and dangers. His death occurred
May 14, 1893. Henry and Annie Taylor were
the parents of eleven children, only four of
whom are living at this time, the others having
died in infancy; the names of the surviving are
James, a farmer of Union township; Aaron,
whose sketch is given in this connection; Anna,
wife of Jacob Fronefield, and Sarah, who be
came the wife of Joseph Goodland.
Aaron Taylor, son of the aforesaid Henry
Taylor, is a native of Van Wert county, Ohio,
in the common schools of which he received
his education and upon his father's farm ex
perienced the first practical duties of life.
After remaining under the parental roof about

the usual time, he learned the stone-mason's
trade, and in 1876 married Emma White,
daughter of Obadiah and Hannah (Diprey)
White; to this union have been born nine chil
dren, viz: James A., Henry F., Roy C. , Nora,
Lola, Gertrude, Aaron B. , Ina and Vera, the
last two not living. Mrs. Taylor was born in
Pennsylvania in the year of 1858. Left an
orphan when but a child, she made her home
with her grandfather, Edward Diprey, until
her marriage. In 1870, Mr. Taylor enlisted
in the regular army, company H, Eleventh
United States infantry, and was at once sent
to Fort Concho, Tex., where he did scout duty
on the frontier, and guarded stage-routes and
government property until the expiration of his
term of service, in 1875. He ranked as ser
geant, and had charge of a wagon and provis
ion train and faithfully performed his duties,
as a certificate signed by the officers of his
regiment shows. On leaving the army, Mr.
Taylor returned to his farm in Union town
ship, the old home place upon which he has
since resided. He has made a success of his
chosen calling, is practical and progressive,
and has proven himself worthy of the confi
dence reposed in him by his fellow-citizens.
He belongs to lodge No. 251, I. O. O. F., in
Van Wert, and espouses the cause of the
democrat party.
James Taylor, son of Henry Taylor, is a
native of Van Wert county, Ohio, where his
birth occurred on the nth day of October,
1839. Like the majority of boys in north
western Ohio, his youthful years were passed
in the routine of farm labor, and his first work
for himself was as sawyer in a mill, in which
he became very efficient, and worked as such
the greater part of the time until 1890, giving
some attention in the meantime to agricultural
pursuits in his native township. In February,
1864, he enlisted in company H, under Capt.
Gleason, Fifteenth Ohio .volunteers, was

> J7

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

793

mustered into the service and sent to Knox
ville, Tenn., where his regiment joined the
army of Gen. Sherman. He shared the vicissi
tudes and dangers of his command in the cam
paigns of Tennessee and Georgia, and took
part in a number of bloody battles, among
which may be noted Nashville, Franklin,
Peach Tree Creek, and other engagements
around Atlanta. Later, his regiment was sent
to Texas, where he did guard duty until dis
charged at San Antonio, of that state, in Jan
uary, 1866. On leaving the army, Mr. Taylor
returned to his home in Van Wert county, and
the same year married Susan Harvey, daughter
of Samuel and Susan (Drake) Harvey; Mrs.
Taylor was born in the county of Van Wert
about the year of 1841. Mr. Taylor's second
marriage was solemnized in 1868, with Mary
Diprey, daughter of Edward and Mary Diprey,
the result of which union is ten children: Ida,
wife of Edward Hullinger; A. E. ; Minnie, wife
of Thomas Elder; Alice, wife of William
Spitzenberger; Garret, Ada, Orvil, Cora, Vera,
and an infant, deceased. The mother of these
children was born in Berks county, Pa., in
1852, and died November 20, 1887. In
March, 1890, Mr. Taylor married his third
wife, Mrs. Amanda Kelly, widow of the late
John B. Kelly; she was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, in 1855. In 1866, Mr. Taylor
purchased his present home in Union township,
since which time he has been one of the well
known and highly respected citizens of north
ern Van Wert. He is a democrat in politics,
has held various local offices, and fraternally
belongs to Van Wert post, No. 100, G. A. R.

VT* OSEPH L. TOSSEY, the subject of
A this sketch, is descended, paternally,
A J from an old New England family, his
^"^ grandfather, Aaron Tossey, having been
born in the town of Brintwood, Rockingham

county. N. H., August 10, 1792. He was a
soldier in the war of 181 2, and on the 24th of
March, 18 14, in Essex county, N. Y. , entered
into the marriage relation with Elizabeth De
lano, who was born April 25, 1787, in Ver
mont. Aaron and Elizabeth Tossey had the
following children: Lorenzo, William, Solon,
Stephen D., Philemon (father of Joseph L. ,
our subject), and Elizabeth (wife of John
Richards), all deceased but the last two.
Aaron Tossey moved to Union county, Ohio,
about 1820, and there took up a grant of gov
ernment land, which he cleared, and upon
which he lived till his death, November 7,
1877. He was a man of more than ordinary
intelligence, a great reader and traveler, and
he profited much by his experience; his wife
died June 28, 18176.
Philemon Tossey, youngest son of the above,
and father of the subject of this sketch, was
born in Union county, Ohio, January 22, 1826,
and there grew to manhood, attending, in the
meantime, the indifferent country schools. At
the age of twenty he married Judith Graham,
daughter of William and Betsey (Bell) Gra
ham, after which he began farming in his na
tive county. In 1 85 1 he disposed of his in
terests in the county of Union and emigrated
to Cumberland county, 111., where he pur
chased land and engaged in agriculture. For
some time he alternated between his Illinois
home and the old place in Union county, living
first at one and then at the other, until 1865,
when he disposed of his real estate in the west
and returned to the scenes of his youth, where
he still lives. He is a large farmer and stock
raiser, a successful business man, and now has
a place consisting of 300 acres, including the
homestead, nearly all of which land is in a
high state of cultivation. He is a man of local
prominence, a democrat in politics, and for a
number of years has been a member of the
Christian church, to the support of which he

794

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

contributes liberally of his means. The fol
lowing are the names of the children born to
Philemon and Judith Tossey: Joseph L. ; Ziba;
William; Betsey died in childhood; James,
deceased; Eunice, wife of M. Haggard; Mar
tha, wife of James Edwards; and Lemuel A.
The mother of these children was born in
Union county, Ohio, September 13, 1827; her
father, William Graham, was born October
22, 1800, in Scotland, came to America when
qnite young, and was one of the earliest pio
neers of Union county, Ohio, where his death
occurred October 28, 1877; his wife, Betsey
(Bell) Graham, was born in Union county,
Ohio, November 22, 1803, and departed this
life on the 31st day of October, 1848.
Joseph L. Tossey was born in Union
county, Ohio, September 21,1,1847, and spent
his youthful years in the place of his nativity
and in Illinois, his father emigrating to the
latter state in the year mentioned in a preced
ing paragraph. His advantages for obtaining
an education were limited to the district school
in the neighborhood of his father's place in
Cumberland county, 111., remaining there until
the spring of 1865, when he returned to his
native county with his parents and here he
remained with his father, assisting with the
work of the farm, until his removal, in 1871,
to Union township, Van Wert county. For
some time after settling in Union township
Mr. Tossey farmed rented land, and in 1876
purchased a small place, to which he has made
additions from time to time until he now owns
155 acres, nearly all of which is well improved
and in a successful state of cultivation.
On the 5th day of October, 1872, Mr.
Tossey and Fannie Samsel, daughter of Peter
and Matilda (Baker) Samsel, Were made man
and wife, and their union has been blessed
with three children: Ira P., born December
25, 1876; Clinton, October 13, 1878, and an
infant that died unnamed. Mrs. Tossey was

born in Richland county, Ohio, March 10, 1854,
but has been a resident of the county of Van
Wert ever since her early childhood; she is
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and moves in the best social circles of the
community. Mr. Tossy is one of the success
ful self-made men of Van Wert county, a
practical farmer and most reliable citizen. He
takes an active interest in the affairs of the
township and commands the respect of all who
him. He takes a deep interest in matters edu
cational and is educating both of his sons in
the best manner possible. Mr. Tossey is active
in politics and stanchly espouses the cause of
the democratic party.

(D

RS. MARY M. THATCHER, widow
of Stephen Thatcher, was .born in
Allen county, Ohio, July 27, 1838,
being the daughter of Moses and
Mary S. (Watts) McClure. Her father was
born in Kentucky, and died September 27,
1884, at the age of eighty-four years, eleven
months and seventeen days. Her mother was
a native of Urbana, Ohio, and her death oc
curred March 18, 1888, at which time she had
attained the age of seventy-four years, eight
months and twenty-two days. The father was
identified with agricultural pursuits throughout
his entire life, and was among the early settlers
in Allen county. Mr. and Mrs. McClure be
came the parents of ten children: John, a
member of company F, Forty-sixth Ohio vol
unteer infantry, rose to the rank of lieutenant
during his term of service, having been a resi
dent of Paulding county; Samuel, deceased,
served throughout the entire Rebellion; Watt
is deceased; William is a farmer in the state
of Iowa; Sarah died in infancy; Margaret is
the wife of Val Huffman, of Putnam county,
concerning whom individual mention is made
on another page; Mary M. is the immediate

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

795

subject of this review; James is deceased;
Moses is a resident of Lima, and served
throughout the war; and Nathaniel also served
throughout the entire war of the Rebellion as
a member of the Fourth Ohio cavalry.
The father of Mrs. Thatcher continued his
farming operations in Allen county until within
five years prior to his death, and then removed
to Paulding county, where he passed the resi
due of his life; after his death the health of
the mother became seriously impaired, and she
thereafter maintained her home with her daugh
ter, Mrs. Thatcher, until she was summoned
into eternal rest. She was a member of the
Christian church, and her husband was a be
liever in the doctrines of Christianity, though
not identified with any religious organization,
but yet a close student of the Bible. In poli
tics he was a stanch supporter of the demo
cratic party.
The immediate subject of this review was
reared and educated iri Allen county, and there,
on the i9th'of May, 1853, was consummated
her marriage to Daniel Wollef, and they be
came the parents of six children, viz : Joseph
C, of Lima, Ohio; Mary S., born April 14,
1858, deceased, her death having occurred
December 21, 1866; Lydia M., born January
9, i860, is the wife of John Holt, of Putnam
county; Sarah Elizabeth, born August 24,
1 86 1, became the wife of William Wallace,
and her death occurred December 5, 1889;
and Charles E., born November 6, 1865, died
February 7, 1870. Our subject's marriage to
Stephen Thatcher was celebrated on the 5th
of July, 1 87 1. Mr. Thatcher was born in
Putnam county, Ohio, in 1847, being the son
of Marshall and Jane (Kerry) Thatcher. His
death occurred January 18, 1884, at which
time he had attained the age of thirty-seven
years. His adopted son, Charles Edward,
died one hour later. Mr. Thatcher saw active
service in the late war of the Rebellion, hav

ing enlisted, on the 15th of February, 1864,
as a member of company A, Fifty-seventh
Ohio volunteer infantry; he participated in
fifteen different battles, and at Atlanta received
a severe wound. He was a prisoner at Ander
sonville for two months, and he was honorably
discharged from service July 4, 1865. By vo
cation he was a farmer, was a member of the
Friends' church, and in politics was a demo
crat. Mrs. Thatcher also is a member of the
Society of Friends, and is an earnest and de
voted christian woman.
After her marriage our subject maintained
her residence in Lafayette, Allen county, for
two years, and then removed to Van Wert
county, where she remained until December,
1882, when she took up her abode in the city,
where she holds the respect and esteem of all
who know her.

'HEODORE THATCHER, a well
known citizen of Jackson township,
Van Wert county, and an ex-soldier,
was born in Kalida, Putnam county,
August 17, 1843, and comes from an old Ohio
family of English descent. His father, James
Thatcher, was a single man when he came
from Sidney, Shelby county, Ohio, settled at
Kalida, and married Abigail Cary, to which
union were born eleven children, viz: Hester
A., John, Washington, Lydia A., Stephen,
Martin, Theodore, Louisa, James, Alonzo and
Abraham. Mr. Thatcher moved to Delphos,
Ohio, before the end came, lived to be an
aged man, and died at the residence of our
subject in his seventy-eighth year, a member
of the Methodist church and in politics a demo
crat. One of his sons, James, served in com
pany I, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry,
was captured at the battle of Murfreesboro,
and died in prison at Danville, Va.
Theodore Thatcher was between nineteen

796

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and twenty years of age when he enlisted,
August 21, 1862, in company I, One Hundred
and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, to
serve three years or during the war, but, on
account of the termination of hostilities, re
ceived an honorable discharge at Columbus,
Ohio, June 22, 1865. He took an active part
in the following battles: Kingstone, Tenn.,
December 4, 1863; Mossy Creek, December
29, 1863; Morristown, March 10, 1864; Buz
zard's Roost, Ga., May 9, 1864; Dallas, May
29, 1864; Lost Mountain, June 15, 1864;
Pine Mountain, June 19, 1864; Kenesaw Moun
tain, July 1, 1864; Chattahoochee Heights,
July 9, 1864; Decatur, July 19, 1864; Resaca;
Atlanta, July 29 to August 1, 1864; Lovejoy
Station, September 4, 1864; Rome, October
13, 1864; Columbia, Tenn., November 27-28,
1864; Springfield, November 29, 1864; Frank
lin, November 30, 1864, and Nashville, De
cember 15, 1864 — making a splendid record
for one so young as a soldier. His experience
in the famous Atlanta campaign extended
through a period of three months and twenty-
eight days, all the time under fire, and no
comment can add to the glory of so gallant and
glorious a service.
While at home on a furlough, Mr. Thatcher
was married, December 28, 1862, to Miss
Margaret Hughes, who was born February 28,
1846, in Wales. Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher have
reared two adopted children — James Rogers
and Lucinda Thatcher, the latter a daughter
of his brother, Washington. Mr. Thatcher,
at the close of his military service, returned to
Ohio and made his home in Van Wert county,
but did not settle on his present farm in Jack
son township until 1874, and this he has
cleared up from the woods and has made of it
a neat, tidy and comfortable home. He and
wife are consistent members of the United
Brethren church, and in politics Mr. Thatcher
votes with the republican party. Socially he

is much thought of by his neighbors, and well
deserves the esteem in which he is held as a
citizen and neighbor.

>-VONATHAN TUMBLESON, a prosper-
A ous farmer of Pleasant township, Van
A I Wert county, was born in Wayne coun-
~" ty, Ohio, March 26, 1828, and is a son
of John and Susannah (Bowers) Tumbleton.
The birth of John Tumbleson occurred in
Pennsylvania about 1800, and when but a lad
he came with his parents to Ohio, the family
being among the early settlers of the county of
Wayne. Later, he went to Tuscarawas coun
ty, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits,
remaining there until 1838, when he changed
his residenee to the county of Allen, thence,
two years later, moved to Van Wert county,
locating in Pleasant township, where he had
previously purchased a tract of unimproved
land. He at once erected a small log house,
began the task of removing the forest, and in
due season developed a good farm, upon which
he lived until the latter part of the 'sixties,
when he disposed of his place and emigrated
to Polk county, Iowa.
John Tumbleson was married, about 1822,
to Susannah Bowers, and the following are the
names of their children: James, Joseph, Jona
than, Daniel, Eliza J. (wife of Samuel Miller),
Franklin, Florella (wife of Eli Lane), and
George. Mrs. Susannah Tumbleson was born
in Bedford county, Pa., about the beginning of
the present century, was reared in the Lutheran
faith, but at the time of her death was a mem
ber of the German Baptist, or Dunkard church.
Mr. Tumbleson subscribed to the Methodist
creed, was originally a whig in politics, and
later became a republican. He was called to
fill, at different times, positions of honor and
trust, and was one of the useful citizens of the
community. He was a man of much natural

JONATHAN TUMBLESON

MRS. JONATHAN TUMBLESON.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

801

genius, readily adapted himself to any circum
stance, and wherever he lived enjoyed, in full
measure, the esteem and confidence of all of
his fellow-citizens.
Jonathan Tumbleson, the immediate sub
ject of this biography, received an English. ed
ucation in the little log school-houses, com
mon many years ago, in Tuscarawas and Van
Wert counties, and on attaining his majority,
went to LaGrange county, Ind., where he
learned the plasterer's trade. In 1850 he re
turned to Van Wert county and entered into
a partnership with Lewis Heigh, with whom he
worked for a period of ten years, at the end of
which time, in i860, he purchased his pleas
ant farm in Pleasant township, where he has
since resided. As is well known, the country
at that time was but sparsely settled, and Mr.
Tumbleson did his full share toward its devel
opment, clearing the woods from his land, un
der-draining the same, and otherwise improv
ing it, until he now has a well-cultivated farm,
supplied with good buildings and all the neces
sary equipments of modern agriculture. As a
farmer he is progressive, and in addition to
tilling the soil pays considerable attention to
stock-raising, in which his success has been
most encouraging. He is active in promoting
the best interests of his community, supports
the republican party, and has been honored by
his fellow-citizens by an election to the office
of trustee, the duties of which position he has
discharged very satisfactorily for several years.
On the 15th of August, 1850, Mr. Tumble-
son and Lucinda J. Eller were united in the
bonds of wedlock. Mrs. Tumbleson is a daugh
ter of Frederick and Eliza J. (Huston) Eller,
and was born in Richland county, Ohio, in
1836. The following are the names of the
children of Mr. and Mrs. Tumbleson: Clara
A., who died in infancy; Alice D., wife of I.
C. Warner; George W. ; Emma, wife of Al
bert Terry; Alfred S.; Elmore, deceased;

Eliza J., wife of James Bowers; Mary, wife of
John Kreider; Addie B., wife of F. Arnold;
Susan, wife of John Eckfelt; Onoma, wife of
Ken Gamble; Rosa, wife of Adam Gilliland;
Birdie, Frank J., Cecelia and Charles.

HOMAS MARION THORPE, post
master of Willshire, Van Wert coun
ty, Ohio, is also a thoroughly ac
complished salesman, and for the past
ten years has been in the employ of Henry
Althoen, hardware merchant of Willshire. His
grandfather, William Thorpe, was a native of
England, where he was married, and a few
years after that event occurred, sought a home
in the United States. Benjamin F. Thorpe,
son of William, was born on Albion's isle, and
was an infant in his mother's arms when
brought to this country. For some years after
reaching maturity he followed agricultural pur
suits, and during this period married Cynthia
Feebus, to which union were born the follow
ing children: Daniel O., Jemima, Isaiah (de
ceased), James (deceased), Darius, Frank,
Thomas M., and Nancy (deceased). For eight
years the father, quitting agriculture, was en
gaged in general merchandising at LaPorte,
Ind., and at the same time conducted an in
surance agency. From LaPorte the family
moved to Three Rivers. Mich., where, for
several years, the father was a confirmed in
valid and eventually died; his widow subse
quently made her home with her son, Thomas
M., in Willshire, where she was called to her
final rest February 3, 1883.
Thomas M. Thorpe was born in Elkhart
county, Ind., November 6, 1844, received a
good common-school education, and December
9, i860, enlisted in company F, First Michigan
light artillery, and served his country three
years and six months with true valor and pa
triotism. He was active in the campaigns in

802

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Kentucky, Tennessee and 'Georgia, and was,
in fact, in all the battles of the army of the
Cumberland, in which his regiment had a hand,
from Richland, Ky., in 1861, to Nashville,
Tenn., in December, 1864. The following are
the principal engagements that Mr. Thorpe en
gaged in while a member of the Cumberland
army, viz: Elizabeth, Ky. , Pittsburg Land
ing, or 'Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Chickamauga,
Missionary Ridge, Stone River, Resaca, and
then on the Atlantic campaign and at the fall
of Atlanta; then, under Gen. Thomas' com
mand, was at the battle of Franklin and second
battle of Nashville. During this long period
of service, he was never sick, wounded nor
taken prisoner. March 6, 1885, Mr. Thorpe
was happily married to Mary F. Alspaugh,
daughter of Ansley and Margaret (Dellinger)
Alspaugh, to which union were born three
children, viz: Otto, Cynthia and Eugene, all
still living to gladden the home of their father,
the mother having been called away to a still
brighter home, March 13, 1894. Mr. Thorpe
owns a tasteful modern village residence, with
very pleasant surroundings. He is a democrat
in politics, has served as township clerk, pike
commissioner, and was appointed postmaster
August 18, 1893. Fraternally he is a Mason,
and was worshipful master for six years of
Willshire lodge, No. 402 ; he is also a member
of the chapter and council at Van Wert, and
a member of Heath post, No. 351, G. A. R. ,
at Willshire. Socially he stands very high and
every one knows him as a genial and accomo
dating salesman for Henry Althoen, with whom
he has been for so many years associated.

WOHN T. THOMAS, of Jennings town
's ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a
A 1 native of Wales, where his birth oc
curred March 8, 1830. His parents,
Thomas and Mary (Davis) Thomas, were also

natives of that country, and the following are
the names of their children: William, a resi
dent of Allen county; Thomas, deceased;
David, deceased; John; Hugh T., a farmer of
Jennings township; Evan and Edward, the
last. two dead.
John T. Thomas remained in his native
land until attaining his majority, at which time,
in 1 85 1, he came to the United States, locat
ing first in Pennsylvania; then moved to Pad
dy's Run, Ohio; thence, the following year,
went to Cincinnati, where for about six years
he worked at the trade of boiler making. In
1858, he came from Cincinnati to the county
of Van Wert and purchased eighty acres of
land in Jennings township, all of which, with
the exception of three- acres, was unimproved.
He at once set about erecting a cabin, and
making other improvements, and in September,
1 86 1, brought to his new home a helpmate, in
the person of Miss Margaret Richards, to
whom he was united in marriage on the 21st
day of the aforesaid month, Since moving to
Van Wert county, Mr. Thomas has given the
greater part of his attention to agriculture, and
has met with well merited success in that use
ful calling. He owns a pleasant home of
eighty-seven acres, upon which he has recently
erected a modern brick residence, and in ad
dition to the place where he lives has land in
the township of York. Mr. Thomas was one
of the first men to introduce the manufacture
of drain tiling in Van Wert county, and to
him, as much as to any other individual, is due
the credit of encouraging the present success
ful system of underdrainage, by means of
which so much land has been reclaimed and
made fruitful. He also manufactured brick for
some years, and supplied building material for
many of the best residences in the county of
Van Wert. Mr. Thomas has held every
official position in the Calvinistic church, being
at this time an elder of the local congregation,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

803

and also trustee. In township affairs, he has
been active in promoting the material inter
ests of the country, having been called to fill
various offices, at different times.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are the parents of
six children, viz: Jeannett died in childhood;
Hugh R. , a farmer, married Miss Lizzie Ann
George, whose father is one of the best known
and highly respected citizens of York township.
The third in order of birth is Robert, a mer
chant of Venedocia, who wedded Ann Morris;
Mary R. is the wife of William G. Jones, of
Allen county; Thomas R. is a medical student
of Chicago, 111., and Sarah Elizabeth is still
with her parents. The parents of Mrs.
Thomas, Robert and Jeannett (Owens) Rich
ards, were natives of Wales. Robert Rich
ards came with his family to America, going
direct to Racine, Wis., where he remained
three years, when he moved to Van Wert
county, Ohio, locating in York township,
where he purchased a farm and spent the re
mainder of his days, dying in 1875 at the age
of seventy-five years. There were but five
Welsh families in Van Wert county when Mr.
Richards arrived; his children, three in num
ber, were as follows: Margaret, Hugh and
Richard, the last-named of whom died in the
old country.

eZRA THOMAS, deceased, was a na
tive of Perry county, Ohio, and was
born August 2, 1834, a son of Samuel
and Sarah (Miller) Thomas, also na
tives of Ohio. The father was a well-to-do-
farmer, and both he and wife were members of
the Methodist Episcopal church. Both parents
breathed their .last in Perry county, where
they had reared a family of six children, viz:
Elizabeth, wife of J. Gaines; Ezra, our sub
ject; Lucretia, deceased; Wesley, of Perry

county; Jacob, deceased, and Almeda, wife of
W. Turner, of Picking county, Ohio.
Ezra Thomas was educated principally in
the common schools of his native county and
also at the Rushville academy. He followed
farming until 1865, when he went to New
Salem, Fairfield county, Ohio, where he was
for a short time engaged in the hotel business,
and later in the dry-goods trade, until 1870,
when he located in the Van Wert and opened
in a book and stationery store, which he profit
ably conducted until his death, which took
place April 27, 1873. He was married in Van
Wert, June, 1869, to Miss Anna Rebecca Pen-
nell, who was born in New Salem, Fairfield
county, Ohio, October 12, 1845, ar>d is a sis
ter of William Pennell, of whom an extended
notice is given elsewhere. To the brief but
happy marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were
born two children, of whom the elder, Albert,
was early called away, dying at the home of
his mother of that fell disease, consumption, at
the age of about twenty-four years — honored
by a large circle of friends, not only for his
sterling qualities of noble young manhood, but
also for a genius that promised a bright and.
useful future. The younger child born to Mr.
and Mrs. Thomas, named Malvern E., is at
present a popular young druggist of Van Wert.
Ezra Thomas, in religion, was a believer
in the doctrine of the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which he was an active and pious
member, and was also a leading and active
member in the Sunday-school. In politics he
was a republican, and in the early days of the
Rebellion did good and faithful service as a
soldier. He enlisted in Rushville, Ohio, Octo
ber 11, 1861, in company D, Sixty-second
Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served
until honorably discharged, January 16, 1862.
He next enlisted at Jamesville, in company C,
One Hundred and Sixtieth regiment Ohio vol
unteers, in which he served as corporal until

804

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

his final discharge. He was subsequently
granted a pension of $12 per month, which,
with back pay, amounting in all to $2,222.38,
was recently turned over to his widow; he also
left real estate, including a business room on
West Main street, and a valuable dwelling.

SIMON TIMBERS, a reliable and sub
stantial farmer of Washington town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born at Amanda, in Fairfield county,
May 31, 1845. His father, Reuben Timbers,
was born in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1807, was
an orphan, and served an apprenticeship of
five years at the blacksmith's trade. When a
young man he came to Ohio, settled at Amanda,
Fairfield county, and there married Barbara
Kessler, of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, which
union resulted in the birth of eleven children,
viz: Peter, George, Sarah, Eli, William, Si
mon, Charles, John, Mary Ann, Reuben and
Alice — the eldest eight being born in Fairfield
county, and the youngest three in Van Wert
county, to which county Mr. Timbers moved
about 1853, and bought 176 acres of land in
the woods of Washington township, now occu
pied by his son Simon, our subject. After
clearing up this farm, Reuben Timbers here
died, in 1883, at the age of seventy-six years,
a member of the Methodist church, and in pol
itics a republican— greatly respected by his.
fellow-citizens and sincerely mourned by his
surviving family.
Of the above-named children, George, Eli,
William and Simon were soldiers in the late
Civil war — George and Eli in company H, Fif
teenth Ohio volunteer infantry. George served
about eighteen months, when he was honora
bly discharged on account of disability; Eli
served through his full term and veteranized,
was wounded and taken prisoner at Murfrees
boro, was confined in Libby prison two months,

was exchanged, and finally received an honor
able discharge on account of his wounds; Will
iam served nine months in the Fifty-fifth Ohio
infantry, and was honorably discharged at the
cessation of hostilities.
Simon Timbers was a lad of but eight years
when brought to Van Wert county by his par
ents, was here reared on the home farm and
educated in the common schools. July 1, 1863,
he enlisted, at Van Wert, in company K,
Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, under
Capt. Walter T. Davis, to serve three years
or during the war, and faithfully executed his
duty as a soldier until honorably discharged at
Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, July 3, 1865,
the war being at that time at an end. His
service was principally performed at this camp,
guarding prisoners, of which there were at one
time from 12,000 to 15,000 in confinement.
These rebels were treated well and were fed
with good and wholesome rations, and were
strong, resolute men, when contrasted with the
unfortunate Union soldiers brought in for ex
change, who were so emaciated as to be hardly
able to walk, and marry so far weakened by
starvation in southern prison pens that they
had to be carried.
While in the performance of his duty, Mr.
Timbers was seized with typhoid fever, which
caused his confinement in hospital about three
months, and, going on duty again when but
convalescent, was permanently injured. He
was ruptured while on duty, on the memor
able "cold New Year's day" of 1864 — the
coldest day for many years and well remem
bered by soldiers and old settlers alike. After
the war Mr. Timbers returned to his home and
former employment. December 24, 1874, he
married Miss Maggie Carpenter, who was
born July 4, 1850, in Fairfield county, Ohio,
a daughter of William and Susan (Ream) Car
penter. • Mr. Carpenter came to Van Wert
county about 1851 and cleared up from the

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

805

woods a farm of 160 acres, and is the father of
twelve children — Wilson, Jane, Ann, Rebecca,
Maggie, David, Emma, Clara, Lincoln, Mi
nerva, Lucetta and Nora. He is still living
on his farm, an honored citizen. His son
William was a soldier in company A, Ninety-
ninth Ohio infantry, fought in many battles,
and for a long time was confined in a rebel
prison. Mr. Timbers, after his marriage,
partly cleared up a farm in Washington town
ship, then moved to another farm, which he
also partly cleared and resided upon until 1891,
when he entered upon his present handsome
estate, which is the old homestead. His happy
marriage with Miss Carpenter has been blessed
with five children — Nellie, Ova, Earnest, Har-
ley and Price — ane is very comfortably and
happily situated. He and wife are consistent
members of the Methodist church, and in pol-'
itics he is a republican. He has been an in
dustrious man, but this industry has been
guided by an intelligence that has resulted in
a competency. He is recognized as a trulk
honorable man and as a useful and worthy cit™
izen, and but few men in the township stand
in a more favorable light in the esteem of their
fellow-men than he.

>j» OHN A. TOMLINSON, one of the prom-
A inent and thoroughly competent agricul-
A J turists of Ridge township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, as a native of Mercer
county, in the same state, and was born Octo
ber 11, 1848. His father, Joseph Tomlinson,
was also a native of the Buckeye state, and
was born in 1824, in Madison county. The
mother of our subject, Mary (Arnold) Tomlin
son, was born in Fayette county, Ohio.
Joseph Tomlinson was taken, about the year
1836, from his native county to Mercer county,
he being then twelve years of age, by his pa

ternal grandfather, John Tomlinson. Joseph
was reared to manhood in Mercer county,
where he still resides, a prosperous farmer and
land owner. To his marriage with Miss Mary
Arnold have been born the following children:
Elias, who died in childhood; John A., the
subject of this sketch; Elijah, a farmer of
Mercer county; Madison, of York township,
Van Wert county; Rachael, widow of Edward
Hughes, a late conductor on the Panhandle
railroad — Mrs. Hughes being now a resident of
Indianapolis, Ind. ; Nancy, wife of George
Pritchard, of Van Wert county, Ohio; Pris
cilla, deceased; Charles, residing on the old
homestead in Mercer county, and Ida, wife of
Walter Nichols, also of Mercer county. Mr.
and Mrs. Joseph Tomlinson are devout mem
bers of the Methodist church; in politics
Mr. Tomlinson is a republican and for many
years has served as trustee of Union township,
Mercer county, where he is highly esteemed by
the citizens.
John A. Tomlinson was reared on the home
farm, where he rendered his father most valu
able assistance. November 4, 1873, he was
united in wedlock with Miss Martha E. Gilli
land, daughter of Adam and Sarah Gilliland,
of whom mention is made in detail elsewhere
in this volume. To this genial union have
been born eight children, in the following
order: Mabel, Edward, Lulu, Bertha, Wilma,
Clarence, and two that died in infancy. In
1872 Mr. Tomlinson bought seventy acres of
land in York township, Van Wert county, but
this tract he disposed of in 1882, and bought
his present handsome place, containing 140-
acres, in Ridge township, which he has con
verted into a model farm. In politics Mr.
Tomlinson is a republican, and in 1889 was
elected assessor of his township; in 1890 he
was elected township clerk and was re-elected
in 1 894, and has always performed the duties
of the office in a most satisfactory manner.

806

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

He and wife are devoted members of the
Methodist church, and socially hold a high
position with the citizens of Ridge township.

sr

'ILLIAM V. TOPE, a rising young
farmer of Willshire township, Van
Wert county, was born in Allen
county, Ohio, March 5, 1852, and
is of German descent. His grandfather,
George Tope, was married in Virginia and soon
afterward came to Ohio, and located in Carroll
county, where he erected a grist-mill, which
still bears his name, and in Carroll county he
and his wife both died. Their son, Levi Tope,
who was a native of the county of Carroll, was
born December 25, 1813, and was reared in
his fathers mill. His education was acquired
in the common schools and he also obtained a
fair knowledge of music, becoming an instruct
or in the vocal branch of that art. He mar
ried Miss Sarah Davis, daughter of David and
Elizabeth (Melville) Davis, to which union
were born the following children: Hiram J.,
Martha A., George D., Eli H. (deceased),
Catherine, Sarah E. (deceased), William V.,
Melville F. and Celina (deceased). For some
time after marriage Levi Tope continued to
work in the grist-mill and then entered a farm
of eighty acres in Allen county, but afterward
sold this place, and, in 1861, came to Van
Wert county and bought 155 acres in Will
shire township; here his wife died March 18,
1872, and here, also, his own death followed
November 14, 1889.
William V. Tope has always been a farmer
and received the common-school education
usually falling to the lot of farmers' lads. No
vember 29, 1879, he married Miss Myra B.
Smith, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Read)
Smith, but his connubial bliss, in this instance,
was of short duration, as his bride died May
16, 1 88 1, in the full faith of the Presbyterian

church. Mr. Tope next married Miss Alverda
B. Beiler, daughter of Cicero and Mary J.
(LaRue) Beiler, and this union was crowned
by the birth of two children — Roy B. and
Goldie B., the latter deceased. Mrs. Alverda
Tope was a devout Baptist, who never failed
to attend divine services, and in the sanctifi-
cation of that faith was called away May 26,
1888. The third marriage of Mr. Tope was
with Miss C. Viola Snyder, daughter of Martin
and Minerva (Agler) Snyder, whose other chil
dren were named Melissa Emma B., and
Minerva (deceased). To Mr. Tope's third
marriage has been born one child — Ray F.
The farm of Mr. Tope comprises seventy-seven
and a half acres of good arable land, and is
under an advanced state of cultivatoin, sug
gested by the most approved modern theories
of agricultural development. In politics Mr.
Tope is a democrat and has been elected to
the office of township trustee; in religion he is
a Baptist and is a deacon in his church — while
his wife is a member of the United Brethren
church; fraternally he is an Odd Fellow, and
is a noble grand of Willshire lodge, No. 813;
he was also a charter member of Willshire
grange, P. of H., and for five years was mas
ter thereof, but the grange is now defunct; he
likewise was a charter member and first presi
dent of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit lodge —
Honey Hook lodge No. 5,580 — and is alto
gether a progressive and enterprising citizen,
who enjoys the respect of the entire community.

ST'

ILLIAM A. TOWNSEND, a well-
to-do farmer of Jennings township,
Van Wert county, was born in Co
lumbiana county, Ohio, April 16,
1849, and is a son of Jesse and Jane (Maxwell)
Townsend — the former of whom was born in
eastern Ohio, April 7, 18 12, and was a son of
Benjamin Townsend, of Welsh descent.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

807

Jesse Townsend, one of the seven children,
was reared a farmer, and about 1833 married
Miss Maxwell, also a native of the eastern part
of Ohio, and born in 1813, the result of this
union being ten children, who were born in the
following order: A daughter who died in in
fancy; Aaron, deceased; Alvina, widow of
James Nelson, of Mercer county; Jacob Neis-
ley, deceased; Melvina, widow of William
Fryar, of Mercer county; Sarah, deceased
wife of E. Slantz; Frank, deceased member of
the Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry;
Rebecca, deceased wife of L. Price; William
A., of this mention, and Mary, wife of J.
Miller, of Jennings township. After marriage
Jesse Townsend located in Columbiana county
and farmed until the fall of 1849, when he
moved to Van Wert county, Ohio, and bought
a quarter section of land, on part of which our
subject now lives. Here his wife died May
17, 1868, a member of the Church of God,
and for his second wife he chose Mrs. Sarah
(Partner) Sheets. Mr. Townsend was in politics
a stanch republican, and for several terms
served as township trustee; in religion, he was
first an adherent of the Church of the Disci
ples, but later became a Baptist, and in the
latter faith he died December 30, 1879, an
honored and useful citizen. His widow, Mrs.
Sarah (Sheets) Townsend, then married Rich
ard Hantz, and is now a resident of Spencer
ville, Allen county.
William A. Townsend, like his father, was
reared a farmer, and received a good literary
education in Jennings township. At the age
of eighteen years he became a school-teacher,
and for eleven years taught in Van Wert and
adjoining counties. March 25, 1875, ne mar
ried Miss Mary Sheets, who was born in Salem
township, Anglaize county, Ohio, October 3,
1856,. a daughter of Harrison and Sarah (Part
ner) Sheets, of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Townsend has been

blessed by the birth of four children, viz:
Mabel, wife of Elijah Goodwin, a teacher of
Elgin; Ethel, Frank, and Pearl. After mar
riage Mr. Townsend settled on his home place,
where he still resides, engaged in farming. He
is a stanch republican in politics, and has
served two terms as township trustee. As a
member of the Church of God, he has been an
elder for several years and has filled other
offices. Fraternally, he is a member of the
F M. B. A. He is liberal and public-spirited
as a citizen, as a farmer is enterprising and
successful, and as a neighbor is respected by
all who know him.

eLIJAH TRACY, a highly respected
old settler and farmer of Tully town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was
born April 15, 1832, in Licking coun
ty, Ohio, and is a son of John and Elizabeth
(Tracy) Tracy — the mother, although bearing
the same family name, being nevertheless of no
known relationship. Tego Taacy, the founder
of the family in America, came from England
in colonial days, and a descendant, John
Tracy, Sr. , paternal grandfather of our sub
ject, was a farmer of Westmoreland. county,
Pa., where John Tracy, Jr., his son, was born,
and whence he moved to Licking county, Ohio,
thence to Jefferson county, thence to Franklin
county, Ohio, and thence to Michigan; in 1852
he returned to Ohio and located in Van Wert
county, but in 1855 emigrated to Iowa, where
he entered eighty acres of land, and died,
about 1865, at the age of eighty-seven years.
He was highly respected, and for two years
served as clerk of Jennings township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, and was twice elected
treasurer of his township in Monroe county,
Iowa; he and his wife were parents of eight
children, viz: Mary A., Keziah, Sarah, Ruth,
Elijah, Basil, John and one that died young.

808

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Elijah Tracy was twenty years of age when
he came to Van Wert county with his parents.
Two years later, January 5, 1854, he married
Sarah Reed, daughter of Daniel Reed, whose
biography will be found on another page. To
this marriage have been born six children, of
whom two died when very young, and the four
that grew to maturity were named Mary,
Victor, Ulysses (who died at the age of twenty-
four years) and Dora. After marriage Mr.
Tracy resided some time in Jennings township,
and, later on, removed to Tully township.
August 13, 1862, he enlisted, at Spencerville,
Allen county, Ohio, in company A, Eighty-first
Ohio infantry, to serve three years, if not
sooner discharged, and this event occurred at
the end of one year and four months, in De
cember, 1863, owing to disability, which re
sulted from exposure. He had done duty
chiefly at Memphis, Tenn. , and on a very hot
day he, and fifty men from his regiment, were
detailed to bury an officer with the honors of
war, and were double-quicked four miles back
to camp, Mr. Tracy becoming over heated and
then drenched with a heavy rain storm, which
came down unexpectedly. The next day he
was seized with hemorrhage of the lungs, was
soon found to be in a very critical condition,
and was sent to hospital at Camp Chase, Ohio,
where he was pronounced incurable, honorably
discharged, and sent home. Here he was sick
a long time and unable to do any work, and is
even now unfit for any ordinary labor. He
has, however, a good farm of forty acres,
nicely improved and well tilled. He is a
member of Capper post, No. 153, G. A. R. , of
which he has served as commander, by ap
pointment, to fill a vacancy. He and wife are
members of the Methodist church, in which he
has held the office of steward, and in politics
he is a republican, under which party he has
served as township supervisor. Mr. Tracy and
his family are greatly respected by the com

munity. His daughter, Mary, is married to
John Lare, a farmer of Tully township, and
has four children: Victor, his son, married
Jane Close, and has two children; Dora, the
youngest daughter, is married to Oscar Baxter,.
and has one child.

>^OHN' VAN LIEW, clerk of the courts
A of Van Wert county, Ohio, and the
A 1 present cashier of the First National
~~ bank of the city of Van Wert, was
born in Crittenden county, Ark., October 18,
185 1, and is a son of Henry C. and Hannah
J. (Foster) Van Liew. The father was born
in the town of New Brunswick, N. J., May 7,
1825, and the mother in Memphis, Tenn., in
1833, and in the latter city the couple first met
and were there married in 1848. They re
sided in Tennessee until 185 1, when they
located in Crittenden county, Ark., where the
father followed farming until 1854, when the
family came to Richland county, Ohio, where
the father continued farming until 1855, when
they returned to De Witt, Mich., where be
engaged in the lumber trade until 1856; he
then continued in the same business for a year
in Mansfield, Ohio, whence they removed to
Columbia City, Ind.; thence, in i860, moved
to Larwell, Ind., and in 1870 went to Chicago,
111., where he was engaged in the drug busi
ness until 1872, when they returned to Indi
ana and located at South Bend, where Mr.
Van Liew handled drugs until his death, which
occurred in 1888. He was a finely educated
gentleman, an honored member of the Masonic
fraternity, and in politics was a democrat. The
widow, Mrs. Hannah J. Van Liew, still re
sides in Chicago, the mother of five children,
viz: Alpheus O., a druggist of Lakeville.Ind. ;
John, whose name opens this sketch; Julia,
deceased; Thomas, deceased; and Thomas L. , ,

MRS. EMMA A. VAN LIEW.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

813

clerk in the office of the Chicago, Milwaukee
& Saint Paul Railroad company at Chicago.
John Van Liew led a somewhat nomadic
life with his parents until'i865, when he began
his business life as a brakeman on the Pittsburg,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, which posi
tion he held for one year and then acted as
clerk for the freight agent of the company at
Columbia City, Ind., until transferred to Lar-
will, Ind., where he filled the position of
acting agent until 1871, when he was trans
ferred to Ada, Ohio, where he became agent
for the company, and in 1877 came to Van
Wert, where he filled the position of agent un
til 1 887, when he resigned to accept the position
of general freight and passenger agent of the
Ohio division of the Cincinnati, Jackson &
Mackinaw Railroad company, but a year later
retired on account of a change of administra
tion. No more competent gentleman could
have been chosen to fill these responsible po
sitions, and his retirement from the employ of
the company was by far a greater loss to it
than to himself. The two succeeding years
were passed in traveling through the western
states in pursuit of pleasure and business. In
politics Mr. Van Liew is a democrat, and in
1889 he was elected common pleas clerk of
Van Wert county, and so faithfully and ably
did he perform the duties of the office, that he
was triumphantly re-chosen for the same po
sition in 1892. During his second term he was
solicited, January 19, 1895, to accept the
position of cashier of the First National bank
of Van Wert, and this position he at present
most ably fills. Mr. Van Liew was chosen
clerk of the courts of Van Wert county by a
most flattering majority, and is the present in
cumbent of that position of honor and trust.
The marriage of Mr. Van Liew was happily
consummated in Larwell, Ind., February 9,
1869, with Miss Emma A. Robinson, who was
born in Medina county, Ohio, August 8, 1852,

a daughter of S. F. and Mary Robinson, and
this union has been blessed by the birth of two
daughters: Lou E., wife of C. L. McFadden,
and Winifred, at home. Mr. Van Liew is a
thirty-second degree Mason and a member of
the Mystic Shrine, and is probably to-day the
most popular man in Van Wert county with
all classes. He is foremost in every enter
prise worthy of support, and a potent factor
in its successful prosecution. His integrity is
without a blemish and his word is as accept
able to a creditor as a doubly endorsed promis
sory note. No work of this character would
be complete without mention of this talented
man of business. To know John Van Liew
(and who does not know him?) is to know one
of the most genial and popular gentleman of
the county and state.

35

HOMAS J. TRIPPY, a prominent
member of the Van Wert bar, is a
native of the county of Van Wert,
Ohio, and son of Levi and Matilda
Trippy. Levi Trippy was born November 13,
1823, in Columbiana county, Ohio, of English-
German ancestry; and the mother, whose
maiden name was Matilda Fisher, a native of
Pennsylvania, dates her birth from the 7th
day of March, 1833, her family being of Ger
man-Irish origin. They were married Decem
ber 19, 1 85 1, in Van Wert county, and have
since been well-known residents of Jennings
township, where Mr. Trippy owns a well im
proved farm in the oil belt. To Levi and
Matilda Trippy have been born the following
children: Henry N., of Jennings township;
Mary, wife of William Haver, of Van Wert
county; Thomas J., whose name introduces
this sketch; George, deceased; Anna, wife of
L. L. Rupert, of Allen county, Ind. ; Susan,
wife of William Fisher; Jennie, wife of H.
Haver; William H., and Nora, at home.

814

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Thomas J. Trippy was born and reared to
manhood on the home farm in Jennings town
ship, received his early educatioft in the com
mon schools, and later attended the Normal
school at Ada, Ohio, where he made substan
tial progress in the higher branches of learn
ing. For some time after leaving the latter
institution, Mr. Trippy engaged in teaching,
which profession he had previously entered,
having taught his first term at the early age of
nineteen years. He continued in educational
work for eleven successive years, a part of
which time he was located in the town of
Spencerville, where, for four years, he was en
gaged in merchandising, in partnership with
J. M. Bond. Finding the mercantile trade not
to his taste, Mr. Trippy severed his connection
with the same, and effected a co-partnership
in the real estate and insurance business with
J. J. Miller, which firm continued until 1892.
In the meantime, having decided to make the
legal profession a life work, Mr. Trippy pur
sued a course of reading, and, in the summer
of the same year, entered the law department
of Ada university, from which he was gradu
ated in the fall of 1893. He was admitted to
the bar October 5, 1893, at Columbus, Ohio,
and immediately thereafter engaged in the
practice at Van Wert, where his ability soon
won for him recognition among his professional
brethren, and a lucrative business in the courts
of this and adjoining counties. In the fall of
' 1894 Mr. Trippy, was nominated, by the re
publican party, candidate for prosecuting at
torney, and at the ensuing election received a
majority of 485 over his competitor, and upon
the ist of January, 1895, entered upon the dis
charge of his official functions. Mr. Trippy
bears the reputation of an able and pains-taking
lawyer and of being a safe counselor, and has
been successful since his admission to the bar.
In every capacity, professional and official, he
has discharged his duties with credit to himself

and satisfaction to the public, and by his genial,
kind-hearted and courteous conduct, has won
for himself a prominent place in the estimation
of the public.
Mr. Trippy was married in Allen county,
Ohio, May 26, 1881, to Cynthia Rupert, a
native of the same county and state, whose
birth occurred on the 25th day of February,
1862. Mrs. Trippy is a daughter of John W.
and Elizabeth (McMillan) Rupert, and is the
mother of two bright boys, Clarence W. and
John H. ; she is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and moves in the best social
circles of the city. Mr. Trippy has been suc
cessful in the accumulation of means, owning
a nice residence property on Wall street; he is
a member of the Pythian order and has before
him a future of much promise.

£-V* CHUYLER SIMPSON TUTTLE,
•v%k* M. D., a young and popular physician
^ j of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in this
city September 1, 1869, and is a son
of M. H. and Mary J. (Murphy) Tuttle. He
received his preparatory education in the
county schools and at the Middlepoint academy,
graduating from the latter in 1885, when he
entered the office of T. S. Gilliland, of Lima,
Ohio, as book-keeper, remained a short time
only, and then for two terms taught school in
Union township, this county, at the conclusion
of which he began the study of medicine under
Dr. E. L. Wilkinson, of Van Wert, and after
a year's reading under his able instruction,
read the following year at home, and then
passed a year at the Newburg Insane asylum
at Cleveland; then entered the Rush Medical
college of Chicago, from which he graduated
March 28, 1892, and at once entered upon the
practice of his profession at Van Wert, where
he has met with phenomenal success for one so

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

815

newly admitted to association with high-rank
medical practitioners.
The doctor was joined in wedlock, in Van
Wert, October 4, 1893, to Miss Mary C. Clay,
a native of Mendon, Ohio, born October 24,
1872, and a daughter of John Clay, also a
native of the Buckeye state. One son was
born to this union November 16, 1894, viz:
Miles Henderson. Mrs. Tuttle is a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the
doctor is a member of the order of Maccabees
and the Independant order of Odd Fellows,
as well as the the Northwestern Ohio Medical
association and the Van Wert county Medical
society, in all of which he is very highly es
teemed; in politics he affiliates with the repub
licans, and his position in the social circles of
Van Wert, like that of his aimable young wife,
is all that could be desired. The doctor has a
beautiful home on West Main street.

HLFRED S. UHRICH, one of the
oldest and most successful farmers of
Pleasant township, is a native of the
Buckeye state, born in Tuscarawas
county, April 17, 1832. His grandfather,
John Uhrich, was born near Philadelphia, Pa. ,
in 1 75 1, and the tradition is that the family is
descended in a direct line from a son of Gusta-
vus Adolphus, who, being disinherited, on ac
count of his marriage with a Jewish lady, came
to America in the time of the colonies and
founded the family of his name in the United
States. Jacob Uhrich, the subject's great
grandfather, was a soldier in the war of the
Revolution, and was noted for his great
physical strength.
In 1802, John Uhrich moved to Tuscara
was county, Ohio, making the journey from
Philadelphia in a wagon; and the year follow
ing his father joined him, bringing the machin
ery for the first flouring-mill ever erected in the

state of Ohio. John Uhrich was a farmer,
and his death occurred about 1840; his son,
also named John, father of the subject of this
mention, was born near Philadelphia in 1801,
was reared on the frontier, married, in 1831,
Mary A. Everett, daughter of John and Re
becca (Taylor) Everett, and reared a family of
three children — Alfred S., Cyrus and Rebecca,
wife of W. C. Lindsey. In 1838, John
Uhrich, Jr., and family moved to Adams
county, Ind., where he carried on farming in
connection with his trade of carpentering
until 1840, at which time he moved to Mercer
county, Ohio; thence, eighteen years later, to
the county of Vun Wert, where he resided
until his death in 1883. Both he and wife'
were active members of the Church of God,
and politically he was an an old-line whig, and
later a republican. He was a good and useful
citizen and belonged to that class of pioneers
to whom the western country is so largely
indebted for its present greatly advanced state
of civilization. Alfred S. Uhrich remained under the pa
rental roof until early manhood, attended the
common schools as opportunities afforded, and
has been a farmer all his life. When a young
man he spent a year in Shelby county as a
farm hand, was similarly engaged for about the
same length of time in Iowa, and in 1861 was
united in marriage with Sarah J. Goodwin,
daughter of Jacob and Parmelia (Keith) Good
win. Shortly after his marriage Mr. Uhrich
purchased a farm in Van Wert county, where
he has since made his home, owning, at this
time, 160 acres of valuable land, which, under
his successful management, has been brought
to a high state of cultivation. For. a number
of years he was the leading saw-mill man of
this county, and probably furnished more build
ing material than any other person in this part
of the state. Mr. Uhrich is a republican in his
political belief and has very decided opinions

816

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

upon the leading questions of the day. While
not a member of any church, he believes in
all moral and religious movements, contributes
liberally to their promotion, and has done
much for the general welfare of the com
munity in which he resides. The following
are the names of the children born to Mr. and
Mrs. Uhrich: Elmer E., Cyrus M., Frank L. ,
Arthur M., Drusilla D., Minnie A., John,
Annie (deceased), Ulysses and Byron.

>-r» OSEPH UNDERWOOD, a retired
A farmer and patriotic soldier of the late
A f war, living in Van Wert, was born
April 10, 1843. He is a son of Lorenzo
Underwood, who was born in Crawford county,
Ohio, and at an early age learned the trade of
brickmason, at which he worked most of his
life, or until old age compelled him to retire
from active life. After his marriage to Miss
Martha Warner, of Crawford county, he re
moved to Knox county, 111. , and lived there
three years. Afterward he went to Iowa and
settled in Appanoose county, where he re
mained ten years, still working at his trade
and at the same time following farming to
some extent. In 1858 he and nine others
started for Pike's Peak, Colo., in search of
gold, but Mr. Underwood fell ill of a fever and
died the same year. In the early years of his
life he was a whig, but when the republican
party was organized he became a republican,
and so remained until his death. In religion
he was a Quaker, and was a liberal-minded
and kind-hearted man. At his death he left
his family in comfortable circumstances. By
his marriage to Miss Warner he became the
father of the following children: Joseph,
Valentine, John and William, all of whom are
living but William, who died in 1880. Will
iam had married Miss Sarah Mohler, who is
still living. Valentine is married and living

in Crawford county, and John is married and
living in Dickinson county, Kans.
Joseph Underwood was born in Crawford
county, Ohio. He was reared a farmer, and
when about twenty years of age left his home,
and remained away until his father's death.
He then returned to Crawford county and re
mained there two years, when he came to Van
Wert county, and here followed farming until
he was drafted into the army from Harrison
township. He went to the front and par
ticipated in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., and
in the battle of Nashville, in which latter bat
tle he was wounded, December 15, 1864,
being hit by a musket-ball in the right leg. He
was taken to the hospital, but amputation of
the leg became necessary, and, inconsequence
of the loss, he is now in receipt of $36 from
the government. He was a member of com
pany F, Forty-first Ohio volunteer infantry,
and fought under Gen. George H. Thomas.
Mr. Underwood is a strong republican, is a
member of the Lutheran church, and is willing
to lend his aid to any public enterprise that
promises well for all concerned.
Mr. Underwood was married, in 1862, to
Miss Mary Zimmerman, of Salem, Ohio, and
by her is the father of the following children:
Catherine Jane, born January 9, 1864; John
H., born February 15, 1869, and William L. ,
born September 5, 1880. Catherine and John
are married and William is at home attending
school. Mary Zimmerman was born Septem
ber 15, 1839, and is a daughter of Henry
Zimmerman, who was born in Columbiana
county, Ohio, in 18 19. He was reared on a
farm and followed that occupation until his
death, which occurred on August 11, 1887.
He was married to Miss Myra Cook, of Colum
biana county, Ohio, who died in 1844. By
her he had three children, viz: Mary, John
and Catherine, all of whom are living. Mr.
Zimmerman's second marriage was to Miss

JOSEPH UNDERWOOD.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

819

Mary Fagley, of Salem, Ohio, in 185 1. She
died in 1879. Mr. Zimmerman was a demo
crat in politics, a Methodist in religion, and
was a hard-working, economical man, accumu
lated considerable property, and at his death
he left his family comfortably situated. Mary
Zimmerman, the wife of Mr. Joseph Under
wood, was born in Salem, Ohio, and at the
age of two years was brought to Van Wert
county by her parents. Here she met and
married Mr. Underwood, and here she still
lives, surrounded by her family and by a large
circle of kind and true friends.

Sr— * ENRY K. VINCENT, farmer and
|f\ contracting builder of Hoaglin town-
A .r ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is of
ancient Welsh extraction, but de
scends from a long line of American ancestors.
His grandfather, Henry, was born in Connec
ticut, and in 1802 came to Ohio and entered
land in Washington county, Waterford town
ship, where he cleared up a farm of 400 acres.
He. married Sarah Cogshall, and both he and
wife died in Washington county. Henry Vin
cent, the father of Henry K., our subject, and
son of the Henry above mentioned, was born
in Washington county, Ohio, in 1812; taught
school for many years, and married Miss Eliz
abeth Wood, daughter of Samuel and Lydia
(Bilu) Wood, to which union the following
children were born: John A., Sarah W. (de
ceased), Thomas, Johanna, William H., Lydia
(deceased), Henry K. and Rebecca.
Henry K. Vincent was born in Washing
ton county, Ohio, October 6, 1849, passed his
early life on the farm of an uncle, R. Wood,
was well educated, and also learned the trade
of carpenter. During the summer season for
twenty years he has contracted for and
erected buildings. He has been a resident of
Van Wert county since 1872. February 6,

1879, he married Miss Mary E. Hattery,
daughter of Nathaniel and Ellen (Atcheson)
Hattery. This union has been blessed by the
birth of four children — Margaret E., Eugene
O., Elizabeth I. and Elsie V. — all attending
school, except the youngest, Eugene. In pol
itics Mr. Vincent is a prohibitionist, and in re
ligion, both he and wife are Presbyterians; he
is also a member of grange No. 400, Patrons
of Husbandry, of Van Wert county, in which
he takes an active interest.

<>^OBERT WADE, one of the most
I /^ worthy and substantial farmers of
f 9 Ridge township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a native of West Virginia (as
the state is now named) and was born in
Greenbrier county February 24, 1831. His
parents, George and Mary (Childers) Wade,
were natives of the same state, and in 1837
came to Ohio and purchased lands in Clinton
county, on which they made a home until
their earthly toil was closed — that of the
mother at the age of seventy-four years, and
that of the father at ninety years. The mar
riage of this couple was fruitful, their progeny
being represented by the following names:
Clark, who grew to manhood, but was killed
by a falling tree; Robert, whose name opens
this sketch; George W., after reaching ma
turity, was drowned in the reservoir at Saint
Mary's, Ohio; Eliza M., the deceased wife of
Joseph Flint; William, who died in childhood,
and Frances, who is the wife of Charles Drake,
of Clinton county, Ohio.
Robert Wade was reared to farming and
really learned more in the fields and woods,
and in contact with the people of the world,
than he did in the school-house, although his
literary education was not entirely neglected.
On March 10, 1859, he wedded Miss Ursulla
Fultz, daughter of John and Nora M. (Camp-

820

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

bell) Fultz, and the eldest of the following
family, who were named, excluding her own
name, in order of birth, as follows: Nancy
Elizabeth, now wife of Joseph Flint, of Clin
ton county, Ohio; George W. , who died in
early manhood; Zachariah, married to Chris
tina Haverstick, and residing in Clinton
county; David William, who died in boyhood;
Rachael Jane, -widow of John Hillings; Phoebe
Ann, wife of Ephraim Adams, of Clinton
county; John, who resides on the homestead;
Maggie and Carson, twins, and Edith Grace,
wife of Leonidas Smith. The mother of this
large family died January 12, 1894. The
children born to Robert and Ursulla Wade,
thirteen in number, were named, in order of
birth, as follows: Joseph, who died in child
hood; Minnie Elvie, wife of Samuel Farling;
Frank E., married to Cora Shire; Ishum, hus
band of Susan Fowler; Mary Susan, wife of
Elmore Kittle, of Adams county, Ind. ; Rosa,
married to Alva Kittle, of Mercer county,
Ohio; Jamie, who died at the age of twenty-
one years; Nora Etta, wife of William Bigham,
of Ridge township, Van Wert county; John
Brough, who died at the age of six years;
George Robert, who died when seven years
of age, Henry Irvin, died when but a year
old; Martha Maud, now thirteen years of age,
and Francis Quigley, aged eleven years. In
1864 Mr. Wade purchased a farm of 133 acres
in Pleasant township, and there remained un
til 1 89 1, when he sold and bought where he
now owns, in Ridge township, 160 acres. No
better farm can be found in the county. Like
all other members of the Society of Friends, to
which he, his wife and children belong, he is
economical, but generous, and has ever since
his residence in Ridge township enjoyed the
true and undisguised respect of his neighbors.
He is, of course, like all other Quakers, an
uncompromising republican, and was always a
bitter opponent of the ownership of man by

man, or, in other words, the slavery institu
tion as it formerly existed in his native state of
Virginia and elsewhere.

>-j*OHN WAGONER, florist and gardener,
A of Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in
A 1 Allegheny county, Pa., Jannary 14,
1838. His father, William Wagoner,
was born in the state of Delaware, October
14, 1 79 1, and was a son of Thomas Wagoner,
a native of the same state and of German de
scent, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1812,
and lived in that state until 1844. His son
William, father of John, our subject, was
reared a farmer in Allegheny county, Pa., was
there married to Mary Ann Baggs in 1820, and
by her became the father of ten children, viz:
Ann, wife of William Reno, of Pittsburg, Pa. ;
Hester, deceased; Lettie, wife of John A.
Glasor, of Lawrence county, Pa. ; Susan and
William deceased; Andy, of Van Wert, Ohio;
Thomas, a carpenter of Pennsylvania; John,
the subject of this sketch; Joseph, of Law
rence county, Pa., and Mary, of Allegheny
county, Pa. The father of this family died
September 9, 1864, and the mother in August,
1884, in the Presbyterian faith; in politics the
father was a democrat.
John Wagoner, our subject, was reared on
the home farm in Allegheny county, Pa., and
at the age of fifteen years left his home and
began business life for himself as a general
gardener and so continued until 1867, when
he went to Marion county, 111., rented land
and engaged in general gardening until 1871,
and then moved to Lafayette, Ind., followed
the same business until 1876, and then moved
to Fort Wayne, Ind.. where he was engaged
in gardening until 1888, when he came to Van
Wert and engaged as florist and gardener for
H. C. Glenn, with whom he remained for four
years. In 1892, in company with W. H.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

821

Wagoner, of Pennsylvania, he bought fifteen
lots and erected the present green-house,
which covers 15,000 square feet, and is stocked
with a choice variety of plants, including ex
otics and the more comprehensive flora of the
temperate zone.
Mr. Wagoner was married in Allegheny
county, Pa., June 29, 1859, to Miss Elizabeth
C. Masenhall, a native of the county, born
April 18, 1844, and daughter of Peter and
Hannah (Kruger) Masenhall. To the union
of John and Elizabeth Wagoner have been
born eleven children, named as follows: Wil
bert and Lawrence, deceased; Albert, now
with his father; Thomas, Walter, Isabelle and
Oliver — all four deceased; Morgan, Mary,
Robert and Franklin, at home. Mrs. Wagoner
is a devout member of the Methodist Episco
pal church, and Mr. Wagoner is in politics a
democrat. Since their sojourn in Van Wert
the family have won the respect of all with
whom they have become acquainted.

>j*OHN WAGONER, a well-to-do farmer
A of Washington township, Van Wert
»J county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier, is a
native of the state and was born in
Richland county July 9, 1842. His grand
father Thomas, who spelled his surname Wag
goner, was of German descent, was a pioneer
of Allegheny county, Pa. , was a farmer, and
married Isabel Russell, of Irish and German
extraction, and to their union were born nine
children, as follows: Thomas, Nancy, Sarah,
Joseph, Andrew, Jane, Edward, Isabel and
James. By a previous marriage, Thomas
Waggoner was the father of six children —
John, William, Susan, Mary, Rachel and Bet
sey, but of these no further record is obtainable.
Edward Wagoner, son of Thomas Wagoner
by his marriage with Isabel Russell, was born
in Allegheny county, Pa., about 1828, was

reared on the home farm and was taught the
trade of carpenter. When a young man he
came to Ohio and located in Ashland county,
where he married Margaret Adams, the union
resulting in the birth of two children — John
and Susan E. Returning to Pennsylvania to
work at his trade, Mrs. Wagoner died in
Beaver county. Going then to Allegheny
county, Edward married his second wife —
Cynthia Bradley — and to this union were born
four children: Albert, Thomas, Emma and
one deceased. Mr. Wagoner later returned to
Ohio and lived in Ashland county until some
time during the progress of the Civil war, when
he moved to Van Wert county, where he pur
chased and cleared up forty acres of land, and
later moved to Allen county, prospering as a
farmer and enjoying the esteem of his neigh
bors. He reached a good old age and died in
the faith of the United Brethren church.
John Wagoner, the subject of this biog
raphy, was reared on the home farm until
August 11, 1862, when, at the age of twenty
years, he enlisted in Ashland county, in com
pany B, One Hundred and Second Ohio volun
teer infantry, and served until July 8, 1865 —
or nearly three years — when he was honorably
discharged at Columbus, Ohio. He fought in
the campaigns of Tennessee, Kentucky and
Alabama, and was in the battle of Decatur in
the latter state, and in the famous march from
Franklin, Ky. , to take part in the battle at
Perryville — besides dozens of other serious
engagements and skirmishes. He was always
faithful and cheerful, was always with his
regiment and doing his share of its work,
except when sick for two weeks in hospital at
Covington, Ky., and when on detailed duty
with the first Tennessee battery, with which
he drove a team eleven months.
Mr. Wagoner was married, in 1868, in
Allen county, to Miss Sarah A. Brand, who
was born in the county November 19, 1839, a

822

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

daughter of John and Harriet (Creager) Brand.
John Brand was born in Fayette county, Pa.,
February 19, 1794, and was married in Fair
field county, Ohio, March 25, 1832, to Hen
rietta Creager, a native of Maryland, born
March 26, 1806, of German descent. To Mr.
and Mrs. Brand were born eight children, of
whom five lived to adult age, viz: Sylvester
J., Rachel, Sarah A., Lucinda and Mary. In
October, 1832, Mr. Brand settled in German
township, Allen county, on 105 acres, became
one of the county commissioners, and was one
of the builders of the old brick court house at
Lima; he lived to the great age of eighty-four
years and died in 1880, a member of the Meth
odist church, and a very prominent citizen.
Mr. and Mrs. Wagoner, after marriage,
settled in York township, Van Wert county,
on forty acres of woodland, which he cleared
up, and then moved to Washington township,
in 1882, and bought eighty acres, then all in
the woods, but which he has converted into
an excellent farm, improving it in most admir
able style, and expending $1,000 on drain tile
alone, so that it will now favorably compare
with any farm of its size in the county. To
Mr. and Mrs. Wagoner have been born three
children — Thurman B., Mary B. and Nettie
B. — all born in York township. Mr. and Mrs.
Wagoner have done a vast amount of hard
work, have reared a respected family, and are
honored by all who know them.

sr

H. WAGONER, florist, member of
the firm of Wagoner & Wagoner,
of Van WTert, Ohio, was born Jan
uary 6, 1867. He is a son of An
drew Wagoner, who was born December 13,
1833, in Allegheny county, Pa., and is of Irish
and German parentage. At an early age An
drew learned the trade of ship-carpenter, at
which he worked for eleven years with un

usual success. On the 21st of September,
1869, he was married to Miss Sarah J. Mar-
latt, of Allegheny county, Pa. , and continued
to work at ship-carpentering and at the gen
eral carpenter's trade until 1894, when he re
moved to Van Wert to assist his son, W. H.,
to build a greenhouse. By his marriage to
Miss Marlatt he is the father of the following
children: E. C, Celina, W. H., Frank L.
(deceased), Mary L. , Alice, James W. , and
Joseph W. Of these eight children, Celina,
James W. and Joseph W. are dead, all three
dying in infancy. Mr. Wagoner is a repub
lican in politics, and is a member of the Meth
odist Episcopal church. He is also a member
of the American Mechanics.
Mrs. Wagoner is a member of the Method
ist Episcopal church, and takes great interest
in religious matters.- She was born August 13,
1839, and is the daughter of Joseph Marlatt,
who was born in New Jersey. When yet a
young man he learned the carpenter trade.
He married Miss Agnes Hires, of New Jersey,
and afterward removed to Allegheny county,
Pa., where he followed his trade with great
success. In politics he was a democrat, was a
Methodist in religion, and was very liberal in
his assistance to all religious and other enter
prises of which he approved. He lived in
Allegheny county, Pa., until his death, which
occurred in 1882.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Marlatt were the par
ents of thirteen children, viz: Charles, Michael,
William H., Elias, John, James W., Ella, Mary
E., Sarah A., Lydia, and three that died in in
fancy. All the rest are living, married, and
heads of families. Mrs. Marlatt, the mother
of these children, died in 1887. She was a
native of New Jersey, was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and a most ex
cellent woman in every way, highly respected
by all that knew her.
W. H. Wagoner is a popular and highly

oCce^iA^y/

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

827

respected young business man of Van Wert,
and is at the present time the proprietor of one
¦of the finest greenhouses in the state of Ohio
It is the pride of the city of Van Wert, and is
situated on Cemetery street, near Woodlano.
cemetery, and in this fine greenhouse all kinds
of plants and shrubs may be found whenever
demanded by his patrons.

ORIN G. VICKROY, farmer and stock
raiser of Union township, Van Wert
county, son of Emanuel and Matilda
(Hardman) Vickroy, was born in Rich
land county, Ohio, April 3, 1854. Emanuel
Vickroy was born in Bedford county, Pa. , July
11, 1824, and was a son of John Vickroy,
whose family was among the early English set
tlers of that state. Emanuel Vickroy was a
farmer, remained in Pennsylvania until Novem
ber 4, 1853, at which time he emigrated to
Ohio, settling in the county of Richland,
where he purchased a small farm and engaged
in agricultural pursuits. Later he abandoned
farming, and for a time was engaged in mer
chandising in the town of Bellville, but after
three years' experience in the grocery business
he returned to the country, rented a farm and
continued his former vocation until about 1873,
in which year he began the huckster business,
following the same until 1884. His marriage
with Matilda Hardman occurred August 14,
1848, her parents being Jacob and Elizabeth
Hardman, both of German descent. The chil
dren born of this marriage were eight in num
ber, viz: Remina, wife of Henry Schwartz;
Martha A., Orin G., Jacob, MaryE., deceased
wife of E. R. Kelly; Sarah, John H. ; Alice,
wife of Cassius Huntsman. The mother of
these children was born in Bedford county,
Pa., September 10, 1831, grew to womanhood
at the country home of her parents, came to
Richland county, Ohio, November 4, 1853,

and her death occurred in Richland county,
Ohio, December 25, 1863. She was an earnest
member of the Disciple church, a kind and
loving wife and mother, and her death was
deeply lamented by the community where she
has so long lived.
Orin G. Vickroy attended, in his youth, the
common schools of Richland and Morrow
counties, and early learned the dignity of labor
with his father on the farm. After his father
commenced the huckster business young Vick
roy became dissatisfied and concluded he would
look out for himself and left his home and en
gaged as a farm hand, for a time; then think
ing that he was not making money fast enough
he bought territory and engaged in selling a
patent fence until he lost faith in the business,
and then quite poorer by considerable than he
began, but thought what he lost in dollars and
cents was gained in experience, and went to
again on a farm with a will, and in 1876 went
to Wyandot county, where for one year he
worked as a farm laborer, after which he
rented some land, which he successfully culti
vated, and after making several • moves in
Wyandot county, thought perhaps he might do
better by coming further west, so in the spring
of 1884, after a heavy rain, it being so wet he
could not work the land that he was cultivat
ing, he concluded that he would come out to
Van Wert county and see the black swamps,
as it was called by Wyandot county people.
When he came here he found the greater part
of the land near his present location inundated
with water. He borrowed a pair of rubber
boots and walked over a part of the land that
he now owns, and finding that there was suf
ficient fall so the land could be underdrained,
concluded that he had better purchase eighty
acres and bought it before he left the county,
thinking it would be a good investment if he
never moved on it. After going back to
Wyandot county he told his wife that he had

828

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

purchased eighty acres of the black swamps,
and asked her how she would like to move out
there, where they had plenty of music, made
by frogs, cow bells and mosquitos. She said
she would rather live on land of their own than
to rent. So in the fall of 1884 O. G. chart
ered a car and moved to his present location
in Union township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
arriving at Convoy November 22. 1884, which
place is three miles from his farm.
March 18, 1880, Mr. Vickroy and Miss Re
becca Gongwer, daughter of Philip and Sa-
loma (Long) Gongwer, of Ashland county,
Ohio, were united in marriage. Mrs. Vickroy
was. born in the aforesaid county, June 21,
1859, her father being a native of Pennsylva
nia. Mr. and Mrs. Vickroy found the Van
Wert people sociable and clever, but there was
something else to look after; it was necessary
to have something to eat and how to get it on
a farm that was in woods and covered with
water was the question that came to Vickroy's
mind, not having any cleared land that he
could raise a crop. So by asking some of the
near neighhors he found that Shepard of Con
voy bought elm stave bolts, and having some
cull elm timber he commenced making bolts
and made enough money at it to keep the wolf
from the door, but when spring come there
was something else to do; the land had to be
drained before there could be any clearing
done. Vickroy hired some hands and com
menced making the outlet for his land, and
while making it he found another drawback;
most of the people of northern Van Wert al
lowed their stock to run at large, and the cat
tle were tramping the outlet ditches shut; he
thought it all wrong to work hard to make a
ditch and have cattle following up and tramp
ing it shut, so after being here a few years, he
saw that it was absolutely necessary to enforce
the stock law, and he with the aid of a few
others succeeeed in having the stock laws en

forced, against great opposition. After Vick
roy had an outlet made for the water from his
land, he commenced clearing, underdraining,
and farming his land, and by careful manage
ment and hard work he succeeded in placing
his farm in its present condition. Mr. Vick
roy is what may be properly termed a self-made
man, having gone out to battle with the world,
without the assistance of a dollar from any one,
yet by his well directed and persistent efforts
he has accumulated a goodly share of this
world's goods, owning a fine farm of 237
acres and other property of value. Mr. and
Mrs.- Vickroy while not members of church
are liberal in their support of all worthy chari
ties, and they have always exerted a whole
some moral influence in the neighborhood.
Mr. Vickroy is a practical man, enterprising
and public-spirited, and is popular in his coun
ty; politically he is a democrat, but has no
political aspiration whatever, and while not an
office-seeker himself, he loves to see good hon
orable men elected to fill our offices; he has
been honored by his party with positions of
trust in his township without any opposition
at the election; the opposite party did not run
a man against him. Mr. Vickroy attributes
his success in getting a farm to industry, fair
dealing, and doing the right thing at the right
time. Mr. and Mrs. Orin G. Vickroy have no-
children of their own, but have reared a boy
who was born October 1, 1880.

@UY CARLTON VANHORN, one of
the thriving farmers of Tully town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, de
scends from an old Holland-Dutch
family of New York state. His father, John
Vanhorn, was a native of the Empire state,
and there married Mary Burton, who bore five-
children — William, James, Sarah, Ellen and
Guy C. From New York Mr. and Mrs. Van-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

829

horn moved to Bradford county, Pa., and
thence came to Ohio, in 1852, and settled in
Franklin county, where he lived to be eighty-
seven years of age. He was a republican in
politics, and two of his sons, James and Will
iam, faithfully served in the Union army during
the late Civil war.
Guy Carlton Vanhorn, our subject, was
born in Bradford county, Pa., September 20,
1847, and was consequently but five years of
age when brought to Ohio. He was reared to
farming and carpentering in Franklin county,
and in 1867 married Mrs. Susan J. Leap, a
daughter of Isaac Wooley; this lady bore Mr.
Vanhorn four children — Alice, Isaac, Frances
and Zeneth G. — and then passed away in 1871.
Mr. Vanhorn came to Van Wert county after
the death of his first wife, having married,
March 6, 1878, Mrs. Eliza Roberts, a widow,
and daughter of Thomas Johnson. To this
marriage three children have been born, viz :
One that died in infancy, Ida M. and Cora E.
When Mr. Van horn bought his present home
stead of eighty acres it was deep in the woods,
but by hard labor he has cleared it up, and it
is now as neat and well cultivated a place as
can be found in the township. He is entirely
a self-made man, but has been ably aided by
his faithful wife to secure his present compe
tency. His daughter Alice is married to S.
Sponseller, a farmer of Tully township, and
has one child; Isaac Vanhorn married Ida
Zinn, and is a farmer of Harrison township;
Fannie is married to Frank Zinn, a farmer of
Tully township, and has one son, born July 4,
1895. The mother of these children sickened
shortly after her arrival in Tully township, and
an expenditure of $500 for doctors' bills,
through a period of eighteen months, failed to
save her, and when she died her eldest daugh
ter was but six years of age; and so Mr. Van
horn struggled on for nearly three years before
he again married and again became happy in

the aid and comfort afforded by woman's pres
ence, through his marriage with Elsie Johnson.
Thomas J. Johnson, the father of the pres
ent Mrs. Vanhorn, was born in Loudoun coun
ty, Va., but when a young man came to Clin
ton county, Ohio, and married Hannah Frey,
who became the mother of Mrs. Vanhorn.
Mr. Johnson, after marriage, returned to Lou
doun county, Va. , resided there seven years,
came back to Ohio, and in 1880 settled in
Convoy, where he worked at his trade of
wagon making until his death, in 1886, at the
age of sixty-nine years. He and his wife were
members of the Friends' church, and were the
parents of eleven children, viz: JohnH., Sarah
C, Jane, Michael, Cyrus, Elsie, Nicholas, Ma-
hala, Harriet, Elizabeth and America. In
politics Mr. Johnson was a republican, but yet
had a son who was forced into the Confederate-
army, and who died six months later. Mr.
Johnson, being a Union man, was obliged to
leave Virginia in 1862 and seek refuge in Mary
land, and thence flee to Ohio. Mr. Vanhorn
is also a stanch republican.

Sr-» UZERNE WAGNER, farmer and tile
| C manufacturer, of Hoaglin township,.
1 ^i Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native
of the Buckeye state, born in Frank
lin county, November 19, 1849, and is of Ger
man extraction. His grandfather, Jacob Wag
ner, was born in Pennsylvania, moved to
Franklin county, Ohio, entered 160 acres of.
land, which he cleared up with his own hands,
and there married a Miss Danalds and passed
the remainder of his life in that county. James.
Wagner, son of Jacob and father of our sub
ject, was born in Pennsylvania in 1812, and
was seven years of age when brought to Ohio
(18 19). He was reared in Plain township,
Franklin county, and later became thoroughly
identified with the interests and prosperity of

¦830

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

the towuship and county. He there married
Lydia Parks, by which union were born.
Jacob T., Elizabeth (deceased), Antoinette,
Theressa (deceased), and Luzerne. The
mother of these children was a devout mem
ber of the Methodist church, and in that faith
passed to her long rest. The second marriage
of Mr. Wagner was with Electa Smith, and to
this union was born eight children, viz:
James (deceased), Lydia (deceased), John,
Mattie (deceased), Effie, Kittie, Charlie (de
ceased) and Willis. The father owned a farm
of 165 acres, was first an old-line whig in his
politics, then became a stanch republican,
and was a highly honored and influential and
public spirited citizen.
Luzerne Wagner, our subject, was reared,
as most farm lads are, to hard work, but ob
tained a better education than was usual at
that day. He graduated from a normal col
lege and for fifteen years taught school in
Franklin and Van Wert counties. November
19, 1874, he married Mary J. Alspach, daugh
ter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Henry) Alspach.
Jacob Alspach was born in Franklin county,
Ohio, March 11, 1829, on the farm on which
he is still living; his wife was born in the same
county, September 12, 1832, and died Octo
ber 4, 1889, a member of the United Brethren
church, of which the husband is still a mem
ber, while in politics he is a democrat. The
-children born to Mr. and Mrs. Alspach were
named William W., Mary J., Sarah (de
ceased), Viola, George H. (deceased), Lucy,
Christina C. , Ella M. (deceased), Charles E.
and Eugene. The grandfather of Mrs. Wag
ner, John Alspach, was a native of Perry
county, Ohio, married Catherine Bevelbyman,
a native of the same county, lived three years
in Fairfield county, and then moved to Frank
lin county, where the grandmother killed a
cub bear the first day of her arrival, in the
absence of her husband.

Mr. and Mrs. Luzerne Wagner came from
Franklin county to Van Wert county soon
after marriage — in 1875 — and settled on their
present farm of forty acres, now improved
with a new two-story brick residence. Mr.
Wagner also owns and successfully operates a
modern tile and pressed brick factory, worth
$2,500 or $3,000, and his farm is conceded to
be the best tilled of any of its size in the county.
Mr. Wagner is in politics a stanch republican;
in religion he and his wife are adherents of
the United Brethren church, which he aided
liberally in building and of which he is a trus
tee. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Wagner
comprises the following children: Earnest J.,
Clarence L. , Gladys V., Clarissa P. and Lucy
V. — all still living to bless the home of their
beloved parents.

eLIJAH WALLER, one of the oldest
settlers of Tully township, Van Wert
county, and a prosperous farmer, de
scends from an old Virginia family of
English extraction. His father, John E. Wal
ler, was born in Fauquier county, Va. , came
to Ohio when about eighteen years of age,
was here married to Elizabeth Largent,
daughter of Abraham and Annie Largent, and
located in Champaign county, where he taught
school and farmed, and where were born all
his children, viz: Francis A., Mary W.,
Sarah J., Amanda, Lucy, Charles, Elijah and
Elisha (twins), Lewis E. and Epanetus, de
ceased. In 1 85 1 Mr. Waller came to Van
Wert county and bought eighty acres of land,
which, with the assistance of his sons, he
cleared up and converted into a fertile farm.
He was one of the pioneer school teachers of
the county, was a deacon and elder in the
United Brethren church for a number of years
(of which church his wife was also a member),
and died in January, i860, aged about sixty

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

83t

years. In politics he was a democrat and had
served as township trustee and clerk, and was
honored as a man of the strictest integrity.
Elijah Waller, our subject, was born May
n, 1837, and when fifteen years of age came
to Van Wert county with his father, whom he
assisted in clearing up the homestead from the
wilderness. October 11, 1857, he married
Susanna Henney, daughter of William and
Mary (Sands) Henney. William Henney was
the son of a Revolutionary soldier and was
born in Pennsylvania in 1797; he was a pio
neer of Stark county, Ohio, and in 1839 came
to Van Wert county; here he was the fifth set
tler of Tully township, which was at the time,
of course, a dense wilderness, but by perse
verance he succeeded in accumulating and
clearing 280 acres, and became a wealthy
farmer. He and wife were the parents of
nine children, viz: Betsy, Nancy, Solomon,
Susanna, Mary, Hettie, Phebe, David and
William. Mrs. Henney was a member of the
Church of God; Mr. Henney was in politics a
democrat, was a justice of the peace, was a
most highly-respected citizen, and died August
5, 1 88 1, at the very venerable age of eighty-
four years.
After marriage Mr. Waller lived on the
home place until 1894, when he erected his
present tasteful residence. Assisted by his
faithful wife, he has accumulated 100 acres of
first-class farming land, all well cultivated.
He and wife are the parents of the following
children: George W., Mary E. , Phebe,
William H., David P., Irene L., Elijah, Mer
ritt and Ira C. Of this family, George W.
married Dora Tracy and is the father of two
children; Mary E. is the wife of R. H. Sher
man, and is the mother of two children;
Phebe is married to Leonard Calvert, and is
the mother of three children; Irene L. is mar
ried to William A. Nantz, and has two chil
dren. Mr. and Mrs. Waller are members of

the Church of God, and in politics he is a
democrat. Mr. Waller has never been known
to connive at wrong-doing in any form, and
enjoys the unbounded confidence of the entire
community in which he lives.

>y»OHN WALLICK, one of the oldest and:
A most experienced farmers of York.
A 1 township, Van Wert county, is a na
tive of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, was
born in the year 1822, and is a son of Jacob
and Elizabeth (Haverstock) Wallick, who came
from Pennsylvania in the days of their single
blessedness. They were wedded in Tuscara
was county, and there had born to them the
following children: Henry; Mary Ann, wife
of Philip Getzman; Rebecca, who died in in
fancy; John; Daniel, who lives- in Oregon;.
David, of Van Wert county; Catherine, wife
of T. T. Bartlet; and Emanuel, who died in
early manhood..
Jacob Wallick, the father of this family,
died in 1877, at the advanced age of ninety
years; his helpmate, Elizabeth, having passed
away in 1875. He came to Van Wert county
in 1852, and purchased eighty acres of land.
John Wallick, our subject, spent his earlier-
life on a farm in Tuscarawas county, and at
twenty-four years of age married Rebecca Ann
Rainsberger, to whom were born four children,
viz: Baker; oue who died inlnfancy; Urias,
who wedded Mary Hartels, and Ezra, deceased..
The mother of these children, was called from-
earth September 2, i860, and in 1868 Mr.
Wallick was united in marriage with Anna
Gibson, who. bore one child — Viola; this lady
was also called away, dying August 17, 1877.
John Wallick, who has been thoroughly
trained in the science of agriculture, and has-
been taught the important lessons of industry
and economy; set manfully to work to clear up-
'his present farm, which, upon his first settle-

832

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ment was imbedded in a forest of dense woods
abounding in game, and his farm is now one of
the best improved in the township and is a source
of pride, not only to its owner, but to the resi
dents of the entire neighborhood. Mr. Wallick
has always been a God-fearing man, identified
with some church organization, and at present
holds membership with the Christian Union
denomination, and he saw well to it that all the
members of his family were likewise reared to
become devout Christians. In politics Mr.
Wallick has always been an ardent democrat,
and while he does his duty as a citizen, giving
voice to his honest sentiments at the polls, he
has never felt the ambition to hold office.

>y»ESSE WALLS, of Van Wert, Ohio,
A was born in Beaver county, Pa., Jan-
A 1 uary 14,1827. His father, Jesse Walls,
^"' was born December 5, 1785, in Sussex
county, Del. At an early age he learned the
wagon-maker's trade, but did not work at that
trade exclusively throughout his life. He was
married to Miss Leah Salmons, a native of the
same county with himself, and by her had the
following children: Isaac, Margaret, Nancy,
Nehemiah, Ellen, Mary, Elizabeth, Thomas,
John, Jesse and Samuel, eight of whom are
dead. All were married except Isaac, who
died a single man in his twentieth year. Mr.
Walls, the father of these children, upon leav
ing Delaware, located in New Castle, Pa.,
where he bought a farm, which he worked for
a number of years. When the war of 18 12
came on he went as a substitute for Joseph
Long to Lake Erie, and served three months as
fifer. After the expiration of his term of serv
ice he returned to New Castle and lived upon
his farm until 1846, when he sold out and re
moved to Van Wert county, Ohio, in which
county he purchased 160 acres of land, upon

which he lived and labored until old age com
pelled him to retire from active business. In
1857 he went back to Pennsylvania on a visit
to friends, and died there, that year, from a
stroke of paralysis. His wife died October
13, 1865. Mr. Walls was a whig in his early
life, and until the organization of the repub
lican party, and then for the last year or two
of his life he was a republican. He was buried
in Pennsylvania, where he had died. Both he
and his wife were members of the United
Brethren church, and were excellent people in
every way.
Jesse Walls, the subject of this sketch,
while yet a boy, learned the art of spinning,
and worked at it more or less until old age
came on. When his father brought his family
to Van' Wert county, he was nineteen years
old, and for several years thereafter he worked
on his father's farm. In 1850, when he was
twenty-two years of age, he married Miss Anna
Rigby, of New Castle, Pa. She was a mem
ber of the Christian or Disciples' church, bore
him four children, and died in 1855. The
names of these four children were as follows:
Margaret, Jessie D., Mary J., and Cyrus, the
last of whom died in infancy. The others all
married and had families of their own.
In 1855 Jesse Walls was married to Miss
Marinda Joseph, of New Castle, Pa., by whom
he had fourteen children, as follows: JohnE.,
born December 3, 1856; Lydia J., born Feb
ruary 6, 1858; William W., born March 10,
1859; SamuelS., born June 10, 1861; Caleb
J., born July 2, 1863; Carrie, born August 16,
1865; Lulu R., born May 10, 1867; Warren,
born March 4, 1869; Maud E., born Septem
ber 19, 1872; Iona, Daniel and Ida, all born
December 8, 1876; Harry J., born December
5, 1877; and May, born December 13, 1880.
Lydia died February 20, 1858; Samuel, De
cember 4, 1862; Lulu, October 5, 1864; Ida,
December 10, 1876; Daniel, December 22,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

833

1876; Iona, January 9, 1877, and Caleb, Au
gust 6, 1890. The other seven are still living.
May 2, 1864, Mr. Walls enlisted in com
pany A, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio
volunteer infantry, Col. Marble commanding.
The regiment was a 100-day regiment, and was
sent to Washington, D. C. , to aid in protect
ing that city from capture by the rebels, and
at the end of his term of service he was honor
ably discharged. Then, returning to Van
Wert county, he again took up the duties of
civil life, and he is now receiving a pension of
$8 per month.
Miss Marinda Joseph, second wife of Mr.
Walls, was born June 22, 1837. Her father,
William Joseph, was a native of New Castle,
Pa., was reared on a farm, and lived thereon
until his death, which occurred September 7,
185 1. His wife was Lydia Brown, of Beaver
county. They were the parents of the follow
ing children: Marinda, John, Caleb, Call, Mary,
Ella, William and Josephine; Call, William
and Josephine are dead. After the death of
William Joseph, his widow married Robert
Stevens, of Indiana. William Joseph was a
Methodist, while his wife was a Seventh Day
Adventist. Miss Marinda Joseph was born in
Beaver county, Pa. , and resided with her par
ents until she married Mr. Walls. She now
resides with her husband in Van Wert, is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and in every way a most excellent woman.

sr

'ILLIAM G. WALTERS, a leading
farmer of Willshire township, Van
Wert county, was born in Richland
county, Ohio, February 10, 1842,
of German descent, paternally, his
great-grandfather having come from Germany
and engaged in farming in Washington county,
Pa., but dying in Van Wert county, Ohio.
George Walters, grandfather of our sub-

and

is

ject, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in
Washington county, and there married Mary
Shaffer; he then came to Ohio and first located
in Jefferson county, where he cleared up a
farm, but sold it and moved to Richland
county, where he again cleared up a farm of
160 acres from the wilderness, on which he
died, a member of the Lutheran church, his
wife dying a Baptist.
William Walters, son of George and father
of our subject, was also a native of Washing
ton county, Pa. , and was but a small boy when
brought to Jefferson county, Ohio. Here he
was reared to manhood on the home farm, in
the meantime learning the tanner's trade. He
purchased a farm in Richland county, as his
first business venture, but later sold it and
bought a tanyard in Richland county; a few
years later he disposed of this, and in 1845
settled on a part of the farm now owned by
our subject in Van Wert county — which land
had been previously entered by his father-in-
law, James McDermot. Mr. Walters was
married, in Richland county, to Miss Harriet
McDermot, daughter of James and Jane (Bell)
McDermot, the former of whom lived to be
104 years of age. The children born to Mr.
and Mrs. Walters were named as follows:
Jane, Mary A., Eliza, Elsie, Dorcas, Matilda,
Rebecca, Melissa, William G., Wesley J. and
Hadessah. William G. Walters enlisted, in May, 1863,
in company H, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth
Ohio national guard, and served on guard duty
at Point Lookout, Md.;. after his return home
he was drafted and assigned to company B,
Thirty-second Ohio infantry, was again de
tailed for guard duty, and was honorably dis
charged in May, 1865. April 17, 1866, he
married Jane M. Anderson, daughter of
Thompson Anderson, of Guernsey county,
Ohio, and this union has been blessed with the
following children: Maria, William (deceased),

834

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Chalmers S. and Sumner E. Mrs. Walters,
whom Mr. Walters first met when she was
teaching school in Harrison township, Van
Wert county, was reared to the faith of the
United Presbyterian church, but on her mar
riage united with the United Brethren Radical
church, of Willshire township, and in this faith
she died February 10, 1881. Mr. Walters se
lected for his second wife Miss Emma J. Adel-
blue, daughter of Wilson and Mary A. (Badger)
Adelblue, and to this union have been born
the following children: Mary G., John S.
(deceased), Xanthus, Maud B., Lulu P.,
Stanley and Russell B. Of the children of the
first marriage Chalmers S. and Sumner E.
have attended Middlepoint Normal college —
Chalmers S. having also successfutly taught
school four terms. Sumner E. has attended
the Toledo Business university, and has also
taught school three terms. Mr. Walters is a
stanch republican, has filled various township
offices, and is a pillar of the United Brethren
church; he is a man of broad caliber, is a suc
cessful farmer and a. very highly rgespected
and useful citizen.

>-j,OSIAH WALTZ, a native of Tuscara-
A was county, Ohio, was born February
A 1 22, 1839, a son of Andrew and Sophia
"~" (Angler) Waltz, natives of Pennsyl
vania, and came to Ohio in childhood. An
drew Waltz was an experienced farmer, like
wise a gunsmith and general blacksmith, and
an allround mechanic. The children born to
himself and wife were: Emanuel, of Union
township, Van Wert county; Josiah, our sub
ject; Lewis, who died while serving in the late
war of the Rebellion; Sylvester, who grew to
manhood but is now deceased; Henry, whore-
sides in Paulding county, Ohio, and Hannah,
deceased, wife of Jonas Harp, also deceased.
In 1854 these parents came to Van Wert

county, and located in Ridge township, where
the father, Andrew, died of heart disease,.
having been preceded by his wife to. the grave
five years previously.
Josiah Waltz, our subject, was reared on
his father's farm until eighteen years of age,
when he began working out, his occupation
being principally wood-chopping, but he gained
at the same time a thorough knowledge of
agriculture. Many acres, once the scene of
his labor in the uncleared forest, have been
converted by Mr. Waltz, into blooming fields..
Mr. Waltz relates that the first school he at
tended was crude to the extreme, with a cat-
and-stick chimney, and a puncheon floor, but
he nevertheless acquired a fair education.
October 2, 1862, Mr. Waltz was wedded
to Sally Ann Dustman, daughter of George
and Milly (Peters) Dustman, of whom an ex
tended notice will be found elsewhere in this
volume. To Mr. and Mrs. Waltz have been
born children as follows: William Edgar, who
died at fifteen months of age; Emma Alice,
wife of Henry Smith; Eva May, married to'
Henry Maisch, of Lima, Ohio; Henry C. ,
who wedded Minnie Woolery; Mary Gertrude,
married to Elma Bevington; Alvin and Alma,
twins, who died in infancy; Isaac Wilbur and
Oscar Burt. Mr. Waltz enlisted July 1, 1862,
in company K, Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer
infantry, and served until honorably mustered
out in 1865, having done garrison duty most of
the time, and having also been confined about
three months by illness.
Mr. Waltz's first purchase of land was forty
acres, to which he added eighty acres, all in
the wilderness when the purchases were made;
this land he has converted into one of the neat
est and best kept farms in the county of Van
Wert, all being thoroughly drained and en
tirely free from stumps. Mr. and Mrs. Waltz
are members of the Methodist church, as are
all the family, and in politics Mr. Waltza

WM. N. WATT.

MRS. MARGARET T. WATT.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

839

stanch republican. Mr. Waltz stands high in
the esteem of his neighbors, being recognized
as one of the foremost and most substantial
citizens of the township, ever ready to lend his
aid, financially and otherwise, to every enter
prise designed for the welfare and advancement
of the interests of the township and county.

sr

'ILLIAM N. WATT, a popular and
substantial farmer of Liberty town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, and
one well worthy of the confidence of
his fellow-citizens, is of Scotch-Irish descent,
and possesses within himself all the good quali
ties inherent to that wonderful race. His grand
father, Joseph Watt, and his wife, were the
first of the family to come from Ireland and
found a home in America. They located in
Chester county, Pa., at first, but afterward
came to Ohio and were among the early set
tlers of Guernsey county, and there the grand
father died in peace, an honored citizen. A
son of the Joseph above mentioned, also
named Joseph and also a native of Ireland,
was but two years of age when he was brought
to America by his father. Here he grew up,
and was married in Guernsey county, Ohio, to
Barbara Williams, daughter of Charles and
Sarah (Rosenberry) Williams. In 1870 the
family came to Van Wert county, where the
father died February 26, 1881, and the mother
October 30, 1889, both members of the Meth
odist Episcopal church. The father was a
highly respected gentleman, owned 265 acres
of good farm land, and in politics was a repub
lican. He participated in the war of 18 12,
and was stationed near Sandusky, Ohio.
William N. Watt was born in Guernsey
county, Ohio, February 2, 1835, and was
reared to farming. On December 24, 1857,
he married Margaret T. Willson, daughter of
Jesse and Rachel (Powell) Willson. Jesse
36

Willson was born in November,, 1809, in
Fayette county, W. Va., and his wife, a native
of Chester county, Pa., was born in February,
1 8 10. Jesse and Rachel Willson were married
in Guernsey, Ohio, in 1832; the father died in
Richland county, 111., August 31, 1844; ms
widow is now a resident of Robinson, Craw
ford county, 111. Our subject and wife, after
marriage, resided on their farm in Guernsey
county, Ohio, for eight years, and then, March
1, 1866, came to Van Wert county, purchased,
in partnership with a brother, a saw-mill,
which they together operated prosperously for
nine years, and shortly afterward our subject
bought the present farm of eighty acres, which
they have occupied fifteen years, Mr. Watt,
in the meantime, winning for himself the
golden opinions of all his neighbors. In politics
Mr. Watt is a strong republican, has served as
justice of the peace, is a notary public, and
once made a splendid race for the office of
county commissioner. He is a steward of the
Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife
is a member, and is also a member of Liberty
grange, No. 322, P. of H. Mr. and Mrs.
Watt have had born to them a happy family
of five children, named as follows: Alice B.,
Minnie F. , Henry G. , Isabelle M. and William
W. The young ladiesahave all been school
teachers, Minnie F. having attended the Mid
dlepoint Normal college, and also the Angola
normal of Angola, Ind., and Isabel M. having
attended Methodist college at Delaware, Ohio.
No family in Liberty township stand in a higher
position socially than that of Mr. Watt's, and
but few excel him personally in popularity.

@EORGE HENRY WAPPNER, junior
member of firm of Long & Wappner,
the well-known real estate brokers,
of Van Wert, Ohio, born in Mans
field, in the same state, May 6, 1846, a son of

840

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Peter and. Martha C. (Ries) Wappner. The
father, Peter Wappner, was born in Helmers-
hausen, Germany, in 1824, and when a child
was brought to America by his mother, who
settled in Mansfield. There Peter grew to
manhood, became a stone-cutter, and in 1844
married Martha C. Ries, who was born in
Germany December 25, 1825, a daughter of
Christian and Mary Ries. To Peter and wife
were born two children — George Henry and
D. P., the latter an employee of the Standard
Oil Company at Lima, Ohio. The father,
Peter Wappner, in following his trade, had
laid the foundation of a large barn, at Mans
field, and in February, 1849, while assisting at
the raising of the structure, met with a sudden
death through the falling of the timbers. He
was a well educated man and a great lover of
music, a member of the Pioneer volunteer
fire department of Mansfield, and a devout
Christian. His widow is now a resident of
Elkhart, Ind. , is a devout member of the Chris
tian church and is highly respected by her
neighbors. George H. Wappner, from the age of two
and one-half years until six, was cared for by his
maternal grandparents, at that time residents
of Van Wert county; he then returned to his
mother, and at the age of fourteen was em
ployed by Judge McGavren, of the probate
court of Van Wert county, and also attended
school until sixteen years of age. He was
then, in 1862, employed as assistant to W. A.
Clark, postmaster of Van Wert, with whom he
remained four years; then attended Tuttle's
select school and assisted Judge McGavren in
the probate office one year, when he felt him
self prepared for marriage, of which important
event mention will be made of further on. He
then went to Grand Traverse county, Mich.,
where he was employed in farm labor six
months, but, being tendered a position as book
keeper by W. A. Clark, in the book store at

Van Wert, as well as assistant in the express
office, he returned and remained with him two
years; then, for the next four ysars, he was
book-keeper for the Ohio Stave company; the
next four years, he was book-keeper in Mc-
Cardy's hardware store, and then formed a
partnership with John Matthias and William
Phingstay in the Van Wert Carriage Manufac
turing company, which partnership lasted three
years. He was then appointed auditor and
purchasing agent for the C, J. & M. R. R.
company, in which capacity he acted until
January, 1888, when he associated himself
with S. W. Long in the real estate and insur
ance business until 1890; he then went to Chi
cago and was there connected with H. E.
Wells in the real estate business for a year,
when he returned to Van Wert, kept books for
T. S. Gilliland until September, 1892, when
he again joined Mr. Long in the real estate
and insurance business. The firm represent,
in the insurance branch, the Phoenix, North
western Mutual, Masonic Mutual, Accidental
and other responsible companies, and in the
real estate branch their list of realty is exten
sive and varied — the firm making a specialty
of handling both foreign and local capital, and
of dealing in farms of Van Wert and Paulding
counties. In August, 1867, Mr. Wappner drew up
the license for his own marriage, while assist
ant in the probate court, to Miss Jennie Mc-
Peek, a native of Washington county, Ohio,
and daughter of John and Jane McPeek. This
union has been blessed by the birth of one
child — May W., the wife of J. G. Rowland,
jeweler, of Van Wert. Mr. and Mrs. Wapp
ner are members of the Lutheran church, of
which Mr. Wappner is the superintendent of the
Sunday-school. Fraternally, Mr. Wappner is
a member of F. & A. M. , and of the Knights
of Maccabees; politically he is an influential
republican, has served as a member of the re-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

841

publican central committee, and in 1890 was
appointed land appraiser of Van Wert county.
He is a useful and prominent citizen, and he
and family rank high in the social circles of
the city and county.

fm * ENRY WASSENBERG, a master
j^^ wheelright and dealer in agricultural
§ F implements and manufacturer of and
dealer in carriages, wagons, bicycles,
etc., at Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Tusca
rawas county, Ohio, December 16, 1850, a
son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Allman) Wass-
enberg. The father, Andrew Wassenberg, a
native of Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, was
born about the year 181 1, and in 1845 came
to America. He located at Canal Dover, Tus
carawas county, was employed in a tannery
until 1847, when he married Miss Allman, and
then worked one week in a cooperage as a
journeyman; he now opened a shop of his
own for the' manufacture of flour barrels, and
carried on this business until his death, in
1 87 1. His wife, Elizabeth Allman, was born
in Germany in 1809, and died in Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, in 1869, the mother of two chil
dren — Henry, whose name is at the opening
of this' paragraph, and Catherine, the wife of
J. F. Rice, a merchant of Mineral Point, Tus
carawas county. Andrew and Elizabeth Wass
enberg were both sincere followers of the
Evangelical Lutheran faith, while in politics
Andrew was a democrat.
Henry Wassenberg, subject of this biogra
phy, acquired a good, solid general education
in the schools of Canal Dover, and remained
with his parents until he had reached the age
of seventeen years, when he began learning
the trade of a wheelwright, at which he
worked, in Canal Dover, until 1868, or for a
little more than a year, when he went to New
Philadelphia, a pleasant little town in Tusca

rawas county, and there followed his trade
until 1 87 1, when he came to Van Wert,
and for three years worked as a journey
man for W. • H. Himmelreich; in 1874, he
opened, on his own account, a small shop
on North Jefferson street, worked industriously
and prospered, and at the termination of two
years bought the lot, 44 x 66 feet, on which
his present substantial shops are erected, and
where he has since been actively occupied in
the manufacture of carriages and wagons and
in doing all kinds of repair work, as well as
in handling a fine line of agricultural imple
ments and bicycles — making sales, in 1894, of
thirty-nine of the last named articles.
Mr. Wassenberg was united in matrimony,
at New Philadelphia, Ohio, November 11,
1872, to Miss Lizzie Buss, a native of Switz
erland, and to this union have been born two
children — Charles, a clerk in G. M. Hall's
dry-goods store, and Catherine May, at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Wassenberg are members of the
Lutheran church, in which he is an elder.
Fraternally, Mr. Wassenberg is a Free Mason,
and also a member of the Improved Order of
Red Men and of the National Union; in poli
tics he is a republican, and in 1893 was elected
a member of the city council, and is one of
Van Wert's most popular, prominent and use
ful citizens. Through his own business tact,
added to suavity and a disposition to oblige,
and his strict integrity and unwillingness to
misrepresent, Mr. Wassenberg has won his
way to the high position he now holds in the
public esteem, and which he so well deserves.

IW. WARD, postmaster of Cavett,
Van Wert county, Ohio, and also mer
chant, was born in Paulding county,
August 14, 1865, and is a son of Joseph
and Mary J. (Patrick) Ward, the former of
whom was born in Champaign county, Ohio,

842

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

February 16, 1829, the son of a Virginian,
who was born about 1800.
I. W. Ward, our subject, was reared a
farmer, and was educated partly in Paulding
county, but chiefly in Van Wert county, and
in November, 1884, married Miss Ella Hattery,
who was born in Van Wert county, August
30, 1866, a daughter of Andrew and Laura
(Kennedy) Hattery, of whom further mention
is made on another page of this volume. To
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ward three chil
dren have come to brighten their home, viz:
Joseph M., Violet and Henry W. (the last
named now deceased). After marriage, Mr.
Ward employed himself in farming in Union
township until 1891, when failing health com
pelled him to relinquish agricultural pursuits
and enter upon a less laborious occupation.
Consequently, he purchased his present mer
cantile establishment, and April 20, of the
same year, was appointed postmaster; May 20,
1892, he was made ticket agent for the rail
road company, which position he held until
the fall of 1895. He enjoys a good country
trade and has the full confidence of his patrons,
and as an official has given thorough satisfac
tion to the public as well as to the post-office
department. Politically Mr. Ward is a re
publican and is a stanch supporter of his party's
principles; in religion, his wife is an adherent
member of the Methodist church; fraternally
he is a member of lodge No. 251, I. O. O. F.,
and as a citizen stands deservedly high in the
esteem of the general community. See sketch
of the Ward family, on page 532, in the Allen
county department of this work.

@EORGE C. WEAVER, of Van Wert,
Ohio, was born in Muskingum county,
Ohio, June 2, 1852, a son of Philip
andAdaline (Dozer) Weaver. Philip
Weaver was a native of Bavaria, Germany,

was born in 1828, and came to the United
States in 1834. His people located in York,
Pa., and about 1837 came to Ohio, and set
tled in Muskingum county, where he passed
the remainder of his days, dying in 1889. His
widow yet survives, having borne her husband
eleven children, viz: George C. , Maria, Mat-
tie, Carrie, Thomas, Reuben, and Lizzie all
still living, and Emma, Clara, Ira and Eddie,
deceased. The father was a shoemaker and
was of much respectability; with his wife, he
was a member of the Lutheran church, and in
his politics he was a democrat, under the
auspices of which party he filled the office of
township assessor at one time, and that of
land appraiser in 1880.
George C. Weaver was reared to manhood
in his native county and there received his pre
liminary education in the common schools, and
this was supplemented by a full course in the
Ohio Central Normal school, at Worthington,
where he was fully prepared for teaching, and
this vocation he followed with great success in
Wood and Muskingum counties for fifteen
years; he then engaged in farming in Wood
county until 1888, when he engaged in hand
ling musical instruments, locating in Jerry
City, Wood county, until 1891, when he came
to Van Wert and embarked in the same line
of trade. He handles chiefly the Estey and
Star pianos, and also the Estey, Farrand &
Votey, and Kimball and other makes of or
gans, and has won for himself a large clientage.
Mr. Weaver was most happily married, in his
native county, December 25, 1879, to Miss
Alice E. Swingle, who was born in Morgan
county, Ohio, June 5, 1857, a daughter of
Frank and Lucretia (Springer) Swingle, five
children being the result of the union, viz:
Oliver F., Pearl G., Florence M., Paul L. and
Charles F. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver are Lu
therans in their religious belief and in politics
Mr. Weaver is a democrat, having served as

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

843

justice of the peace in his own and in Wood
counties. Fraternally he is a member of the
I. O. O. F. Mr. Weaver has built up a large
trade since coming to Van Wert, and is very
favorably and widely known throughout this
and adjoining counties.

KENRY WEGESIN, one of the welj-
known citizens and a leading farmer
of section No. 36, Washington town
ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a
native of Hanover, Germany, where he was
born July 6, 1836. He is the son of Henry
and Catherine ( Luebrecht ) Wegesin, both
natives of Hanover, Germany. The father
was a farmer and he and his wife lived and
died in the old country, his death occurring in
¦1852, and that of his wife in the same year, in
the faith of the Catholic church. There were
seven children born to the parents, six sons
and one daughter, all of whom, with the ex
ception of our subject, are now dead. One
brother, Herman Wegesin, came to America
in 1844, and became a farmer and citizen of
Van Wert county, living in Washington town
ship, where he died in 1885, leaving a widow
and six children.
Henry Wegesin was reared on the farm in
the old country, was given a good public-
school education, and at the age of fifteen
years began an apprenticeship at the stone
mason's trade. In 1854 he came to America,
arriving at New York city, on the second day
of November, after a voyage on the sailing
vessel Audubon, an American ship, lasting five
weeks and three days. He came on to Del
phos, Ohio,, direct from New York, going first
by rail to Buffalo, N. Y. , thence by lake to
Toledo, Ohio, and then by the canal to Del
phos. The first winter after getting to Van
Wert county he spent with his father on the
farm. He was next on the farm of John H.

Baumgarte, father of Conrad Baumgarte,
of Washington township. He next went
to work on a section of the Ohio &
Indiana (now the Pennsylvania) railroad,
where he put in about six months during the
winter. In 1856 he went south to Cincinnati,
where he worked for about a year driving team.
From Cincinnati he went to Fort Wayne, Ind.,
where he was in the employ of the Pennsyl
vania Railroad company, for about a year. In
the spring of 1858 he returned to Delphos,
and there went to work at his trade in a
marble shop for the firm of Reed & Seiser.
He remained in that shop for a couple of years,
during which time the firm changed several
times, and then became a partner in the same,
he and Mr. Seiser purchasing it together, and
the firm becoming Seiser & Wegesin. In
about 1862 Mr. Seiser sold out his interest to
T. J. Tolan, the firm becoming Tolan & Weg
esin. The firm now bought the Noble stone
quarry, in Paulding county, near Charles,
Ohio, and worked it successfully for about two
years, taking out building stone of a very fine
quality. In 1868 Mr. Wegesin sold out his
interest in hoth the quarry and marble busi
ness to his partner, and then engaged in con
tracting for bridge abutments and general
masonry work, at which he continued success
fully until about 1883. In 1871 he purchased
his present farm, and in 1875 he moved upon
the same, still carrying on his contracting
business, however, and having an overseer for
the farm work. Since 1883 he has given all
his time and attention to his farming. His
farm embraces 160 acres, eighty of which is in
Monroe township, Allen county, and eighty in
Washington township, Van Wert county. In
1874. he built his present handsome frame
residence, which, with his grounds, makes one
of the most pleasant homes in the township.
Mr. Wegesin was married on October 24,
1 86 1, to Caroline Ballmann, who was born in

-844

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Hanover, Germany, in 1839, and is the daugh
ter of Bernhardt Ballmann, who came from
Germany to America in 1864, was one of the
old settlers of Delphos, and was a carpenter
by trade. To their union eight children were
born, as follows: Frank, born August 15,
1862; .Annie, born December 18, 1864; Rosa,
born September 28, 1867; Fred, born Febru
ary 25, 1870; John Hemisius, born December
18, 1871, and died August 24, 1872; Caroline,
born August 28, 1874; John H., born July 7,
1877, and Catherine, born October 11, 1880.
Mr. Wegesin and family are all members of
Saint John's Roman Catholic church of Del
phos, of which he was trustee for six years.
Mr. Wegesin served as city marshal of Delphos
for about six years, and was for five years one
of the trustees of Washington township. He
has always been a member of the democratic
party, and has been quite prominent in the
affairs of the township.

ISAAC S. WEIBLE, deceased.— Biog
raphy exercises its highest function
when it indites a memoir to one who
lived a life of such signal usefulness
and honor as did he whose name initiates this
review and who so bore himself as to gain the
confidence and good will of all with whom he
came in contact. Here was a man who stood
four square to every wind that blew, whose
friends were legion, and whose death was
counted an irreparable loss far outside the
sacred confines of the immediate family circle.
Isaac S. Weible was born near Canal
Dover, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on the 2 2d
of May, 1844, and was the son of John and
Anna (Thomas) Weible, both of whom, were
natives of Pennsylvania, and traced their line
age back to sturdy German origin. His ven
erable father is still living, but the mother en
tered into eternal rest in the year 1887. Some

time after his marriage John Weible removed
with his family to Ohio, becoming one of the
pioneers of Tuscarawas county, whence, in
1865, they came to Van Wert county, which
ever afterward figured as their home. Our
subject retained his residence in the county of
his birth until he nearly attained his majority,
and then accompanied his parents upon their
removal to Van Wert county, where the resi
due of his days were passed. His prelimi
nary educational discipline was secured in the
common schoois, and as he was possessed of a
singnally alert and receptive mentality and
was imbued with an ambition which was one
of action, he profited by the instruction which
he received, while in later years he builded on
this firm and stable foundation a superstructure
representative of broad intellectuality and
mature judgment, showing that his power of
assimilation was exceptional and that his wis
dom was, in a measure, intuitive. He con
tinued his studies in the public schools until he-
completed the high-school course and had
graduated. Practical utility is the test which
modern life puts upon knowledge and ability
of whatever sort, and from this test our sub
ject did not flinch, for we find that in 1871 and
1875 he taught in the schools of Delphos, prov
ing a most capable and successful instructor
and gaining the hearty endorsement of the
patrons of the school. This honorable voca
tion is one that has served as a stepping-stone
to many of the eminent men of our nation,
and in the case at hand it was but in precedence
of higher honors, for Mr. Weible's official
career in Van Wert county was one of long
duration and of signal efficiency and of fidelity
to the duties imposed. He had served m
some public capacity from almost the first day
of his residence in Van Wert, and the various
incumbencies which he retained may be briefly
noted as follows: He served as deputy auditor
under Capt. Exline, as assistant under Sur-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

845

veyor Jones, and as deputy clerk of the pro
bate court and deputy treasurer under Corbet.
It was often said that there was not a county
office which he could not enter and acceptably
fill on the briefest notice, and his value was
duly appreciated by the various officials of the
county. During the illness of the city and
township clerk, in the winter of 1887-8, he
discharged the duties of this office and admin
istered its affairs with the greatest exactitude
and success. He never neglected any duty
which devolved upon him, and his genial,
hopeful and sunny nature gained and retained
to him the abiding friendship of a very wide
circle of acquaintances throughout the county.
His knowledge of the German language, as
conjoined to the noble attributes of his char
acter, gave him a particular hold upon the
confidence and friendship of the German ele
ment in the county, and at Delphos, where he
had once maintained his home, his death was
deeply mourned by almost the entire com
munity, irrespective of nationality.
February 17, 1868, Mr. Weible was united
in marriage to Miss Elmira E. McCoy, who
was born in Van Wert county, on the 30th of
January, 1849, the daughter of Alexander and
Eliza (Gillespie) McCoy, to whom extended
reference is made in connection with the biog
raphy of their son, Moses McCoy, of Ridge
township. Mrs. Weible was the tenth of the
children born to her parents, and her education
was received in the excellent schools of the
county. Mr. and Mrs. Weible became the
parents of two children: Delia, wife of John
W. Carpenter, a skilled mechanic of Youngs-
town, Ohio; and John, who is chief clerk in the
railroad shops at Chattanooga, Tenn. These,
with the devoted wife and mother and the ven
erable father, were left to mourn the loss of the
one who had represented all that was true and
noble in private as well as public life.
In his political adherency our subject was

identified with the republican party, while
fraternally he was a member of the Im
proved Order of Red Men and the National
Union. He was an earnest believer in the
christian religion, and had made arrangements
to unite with the Presbyterian church only a
fortnight before he was called upon to obey
death's inexorable summons. His widow is a
devoted member of that church. The death
of Mr. Weible occurred on the 29th of June,
1888, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and his
age was therefore forty-four years, one month
and seven days. The last sad obsequies were
conducted at the Methodist church, on the
Sunday succeeding his demise, the Rev. E. W.
Work, of the Presbyterian church, officiating,
and then were laid to rest the remains of one
who had acted well his part in life and merited
all the honor bestowed on him.

(D

ILTON WELKER, a skillful farmer
of Ridge township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, is a son of Frederick
and Phebe (Travis) Welker, natives
of Pickaway county, Ohio, in which county,
also, our subject was born, May 12, 1844.
Frederick Welker was a farmer and carpenter,
was an industrious, and, consequently, a thriv
ing citizen. To his union with Phebe Travis
he had born to him a family of nine children,
all boys, viz.: Robert; two sons that died in
infancy; Milton, the fourth son, is the subject
of this sketch; Fielding, reared a family and
died, in Van Wert county, in 1885; F. M. is
a resident of Van Wert city, in the feed and
grain trade; Malcolm died in childhood; James
is a farmer of Indiana, and E. E. is a resident
of Delphos, Ohio. In the year of 1861 or
1862, Frederick Welker brought his family to
Van Wert and purchased forty acres of land in
Ridge township, which he assiduously culti
vated until his death, which occurred in 1880,

'tk.

846

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

he having survived his wife about two years.
Milton Welker lived on the old home place
until he attained his eighteenth birthday, when
he enlisted in company D, Fifty-fourth Ohio
volunteer infantry, under Capt. Moore, in
Auglaize county, Ohio, where Frederick Wel
ker had been residing some years previously.
Milton. Welker was initiated in the sanguinary
experiences of war at Pittsburg Landing, fol
lowing which he took part at Corinth, whence
he was sent to Memphis, where the troops lay
idle for three months, and he then was en
gaged in the fight at Chattanooga, next in the
Atlanta campaign, and so on to the sea with
Gen. Sherman, serving until his discharge at
Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1865. Returning to Ohio
he located in Allen county, where, in 1867, he
was united in marriage with Miss Lucinda
Ballard, who bore him two children, the elder
being a son, H. D., and the younger being
Bertha Lee now the wife of Howard Sellers, a
physician of note, residing near Cincinnati.
The mother of these two children was called
from earth in 1876, and Mr. Welker next mar
ried, in 1880, Miss Lydia Snyder, of Van Wert
county — a daughter of Jacob Snyder — and to
this marriage six children have been born,
named Frank, Walter Joe, Sadie, Freddie
and Bennie.
Since 1873 Mr. Welker has owned his pres
ent farm, which first consisted of eighty acres,
to which he has since added forty acres,
making him now the owner of 120 acres.
This land, when Mr. Welker first bought it,
was in a dense forest, and in such a condition
being low and flat, that he and his brother
were forced to lay rails down for a road bed
before they could do any hauling; but at pres
ent the farm presents an appearance that may
well excite the admiration of the citizens of the
township. In addition to the military duty
rendered by Mr. Welker he has served his fel
low citizens, as a republican, in the capacity of

trustee for two terms, and in 1893 he was the
choice of his party as justice of the peace ; since
his incumbency of this office it can be said, to
his credit, that no appeal has ever been made
from his decisions. Mr. Welker is a conscien
tious member of the Methodist church, and
few people in Ridge township are more re
spected in their social relations than the
Welker family.

^y^ ILLIAM WAUGH, deceased, was
mm I born in Pennsylvania; his father,
^J^J Samuel Waugh, was born in Ire
land, and there received a good
education. In 1782 Samuel Waugh came to
America, landing in New York with considera
ble wealth. After considering for a while
where to locate and buy, he decided to go to
Pennsylvania on a William Penn grant of
land, which was covered with woods and
water — a most uninviting condition, yet by
hard work and good draining he soon converted
it into a good farm. Living alone in this
wilderness, he became very lonely and felt the
need of a companion and helpmate, but there
were very few maiden ladies to be found at
that time in this new country. So, with
others, he sent to Ireland, and as a conse
quence a ship arrived with a goodly number of
women on board, and there he met his future
wife, Jane Graceson. After a short courtship
they married and went to live on his farm,
where he became quite prominent, at one time
serving as a member of congress and assisting
in the forming of some of the first laws passed
by that body. After leaving congress he lived
in retirement on his farm until his death. In
politics he affiliated with the democrats; in
religion he was a strong and faithful Presby
terian. Samuel Waugh was the father of nirie
children, viz : Samuel, Jane, Nancy, Mary,
Sarah, Maggie, James, John and William.

MRS. SUSAN WAUGH.

JOHN NEWMAN.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

851

The subject of this mention, William Waugh,
was educated in the county schools in Penn
sylvania, and at the death of his father fell
heir to considerable wealth. He then came to
Ohio and settled in Hoaglin township, Van
Wert county, and with his education and
wealth was soon recognized as one of the most
prominent and influential farmers of that town
ship. The farm which he bought was then
¦covered with a dense forest, and the lofty oaks
seemed to defy man, but he set resolutely to
work and by hard toil he soon succeeded in
clearing a good farm, which he continued to
improve until it became one of the best in the
township. In 1843 Mr. Waugh married, in
Richland county, Ohio, Susan Newman, who
was born in Chillicothe, Ross county, Ohio, in
1822. Her father, Michael Newman, was
born in Pennsylvania, and was of German
descent. By trade he was a cooper, at which
trade he worked until he bought and located on
a farm near Mansfield, Ohio, being one of the
first settlers there. During the Civil war it was
destroyed by raiding rebels. He helped to
build the first grist-mill in Richland county. In
1 8 12, when the war broke out, Mr. Newman
was drafted, and walked twenty-five miles to
Fort Findlay, in which he served for nine
months on garrison duty; after his time ex
pired he returned to his trade and was prosper
ous; later he went to his farm again and by
hard work and judicious expenditure of con
siderable money, made it one of the best farms
in that section. In 1820 he was married to
Elizabeth Copsy, and they were the parents of
twelve children, viz: Mary, who died in In
diana; Henry, who died in Richland county,
Ohio; Susan, widow of the subject of our
sketch; Jacob, Jane, John, William and Har
riet, all five of whom are deceased; Margaret,
who died in Illinois; Elizabeth, died in Huron
county, Ohio; Charlie and Andrew, who went
to California thirty-four years ago and have

not been heard from since. After his marriage
Mr. Waugh brought his wife to his farm in
Hoaglin township, where he prospered and was
respected by all. Death called him away in
1885. In politics he was a democrat and in
religious matters he was ever a faithful mem
ber of the Presbyterian church, and had assisted
in establishing several churches. He gave
freely to good and worthy enterprises. He
left considerable property to his wife, who
lives in Van Wert off the income of her prop
erty. She is a member of the United Brethren
church and a liberal giver to all charitable
and educational purposes.

eDWIN RYAN WELLS, deceased, a
son of Elisha and Hannah (Spicer)
Wells, was born in Erie county, Pa.,
January 9, 1818. The parents were
natives of Rensselaer county, N. Y. , where
the father was a farmer, but removed, some
years after marriage, to Erie county, Pa.,
where they resided until 1819, when they came
to Ohio and settled in Richland county, where
they passed the remainder of their days. In
politics the father was a whig, and in religion
both he and his wife were communicants in
the Methodist Episcopal church. They were
the parents of seven children, of whom two
only now survive — Laura and Olive, both of
Michigan. Edwin R. Wells, the fifth child born to his
parents, was reared and educated in Richland
county, Ohio, yet it may be stated that the
greater part of his literary education was self-
acquired. When nearly twenty years of age
he came to Van Wert county, Ohio, with his
parents, who settled at the crossing of Mattox
creek and the Willshire and Decatur roads,
then an unbroken wilderness. Mr. Wells was
a zealous student, spending the time that could
be spared from his business pursuits in reading

852

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

and acquiringknowledgefrom books and papers,
and was the first subscriber at Van Wert for the
Cincinnati Daily Commercial, from which he
gained a general knowledge of the current
events and politics of his country. He was
chosen to teach the first school of Van Wert,
and during his minority he was appointed
auditor of Van Wert county, but the books
and papers of the office being at Willshire, the
first county seat, he took his trusted rifle and
made a trip to that town and returned, bring
ing the records of that office tied up in a pocket
handkerchief. Not being provided with printed
blanks, he was compelled to rule with his pen
many of the forms used in that office. The
salary of the office, then about $100 per year,
payable in county orders worth 12J cents on
the dollar, not being sufficient to pay his board,
he was compelled to clerk in a store and do
other odd jobs, as the duties of the office did
not require his full time. The fees of the
office not meeting his requirements, he re
signed in 1845, and afterward served as clerk
of the court of common pleas until 1852, when
he engaged in mercantile business. In 1855
he moved to Waterloo, Iowa. Returning from
Waterloo to Van Wert, on account of the
precarious condition of the health of his par
ents, he cared for them until their death. En
gaging in the banking business in the spring of
1856, in company with Dr. Charles Emerson,
he founded the first banking institution in Van
Wert county, and from 1856 until 1872 re
mained connected with the banks and banking
interests and was reasonably, successful in all
his undertakings. In 1866 he retired from
active business and went to his farm west of
town, greatly improving the same; but age and
declining health coming upon him, he again
returned to live in Van Wert in 1889, and
here he spent his remaining days in ease.
The marriage of Mr. Wells took place in
Van Wert June 1 1 , 1 843, to Miss Sarah Thorn,

who was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, De
cember 1, 1 82 1, a daughter of William and
Margaret (Fulks) Thorn, of Virginia. Miss
Thorn had come to Van Wert for a temporary
stay, and here met Mr. Wells when he was
teaching, and she herself was a pupil under
another tutor. The romance following need
not be detailed. The result of this union was
nine children, viz : An infant, deceased;
George E. , attorney; Edgar R. farmer; Milton,
deceased; an infant, deceased; Emeline, wife
of Robert Hook, a farmer; Charles, at home
with his mother; Frauk and Harriet, both
deceased. Mr. Wells lay down his life burden
February 3, 1894, and his mortal remains
were interred in Woodland cemetery, where a
magnificent monument marks his resting place.
Mrs. Wells, a sincerely christian woman and a
devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, resides on South Wall street, beloved
by all with whom she comes in contact. She
still retains a finely improved farm of 280
acres, and several improved city lots left by her
deceased husband.

>-j»OHN WELLMANN, one of the well-
A known farmers and leading citizens of
A J Washington township, Van Wert coun-
~~* ty, living two and a half miles north
west from Delphos, was born on the farm
where he now resides, March 1, 1855. His
parents were John C. and Anna M. (Beckman)
Wellmann, both of whom were born in Han
over, Germany, and both came to America in
1842, before they were married, in Putnam-
county, Ohio, the fall after they came over.
They came to Van Wert county in 1843 and
purchased eighty acres of land from the gov
ernment, and, settling on the same, farmed
the remainder of their lives, he dying January
1, 1870, and his widow dying August 30, 1881.
There were five children born to the parents,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

853

of which five children two daughters and one
son (our subject) are now living. They were
both members of Saint John's, Roman Catho
lic church at Delphos.
John Wellmann was reared on the home
farm, and secured his education by attending
the common schools of the neighborhood and
the public schools of Delphos. He has re
mained on the farm all his life, living at home
with his parents until their deaths, then taking
his share of the old homestead and later pur
chasing the balance of it. He owns ioo acres,
lying in section No. 13, all under fence and all
but twenty acres improved,
Mr. Wellmann has been twice married, the
first time on November 11, 1880, to Mary
Feirbaugh, who was born in Allen county,
Ohio, and was the the daughter of Casper and
Margaret Feirbaugh. Her death occurred on
March 22, 1894, leaving two sons and two
daughters, as follows: Henry B. , born Feb
ruary 18, 1883; Nellie E. , born November 8,
1885; Dora A., born April 6, 1889, and Vin-
cenz G., born March 22, 1891. On February
26, 1895, Mr. Wellmann was married to Julia
Gladent, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio,
March 27, 1859. Her father was Bernard
Gladent, now deceased. Mr. Wellmann is a
member of the democratic party, and has been
active in public matters. He has always been
prominent in the township and has held a
number of public offices. His first office was
that of school director, to which office he was
first appointed and afterward elected, and re
elected, serving eleven years in succession.
He was then out one year, and in April, 1895,
was again elected to that office. His next
office was road supervisor, which he held two
terms. In April, 1889, he was elected town
ship trustee, and was re-elected in 1892, hold
ing that office six years. He has also served
three years as director of the German Mutual
Fire Insurance company of Delphos, and on

December 27, 1894, was made treasurer of
that company and holds that office at present.
Mr. Wellmann and family are members of Saint
John's Roman Catholic church, of Delphos.

OENNIS WELCH, night baggage mas
ter and ticket agent for the Pennsyl
vania railroad company at Van Wert,
was born in Delaware county, Ohio,
December 30, 1834, a son of Benjamin A.
and Electa (Adams) Welch. The father, Ben
jamin A., was born in New York in Septem
ber, 1807, and was a son of David Welch,
also a native of New York, and of Scotch de
scent. David was a physician of some promi
nence, and in 18 12 came to Ohio, locating in
Delaware county, where he practiced his pro
fession many years, and then removed to
Union county, where his death took place in
1868. His eight children all grew to maturity,
and of these the father of our subject was the
fourth in order of birth. Benjamin A. Welch
was five years of age when his parents located
in Delaware county, and there he grew to man
hood and studied medicine under his father,
although he did general labor work until thirty-
five years of age. In November, 1848, he
came to Van Wert county and settled in Lib
erty township, where he practiced the botanic
system of medicine until his death, November
18, 1892 — having been remarkably successful
in his practice, which success was attributed to
his profound knowledge of the virtues of roots
and herbs. He had married, in Delaware
county, Miss Electa Adams, who was born in
New York, January 8, 1808, and to this union
were born eight children, viz: Israel S.,
Charles, Dennis (our subject), and five now
deceased — Louisa, Sabra K. , Naomia, an in
fant unnamed, and Staunton S. The mother
of this family died in 1891, a member of the

854

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Baptist church, of which church her husband
was also a member. Dr. Welch, in politics,
was a whig, and once served as coroner of
Van Wert county; he was also a patriot, and
enlisted, in September, 1861, in company A,
Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three
years, but in 1862 was taken sick and and was
sent home. On his recovery, however, he en
listed in company M, Second Ohio heavy ar
tillery, and was detailed as acting surgeon un
til the close of the war, and at his death was
drawing a pension of $16 per month.
Dennis Welch had reached the age of four
teen years when his parents brought him to
Van Wert county, and here he was educated
in the common schools. He remained with
his parents until twenty-four years old, when
his marriage took place. He was then em
ployed in general labor until the breaking out
of the Rebellion, when he enlisted, October
18, 1 86 1, in company E, Forty -sixth Ohio
volunteer infantry, for three years, or during
the war. At Mission Ridge he lost a toe — his
first injury — but continued with his regiment
in all its marches, skirmishes and battles un
til July 22, 1864, when he was struck in the
right shoulder by a rifle-ball, and was sent to
the hospital at Marietta, Ga. , where he was
confined six weeks, and then received a fur
lough home for thirty days; at the expiration
of his leave of absence he went to Columbus,
Ohio, where he remained until the expiration
of his term of enlistment, when he was honor
ably discharged, and mustered out November
18, 1864. On his return to Van Wert he was
employed as a railroad section hand for four
years, then as a section foreman four years on
the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago road,
and was then watchman of the same tracks for
about two years; he was then located in the
city as pumper and wood-piler, and two months
later was made day baggage-master, a posi
tion he held six years; in 1878 he was ap

pointed night baggage-master and ticket agent
and general assistant — his present position.
Mr. Welch was first married in Van Wert
county, July 10, 1859, to Miss Sarah M. Budd,
who was born in Delaware county, Ohio, July
10, 1838, a daughter of Inman and Polly
(Hooks) Budd, and this union resulted in the
birth of four children, viz: Benjamin I., Edith
(deceased), Polly A., and Elnora (deceased).
The mother of these children died October
16, 1869, and Mr. Welch was next married,
in Van Wert city, November 30, 1871, to
Sarah C. Weible, a native of Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, who bore five children, as fol
lows: Anna A., Frederick C, Edgar B. (de
ceased), Bruce H., at home, and S. C. , de
ceased. The mother of this family was taken
away in 1882, a member of the Baptist church,
of which Mr. Welch is also a member. Mr.
Welch is a republican in politics, and for four
years served in the city council. Fraternally,
he is a member of thel.O.O.F., and I.O.R.M.,
and is recognized as an upright and useful citi
zen. He resides on his premises on North
Vine street, where he owns four lots, beside
his dwelling.

aHARLES A. WELSH, formerly a
popular conductor on the Cincinnati,
Jackson & Mackinaw railroad, was
born at Spencerville, Ohio, May 14,
1867. He is a son of Marcus Welsh, who was
born at Columbus, Ohio, and whose father
Davenport Welsh, was born in England.
Davenport Welsh, when yet a young man,
emigrated to the United States, and after be
ing in this country for some time, married a
Miss Shawn, by whom he had the following
children: Davenport, Chester, Emma, Grace,
Millinca, Noble and Marcus, and two others
that died in infancy. Mr. Welsh was a mem-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

855 ¦

ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a
liberal, broad-minded man.
Marcus Welsh, at an early age, learned the
cooper trade, working at that trade for some
time in Columbus, and then went to Spencer
ville, where he learned the carpenter trade.
From Spencerville he removed to Van Wert,
Ohio, and here he worked at the trade of
carpenter and builder until his death, which
was caused accidentally while he was at work
erecting a building for A. Moebus. The scaf
fold upon which he was standing gave way
with the weight upon it, and Mr. Welsh fell
on a picket fence, arid was so badly injured
that he died three days thereafter. Mr. Welsh
was a most excellent man, strictly moral and
upright, a faithful member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and a republican in politics.
He served in the ioo-day service during the
Civil war, and was fully as dutiful as a soldier
as he was in the civil walks of life. His death,
caused in the way that it was, was a great
shock to his immediate family and also to his
many friends.
His son, Charles A. Welsh, the subject of
this sketch, received a good common-school
education, and early in life began to work on
the railroad as a section hand. This was on
the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw railroad.
After working in this position for some time he
secured a position as brakeman, frcm which
position he was promoted to that of fireman,
and finally, in 1892, to that of conductor, all
of which is sufficiently indicative of the con
fidence placed in him by the company. Mr.
Welsh was married, July 31, 1892, to Miss
Arrilla McConnell, of Bryan, Ohio. Her father,
James McConnell, was born in Ohio, and is a
very prosperous farmer. He was married to
Sarah Michel, of Pennsylvania, by whom he
had the following children: George, James
(deceased), Charles, Cora, Miella and Arrilla.
Mr. McConnnell is now living retired in Van

Wert, is a strong democrat, is a member of'
the Lutheran church,, and is in every way a,
much respected man..
Charles A. Welsh is a most highly respected
young man, is a member of the Methodist-
Episcopal church, is modest in his demeanor,
and though thus quiet, is- yet a man of pro- -
nounced convictions and not afraid to express
his thoughts. In politics he is a republican,
and true to the principles of his party. His
wife is a young woman of many excellent and
pleasing qualities of rnind and heart, and is .
everywhere well liked and highly esteemed.
January 2, 1896, Mr. Welsh bought the F. W.
Manship grocery, and is now one of Van Wert's ¦
young and popular business men.

>-T-* OSEPH WERT,, farmer of Liberty -
A township, son of George and Mary
A 1 A. Wert, was born at Leesville,
Crawford county, Ohio, February 28,
1839. The father, George Wert, was borni
in Pennsylvania about 18 12; and was the son<
of 'Joseph Wert, a native of that state, and of
German descent. By occupation, George -
Wert was a saddle and harness- maker, and
worked at his trade until the year' 1846; in
1836, he married Mary A. Armstrong, daugh
ter of William Armstrong, of Pennsylvania;;
she was born about r822; in Crawford county,
Ohio, and bore her husband' eight children,
whose names are as follows; Joseph, subject -
of this sketch,. William; Barbara A., wife of;
Richard Sands; Elizabeth, wife of G. Jewell;
George, John, Thomas and David F. In his
youth George Wert accompanied his parents-
to Crawford county, Ohio, where he lived un
til 1846, at which time, he moved to the county
of Van Wert and purchased to 200 acres off
land, from which he improved a farm. Mir.
Wert was a democrat in. politics, a Presbyte—

856

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

rian in his religious belief, and his death. oc
curred on the 5th day of January, 1876.
Joseph Wert, our subject, was reared a
farmer, ond received the benefits of a common-
school education. He became a resident of
Van Wert county in 1846, and with the ex
ception of several years spent in the county
of Richland, has made his home in the same
ever since. At the breaking out of the Civil
war he tendered his services to his country,
enlisting in September, 1862, in company G,
Twentieth Ohio voluntary infantry, and served
with the same until honorably discharged at
Vicksburg, Miss. , in July, the following year.
He participated in the battles of Raymond and
Champion Hill, and was at the storming of
Vicksburg, where he had a very narrow es
cape, his canteen having been torn away by a
piece of shell. After his discharge Mr. Wert
returned to Ohio and engaged in farming, and
December 16, 1869, was united in marriage
with Miss Orpha Leppo, daughter of James
and Barbara (Neal) Leppo. He then located
in Richland county and resided there, until
1873, when he returned to Van Wert county,
and purchased his present home in Liberty
township. Several years after the death of
his father he purchased the home place, con
sisting of 160 acres, which he still owns. Mr.
Wert is one of the successful farmers and stock
raisers of the township, and stands high in the
community as an honorable and trustworthy
citizen. He supports the democratic party
with his ballot, and, while not a partisan, takes
an active interest in politics, having decided
opinions upon all questions of the day, and is
fearless in his defense of the same. While not
a member of any church organization, he is a
believer in religion and contributes liberally
towards its support.
Mrs. Wert was born in Richland county
May 24, 1846, and is the mother of the fol
lowing children: George Earnest, born

March 14, 1871; Anna B., born February 19,
1874; Delia, born April 27, 1876, died in in
fancy; Zanta, born December 11, 1878; Laura
M., born February 21, 1885, and James W.,
whose birth occurred February 25, 1887. Mrs.,
Wert and daughters are members of the
Church of God. Sames Leppo, father of Mrs.
Wert, was born of German parentage, in
Washington county, Md., October 14, 1817;
he married October 7, 1845, Barbara Neal,
daughter of Martin and Nancy Neal, and
reared a family of seven children: Orpha,- the
subject's wife; Mrs. Sarah Everett; Mrs. Mary
E. Dougal; Margaret, wife of William Lamb;
Franklin P.; Hannah R., wife of David
Hutchinson, and Nancy W., wife of J. Be-
vier. The father of these children died in
1865. Mrs. Leppo, wife of James, was born
December 16, 1817, and departed this life
April 26, 1876.
George E. Wert, one of the prominent
young business men of Van Wert county, and
eldest son of Joseph and Orpha (Leppo) Wert,.
is a native of Ohio, born in the county of
Richland. He laid the foundation for his ed
ucation in the common schools, came with his
parents to Van Wert county in 1873, and in
1888, entered the Chicago college of Phar
macy, from which institution he was gradu
ated, after completing his course. On leaving
the country schools, he took a scientific course
at the Ada and Middlepoint normal schools,
graduating from the latter in 1890, and the
following year completed the course of phar
macy in the former institution. He success
fully passed the state examination in phar
macy, after which he accepted the postion of
manager of drug houses at Cleveland, Ohio
City and Rockford, for a Mr., Vance. In 1893,
Mr. Wert purchased a drug store at the town
of Scott, owned by Tillman Rogers, added to
the stock and soon built up quite a large and
lucrative business, In 1894, he further en-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

857

larged his business by adding a large stock of
general merchandise, and his store is now one
or the most successful of the kind in Van
Wert county. Mr. Wert displays business
ability of a high order, and by his courtesy
and fair dealing has won the regard of all with
whom he comes in contact, and it is safe to
say that no one stands higher in the estima
tion of the community than he. He is con
servative in politics, voting the democratic
ticket, and fraternally belongs to Pequod tribe,
No. 202, I. O. R. M.
Mr. Wert was married June 8, 1892, to
Sarah, daughter of John and Ellen (Montgom
ery) McCoy. Mrs. Wert was born in Van
Wert county, January 22, 1873, was gradu
ated from Western Ohio Normal school at
Middlepoint, and for some years was a suc
cessful teacher, a part of the time in the city
schools of Van Wert. She is an accomplished
lady, moves in the best circles of society, and
is a very earnest and sincere worker in the
Presbyterian church.

HRNOLD WHEELER, a prominent
farmer of Jennings township, is a na
tive of Ohio, born in the year 183 1,
in Harrison county, son of Thomas
and Rachael (Tipton) Wheeler. Thomas and
Rachael Wheeler were also Ohioans by birth,
moved to Harrison county many years ago,
and there reared their family, consisting of the
following children: Arnold; Henry; Thomas;
Keziah, wife of David Barnett; Martha, de
ceased wife of Adam Hoogbler; Eleanor, de
ceased wife of Samuel Courtright; Mary, de
ceased; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Reuben
Tedrow, and Rebecca. The parents of these
children died at the ages of eighty-four and
sixty-two years, respectively.
Arnold Wheeler, remained on the home
farm until about twenty years of age and be

gan life for himself as an employee of the Pan
Handle Railroad company, with which he was
connected for a period of four years. While
thus engaged, he succeeded in saving a suffi
cient amount of money to enable him to go
west and enter land in the sate of Iowa, where
he resided for a short time, subsequently dis
posing of his farm there, and, returning to
Ohio, located in the county of Tuscarawas.
Here, in 1855, he was united in marriage with
Catherine, daughter of John and Anna (Condo)
Stall. The father of Mrs. Wheeler was the
first settler on the present site of the town of
Jewett; he had a family consisting of the fol
lowing children: Jacob, deceased; Margaret,
wife of Thomas Lucas; Mary Ann, wife of
David Hazlett; Samantha Jane, wife of Albert
Houk; and the wife of the subject of this
sketch, who was third in order of birth. Mr.
Stall died in 1872 — the mother dying in 1896,
at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
Mr. Wheeler resided upon his farm in Tus
carawas county, Ohio, for six years, and
thence, in the fall of 1862, moved to the
county of Van Wert, and purchased a farm of
seventy acres in Jennings township, to which
he has since made additions until his place at
this time embraces an area of 1 30 acres, upon
which many valuable improvements have been
made. Mr. Wheeler cleared the greater part
of his farm with his own hands, worked early
and late, and succeeded in placing himself in
very comfortable circumstances. He is one of
the leading farmers of his community, a man
of excellent character, and possesses the con
fidence and esteem of all who know him. The
following are the names of the children born
to Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler: Albert, who died
at the age of thirty-two; Mary Ellen, wife of
Seward Gardner; Rachael Ann, deceased wife
of James Burnett; Ira and Ida, twins. Mr.
and Mrs. Wheeler are members of the Meth
odist church; Mr. Wheeler is a republican.

858

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

BARRIET WEAVER, the subject of
this sketch, and widow of Charles L.
Weaver, of Pleasant township, Van
Wert county, is a native of Coshoc
ton county, Ohio, born in 1848, the daughter
of Michael and Margaret Horn.
Michael Horn, a native of Pennsylvania,
was born in the year 18 19, and was the son
of John Horn, a representative of one of the
pioneer families of the Keystone state. By
occupation, Michael Horn was a blacksmith,
which trade he followed for some years in Penn
sylvania, and when a young man moved to
Ohio, locating in Tuscarawas county, where
he followed his chosen calling for a limited
period, and then moved to the county of Co
shocton. He was married in the latter county,
in 1846, to Margaret Albert, daughter of John
and Catherine (Cutshall) Albert, a union
blessed with the birth of the following named
children: Nancy J., who died in infancy;
Eliza, wife of Noah Stettler; Catherine, wife
of Willis L. Stettler; Mahala, wife of John
Plants; John, deceased; George, deceased;
Seth, deceased, and Harriet — the last named
being the oldest member of the family. The
mother of these children was born in Pennsyl
vania in the year 1832, and is still living. In
1853, Mr. Horn moved to Mercer county,
where, in addition to working at his trade, he
engaged in the pursuit of agriculture, purchas
ing a farm, upon which he spent the remainder
of his days, dyingin 1863. He is remembered
as a good citizen, industrious and progressive,
and was highly regarded by the community in
which he resided. In 1865, his widow was
united ' in marriage with Richard B. Copper
smith, a native of Maryland, but at that time
a resident >of Mercer county, Ohio, a union
which resulted in the birth of three children:
Margaret E., deceased, Clara V. and James
M. Mr. Coppersmith died in 1880, and in
1884, Mrs. Coppersmith entered into the mar

riage relation with Jefferson Andress, of Mer
cer county, with whom she is most happily-
living at this time.
Mrs. Harriet Weaver, the immediate sub
ject of this mention, attended in her youth
the country schools, acquiring therein a fair
education, and in 1866 was married to George-
W. Fisher, to whom she bore three children
— Euphemia, wife of Cyrus Uhrich, of Pleas
ant township; Lewis and George M. Mr.
Fisher was born in the year of 1840, in Fair
field county, Ohio, son of Thomas and Marga
ret (Goodwin) Fisher, and when a boy accom
panied his parents to the county of Mercer,
where he grew to manhood, assisting his
father on the farm in the meantime. He re
sided in Mercer county until 1869, at which
time he disposed of his interests there arid
moved to Wisconsin, where he resided for a
period of about eighteen months. During
that time he met with severe financial reverse's,
losing the greater part of his possessions, and
he died in that state in 1871. Mr. Fisher-
served in the late war as private in company
F, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and
took an active part in the campaigns of Ken
tucky, Tennessee and Georgia, participating in
the bloody battles around Atlanta, and was in
Sherman's celebrated march to the sea.
On the 17th day of August, 1875, Mrs.
Fisher became the wife of Charles L. Weaver,
the issue of which was five children: Cath
erine J., James L. , John C, and an infant that
died without being named. Charles L. Weaver
was a native of Pennsylvania and son of Will
iam and Margaret (Gunnett) Weaver. He-
was born March 22, 183.9, attended in his-
youth the schools of his native state and Ash
land county, Ohio, and afterward pursued the
higher branches of learning in Haysville col
lege. Subsequently he engaged in teaching,
which profession he followed at Athens for a.
number of years, and afterward worked at

CHAS. L. WEAVER-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

861

carpentering and bridge-building in various
places throughout Ohio. After his marriage,
he purchased land in Pleasant township, Van
Wert county, from which he developed a good
home, and continued to reside upon the same
until his death, July 9, 1885. Mr. Weaver
was a man of liberal culture, succeeded in the
different vocations in which he was engaged,
and stood high in the estimation of his neigh
bors and fellow-citizens.

£~V*AMUEL WHYMAN, a prosperous
it^^^t* farmer and representative of citizen of
r\_J Jennings township, Van Wert county,
was born in Clermont' county,' Ohio,
August 8, 1844, and is a son of A. L. and
Mary (Williams) Whyman — the father a na
tive of England, and the mother of Ohio. A.
L. Whyman was born December 8, 181 1, and
at the age of eighteen, came to the United
States, and located at Portsmouth, Ohio,
where he pursued his trade of cooper. Later,
he went to the county of Clermont, where he
met the lady who became his wife, and in the
year 1849 became a resident of Van Wert
county, and purchased 120 acres of govern
ment land in section No. 28, Jennings town
ship. Upon this land no improvements of any
kind had been made, and when the family came
out the following year, a small, inconvenient
one-room cabin had to be rented for their ac
commodation. Mr. Whyman, in due time,
succeeded in preparing more elaborate quar
ters, but for several years the family was almost
isolated, the neighbors being few, and but one
house was at that time to be found between our
pioneer's cabin and Spencerville, a distance of
six miles. A. L. and Mary Whyman reared a family
consisting of the following children: Rebecca,
wife of Henry Cary; Samuel, Barbara, de
ceased wife of C. S. Drake; John, wedded to

37

Eliza Book; Mary, deceased; Lucinda, de
ceased; the last two named died within a few
hours of each other, and were both buried in
the same grave; the next in order of birth was
Mary, and the youngest, Lincoln, wedded Eliza
Stose and lives in Defiance. A. L. Whyman
has served in all the offices of his township,
and from a poor cooper boy became one of the
well-to-do farmers of Van Wert county.
Samuel Whyman spent the years of his
youth and his early manhood with his parents
on the home place, and assisted his father on
the farm until February, 1864, when he en
listed in company D, Eighty-first Ohio volun
teer infantry, with which he served until
March of the following year, when, by reason
of an accident, he was compelled to leave the
service. His leg was shattered by the explo
sion of a magazine, necessitating his being
taken to the hospital at Long Island, N. Y. ,
where his limb received proper treatment.
When sufficiently recovered, Mr. Whyman re
turned to his home, but for some time there
after, was compelled to use crutches to assist
him in walking. His first employment after
leaving the army was teaming, which he fol
lowed six months, and then began coopering,
which he continued until the fall of 1867, in
Van Wert. In the latter year he opened a
shop of his own in Spencerville, where he con
ducted a good business for three years, and
later engaged in agricultural pursuits, which
he still carries on in Jennings township, where
he owns a finely-improved farm, in connection
with which, since 1872, he has run a general
store, his postoffice being known as Center-
ville, and has done well.
On the 5th day of December, 1868, Mr.
Whyman and Sarah E. Nugent, daughter of
John and Mary Nugent, were made man and
wife, to which union two children, Mary A.
and Sarah E., were born. Mrs. Whyman
died January 26, 1873, and subsequently Mr.

862

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Whyman was united in marriage with Mrs.
Sarah E. Nunneviler, widow of Joseph Nun-
neviler, and daughter of Joseph B. and Eliz
abeth (Standring) Smith. By her previous
marriage Mrs. Whyman had become the
mother of four children, viz: William, George,
Oliver L. and Joseph K. By her marriage
with Mr. Whyman she has had five children,
three sons and two daughters: Hannah, Abra
ham L. , Thomas W. (deceased), Lydia Lu
cinda and Henry C. Mrs. Whyman's parents
were natives of Pennsylvania and England,
and she was their only child. Her mother
died in 1870; her father is still living, his
home being in Delaware county, Pa.
Mr. Whyman experienced many difficulties
and hardships after returning from the army.
and for some time he was compelled to strug
gle almost constantly against adverse circum
stances, which would have discouraged the
majority of men. His early education was of
necessity much limited, but, in spite of this,
he is an intelligent man and has succeeded
well in life, accumulating a goodly share of
this world's goods and winning for himself an
excellent reputation among his fellow-men.
He is a member of the Methodist church, to
which his family also belong, Mrs. Whyman
having joined the church when but eighteen
years of age. ,

eLI L.WILKINSON, M. D., physician,
ex-soldier, merchant and editor, was
born in Columbiana county, Ohio,
December 31, 1843, and is a son of
Cyrus G. and Rebecca (Ladd) Wilkinson.
The father, Cyrus G., was born in Fayette
county, Pa., in 1808, was reared on a farm and
early in life served an apprenticeship at shoe-
making. In 1826 he came to Ohio, located
in Columbiana county and followed his trade
until 1840, when he removed to Hancock

county, where he carried on the boot and shoe
business in connection with farming, at Find
lay, until 1 87 1, when he settled in Van Wert
and continued in the shoe trade, in partner
ship with his son Mahlon, until his death, in
1883. He had married, in Columbiana coun
ty, Ohio, in 1830, Miss Rebecca Ladd, a
native of Lynchburg, Va., born in 181 1; to
this union were born the following children:
Elizabeth, Washington (deceased), Cornelius,
Lewis (deceased), John (deceased), Caroline
(deceased), Eli L. (our subject), Rebecca, wife
of Joseph Fisher, Susan (deceased), Town-
send (deceased) and Cyrus. The parents of
this family were members of the Society of
Friends, thefla-ther being a republican in poli
tics and aifactive operator of the underground
railroad between Findlay and Perrysburg; he
was successful in life, and left behind an estate
valued at $8,000; his widow resides on a farm
in Putnam county, Ohio, and is highly esteemed
as a neighbor and as a christian lady.
Eli L. Wilkinson was reared on the home
farm in Hancock county, Ohio, there received
his primary education, and enlisted at the age
of eighteen years, at Findlay, August 11, 1862,
in company D, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer
infantry; he was assigned to the army of the
Cumberland and participated in the battles of
Perryville, Lookout Mountain, Missionary
Ridge, Kingston, Dalton, Adairsville, Resaca,
Peach Tree Creek, Lost Mountain, and Kene
saw Mountain. In the last-named strife he
was shot through both thighs, June 18, 1864,
and was first taken to the field hospital, thence
to Chattanooga, then to Nashville, and then
transferred to the invalid corps and appointed
assistant steward at Camp Morton, Indian
apolis, where he served about ten monts, and
was then honorably discharged. He then re
turned to Hancock county, and began reading
medicine, at Mount Blanchard, under Dr. C.
D. McDonald, with whom he assiduously pur-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

863

sued his studies for three years, and then at
tended lectures at Starling Medical college
until his graduation therefrom in the spring of
1870, when he began practice in Burlingame,
Kans., where he remained until 1874, when he
settled in Van Wert, Ohio, where he has been
in active and remunerative practice until the
present, making a record of which any physi
cian might well feel proud. The doctor was
united in matrimony in Burlingame, Kans.,
October 20, 1870, with Miss Mary A. Wendell,
a native of Fox Lake, Wis., born in 1850, and
daughter of William and Hannah (Morse)
Wendell, natives of New York. To this happy
marriage of the doctor have been born three
children, viz: Della C. , now the wife of W.
R. Mosier; Lulu M., married to B. M. Sar
gent, and Barnard M., at home. The doctor
is a knight templar Mason, is the proprietor of
the Van Wert Republican, a decidedly newsy
and bright local weekly journal, and is also
engaged in the boot and shoe business at Van
Wert, where he is deservedly esteemed as
a gentleman of enterprise and public spirit.

CHARLES WILKINSON, proprie
tor of a fine job printing office in Van
Wert, was born in Hancock county,
Ohio, September 2, 1864, and is a
son of Cornelius S. and Sarah A. (Stacy) Wil
kinson. Cornelius S. Wilkinson was a native
of Columbiana county, Ohio, but was taken
early to Hancock county, and there spent his
manhood's days. While a young man he
learned the shoemaker's trade, married in
Hancock county, and in 1871 removed to Put
nam county, where he worked at his trade,
living ever since then in Columbus Grove.
His wife, Sarah A. Stacy, was born February
13, 1838, in Mahoning county, and was a
daughter of Joseph and Jane Stacy. To the
marriage of Cornelius and Sarah A. Wilkinson

there were born five children, viz: Townsend
Charles, Leonidas, Sarah, Caroline and Cora
A., all deceased but Townsend Charles, the
subject of this sketch. The mother of these
children died January 14, 1868, and the father
married, for his second wife, Lodemia Dorsey
Ensminger, a native of Hancock county, by
whom he has had two children, viz: Guy T.
and Frank, the latter deceased. Mr. Wilkin
son is a republican in politics, a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and of the
order of Odd Fellows. He was in the late
war, and has served as a member of the board
of education and as a member of the corpora
tion council.
Townsend Charles Wilkinson was about
seven years old when his parents moved to
Putnam county, was educated in Columbus
Grove, and there learned the printer's trade
in the office of the Vidette, a local publication,
and in this office he filled every position from
that of "devil" up to and including that of
foreman. In 1882 he accepted a position
with the Van Wert Times, with which paper
he remained four years. After this he was in
the office of the Van Wert Republican nine
years as owner and local editor, his partner
being Dr. E. L. Wilkinson. In the fall of
1894 he sold his interest in the office and
paper, and purchased, in the summer of 1895,
the job printing office of C. E. Detter, which
he has fitted up in a splendid manner, adding
new type and other new material needed, and
now has one of the finest job printing offices
in northwestern Ohio.
October 5, 1887, Mr- Wilkinson married,
in Van Wert, Ohio, Miss Ettie B. McConahay,
who was born December 3, 1867, a daughter
of A. P. McConahay. To their marriage have
been born one child, Townsend Clarence Wil
kinson, August 8, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Wil
kinson are members of the Presbyterian church,
Mr. Wilkinson being a republican and a Mason.

864

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Mr. Wilkinson, when elected master of Van
Wert lodge, No. 218, F. & A, M., was the
youngest master ever elected to that position
in Van Wert. At the present time he is pub
lishing the Van Wert Presbyterian, a local
church paper. Mr. Wilkinson is an exemplary
citizen, standing high in his church, in the
Masonic fraternity, and in the republican party,
of which he has always been an adherent since
attaining his majority.

St-* ENRY C. WILLIAMS, the subject of
¦^^ this biography, is a substantial farmer
A .r °f Liberty township, and a repre
sentative citizen of the county of Van
Wert. He descends from an old New England
family, his grandfather, Daniel Williams, hav
ing been a native of Connecticut, and for many
years a resident of New London county, that
state, near the towns of Colchester and East
Haddam. Daniel Williams was of Scotch de
scent, and spent all of his life in his native
county and state as a tiller of the soil. His
son, also named Daniel Williams, father of
the subject of this sketch, was born in the
year 1790, in New London county, Conn., and
at an early age was apprenticed to learn the
carpenter's trade, which he afterward followed
in connection with farming. The early life
of Daniel Williams was one of great privation,
and it is tated that his first pair of boots was
not purchased until after he had reached the
age of twenty-one years. He married, in Con
necticut, Alice Blish, daughter of Daniel Blish,
and reared the following children: Daniel B.,
Abraham F. , Henry C. and William T. , all of
whom grew to maturity and became heads of
families. After his marriage, Daniel Williams,
Jr., and wife immigrated to Ohio, and settled
in Cuyahoga county, fifteen miles from the city
of Cleveland, where Mr. Williams entered
land and made a good farm, working, in the

meantime, at his trade. He became a large
land owner in Ohio, and accumulated con-.
siderable wealth, the greater- part consisting of
real estate. He was a well educated man for
his day, an old-line whig in politics, and, like
his ancestors for many generations, was a
Presbyterian in his religious belief. After his
death, which occurred in 1843, his widow, a
woman of noble character and fine intellectual
endowments, kept the family together and gave
all her children good educations. She taught
for some time, and managed her husband's es
tate with tact and good judgment. She was a
woman of wide and varied experience, having
visited many states, and was highly esteemed
by all who knew her. Her- second husband,
Sherman Skidmore, died October 11, 1888.
Henry C. Williams, the immediate subject
of this biography, is a native of Ohio, born in
Cuyahoga county, January 15, 1839. He was
reared a farmer, and remained under the
parental roof until he was twenty-one years
of age, at which time he went to California in
order to engage in gold mining in that far
away part of the country. He made his trip
to the Pacific coast via New York and the
Isthmus of Panama, spent three years in the
gold mines, and for the same length of time
was engaged in the saw-milling and lumber
business. During his sojourn in the west, Mr.
Williams experienced many vicissitudes, met
with many thrilling adventures, and encoun
tered dangers, the narration of which would fill
a good-sized volume. He was fairly successful
in the mines, and lost nothing in his other
business adventures in California. Among
the incidents which he relates, is that of an
attempt on the part of fifty Chinamen to dis*-
lodge him from a little cabin on the Uba river,
where he had taken refuge from these murder
ous celestials. He had on his person, at the
time, about $3,000 in gold dust, and he de
fended himself all night long with two guns,

DAVID WRIGHT.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

867

while his would-be captors hurled volleys of
stones on the roof and through the door and
windows of his little fortress.
On returning from California, Mr. Williams
Visited the old home for six months, and in
1868, came to the county of Van Wert, locat
ing in Liberty township, with which part of
the county he has since -been prominently
identiged. In addition to farming, which he
¦has carried on with most encouraging results,
¦since becoming a resident of Van Wert county,
Mr. Williams has also been engaged in the
manufacture of lumber, in Liberty township,
with success and financial profit. He has
succeeded in accumulating a comfortable for
tune, the greater part of which is the result of
nis persistent toil and excellent business man
agement, and be is now comfortably situated
¦and enabled to pass the remaining years of his
life in the enjoyment of the results of his
labors. His home farm consists of 172 acres,
V/ell improved, containing a substantial brick
'residence, commodious barn and other build
ings, and he also owns valuable real estate in
other parts of the county. Mr. Williams has
made it a rule of his life to pay as he goes, and
be has the satisfaction of knowing that there
¦is not a man in the world to whom he is in
debted to the amount of one dollar. He is
[progressive in all that pertains to the growth
•and development of the township, and is an
¦enthusiast in educational matters, having
•served as chairman of the school board of his
township for several years. Politically Mr.
Williams is a republican, but has never sought
¦or desired official preferment. In religion he
is liberal in his views, and accords the same
freedom to others, but contributes. to the sup
port of churches and all worthy charities. He
belongs to the Odd Fellow and Masonic frater
nities, and also the Patrons of Husbandry, in
the last of which he has held various positions.
Mr. Williams was married October 21,

1869, to Anna Catherine Brown, who died
January 30, 1875, aged twenty-nine years, six
months and twenty-four days. She was a de
vout member of the Lutheran church, noted
for her christian activity, and was highly es
teemed by a large circle of friends and ac
quaintances; she bore her husband two chil
dren: Alice D., who married Otto Pollock,
and Cora E., one of the successful teachers of
Van Wert county. On the 5th day of Octo
ber, 1876, Mr. Williams married his second
wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Dob-
son, daughter of Hugh Dobson; she also was a
Lutheran and a great Sunday-school worker,
and her death, which occurred July 13, 1891,
was a sad bereavement to the family, and a
great loss to the community; she bore her hus
band three children, Chauncy H., Anna M.,
and William H., all of whom are still living.

\S~\ AVID WRIGHT, the subject of this
1 I biography, an old and well-known
/M^J citizen of Jennings township, was
born March 8, 1821, in Montgomery
county, Pa., a son of Jacob and Annie (DeHa-
ven) Wright, natives respectively of Germany
and Pennsylvania. Jacob Wright was a pros
perous farmer in Pennsylvania, and at the
time of his death owned 200 acres of valuable
land in the county of Montgomery; he departed
this life at the age of seventy-four, his death
having been hastened by reason of an accident;
his wife died at the age of seventy-three; they
were both devout members of the German
Reform church, and reared a family consisting
oj six children. The oldest son, Samuel, died
March 12, 1895, aged eighty-one years; Jo
seph died, September, 1892, aged seventy-
three; the third in order of birth is the subject
of this biography, who has reached the age of
seventy-four; Jane, the elder daughter, mar
ried Henry Neevil, but is now deceased; Will-

868

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

iam died in April, 1895, and Mary, wife of
Oliver Culp, is living at this time.
David Wright was reared to agricultural
pursuits, and remained with his parents until
his twenty-eighth year. On the 24th of Janu
ary, 1850, he married Hannah Knipe, daugh
ter of Joseph and Susanna (Sherer) Knipe,
and five years later moved to Van Wert county,
in company with his brother Joseph, who
joined him in purchasing 160 acres of land.
They held this land together for five years, at
the end of which time David purchased his
brother's interest and still owns the entire tract,
to which he has made additions, until he is
now the possessor of 268 acres. Mr. Wright's
first dwelling was a very modest structure,
made of small round logs with clapboard roof,
through which, during part of the year, the
winds and rains entered at will. This primi
tive residence was in due time replaced with
a more comfortable and substantial building,
and the present home is of modern design,
supplied with many conveniences. Mr.
Wright's farm is a model of neatness, contains
some of the finest land in Van Wert county,
and is well underdrained and thoroughly tilled.
His barns are large and commodious, his other
buildings are in keeping, and everything on
the place bears evidence of the best kind of
mahgement. Mr. Wright has served as trus
tee of his township, having been elected as a
democrat, to which party he has given allegi
ance ever since attaining his majority.
The oldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Wright is
Wilson Pierce Wright, who married Mary
Elizabeth Mark, the result of which union was
two children, David Allen and Edward Edgar.
The mother of these children dying, Wilson
Wright afterward wedded Rachael Burnett,
who became the mother of one child, a
daughter — Ethel. The second son of the
subject is Bane Hickman Wright, who had a
twin sister, Ann Elizabeth, the latter dying at

the age of twenty-one. B. H. Wright mar
ried Josephine Crider, and has three children:
David Madison, Eva Alice, and Frances. The
youngest son of the subject was Joseph Edgar
Wright, who died at the age of eight months.
The parents of Mrs. Wright, Joseph and
Susannah Knipe, were natives of Pennsylvania;
the father died at the age of eighty and the
mother at the age of eighty-two. They were
Lutherans and came to Ohio about the year
1857, locating in York township, but spent
their last days in the town of Spencerville,
Allen county. Mrs. Wright had one brother
and one sister, viz: Charles Knipe, who re
sides in York township, and Elizabeth, de
ceased wife of John Nunneviler. Mrs. Wright
is a member of the Christian Union church,
and a very estimable lady.

^y^V AVID W. WILLIAMS, of York town-
1 1 ship, Van Wert county, is a native
/A^J of Cincinnati, Ohio, born April 16,
1853, and is a son of William and
Ann (Evans) Williams, natives of Wales.
The mother was a mere child when brought to
America, and the fahter came to this country
upon attaining his majority. The father was
born December 11, 1821, and died August 5,
1892; the mother was born March 25, 1828,
and is still living in Venedocia, Ohio. The
father was a boiler- maker and worked at this
business at Cincinnati for more than forty
years; was married January 18, 1840, and to his
union were born eight children as follows:
Sarah Ann, who became the wife of Owen
Tudor, she and her husband being now de
ceased; Margaret Jones, widow of T. J. Jones,
late of the firm of Davis & Jones, of Van
Wert; David W. , our subject; William Henry,
who died in 1894, in Venedocia, and who had
been associated in business with his brother,
David W., for a period of seventeen years;

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

869

John R. , in business in Minneapolis; Mary
Elizabeth, deceased wife of David T. Jones, a
contractor of Venedocia; Frances Ellen, and
Rachel Susannah, both the latter of whom
died in childhood.
In 1863 the parents of our subject came
to Van Wert county, and purchased 120 acres
of woodland, which is now a most beautifully
improved farm and the property of our sub
ject and other heirs. David W. Williams had
good school advantages, attended commercial
college and taught school for several years. In
1877 he married Miss Elizabeth Morgan, the
union resulting in the birth of eight children,
Mary, Elmer, Alwin, Oscar, Ann, Norma,
Willard and Ruth.
The first business venture of Mr. Williams
was in the grocery trade, in which he embarked
with a capital of $50, his storehouse being the
Clover Leaf depot; for a year and a half he
carried on business alone; he then associated
with himself his brother-in-law, T. J. Jones,
the business being conducted under the firm
name of T. J. Jones & Co.; in 1880 William
Henry Williams, his brother, was taken into
equal partnership; Mr. Jones having retired in
1884, the business was conducted under the
firm name of Williams Bros., and was dis
solved in 1894 by the death of William Henry,
and immediately after the event M. P. Jones
became his successor, and until June, 1894,
the business was conducted under the style of
Williams & Jones. The building used by Mr.
Williams and his brother was erected by them
and is still owned by our subject and the heirs
of the deceased brother. Their business em
braced many branches, including many agri
cultural implements, boots, shoes, clothing
and grain, of which latter they shipped large
quantities. Mr. Williams was a notary for
ten years and for nine years was agent for the
Clover Leaf Railroad company. Notwith
standing the multiplicity of his business affairs,

he learned tolegraphy and was an operator for
two years. Mr. Williams also established a
paper known as the Venedocia Leader, of
which he was himself the editor; he is pike
commissioner, real estate and loan agent, is a
member of the Knights of Pythias, also of the
Welsh Presbyterian church, and has been in
the undertaking business for ten or twelve
years. On January 23, 1896, he purchased
the business of H. J. Lehman & Son, of Van
Wert, and now resides in that city. March
13, 1896, he also opened a branch store in
Ohio City. He is well and favorably known
throughout the township and enjoys the respect
of all who know him.

@EORGE C. WILSON, a native of-
the state of Ohio, and now among
the very prominent farmers of Union
township, Van Wert county, was born
in Ross county in 1835, a son of John and Re
becca Wilson, natives of Virginia. James
Wilson, grandfather of our subject, was a sol
dier in the Revolutionary war, in Washing
ton's army, and was severely wounded. He
lived on a plantation in old Virginia until 1800,
when he came to Ross county, Ohio, making
the trip in wagons in midwinter, spending six
weeks on the road and arriving on Christmas
day. Here he bought a piece of land, cleared
it and raised a respected family, and died,
about 1838, in Cincinnati, at the home of a
son, with whom he had spent the declining
years of his life.
John Wilson, son of the above James and
father of our subject, George C. , was born in
Greenbrier county, Va. , about 1794, and was
but six years old when brought to Ross coun
ty, Ohio. Here he was reared on his father's
farm, and was identified with the agriculture
of the county all his life. In 18 15 he was
united in marriage with Rebecca Hicks, daugh-

870

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ter of Richard and Nancy (King) Hicks. This
lady was born in Virginia in 1791 , and was
brought by her parents to Ross county, Ohio,
in 1799, and here reared, surrounded by In
dians and wild animals. She bore her hus
band twelve children, seven of whom lived to
maturity, viz.: James, deceased; Mary, de
ceased wife of George Wilson; Caroline, wife
of Samuel Blake, of Ross county; Richard,
deceased; Quintilda, deceased wife of Henry
C. Roten, of Ross county; Hester A., and
George C, our subject. Mrs. Rebecca Wil
son died in Ross county in 1867. Her hus
band, John Wilson, was an aggressive democrat
in his politics and was frequently selected by
his party to fill county offices; he was not a
member of any religious organization, but was
liberally generous in his support to both
churches and schools, and was altogether a
public-spirited, progressive and useful citizen.
His lamented death took place in 1871.
George C. Wilson,' the gentleman whose
name opens this biographical notice, was
reared to the noble vocation of farming on his
father's homestead, and his education was ac
quired in the common schools of his native
county. In 1865 he purchased a farm of
seventy acres in Ross county, but this land he
later sold and went to Hardin county, where
he purchased and resided upon another farm
for one year; selling this property, he removed
to Washington, Fayette county, and thence,
shortly afterward, to Clinton county, where he
again purchased a farm, on which he made his
home for six. years; then sold, and purchased
a farm in Washington township, Van Wert
county, but this farm he soon traded for a tile
factory at Middlepoint, and in 1891 sold his
factory and purchased a farm in Union town
ship, Van Wert county, but later sold and
purchased his present farm.
The marriage of Mr. Wilson took place in
1855 to Eliza Wood, who was born in Ross

county, Ohio, in 1832, a daughter of Benja
min and Jane (Winset) Wood, natives of
Maryland. To the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Wilson have been born three childred, viz:
Dr. Richard S. , of Scott; Dr. John B., also of
Scott, and William, deceased. Mrs. Wilson
is a member of the United Brethren church,
and Mr. Wilson, although not identified with
any denomination, is not backward in pecuni
ary aid to all; in politics he is a stanch demo
crat, but is not an office-seeker, and devotes
his attention to his own affairs and to the pros
perity of the community in which he lives.

^VELSON L. WILLIAMS.— It is with
I ¦ distinctive satisfaction that the biog-
I r rapher directs attention to the life-
history of him whose name initiates
this paragraph, for not only is the record of his
personal worth and accomplishments such as
bears its lesson, but in the tracing of his ances
tral history there issue many points of interest
— a narrative that tells of honest and indus
trious sons of the republic, that gives intima
tion of the deeds of loyal men who gave them
selves to the defending of their country in time
of warfare, and that speaks of incidental con
quests in the "piping times of peace." Our
subject is a native of the Buckeye state, and
there must be to him a due quota of satisfac
tion in reverting to the fact that his ancestral
identification with the annals of Ohio dates
back to the early pioneer epoch, while also
tracing further into the remote past, when the
American colonies had not yet thrown off the
yoke of the English crown.
Mr. Williams, who is one of the represent
ative business men of the city of Van Wert,
where he holds official preferment as the gen
eral manager and assistant treasurer of the
Van Wert Natural Gas company, was born in
Trumbull county, this state, on the 24th of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

873

December, 1836, being the son of Hector and
Mary (Marvin) Williams, the former of whom
was born in Waterbury, Conn., February 4,
1798, a son of Daniel Williams, who likewise
was a native of the Nutmeg state, being a
¦clock manufacturer by trade and tracing his
lineage back to stanch old English stock.
Daniel Williams, the grandfather of our
subject, Nelson L. Williams, was one of that
immortal trio — Daniel Williams, John Paulding
•and William Van Wert — whose incorruptibility
¦and true patriotism, in refusing to be bribed by
¦the unfortunate English major, Andre, whom, it
will beremembered,byeveryreaderof American
.history, they had captured, and whose capture
led to the detection of the traitor, Benedict
Arnold — Maj. Andre being hanged, as a spy,
while, in honor of the captors the three coun
ties of Ohio — Williams, Paulding, and Van
Wert — were named.
Daniel Williams immigrated to Ohio in a
very early day, becoming a pioneer of the
Western Reserve. He located in Trumbull
county and there engaged in the work of re
claiming and cultivating a farm in the primi
tive wilderness, also finding a considerable de
mand for his services in the line of his trade.
He had been loyal to the colonies and to the
cause of independence, and served with dis
tinction in the Continental army, in which
service his health became seriously and per
manently impaired through privation and ex
posure. His children were three in number,
the two elder being daughters, each of whom
lived to attain maturity, while the third child
was Hector, the father of our subject. Hector
Williams was but a child when his parents
took up their abode in the sylvan wilds of the
Western Reserve, and in Trumbull county he
grew to man's estate, receiving his education
in the primitive schools of that place and
period, the accessories and advantages being
perforce very meager in extent. In the year

1840 he removed to Mercer county, Pa., where
he purchased a large tract of land and engaged
in agricultural pursuits until 1844, when he
sold his large landed estate and returned to
Trumbull county, Ohio, and was there actively
concerned in business for ten years, after which
be retired to Sharon, Mercer county, Pa.,
where he passed the residue of his days, his
death occurring in 1862. His wife, nee Mary
Marvin, was a native of the old Keystone state,
where she was born August 31, 1802, being
the daughter of Lester and Mary Marvin,
who were among the earliest pioneers. By
her union to Mr. Williams she became the
mother of seven chfldren, concerning whom
we offer a brief record, as follows : Perry L. ,
born February 18, 1821, died in October,
1888; Laura is the widow of James Kennedy
and resides at Sharon, Pa.; Lester L., born
May 3, 1826; Riley D., born October 8, 1828,
died in November, 1864; Matilda, born No
vember 18, 1 83 1, died in 1882; Alfred, born
January 31, 1834; and Nelson L. , the imme
diate subject of this review. The parents
were devout Presbyterians, and in politics the
father supported the democratic party until
the inception of the republican party, when he
identified himfelf therewith and ever afteward
maintained his allegiance, being an earnest
worker in its cause. He was a man of marked
individuality, broad information and utmost
integrity. Nelson L. Williams was but four years of
age at the time his parents returned from
Ohio to Pennsylvania, and in the pioneer
schools of that state and Ohio he received his
educational discipline, continuing his studies
until 1852, when he engaged himself as an as
sistant in a rolling mill at Sharon, Pa., retain
ing his connection with this line of industry un
til 1857, when he betook himself to Foote ville,
Wis., and there remained one year as a clerk
in a mercantile establishment. His next

874

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

change was to return to the parental home at
Sharon, Pa., and for a year he assisted his
father in his agricultural operations, after
which he was for four years employed in a
clerical capacity in a hardware establishment
at Mercer, Pa. , beginning at the bottom of the
ladder, but by fidelity and close attention to
business gaining the position of chief clerk ere
two years had elapsed. Having thoroughly
familiarized himself with the details of this line
of mercantile enterprise, he engaged in the
hardware business in the same town, in 1864,
associating himself for this purpose with J. P.
Reed, who withdrew at the close of a year, his
successor being W. O. Leslie, a brother-in-law
of our subject. In 1865 the firm transferred
their base of operations to Sharon, Pa., and
there Mr. Williams retired from the firm, in
1870, and associated himself in the boot and
shoe trade with his brother- Alfred, this part
nership continuing until 1874, when he sold his
interest in the business and went to Sioux
City, Iowa, where he continued in the same
line of business one year, and then, in 1875,
returned to Sharon, and was there concerned
in the shoe business two years, after which he
removed to Oil City, Pa., where he associated
in the operation of an oil refinery one year,
and then engaged in the oil and gas business
in Bradford, Pa., until 1881, when the firm
with which he was associated sold out and en
gaged in the production and sale of natural
gas, locating at Wellsville, Allegany county,
New York, and piping the gas into the towns
of Bolivar, Allentown, Richburg and Wells
ville — and indeed all over the field of Allegany
county, owning over 100 miles of pipe line and
drilling over 120 wells for oil and gas. In
1885 Mr. Williams disposed of his stock in this
corporation, and in August, 1888, came to Van
Wert, Ohio, where he became a stockholder
in and assumed the management of the busi
ness of this company, and made an effort to

develop the oil and gas interests of this sec
tion, but failing to obtain a sufficient supply of
gas in Van Wert county, succeeded in interest
ing eastern capital, which was brought to bear
upon the Mercer county (Ohio) gas fields.
Within the same year this company piped its
gas into Van Wert and surrounding towns.
Mr. Williams and his eastern associates are
also interested in the gas and oil fields of Fair
field county, Ohio, which supply Sugar Grove,
Circleville, Chillicothe and other neighboring
towns with fuel gas. They are at the present
time (November, 1895,) engaged in putting a
plant into the city of Circleville. N. L. Will
iams also owns good oil property at Saint
Mary's, Ohio, and holds a number of other
valuable leases of similar character, all in
profitable working order.
The marriage of our subject was consum
mated, at Sharon, Pa., September 18, 1862,
when he was united to Miss Lucretia Leslie,
who was at the time a resident of that city,
though a native of Brookfield, Trumbull
county, Ohio, where she was born on the 24th
of November, 1837, being the daughter of
Robert and Eliza (Boyd) Leslie. To_ this
felicitous union have been born two children:
Bertha L. , deceased wife of Fred N. Chambers,
of Oil City, Pa., and Harold L. , who is associ
ated with his father in business. Mrs. Bertha
Lin Chambers died December 26, 1895, at her
home in Oil City, Pa., after an illness of
twenty-four days, her disease having been ty
phoid fever. All who had the pleasure of her ac
quaintance knew her as a most lovable woman.
When in health she was a perfect picture of
beautiful womanhood. She was accomplished
in person, mind and heart, pleasant and cheer
ful in manner, and possessed of a large circle
of warm and admiring friends. She was in
all respects a most admirable lady, one of
whose presence in their midst any community
would be justly, proud, and whose sense of

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

875

loss at her death would be, as it was at her
home, correspondingly great. Mr. and Mrs.
Williams are Presbyterians in their religious
faith, and in politics our subject is a stalwart
republican. He is a man of fine physique and
attractive personality and holds high rank in
the respect and esteem of the people of Van
Wert county. In his fraternal relations Mr.
Williams is prominently identified with the
Masonic order, in which he has advanced to
the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite,
being also a member in good standing of Van
Wert lodge, chapter, council, and also of
Ivanhoe commandery, Knights Templar, being
a charter member of the last named body.
Harold L. Williams, son of our honored
subject, was born in Sharon, Pa., July 16,
1868, and was educated in the public schools
of Pennsylvania and New York, supplementing
this discipline by attending Oberlin college for
two terms. He began his business career in
Van Wert, being associated with his father,
with whom he remained one year, or until the
natural gas company was fully organized, when
he went to Minnesota, where he remained a
year and a half, being there associated with his
father-in-law, D. Stevenson, in the insurance
business. He then returned to Van Wert and
has since been identified with the management
of the Van Wert Natural Gas company, which
has a capital stock of $300,000, of which two-
thirds are paid in. Harold L. Williams was
married, at Rochester, Minn., December 11,
1889, to Miss Frances H. Stevenson, daughter
of D. and Helen (Sanborn) Stevenson. The
offspring of this union is one child, Leslie San
born, who was born November 4, 1892. Mr.
and Mrs. Williams are members of the Presby
terian church, and in his fraternal associations
Mr. Williams is a member of the Knights of
Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees,
while in politics he exercises his franchise in
the support of the men and measures of the

republican party. Both he and wife are active
in social affairs and enjoy a distinctive popu
larity in Van Wert.

HLLEN BERTRAM GILLILAND,
M. D., a young and rising physician
of Van Wert, Ohio, was born De
cember 20, 1864, a son of Thaddeus
Stevens and Ruhannah (Baker) Gilliland, of
whom a memoir in full will be found on page
364, of this volume. To the same parents
were also born a daughter, Adda, who was
married to I. H. Lynch, of Greenville, Ohio,
and who died at San Diego, Cal., January 2,
1896; also a son, a younger brother of our sub
ject, now living in Sidney, Ohio, and named
Llewellen Gordon Gilliland.
A. B. Gilliland laid the foundation of his
literary education in the high school of Van
Wert, and then, at the age of seventeen years,
entered Wooster (Ohio) college, which he at
tended three years; he next attended Cornell
university, at Ithaca, N. Y. , from which noted
institution of learning he graduated in 1887,
receiving the degree of Ph. B. , and at once be
gan his professional studies in the medical de
partment of the university of Pennsylvania, at
Philadelphia, receiving his diploma as M. D. ,
in May, 1890 For practice he at first located
in Englewood, 111., where he passed a novitiate
of two years and then settled in Van Wert,
where, having brought with him a profound
knowledge of the science of medicine, the re
sult of arduous study and two years of practical
experience, he has been constantly employed
ever since.
Dr. Gilliland was united in the bonds of
wedlock, in May, 1894, with Miss Anna M.
Alter, who was born December 9, 1866, near
Saint Paul, Minn. , a daughter of Joseph Alter,
and this congenial marriage of the doctor and
his wife has been blessed with one son — Thad-

:876

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

deus Stevens, born February 22, 1895. Mr.
and Mrs. Gilliland are conscientious members
•of the Presbyterian church, and their social
standing is most excellent.

">-tj OHN MEDAUGH, a practical' and pros-
A perous farmer of Willshire township,
A J Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in
*~" this county March 2, 1842, and is de
scended from a very old colonial family of
Pennsylvanians, of Holland-Dutch extraction,
his great-great-grandfather, Dered Medaugh,
having been the founder of th'e American fam
ily, and his great-grandfather, Ephraim, hav
ing been the first American born of the name
•of Medaugh. Ephraim probably had his na
tivity in Westmoreland county, Pa. , and there
married Lydia Hattery; later he became a pio
neer of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and here
both he and wife passed the remainder of their
days. Richard Medaugh, son of Ephriam and
also a native of Westmoreland county, Pa.,
married Charity Anders, and they also came
to Ohio with the pioneers of Tuscarawas
county, and here Richard built and operated
the first grist-mill in the county; it was run by
water, and its patrons came on horseback for
many miles from all directions. Richard and
wife were members of the Methodist church,
and in that faith both died.
The son of Richard and Charity Medaugh,
the second in the family named Ephraim, and
the father of our subject, was born in West
moreland county, Pa., May 25, 18 14, and was
fourteen years of age when brought by his
parents to Tuscarawas county, Ohio. He here
married Jane Slater, daughter of Samuel and
Barbara (Robinson) Slater, formerly of the
Keystone state, the result of this union being
Sarah A., Elmira, Mary, John, Andrew, Char
ity and William, all now deceased excepting

Sarah A. , Andrew and our subject. After a
residence of three years in Tuscarawas county,
Mr. and Mrs. Medaugh came to Van Wert
county in 1837, and here the father hewed
from the forest what is now a fine farm of 180
acres, making an excellent home.
In 1 864 death took from him his first wife,
and his second marriage took place in 1865, to
Miss Christina Snyder, daughter of Frederick
and Elizabeth (Dauge) Snyder, but from this
union there is no offspring. In politics Mr.
Medaugh is a republican, and he and family
have long been identified with the radical
branch of the Church of the United Brethren
in Christ. Beside his wide celebrity as a farmer,
Mr. Medaugh is widely known throughout Van
Wert and- adjacent counties as an auctioneer,
a calling he has followed over forty years.
John Medaugh, whose name stands at the
head of this sketch, received a good common-
school education, and also assisted on the
home farm until he responded to his country's
call in August, 1862, when he enlisted in com
pany A., Ninety-ninth regiment, Ohio volun
teer infantry, and served in the campaigns of
Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, skirmis'hing
for three months with the rebel, Braxton
Bragg, and enduring much heavy marching
and fighting until severely inj'ured in his hip
and back by an accident, in consequence of
which he was honorably discharged, on account
of disability, in March, 1863. Becoming con
valescent, he enlisted, in October, 1864, in
the western army, and gallantly served until
the close of the war, receiving his final dis
charge in the fall of 1865. In 1890 he was
granted a pension for his valiant services of $6
per month. The marriage of Mr. Medaugh
was celebrated November 19, 1868, with Miss
Emily Carter, daughter of Ardalus and Hannah
(Julick) Carter, of Virginia, the union being
blessed by the birth of the following children:
Norman R., Hanna A., William M., Nirna L,

C. M. ZEIGLER,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

879'

and John G. — all of whom have been highly
educated. With the exception of two years, passed at
Rockford, Ohio, in hotel keeping and the gro
cery business, Mr. Medaugh has followed farm
ing as a life pursuit. His farm, which is a
model in itself, contains twenty-five acres, and
his modern two-story brick mansion is probably
as handsome a dwelling as there is in the coun
ty. In politics Mr. Medaugh is a stanch re
publican, and has been township trustee for
four years. A member of the United Breth
ren church, he has long been a class leader.
His son, Norman R. , is a graduate of Middle-
point Normal college, and is married to Annie
M. Ballenger; Hannah A., daughter of sub
ject, is the wife of Charles Walters, and Will
iam M., another son, is married to Rosa A.
Brown.

f\ EORGE W. ZIEGLER, a highly re-
¦ rf^\ spected citizen and a retired manu-
\T^ facturer of Van Wert, Ohio, was born
in Crawford county, Ohio, January
28, 1828. Jacob and Catherine (Stonehill)
Ziegler, his parents, were respectively natives
of Pennsylvania and Maryland, but were mar
ried in Stark county, Ohio. Farming was
the occupation of the father until he was most
untimely killed by an accidental fall from the
court house at Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1829. To Jacob
and Catherine Ziegler were born seven children:
viz: Harriet, Josiah, Amzia, Henrietta, Jeremiah,
George W., and Mary A. After the lamented
death of her first husband, Mrs. Ziegler, who
was still a young and attractive woman, ac
cepted for her second spouse Daniel Ball, by
whom she had four children, viz: Nicholas,
Benjamin, Harry and Harrison. The .mother
of our subject made her home in Bucyrus,
Ohio, until her death, in 1838.
Upon the death of his mother, George W.

Ziegler went forth in this world to seek a live
lihood as best he- could, and, young as he was,
found employment- as a farm laborer until
1841, when he began to-learn cabinet making,
which trade he followed until 1848, when he
came to Van Wert, city and followed carpen
tering until he- entered the stave factory of
Warren & Wells as superintendent, there he
remained three- years, and then accepted the-
position of foreman of the Eagle stave works,
buying $1,800 worth of stock in 1867, and re
maining with the concern seven years; he then
bought a farm of 130 acres in Pleasant town
ship, cultivated it for five years, and then vir
tually retired from business, although he oc
casionally accommodated a friend by taking a
contract for carpenter work, until stricken with
paralysis in April, P889; since which time he
has of course entirely withdrawn his attention
from all business.
The first marriage of Mr.- Ziegler was cele
brated in Van Wert in 1854, when he led to-
the altar Miss Caroline Strothers, who became
the mother- of two children — Alice, now de
ceased, and Burt, a railroad man. Mrs.
Caroline Ziegler died'in 1868, and in 1872 Mr.
Ziegler chose- for his second wife a Miss Sarah
Slade, and to this union two children also were
born — Lebniav deceased; and Earnest. In
1880 death again bereaved Mr. Ziegler of his
fond mate, since when he has kept house alone:
In religion Mr.. Ziegler is a Methodist, and in
politics he is a republican. His life has been
one of activity and usefulness, and he is greatly
esteemed by the community for his integrity
and past industry.

OWEN MORRIS, deceased, was among
the well known farmers and stock-
growers of* York township, Van Wert
county, and 'was one whose influence-
was not-only feltinthe .community in which he-

880

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

resided, but throughout the southern part of
Allen county and the northern part of Mercer
county. He was one of the model farme'rs of
his day and kept well abreast of the times, and
one who readily indorsed all public or benevo
lent enterprises.
He was born in Wales in 1831, where he
was reared to eighteen years of age, when,
feeling the necessity of bettering his condition
financially he emigrated to America, and here
started out almost empty-handed in life. He
located in Jackson county, Ohio, where he
subsequently purchased land and became a
tiller of the soil. Here, in the year 1855, on
July 31st, he was married to Miss Margaret
Jones, who was also a native of Wales, but
who had come to America in her childhood
with her parents. She was a lady well edu
cated, was one experienced in household duties,
and well fitted to be his helpmate. To this
congenial union were born four daughters and
seven sons, namely: Thomas, who died in in
fancy; John A., a practicing physician of Wells
county, Ind.; Margaret; Thomas Edwin; Mary ;
Ebenezer, married to Mattie Jones; Anna, wife
of Robert Thomas; David C. ; Edward New
ton, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; and Fred
erick O., still living.
In 1 861, Mr. Morris sold his property in
Jackson county and moved westward, locating
on eighty acres of land in York township, Van
Wert county, this piece of land being an ap
preciated gift by the father of Mrs. Morris. At
the time of locating here it was yet in its
natural state, but Mr. Morris immediately set
about to improve it and make a home thereon.
He and wife here experienced many of the
hardships of the early pioneer, yet both, being
young and in good health, soon mastered the
situation and were enabled to enjoy a home
equal to any of the neighbors of their com
munity. Not long after locating in Van Wert
county, Mr. Morris, being one of the patriotic

sons of his adopted land, enlisted in company
C, Forty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer in
fantry, and did active service until honorably
discharged, May 29, 1865, at Camp Dennison.
He was with Sherman on and during the
Atlanta campaign until near the close, when
he was compelled to go to the rear on account
of sickness. Afterward, he returned to his
home in Van Wert county and followed the
life of an agriculturist during the rest of his
days, dying January 21, 1 891, having been a
devout member of the Calvinistic church, to
which his wife and children also belong. He
had increased his farm by the purchase of
sixty acres, so that he left his family a good
home, well improved, where his widow now
lives. Mrs. Morris is a lady highly respected
in her community and is an active worker in
the church and Sabbath-school. She is sur
rounded by her children, whom she has raised
and educated, and who are a credit to the com
munity in which they live. David C. Morris
was born in 1870, March 6. He attended the
country school until the age of eighteen years,
and also attended the normal schools at Middle-
point, Ada, and Angola, where he learned
book-keeping. He also taught school for three
or four terms. In 1895 he began in the gen
eral merchandise business in Venedocia, with
Robert Morris, and met with success. He is
a strong republican in politics, and is gaining
in popularity as a tradesman and politician
day by day.

sr

9 ILLIAM T. WISHER, of Jackson
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
was the youngest soldier in the
Civil war, as was stated in the
National Tribune, Washington, D. C, at the
time. He was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
May 16, 1848, and was attending school when
he enlisted, at Bremen, in his native county,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

881

under Capt. Nicodemus Hufford, in company
H, Sixty-second Ohio ^volunteer infantry, and
was enrolled September 7, 1861, at Zanesville,
to serve for three years or during the war, and
faithfully performed his duty until honorably
discharged in the field, near City Point, Va.,
November 1, 1864. He then re-enlisted in
the same organization, for a similar term,
was granted a furlough home, and January 1,
1865 — the "cold New Year day" — rejoined
his regiment, after an absence of only thirty
days. It will be seen that our subject was but
a little over thirteen years of age when he en
listed, and but seventeen after his long service
of over four years at the close of hostilities,
and thus gained the proud distinction of being
the " youngest soldier in the war."
James Wisher, grandfather of our subject,
was a bladksmith by trade, was of German
descent, resided near Bremen, Ohio, and lived
to the advanced age of ninety years, dying in
Fairfield county. His son, James G., the
father ot our subject, was probably born in
the county named, was a carpenter by trade,
and married, in Fairfield county, Miss Sarah
Evans, of Welsh descent. Later he bought a
small farm near Bremen, and there his chil
dren were born and named as follows: Maria,
William T., Amanda and Samuel. In 1869
the family moved to Allen county and settled
near Elida, and here the father died about the
age of seventy years, in April, 1895, a mem
ber of the United Brethren church, in which
he had been a class leader, and a republican
in politics.
• After his return from the war, Mr. Wisher
moved with his father to Allen county in 1869,
and there married, May 25, 1873, Miss Sarah
A. Brenneman, who was born November 10,
1849, in Fairfield county, Ohio, a daughter of
Jacob and Caroline (Ogden) Brenneman.
Jacob Brenneman was born in Virginia, be
came the father of eight children by his first

wife, and by his marriage to his second wife,
Miss Ogden, had born to him eight others, in
the following order: Catherine, David, Jacob,
Rebecca, Sarah, Frank, Noah and Christian.
Mr. Brenneman settled in Allen county, Ohio,
Marion township, about 1853, became a promi
nent farmer, owning 160 acres of land, and
more of his biography may be learned from
the sketch of David Brenneman, on another
page. In 1875 our subject, Mr. Wisher, came
to Jackson township, Van Wert county, pur
chased forty acres of land in the wilderness,
which he has converted into a beautiful farm
and has largely increased. To his marriage
have been born nine children, named as fol
lows: Fannie, James, Charles, William, Dasie,
Jennie, David, Elsie and Mary. Mr. Wisher
is a member of the G. A. R. , Melrose post,
No. 632, Paulding county, Ohio, and in poli
tics is a republican. Mrs. Wisher is a member
of the Christian Union church, and no family,
in the county stand higher in the esteem of
their neighbors. The youthful military career
of Mr. Wisher in itself is enough to place him
a head and shoulders above his fellow-patriots.

eDWARD W. WOLCOTT, attorney
at law of Van Wert, Ohio, is a native
of the state and was born in Gran
ville, Licking county, April 20, 1871,
and is a son of William P. and Amanda (Kear)
Wolcott, the former of whom was also a na
tive of Licking county, Ohio, born February
29, 1836, and was a son of  and
Ann (Winchell) Wolcott. Mrs. Ann Wolcott
was a sister of the Mr. Winchell who founded
the Ann Arbor university and was a native of
Connecticut, as was her husband. Mr. and
Mrs. Wolcott settled in Licking county, Ohio,
in an early day, resided on a farm, and both
passed away in 1875, the parents of the fol-

882

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

lowing children: Ruth, William P., Lucy,
Horace, Oliver and Orleana.
William P. Wolcott, father of our subject,
was reared on the home farm and also learned
the trade of tanning, and was educated in the
common schools and at Dennison university.
He followed tanning in Licking county until
1874, when he moved to Petersburg, 111.,
where for six months he was book-keeper for
a large corporation. Being then thrown out
of his permanent position, he went tempora
rily to work in a sand-bank, which caved in
and dislocated the back of Mr. Wolcott and
paralyzed his lower limbs for life. He re
mained in Petersburg until 1875, when he
came to Van Wert, a helpless cripple, unable
to assist himself in the slightest act physically.
In June of this year, Dr. Stemen, of Fort
Wayne, Ind., performed on him an operation
wonderful in the history of surgery, through
which he restored to Mr. Wolcott the use of
his limbs to a considerable extent, and also
invigorated his mental faculties to such a de
gree that, in 1878, he was able to permit his
name, by request, to go before the republican
county convention as a candidate for county
recorder, to which position he was elected the
ensuing fall, and re-elected for three succes
sive terms, served in all, nine years. He then
engaged in the insurance and real estate busi
ness and as agent for the American Express
company, in partnership with his son, our
subject, under the firm name of W. P. Wol
cott & Son, and was thus engaged until his
death, March 14, 1892, a devout member of
the Presbyterian church and an honored Free
mason. Mr. Wolcott had been married in
September, 1867, in Van Wert, to Miss
Amanda Kear, sister to Wiley M. Kear, whose
biography appears on another page. Mrs.
Wolcott was born in Van Wert, March 12,
1839, and became the mother of four children,
viz: Two infants, that died unnamed; Harry

K., an attorney at Norfolk, Va., and Edward'
W., whose name opens this biographical'
notice. Edward W. Wolcott was reared in the
town of Van Wert and was educated in the
city schools. In May, 1889, he entered the
insurance business with his father, with whom
he remained until the latter's death, when he
began the study of the law and was admitted
te the bar in June, 1894, when he relinquished
his insurance business entirely and devoted
himself to his profession. The marriage of
Mr. Wolcott occurred in Van Wert September
14, 1893, to Miss Ada Mounts, a native of
this city, born in 1874, and a daughter of
E. F. Mounts, and by this union has been '
born one child — James M. Mr. Wolcott is a.
republican in politics, a Knight of Pythias, a
member of the I. O. R. M. , and his wife and
he are truly faithful members of the Methodist
Episcopal church.

>»j»AMES WILLIAM WHITMAN, a suc-
jg cessful farmer, contractor and builder,
A 1 living in Van Wert, was born in Nich
olas county, Va. (West Va.), Septem
ber 27, 1855. He is a son of Holly J. Whit
man, who was a native of Virginia, and who
died in March, 1894, at the age of seventy-
two. Holly J. Whitman married Mary E.
Ewing, who still survives, and lives on the old
home farm in West Virginia. Mr. Whitman
was one of the soldiers from West Virginia in
the war of the Rebellion, serving faithfully
throughout the period of his enlistment, al
ways ready to perform any duty, no matter
how arduous>or dangerous, and won the esteem
and praise of all his fellow-soldiers and offi
cers under whom he served.
James William Whitman removed from
West Virginia to Ohio in 1877, locating in
Logan county, where he remained one year,

J. W. WHITMAN.

FLORA H. WHITMAN.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

887

going thence to Champaign county, having
taught school five terms in West Virginia and
one term in Logan county, Ohio. There he
remained until 1885, when he removed to
Union township, Van Wert county, where he
purchased a farm in the midst of the woods.
Upon this farm he lived for several years, en
gaged in clearing, improving and building up
his home. It did not take long for Mr. Whit
man to become well known and popular
throughout his township and the entire county
of Van Wert. For four and a half hears dur
ing his residence there he was clerk of the
township; for seven and a half years he was a
member of the school board, and in 1895 he
received the nomination by acclamation for
county clerk; but in the election, which went
republican by an average majority of ninety-
five he was defeated by the slender majority of
twenty votes, Mr. Whitman being an uncom
promising democrat. With the exception of
the first year of Mr. Whitman's residence in
Van Wert county, which was devoted exclu
sively to farming, he has been engaged also in
contracting and building, and many of the
best and most substantial farm dwellings, and
barns, and seventeen of the best school houses
in Van Wert county, were erected by him. In
the fall of 1895, he removed to the city of
Van Wert, where he has since lived.
Mr. Whitman was married in Champaign
county, Ohio, to Miss Flora A. Atha February
20, 1879. She was born' in Logan county,
Ohio, February 16, 1861, and is a daughter
of Mr. Thomas Atha, who married Miss
Sabina Hearvey,who died in November, 1895.
He is living in Van Wert. Mr. Whitman, by
his marriage to Miss Atha, has three children,
viz: Jennie, born April 12, 1886; Ethel May,
born June 23, 1892, and Ilo Bell, born No
vember 6, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Whitman are
among Van Wert city's best people. He is
yet in the prime of his life and powers, and
38

doubtless has many years of usefulness and
happiness before him. He owns seventy
acres of land in section No. 20, Union town
ship. Fraternally he is a member of I. O.
R. M., Hiawatha Tribe, No. 116. Mr. Whit
man has rented his farm and is now devoting
his time to contracting and building.

@EORGE WOLFE, late a prominent
farmer of Jennings township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, was a son of
George and Hannah (McKage) Wolfe,
and was born in Licking county, August 20,
1831. The father, George, was born in Penn
sylvania, and was a son of George, a native of
Germany, who married a Miss Owl, and to
this union were born the following children:
Jacob, George (the father of our subject),
Peter, David, Susan, Hannah and John. The
father of this family and grandfather of our
subject, was a farmer, and ended his days in
the Keystone state.
George Wolfe, father of the gentleman
whose name heads this sketch, was reared to
agricultural pursuits on his father's farm and
was educated in the common schools of his
native state; at the age of thirty -two years he
left his Pennsylvania home, having worked
eleven years, after reaching his majority, in
the interest of his father; he came to the
Buckeye state direct, and entered a quarter
section of government land in Licking county,
to which he later added by purchase 100 acres.
He married Hannah McKage, a native of Mor
gan county, Ohio, to which union were born
six children, viz: John, of Licking county,
Ohio; Davie, of Monticello, Kans. ; George,
our subject; Joshua, deceased; Elizabeth,
widow of James Smith, of Licking county,
Ohio, and Annie, deceased wife of S. J. Lamb-
ton, and now residing on the old homestead.
The father of this family was a gallant soldier

888

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in the war of 1812; he was a democrat in pol
itics and held several local offices; was a sin
cere member of the Methedist church and
died in that faith. His wife was also a mem
ber of this church.
George Wolfe, the subject proper of this
sketch, was, like his forefathers, reared to the
pursuit of agriculture on his father's farm. He
was educated in Licking county, and in 1857
moved to Putnam county, bought, cleared up
and improved a farm to some extent, and in
1859 returned to Licking county, where he re
sided four years and then came to Van Wert
county, where he died January 22, 1896. In
June, 1857, he married Miss Mary Jane Will
iams daughter of Edward and Sophia (Keith)
Williams. This lady was born in Madison
county December 14, 1835, and was brought
to Van Wert by her parents in 1837. She has
borne her husband the following children:
Joseph, of Mercer county; Lewis, of Jennings
township, Van Wert county; Emma, who died
at the age of seventeen years; Hannah and
Edward, the former of whom died at the age
of sixteen and the latter at the age of twenty-
six years; John, a graduate of the medical col
lege in Columbus; Marion, on the home place,
and Ira, at home, aged seventeen years.;
The farm of the late Mr. Wolfe comprises
180 acres, and is one of the handsomest and
best cultivated in the township, he having been
recognized as one of the most skillful agricul
turists of Van Wert county. In politics he
was active as a democrat, but never indulged
in aspiration to public office, being content with
doing his full duty to the party at the polls.
He was not a member of any religious organ
ization, but was a free and liberal contributor
to the support of all, as well as to all enter
prises designed to benefit township and county.
He was universally esteemed for his manly and
straightforward course of life, and for his un
flinching integrity, and well deserved the en

viable position he held in the hearts of his fel
low-citizens. His wife's brother Marion, was
a brave Union soldier in the late war, but
is now deceased.

sr

G. WRIGHT, an experienced farm
er of Ridge township, Van Wert
county, Ohio, and an ex-soldier, is
a native of Virginia, and was born
May 3, 1827. His parents, William S. and
Rhoda R. Wright, had a family of eight chil
dren, who were named as follows; Lucinda, a
resident of Missouri, and a widow of John Hen
sel; Winfield Scott and John H., deceased;
Priscilla, wife of Elisha Johnson, of Clinton
county, Ohio; William Greenberry, the sub
ject of this sketch; Elizabeth, who resides in
Missouri; James L., a physiciau, residing in
the Argentine Republic, and Anthony G., of
Highland county, Ohio. The parents of these
children came to Ohio in 1835 and settled in
Highland county, where the father followed
farming. He had served in the war of 1812,
and died in tranquility in the land which he
had fought to preserve, in the eighty-eighth
year, his life-partner having died in her eighty-
fifth — both members of the Baptist church.
William Greenberry Wright passed the
earliest part of his life on his father's farm in
Highland county, Ohio, he having been about
eight years of age when his parents came to
this state. He was married, January 2, 1850.
to Miss Louisa Manker, to which marriage
were born the following children: Wesley T.,
who resides in Delphos, Ohio, and who is an
active member of the republican party; V. H.,
a farmer of Van Wert county; Luella Belle,
deceased; Eugenie, wife of Oliver Poland, mail
agent on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton
railroad, with his residence near Delphos;
Novada E., wife of Dr. William Roush, of
Spencerville, Ohio; Lena, and two who died

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

889

in infancy without being named. The mother
of this family was also called to her final rest
October 4, 1871.
February 10, 1863, W. G. Wright, our
subject, enlisted for three years in the Thir
teenth Ohio cavalry. He was wounded in the
side by a rifle-ball at Petersburg, Va. , and
shortly thereafter was wounded in the knee;
he was then detailed as recruiting officer at
Cincinnati, his regiment having suffered severe
losses, and was finally discharged at Amelia
C. H, Va., by reason of the close of the war.
On returning home he re-engaged in farming,
and June 13, 1872, married Miss Martha R.
Judkins, daughter of Franklin and Caroline
A. Judkins, early settlers of Highland county,
Ohio, who died, respectively, in 1863 and
March 10, 1885. To this second marriage of
Mr. Wright have been born the following-
named children: Birdie Delle, Loutellis, Mabel
Rosaline, Cletus Orlin, Lillie A., Rhoda D.,
and Goldie — the last named meeting a sad
death by being drowned in a cistern. Beside
the children here named, there were four who
died unchristened.
In 1882 Mr. Wright came to Van Wert
county and purchased a farm of 100 acres on
the Ridge road, about three and one-half miles
east of the city of Van Wert, and this farm is
one of the best improved in the township. In
politics Mr. Wright is a democrat, and in 1893
was elected trustee of his township, in which
there have been graded sixteen miles of gravel
roads under his management. It may here be
recorded that Mr. Wright is a man of note as a
deer hunter, and many trophies of his skill
and prowess, and marksmanship adorn his
dwelling. The apiary has also claimed his at
tention for more than forty-five years, and a
•card attached to the gable end of his dwelling
house bears the inscription, "Hunters' Home
—Home of the Bee. " Mr. Wright is a Mason
an good standing and Mrs. Wrignt is a consist

ent member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and socially the family mingle with the best of
Ridge township's citizens.

sr

9 ILLIAM WRIGHT, one of the most
substantial farmers of Washington
township, Van Wert county, Ohio,
descends from an old colonial
family, was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio,
March 25, i§40, was reared a farmer, and
attained his education in the district schools
during the winter seasons, when he could
best be spared from farm labor.
Samuel Wright, father of William, our
subject, was of Irish descent; was born in Alle
ghany county, Md., near Fosterburg, in 1800,
and married, in his native state, Margaret
Hoffman, of German extraction. After the
birth of four children Mr. Wright, about 1830,
brought his family to Ohio and located in the
woods of Tuscarawas county, where he bought
200 acres of land, the greater part of which
he cleared up and transformed into a fertile
farm. There were born to himself and wife a
family of twelve children, of whom eleven
lived to adult age, as follows: Elizabeth,
Georgie, Mary, Harriet, Valentine and Rachael
(twins), John and Henry (also twins), Mar
garet, William and Elisha. Mr. Wright died
on his farm at the age of fifty-nine years, a
member of the Lutheran church, of which he
had been a deacon for many years and of
which his wife was also a devout member. In
politics he was first a whig, afterwards became
a republican, and gave two of his sons to the
defense of the Union — Valentine and Elisha —
both of whom were in company D, Fifty-sec
ond Ohio infantry — Valentine serving three
years and Elisha being killed after one year's
service, in a railroad accident between Nash
ville and Chattanooga.
William Wright, our subject, first married,

890

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

in Tuscarawas county, Susannah Belch, daugh
ter of Joseph and Rebecca (Alfred) Belch,
and to this union were born three children —
Flora, Edwin and George. Directly after this
union was consummated, Mr. Wright, in 1864,
moved to Putnam county, Ohio, and bought
eighty acres of partially cleared land in Sugar
Creed township; after clearing up the re
mainder of the tract he sold out and in 1872
came to his present farm of eighty acres in
Washington township, Van Wert county, this
tract at the time being also but partially cleared,
but by dilligence and skillful labor he has
made of it one of the best homesteads in the
township. Here, April 1, 1884, he was be
reaved by the death of his wife, and July 2,
1885, he selected, for his second helpmate,
Mrs. Marinda Lehman, widow of Frederick
Lehman and daughter of Louis and Nancy
(Binkley) Corderman. This lady was born in
Fairfield county, Ohio, April 27, 185 1, and has
blessed Mr. Wright with one son — Henry Otis
— who was born February 17, 1886. Louis
Corderman was a farmer of Fairfield county
and also a wagon-maker, and both the Corder-
mans and Binkleys were of Pennsylvania-
Dutch extraction. Mr. Corderman came to
Van Wert county in 1853 and settled on 160
acres in Washington township, where he died,
about 1859, at the age of fifty-one years. Of
his three children — Mary, John and Marinda —
Mary married John Long, who was killed in
the Civil war, John sought his own fortune,
and Marinda became the second wife of Mr.
Wright. After the death of Mr. Corderman
his widow finished the clearing up of the farm
to the extent of eighty acres, made a good
home, and died about 1889, aged seventy-eight
years, a devout member of the United Breth
ren church.
Mr. and Mrs. Wright are consistent and
pious members of the Methodist church, in
which he has been a class leader thirty years

and for a long time a trustee. He has always
been liberal in his contributions in aid of re
ligion and also toward all projects designed for
the public good. In politics he is a republi
can, and bears a high character as an upright
man, a true Christian and a public-spirited
citizen of true worth.

>^OHN WYANDT, a prominent farmer
A of Harrison township, Van Wert coun-
A j ty, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the late
Civil war, was born in Stark county,
Ohio, January 30, 1837. His grandfather,
Henry Wyandt, was a native of Maryland,
was married there, had a family of eleven
children, early came to Ohio, settled where
Wilmont now stands in Stark county, and
died on his farm at the age of seventy-six
years. Simon Wyandt, son of Henry and
father of John, our subject, was born in Mary
land, May 25, 1812, came to Ohio with his
father and married Elizabeth Dull, daughter
of John and Hannah (Lenhart) Dull. John
Dull came from Pennsylvania and settled on a
farm adjoining that of the Wyandt family, in
Ohio, and here he and his wife died of cholera
in 1832. In 1839 Simon Wyandt brought his
wife and family to Van Wert county and en
tered eighty acres in the woods of Harrison
township, made a good farm and reared a fam
ily of eight children, viz: Henry, John, Han
nah, Jacob, Catherine (died at sixteen),
George W., David (died at nine), and Frank
lin, who died when three years old. Of these
children, three sons served in the Union army
during the late Civil war — Henry, John and
Jacob. The death of Simon Wyandt took
place at the comparatively early age of forty-
seven years.
John Wyandt, as intimated above, was
brought to Van Wert county, when but two
years of age, and was here reared to man-

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

891

hood, receiving his education at the log school-
house in district No. i, a school-house, indeed,
in which his children were subsequently edu
cated. The marriage of Mr. Wyandt took
December 5, 1861, to Harriet Gunsett, a
daughter of Henry and Catherine (Smith)
Gunsett, born August 2, 1839. After his mar
riage, John Wyandt bought forty acres of land
in Harrison township, which is still his home
stead. Between then and now, however, Mr.
Wyandt has had a varied experience. Sep
tember 21, 1864, he enlisted at Lima, Ohio,
in company F, Forty-first Ohio volunteer in
fantry, for one year, or during the war, and
faithfully served until honorably discharged at
Nashville, Tenn., June 14, .1865, the war hav
ing ended. During this short term of service,
however, he did much active duty, taking part
at Spring Hill, Columbia, Franklin, Nashville
and Lexington, Tenn. , and in 'many skir
mishes, and was on the Hood campaign under
the lead of the gallant general, "Pap"
Thomas. When he entered the army he left
at home his wife and three small children, the
youngest two being twins and but three
months old. What more can be said of patri
otism? And in the wilderness of Van Wert
the faithful wife struggled along alone with
her young family. What compliment can be
paid to her? The little family of Mr. Wyandt
has, however, been increased, but, sad to re
late, decreased, but it is proper that a record
of the birth of his children should be given in
regular order, that, is to say: Jacob, Welling
ton, Simon and Catherine (twins), Henry, and
John and a twin brother, who died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Wyandt are members of the
Evangelical church, in which Mr. Wyandt is
an elder and for a long time was a deacon.
He has taken a great interest in matters edu
cational, and for twenty-four years has been a
school director. In politics he is a republican,
and fraternizes with Capper post, No. 236,

G. A. R. , in which he has filled the office of
vice-commander. He has always been an
industrious man and has doubled his acreage
since he first settled on it ; he has won the re
spect of all who have known him, and the
United States government in 1890 had suffi
cient confidence in him to appoint him census
enumerator for Harrison township.

>^*ACOB WYANDT, a well known busi-
A ness man of Van Wert city, Ohio, was
A / born Augnst 3, 1842, in the county of
Van Wert, township of Harrison, a son
of Simon and Elizabeth (Dull) Wyandt. Simon
Wyandt was a native of Somerset county, Pa.,
born May 25, 181 5, a son of Henry Wyandt,
who was born in Maryland, in which State
Christian Wyandt, the progenitor of the fam
ily, made settlement on coming to America in
1760, later taking part in the war of the Rev
olution. Simon Wyandt was reared in Stark
county, Ohio, and there married, November 5,
1834, Elizabeth Dull, who was born in Cum
berland, county, Pa., June 4, 181 3, a daughter
of John Dull. Mr. and Mrs. Simon Wyandt
resided in Stark county until 1839, when they
came to Van Wert county and bought land in
Harrison township, where Simon died January
4, 1859. His widow now lives in Convoy,
Van Wert county, and still owns the farm of
eighty acres. She bore her husband eight
children, viz: Henry, deceased; John, of Har
rison township; Hannah, wife of J. Gunsett, of
Ohio City; Jacob, the subject of this sketch;
Catherine, deceased; George W. , of Black
ford county, Ind.; David S., deceased; and
Franklin, deceased. Mrs. Wyandt is a mem
ber of the Lutheran church ; in politics her hus
band was a republican.
Jacob Wyandt was reared on the old
homestead in Harrison township, remained
there until twenty-one years of age, and then

892

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

enlisted, July 9, 1863, in company K, Eighty-
eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was on
detached duty for thirteen months as clerk for
the assistant judge advocate of the department
comprising Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Mich
igan, the documents of all courts martial in
this department passing through subject's
hands during this period. He was honorably
discharged at Cincinnati, June 30, 1865, and
on his return engaged as clerk in a store in
Convoy. He was there married, and there
made his home, engaged in the general mer
cantile business in partnersnip with James
Pettit, but sold his interest therein a year later,
and for the two years following dealt in oil-
barrels, staves and heading; then entered the
drug trade in Convoy, which he conducted for
eight years, and sold out in 1880. He had been
appointed post-master at Convoy, Ohio, May
25, 1869, and held the office until September
15, 1885; during this period he also kept the
post-office book and news stand. At the ex
piration of his term as post-master he moved
to Van Wert city and bought one-quarter in
terest in the Bulletin, and was co-editor with
J. W. Sommersett until 1886, when he sold
his interest and bought a one-half interest in
the Van Wert Book & News company, J. M.
C. Marble being his partner; at the end of a
year he disposed of his stock in this concern
and established the book and periodical stand
in the lobby of the post-office, and also assists
the wholesale grocery firm of Humphreys &
Hughes as bill clerk.
Mr. Wyandt was joined in wedlock, March
26, 1867, in Tully township, Van Wert county,
with Miss Sarah E. North, a native of Wash
ington county, Pa., born May 11, 1846, a
daughter of Joseph and Rachael (Dahlhausen)
North, and to this union have been born four
children, viz: Anna Laura Belle, wife of W.
S. Little, a machinist of Chicago; Edwin P.,
with his father; a deceased infant, and Minnie

May. Mr. and Mrs. Wyandt reside in their
pleasant home on Lynn street, which he owns,
and both are members of the Methodist Episco
pal church. In politics Mr. Wyandt is a re
publican and was a member of the school-
board in Convoy for ten years and its clerk;
he has been secretary of the county Sunday-
school association ever since its organization in
1883; he is also a notary public, and frater
nally he is a member of lodge No. 251, I. O.
O. F., of Van Wert, Marion encampment, No.
61, and Pearl Rebe'kah No. 53. The social
standing of Mr. and Mrs. Wyandt is with the
best of Van Wert county.

>Y« OSEPH WILLIAMSON, deceased, was
A born in New Castle, England, Septem-
A 1 ber 27, 1S43. His father was Edward
Williamson, also a native of England,
who was married at an early age and was the
father of seven children, namely: Joseph, of
our sketch; John Edward, Jr.; Mary, Jane,
Matthew, Opodias and Harriet; of these, five
are still living. The father died when sixty
years old. His eldest son, Joseph, the subject
of this sketch, was given a fair schooling, and
then learned the stone-cutter's trade. At the
age of twenty-three (1867) he decided to leave
the parental roof and seek his fortune in the
great land to the westward, America. He
landed in New York in fair circumstances and
immediately went to work at his trade. After
remaining there a while he went to Pittsburg,
Pa., where he continued at his trade; later on
he moved to Mansfield, Ohio, and there he
met and married Anna Profit, February 6,
1870. After marriage he worked at his trade
in the following mentioned places: Cleveland
and Sandusky, Ohio; Pontiac, Mich., and then
at Sandusky, Ohio, again. He then moved to
Toledo, Ohio, afterward to Fort Wayne, Ind.,

JOHN WILLIAMSON,
DECEASED.

MRS. ANNA'oWILLIAMSON.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

897

and then to Van Wert, Ohio. After remain
ing here some time he moved his family to
Marysville, Ohio, and finally back to Van
Wert, where he remained and worked at his
trade until death called him away October 4,
1 88 1. Although he moved from place to
place as a rolling stone, yet he accumulated
quite a good deal of property and left his wife
in very good circumstances. Mr. Williamson
was a good Christian of much liberality, and
of considerable ability, was honored and re
spected by all, and was much liked by those
with whom he walked. He was the father of
three children, viz: Victoria, who died while
the parents were living in Sandusky, at the age
of seven months and five days; Edward, who
was born in Sandusky on May 16, 1874, and
when grown to manhood learned the molder's
trade and followed it for three years, and then
accepted a position in the Harris laundry in
Van Wert; here he worked until he learned
the business thoroughly, and then bought out
Mr. Harris, and now owns the laundry him
self. He has a finely equipped establishment
with the latest improved machinery, and enjoys
a very large patronage not only in Van Wert,
but in many of the neighboring towns. He
gives employmeut to quite a number of per
sons. Fred, the youngest son, was born in
Sandusky on March 18, 1877, and is now with
his brother in the laundry.
Mrs. Williamson, the wife and mother,
was born in New York April 26, 1847. Her
father, Jacob Profit, was born in Bavaria,
Germany, in 1827, and was a weaver by trade.
In 1847 ne leit tne fatherland and came to
America, and worked at his trade in New
York a while. He had married Maggie Bark
in 1842, in Germany, and after leaving New
York lived in Mansfield, Ohio. Their children
were five in number and named as follows:
Peter, who died in 1877; Jacob; Philip, who
died when quite young, and Anna (Mrs. Will

iamson) now lives in Van Wert, and is com
forted by her two sons, who are young men of
exemplary habits.

KENRY YOUNG, a pioneer farmer of
Tully township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a son of John and Sarah
(Coffman) Young, and was born in
Little York, Pa., December 18, 18 18. John
Young, the father, was also born in Little York,
his grandfather coming from Germany. John
moved first to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1826-7,
and located in the wilderness; thence, in 1836,
he moved to Holmes county, then to Ashland
county and then to Richland, whence he came
to Tully township, Van Wert county, and from
here went to Kansas, where he died at the age
of eighty-eight years, the father of seven chil
dren, viz: Henry, John (died an infant), Cath
erine, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel and Leah. John
and wife were members of the Albright Meth
odist church; in politics was a Jacksonian dem
ocrat and a strong Union man; he fought in
the war of 181 2, and in the Civil war had
three sons — all in Ohio regiments.
Henry Young was reared to the onerous
duties of farm life and was educated in the
common schools. December 27, 1843, he was
married, in Holmes county, to Ellen Hornet,
daughter of Noah and Sarah Hornet, to which
union were born four children, viz: Peter, Mary,
Sarah and Hubbard. After his marriage, Mr.
Young resided in Holmes county until 1848,
when he moved to Ashland county, remained
two years, and then moved to near Shelby,
Richland county, where Mrs. Young died, July
21, 1 85 1. Mr. Young then went to Crestline,
Crawford county, and for four years was em
ployed at carpenter work. Here he married
Diana Hershey, daughter of Jacob and Sarah
Hershey. Jacob Hershey and family came
from Lancaster county, Pa., his children

898

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

being four in number, named William W. ,
Samuel, Harriet and Diana. Mr. Hershey
eventually came to Van Wert county- and
passed his waning days at the home of our
subject, dying at the age of seventy-five years,
a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Young,
who was an excellent carpenter and mechanic
and learned his trade when thirty years of age,
continued to work in the car shops at Crest
line for the P. , Ft. W. & C. R. R. company for
about eight years (having first worked at bridge
building a year and a half for the same com
pany), and in 1864 came to Van Wert and
bought forty acres of his present farm in the
wild woods, and in the same spring bought
twenty-six acres adjoining on the south, and
all this land he has earned by hard labor, suc
ceeded in clearing, and in making a pleasant
home and a profitable farm.
The nine children born to Henry Young by
his second marriage were named William,
Frances, Henry, Jacob, John, Samuel, Alex
ander, Nettie and Turey. His eldest son by
his first marriage, Peter, served as a private in
company K, Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer in
fantry, for a short time, and was in the battle
of Shiloh; he was then seized with typhus
fever, and died in hospital at Memphis, Tenn.,
November 28, 1862. The marriages among
his remaining children took place as follows:
Mary was married to David Lowper, who
became the father of two children and died,
and she then married Thomas Hawkins, a
farmer of Harrison township; Sarah was mar
ried to Alfred Baer, and had four children;
Hubbard, a carpenter, married Eliza Current
who has borne one child; Frances, now de
ceased, was married to Jacob Mosel, a farmer
of Tully township; Jacob married Ollie Lock-
heart, and is now in Lima, Ohio, a mechanic
in the D. & M. shops, with no children.
Samuel Young, one of the sons by the second
marriage, graduated from the normal school,

taught school in Van Wert county nine years,
was index clerk in the recorder's office at Van
Wert, was deputy sheriff under Peter Shoe
maker, read law with Lewis & Blachley at
Van Wert, and is now at Lima, Ohio, still
pursuing the study of law. Mrs. Henry Young
was called to the better land February 27,
1895, dying in the faith of the Baptist church,
in which Mr. Young is a deacon. In politics
Mr. Young is a democrat; he is a member of
the grange, in which he has served as chaplain,
and has been a school director six years,
taking a deep interest in educational matters;
he is an entirely self-made man from a busi
ness point of view, is upright in all his trans
actions, and has won the highest esteem of the
citizens of the township.

(D

RS. MARY M. YOUNG, widow of
John C. Young, was born in Clin
ton county, Ohio, January 4, 1842.
She is a daughter of Jonah M. and
Sarah (Stokesberry) Matthew, both natives of
Culpeper county, Va. , and respectively of
Welsh and English ancestry. Both came with
their parents to Ohio about 18 12. The par
ents of each pre-empted land from the govern
ment in Clinton county, and as soon as their
families were comfortably settled in their new
homes, the male head of each volunteered for
service in the war with England then going on,
but before they had seen much service peace
was declared, and they returned to their homes.
Jonah Matthew died in 1865, at the age of
seventy-two, and his wife died in 1890 at the
age of eighty-eight years. Both were mem
bers of the Christian church and were the best
of people, kind-hearted neighbors, and loving
parents. Mrs. Young resided in Clinton county un
til 1 891, when she removed to Van Wert
county, and there made her home with her

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

899

brother, Eli Matthew, a prominent farmer of
Pleasant township, until February, 1895. She
then removed to the city of Van Wert, hav
ing built for herself a pleasant house with
modern conveniences in Oak Grove, a suburb
of the city. Mrs. Young is a faithful member
of and regular attendant of the Methodist
Episcopal church, has for thirty years been a
Sunday-school teacher, and is also a member
of the Daughters of Rebekah. In every way
she is a most estimable woman, and enjoys
the highest respect of all her neighbors and
friends. John C. Young, deceased husband of Mrs.
Mary M. Young, was born in Clinton county,
Ohio, in 1832. He was a son of John Young
and Hannah (Newcomb) Young, natives re
spectively of Virginia and Maryland. John
Young moved to Clinton county with his par
ents about 1 812, they settling on land which
Mr. Young had pre-empted from the govern
ment. He was by occupation a farmer, and
followed that honorable calling until his death,
which occurred in 1862. Hannah Newcomb,
his wife, was a daughter Of William Newcomb,
a pioneer Baptist minister and school-teacher.
She and Mr. Newcomb were married about
1823, and she died in 1881, a woman of high
¦character and noble deeds.
John C. Young remained on the farm with
his parents until the breaking out of the war,
when, in September, 1861, he enlisted in com
pany B, Fortieth regiment, Ohio volunteer in
fantry. This regiment entered almost imme
diately into active service, and participated in
some of the hardest-fought and most import
ant battles of the war. Among these battles
were that of Pittsburg Landing, the siege of
Vicksburg, the battle of Gettysburg, the battle
of Chickamauga, of Lookout Mountain, and
Chattanooga. It was also in the campaign of
Nashville, and took part in the last battle of
Nashville. In 1862 Mr. Young was sent home

on furlough on account of an attack of ty
phoid pneumonia, and at the end of five weeks
he had so far recovered as to be able to return
to his regiment, and he served then the rest of
his term of enlistment, which was for three
years. He was honorably discharged in Sep
tember, 1864, and then returned to his home.
A brother of Mr. Young was a victim of the
horrors of Andersonville, dying a short time
after his release from the effects of privations
experienced during his imprisonment there.
After Mr. Young wrs discharged from the
army he suffered another severe illness, having
contracted heart disease and lung disease while
in the army. He was married October 17,
1867, to Miss Mary M. Matthew, and immedi
ately afterward gave up the active management
of the farm, and with his wife located in Cen-
terville, near his farm, where he lived until his
death, which occurred December 26, 1879.
Mr. Young was a member of the order of Odd
Fellows, and in religion he was a Methodist.
In politics he was a democrat until the war
came on, and then perceiving that too many
members of that party were pursuing a course
inimical to the success of the government in
the suppression of the Rebellion, he became a
republican, remaining a republican the rest of
his life. But whether a democrat or republi
can, Mr. Young was always equally patriotic,
and always labored for the good of his coun
try. At his death he left his widow in com
fortable circumstances, and a memory dear to
all his relatives and friends. There were no
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Young.

>*27*A9 ILLIAM H- ZIMMERMAN, a re-
m A a tired farmer and merchant of Con-
n%J voy, Van Wert county, Ohio, and
an ex-soldier, was born in Colum
biana county, Ohio, August 26, 1839, a son of
Israel and Margaret (Smith) Zimmerman. The

900

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

father, Israel, was a son of Henry, of Pennsyl
vania and a pioneer of Columbiana county.
Israel had born to him four children, who
were named William H., James S., Philip M.
and Ramsey L. , all of whom were born in
Columbiana county, Ohio, excepting Ramsey
L., who is a native of Van Wert county, in
Pleasant township of which county the father
settled in about 1852, having entered forty-
eight and one-half acres in the wild woods
some years previously, and to which he sub
sequently added forty-eight and one-half acres
by purchase, but died two years after his
arrival at about forty-one years of age.
William H. Zimmerman was reared on the
farm above alluded to from his fourteenth year
until he enlisted, at Van Wert, December 9,
1 86 1, in company K, Forty-sixth Ohio volun
teer infantry, to serve three years or during the
war, but was honorably discharged, July 1,
1862, at Columbus, Ohio, on account of
wounds received at the battle of Shiloh, other
wise known as Pittsburg Landing, which took
place in April. In this desperate struggle he
was struck by a rifle-ball in the left elbow,
the effects of which are still an annoyance to
him. January 15, 1865, he married Cather
ine Weisman, daughter of Joel and Sarah
(Troup) Weisman, the former of whom came
from Perry county, Ohio, and was an old set
tler of Van Wert county. He was the father
of seven children, who were named Noah,
Catherine, Elizabeth (died at thirteen years of
age), Benjamin F., William A., Lydia M. and
P. M. Noah Weisman, brother of Mrs. Zim
merman, served in the same company, during
the Civil war, with her husband, and about
the same length of time.
After marriage Mr. Zimmerman lived on
the home farm two years and then bought
forty acres in Harrison township, but later
sold and bought two farms in Tully township,
consisting, respectively, of fifty-eight and forty

acres, which he brought into a high state of
cultivation and resided upon until his removal,
in March, 1870, to Convoy. Here, for three
and one-half years he was engaged in the saw
mill business, then in the grocery trade, and
then in tile manufacturing. He also ran the
elevator in company with A. B. Penny, and
since the last manifestation of his business
energy has devoted his attention to the care of
his farm and minor enterprises. Mr. Zimmer
man is quite a hunter, and in his recreations in
this particular has visited on several occasions
the northern parts of Wisconsin and Michigan,
and has in his possession the head and antlers
of a splendid buck as an evidence of his skill
and prowess. Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman are
Presbyterians in their religious belief. Frater
nally he is a member of Convoy lodge, I. O.
O. F., in which he has held all the offices,
including that of noble grand. In politics he
is a democrat, and has been town treasurer,
township treasurer, councilman, township trus
tee and justice of the peace. In 1889 he
bought his present pleasant home in Convoy,
where he has since been residing in the en
joyment of the confidence and respect of his
fellow-citizens. The successful career of Mr.
Zimmerman furnishes a bright example for the
emulation of the younger members of the com
munity who have yet to make their fortunes
through their own industry.

^-y'ACOB S- -ZOOK, a prominent and
A heavy contractor and builder of Van
A J Wert, Ohio, was born in Wayne coun-
""' ty, in the same state, April 5, 1838, a
son of Daniel and Nancy (Steel) Zook, the
former of whom was born in Cumberland
county, Pa., but who came with his parents to
Wayne county when but eighteen years of age.
Nancy Steel was also a native of Pennsyl
vania, and was a mere child when brought to

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

901

Ohio; her parents being among the first fami
lies to locate in Wayne county. Daniel and
Nancy grew to man and womanhood near
Wooster, Wayne county, and were married
there in 1834. Daniel, after marriage, im
mediately engaged in farming in Wayne coun
ty, and there remained until 1841, when he
moved his little family to Crawford county,
farmed there a year, and then moved to the
west of Bucyrus, Crawford county, where he
made his home until 185 1; he then moved to
Wyandot county, where he had entered forty
acres of wild land, and there cleared up the
the farm on which he died in 1854. To Dan
iel and Nancy Zook were born six children, in
the following order: Mary A., deceased; Jacob
S., our subject; Amanda E. , wife of D. Peter
son, of Ada, Ohio; John W. and William N.,
deceased, and Dennis C, a railroad man of
Valparaiso, Ind. In 1856, Mrs. Nancy Zook
was married to Goodwin Hall, who is now also
deceased, and in 1888 she herself died, in the
faith of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Jacob S. Zook was about six years of age
when taken to Crawford county, and about
thirteen years old when taken to Wyandot
county, where he made his home until 1856,
when, at the age of about seventeen, he went
to Oceola, Crawford county, where he served
an apprenticeship of three years at the car
penter's trade with John Dome. The next
four years he worked in partnership with Mr.
Dome, and then went to Nevada, Ohio, and
began contracting on his own account,
following his vocation there until 1873,
when he came to Van Wert, as afford
ing a wider scope for the exercise of his
now fully ripened genius and perfected
skill. He at first here formed a partnership
with E. W. Wilson, which connection was
maintained for four years, at the expiration of
which time Mr. Zook continued in business on
his sole account. Mr. Zook has erected, in

Van Wert, the Hotel Marsh, the Methodist
Episcopal church, the City building, the North
(Second ward) school-house, several large busi
ness blocks and a number of the better class of"
dwellings, and also built in 1885 the machine
shop and round house for Ohio division of the
C. , J. & M. railroad. He owns his own fine
residence on South Washington street, and at
the rear end of his lot has a building devoted
to the manufacture of screen doors, window
frames and the lighter work pertaining to car
pentry. He also owns 120 acres of land in
Pleasant township, Van Wert county, and
Mrs. Zook is the owner of eighty acres in
Ingham county, Mich. He is also a stock
holder in the Van Wert National bank, and is
a member of its board of directors.
The marriage of Mr. Zook took place in
Oceola, Crawford county, Ohio, January 12,
1862, to Miss Amanda E. Barrick, who was
born in Crawford county, July 20, 1839, a
daughter of John and Jane Barrick, and both
he and his wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Zook is a
republican, and as such has served in the city
council two years. Fraternally he is a knight
templar Mason. As a business man he is un
excelled, and his social standing is among the
best citizens of Van Wert. As Mr. and Mrs.
Zook have no children of their own, they have
recently taken Frank Bennett, who was born
in Vermont in October, 1886.

fr> m ACHARIAH STEWART, a practical
J^^f and progressive farmer of Washing-
f J ton township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state
and was born in Fairfield county, August 15,
1840. His father, also named Zachariah, was
born in Ireland, and came to America while
still a young man. He located first in Fair
field county, Ohio, and there married a lady

'902

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry, and later
came to Van Wert county and settled on the
land in Washington township now occupied
by his son Joseph, and here died at the age of
about sixty years.
Zachariah Stewart, whose name opens this
sketch, was but a small boy when brought to
"Van Wert county by his father. Reared on a
pioneer farm he had but few opportunities for
•schooling, but by self-exertion attained suffi
cient knowledge for the prosecution of the
ordinary business of life. In 1862, at Lima,
Ohio, he enlisted in company H, Fifteenth
Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years or
during the war, but his actual service com
prised but eighteen months — nine months
under his enlistment, being them honorably
discharged on account of sickness; later on
he was drafted, and after another experience
¦of nine months of army life, was again dis
charged for the same cause. He took part,
however, in the siege of Nashville, was in
many skirmishes and did a great deal of hard
marching. He was confined in hospital at
Louisville, Ky. , with chronic diarrhoea, and
was also stricken with measles during his
service, and came very near death, and was so
badly disabled by disease in doing his duty to
his country that he has been granted a pension
•of $10 per month by the government. Mr.
¦Stewart is now the owner of a good farm of
forty acres, which he has cleared up from the
woods of Washington township, from which
he is deriving a fair income and on which he
makes his home. He is an upright, hard
working man and is respected by all who know
him, and in politics he is a democrat.
A. J. Stewart, a brother of Zachariah, our
subject, also enlisted in company H, Fifteenth
Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years, then
veteranized, and served until the close of the
war — taking part in many battles and doing
the full duty of a soldier. He is now a promi

nent citizen of Jackson township, Van Wert
county, and at one time served as infirmary
director.

£~Sf IMEON A. JACKSON is a native of
*y^tat York township, Van Wert county,
N^_# Ohio, and was born on the farm now
owned and occupied by him, Febru
ary 8, 1843. His parents, Ferdinand and
Charity (Mortimore) Jackson, were natives re
spectively of Madison county, Ohio, and
North Carolina. By his first marriage Ferdi
nand Jackson became the father of four chil
dren, viz: John M. , a resident of York town
ship; Sarah, who died in childhood; Thomas,
who died in infancy, Simeon A., and James, a
resident of Van Wert county. The father
died in the spring of 1849, and Mrs. Jackson
was again married and became the mother
of the following children: Robert and Jacob,
twins; William, deceased; David, who re
sides in Van Wert county. The mother
died April 4, 1891. Ferdinand Jackson, al
though a farmer, worked at chair-making in
the winter time.
Simeon A. Jackson, our subject, spent his
youth on the home farm, and at the age of
ninteen years enlisted in company A, Ninety-
ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, the date of his
enlistment being Augnst 6, 1862, and the term
of his enlistment being three years. He was
in the battles of Stone River, Chickamuaga,
and eleven other of the hard-fought engage
ments; after being mustered out at the close
of the war he returned to his home, and No
vember 11, 1867, was united in wedlock with
Rebecca Hayes, a daughter of Jackson and
Eliza (Hichner) Hayes, residents of Mercer
county, Ohio — the former a native of Fayette
county, Ohio, and the latter of New Jersey.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hayes were born the follow
ing children: Laban, a resident of Mercer

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

903-

county; Orlando, who grew to manhood, but
is now deceased; Sheldon, who was a soldier
in company A, Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer in
fantry, and died while in service from disease;
Morton, who died in early manhood; Mrs.
Jackson; Melissa, the deceased wife of Will
iam Krugh; Ella, deceased wife of Augustus
Frisingter; Orelso, who died when twelve years
of age. The mother of these children died
when Mrs. Jackson was but eight years of
age, and the father next married the widow
Green, who bore him one daughter, May, the
wife of Lincoln Scott, of Celina, Ohio. Mrs.
Jackson's father died in May, 1879. The
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were
named — Willis, at home; Sarah, wife of
Charles Brown, of Mercer county; Minnie,
school-teacher; Oscar, Eliza, Otis, and Foster.
Mr. Jackson owns a neat homestead of forty
acres, and also another tract of thirty-three
acres in York township. Mrs. Jrckson is a
pious member of the Methodist church, and in
politics Mr. Jackson is a stalwart republican.
He and family are highly respected by their
neighbors and Mr. Jackson is looked upon as
one of the most public-spirited citizens of York
township.

sr

'ILEY M. KEAR, an extensive real
estate dealer and money broker of
Van Wert, Ohio, was born in that
village April 22, 185 1, and is a son
of Thomas Reed and Catherine (Frisinger)
Kear. Thomas Reed Kear was born in Maryland
April 26, 1806, and during his early youthful
days was a sailor on the ocean. Some time
prior to the attainment of his majority he re
moved to Licking county, Ohio, to which
county his parents had preceded him, and
there he lived on a farm near Jacksontown, in
the meantime learning the carpenter trade.

He afterward moved to Champaign county,,
Ohio. Here, April 29,, 1829, he- married Cath
erine Frisinger, who was born: in- Virginia
April 12, 1812, and by whom he had; ten chil
dren, as follows: Mary M., wife of Jackson
Pence, and now living in Willshire township;
John J., of Van Wert county;. Amelia C. , de
ceased; Lydia A., of Petersburg-, 111.; Amanda
A., of Van Wert; B'enjamin F., who died in
Oklahoma; Sarah E., who died in Buchanan.
county, Iowa; Robert T., who died in Van'
Wert; Wiley M., the subject of this sketch,
and Elsie A., deceased.
Removing to Van Wert county in 1835,
Mr. Kear settled in Willshire township, where
he was employed mainly as. a cabinet-maker
and as a carpenter until 1843', when he re
moved to Van Wert, which place at that time
contained only eleven families. As a democrat
Mr. Kear served as a deputy under the first
sheriff of Van Wert county, was afterward1
himself elected sheriff, and served as public
crier for many yearsv His death occurred May
11, 1864, his widow dying in Van Wert No
vember 1, 1895, at the age of eighty-three
years, six months and nineteen days. She was
converted at a camp meeting in Urbana, Ohio,
in 1830, united with the Methodist Episcopal
church, and was a member of the first Meth
odist class in Van Wert county, which met in
the house of Richard Pring,. in Willshire town
ship, Mr. Pring having been the organizer and1
leader of the class and' being anexhorter of no
mean ability. She- joined this; class in 1836.
Her sisters, of whom she- had several, lived
most of their lives in Champaign county, Ohio,
and many of their descendants- now reside in
that county. Her- brothers were among the
early settlers of Van Wert and Mercer coun
ties, Ohio, and were named William, Jacob,
John, Peter and Noah Frisinger.
Peter Frisinger, the father of Mrs. Kear,
died during the- war of 18 12; while fighting the

904

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

battles of his country, and was buried at Nor
folk, Va. His wife was a Miss Worley, and
several of her nephews and nieces lived near
Eaton, Preble county, Ohio.
Thomas Reed Kear had two brothers, John
Reed and William Reed, the former of whom
died while a young man, in Champaign county,
and the latter of whom was last heard from as
living in Syracuse, Nebr. He also had three
sisters, — Mary Ann, who married Richard
Pring, and removed to Polk county, Iowa;
Eleanor, who married John Pring, a brother
of Richard, and removed to Fort Wayne, Ind.,
and Amelia R., who married Frederick Baylor,
and removed to Wayne county, Iowa.
Following are the names of some of the
descendants of these three sisters: Harriet R.
Deyve, of Princeton, Mo. ; Mary J. Deyve, of
Ravanna, Mo. ; Margaret Eby and Fanny Fry,
of Great Bend, Kan. ; Thomas Pring, of Allerton,
Wayne county, Iowa; Jerry Pring, of Adams,
Adair county, Iowa; Amelia Whittaker, of
Oakley, Kan.; Margaret McCleary, of Dexter,
Iowa; Jane Adams, Ethel (Pring) Stewart, and
George W. Pring, all three of Adair county,
Iowa; Emma Trummel, of Nebraska; Mary
Woodrow, of Rock Falls, Iowa; Nellie Whit
taker, of Oakley, Kan..; James Pring, of Cedar-
ville, Ind., and Maggie Cornell, of Kirksville,
Missouri. Thomas Reed Kear was a son of John
Cears, who married Eleanor Reed, in or near
Baltimore. She had three brothers, viz: Will
iam, John and Thomas, all of who lived in
Baltimore or the vicinity. John Cears was a
ship-builder and a sailor, and somewhat late
in life removed to Licking councy, Ohio.
Of his two sisters, Nancy married a Mr.
Pussely, and lived at Zanesville, Ohio, and
Mary married a Mr. Basiel or Bassil, and lived
in Licking county. The father of John Cears
came from England prior to the Revolutionary
war, and established a large ship-building yard

in Maryland, which he conducted profitably
until the breaking out of that war, when all his
property was confiscated.
Wiley M. Kear, after the death of his
father, worked in a stave factory for two
years, and then removed to Plymouth, Ind.,
where he worked on a farm during the summer
season and attended school during the winter,
working for his board. Returning to Van
Wert he was for three years engaged in a stave
factory eight months' in the year and attended
school four months. For some time afterward
he was engaged in various kinds of farm work,
and having attained his majority he went to
Brandon, Iowa, and there was engaged in
farm labor until 1873. Returning to Van
Wert he worked for some years in a saw-mill,
at general teaming and school teaching in
winters, at the same time laying out the plat
of Kear's addition to Van Wert, selling lots,
and building a home for his mother. In 1879
he accepted a position as deputy recorder of
Van Wert county, under his brother-in-law,
W. P. Wolcott, and while in this position be
gan loaning money, thus laying the foundation
of his present extensive and profitable business,
and in 1883, at the expiration of his term as
deputy recorder, he opened his present office,
at the corner of Main and Washington streets,
Van Wert.
Mr. Kear was married June 17, 1879, at
Brandon, Iowa, to Miss Malinda Romig, who
was born in Wisconsin, October 14, 1853, and
to this marriage there have been born seven
children, as follows : Carleton R. ; Helen L. ;
Georgiana M. ; Roy Donald; Paul Winfred;
Harry Alexander; and Thomas W. , deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Kear are members of the Meth
odist Episcopal church. Mr. Kear is an Odd
Fellow, and a republican, and bears a fine
reputation as a successful and honorable
business man. Mrs. Kear removed with her
parents from Wisconsin to Brandon, Iowa,

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

905

and resided there until her marriage. Her
father, Isaac Romig, was a merchant at that
place. He was born in Lehigh county, Pa.,
March 26, 18 14, and married Mrs. Elizabeth
Young, who was born in Northumberland
county, Pa., August 8, 1823, a daughter of
Jacob and Sarah (Richey) Williamson, the
marriage taking place March 13, 1842. To
this marriage there have been born seven chil
dren, as follows: Henry H., who died at
Memphis, Tenn., May 21, 1864, from the
effects of a , musket-ball wound in the hand;
Harriet D., wife of H. S. Van Buren, of
Brandon, Iowa; Mary Ann, wife of Henry
Fouts, of Brandon, Iowa; James M., who
married Sarah L. Newcomb, and lives at
Independence, Iowa; Benjamin, who died
when a child; Malinda, wife of the subject of
this sketch; Clara Marilie, wife of A. T. Mc
Donald, of Independence, Iowa. All seven of
the above-named children were born in the
state of Wisconsin,

QH. SHORB, fish and game commis
sioner of the state of Ohio? was born
in Canton, Ohio, June 3, 1837. He
is a son of John Shorb, who was born
in Baltimore, Md. , in 1796. John Shorb was
brought by his parents to Ohio in 1802, they
settling in Stark county. In Canton, Ohio,
Mr. Shorb was a man of considerable promi
nence. He was a miller, a banker, and for
some years was mayor of the city of Canton.
This was in an early day. During the war of
1812-15 he was a patriot, enlisting in that war
and serving his country faithfully during his
term of service. In this, however, he was but
following in the footsteps of his father, who
was a patriot soldier in the Revolutionary war.
He married Miss Margaret Stegger, who was
a native of Uniontown, Pa., and who died in
Canton, Ohio, in 1875. Her father, like her

husband's father, was a soldier in the Revolu
tionary war.
E. H. Shorb, the subject of this sketch,
was married at Sturgis, Mich., in August,
1877, to Miss Nettie C. Purdy, who was born
in Van Wert, Ohio, in 1859. To this mar
riage there have been born two children, viz:
Elizabeth and Katharyn. Mrs. Shorb is a
daughter of George and Sarah (Cecil) Purdy,
the former of whom died in Van Wert county
in 1864. The latter is a native of Harrison
county, Ohio, and is now living in Van Wert.
Mr. Shorb came to Van Wert in 1876. He
has worked in a field and is now working in a
field of great usefulness, very wide and very
valuable — that of the propagation of fish and
the protection of both game and fish. It was
doubtless on account of his predilection for
and skill in these lines that he was appointed
by Gov. William McKinley, in April, 1894, to
the position of state fish and game commis
sioner, and was re-appointed in May, 1895,
for five years. During this period he will have
ample time to raise the office to a plane of
prominence and usefulness that it has so far
not attained. Mr. Shorb was the first person
in Ohio to successfully raise the Mongolian and
the ring-necked pheasant.
It would probably be less difficult to assign
a reason for the failure of Mr. Shorb's prede
cessors in this line than for his success. For
the pheasant is a native of southern Europe,
having been most anciently found on the banks
of the river Phasis, which flows from the
southern slopes of the Caucasus mountains
westerly into the Black sea, near the ancient
city of Phasis. The Greek form of this name,
Phasianos, is the origin of the English word,
pheasant. Hence it appears that this bird was
named after the river on whose banks it was
first found. The mean annual temperature of
its ancient home is considerably higher than
that of northern Ohio, or, indeed, of Ohio, that

906

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of the latter being not far from fifty-one de
grees, while that of the ancient province of
Colchis, the present province of Imerethia, is
about fifty-eight degrees. To overcome this
difference in temperature must have been the
result of great care and attention to the pheas
ant on the part of Mr. Shorb.
Mr. Shorb has made many personal friends
since he has made his residence in Van Wert,
where he has his home on North Washington
street, and his social manners and scientific
attainments have won for him the esteem of
the community in general.

^-j* OSEPH J. MOORE, car inspector for
A the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw
A J railroad company, in Van Wert, was
born December 30, 1855, and is a son
of W. S. G. and Amanda M. (Butler) Moore,
a full history of both of whom appears on page
559 of this volume.
Joseph J. Moore spent his boyhood days at
home, assisting his father on the farm and in
the brick-yard, attending school as opportunity
offered. When his parents removed to Van
Wert county in 1864 he removed with them,
and has been a resident of the county ever
since. At the age of twenty he left home and
went to work as a section hand on the Pitts
burg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, and
was thus employed four years. He was then
appointed a night policeman of Van Wert, and
served in that capacity three years, giving satis
faction to all persons interested. Resigning
this place in 1887, he accepted a position with
the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw railroad
company as car inspector, in that company's
Van Wert yards, and this position he has held
ever since, a period of nine years, giving entire
satisfaction to the company that employs him.
Mr. Moore was married, November 17,
1878, to Mrs. Louisa J. Keller, nee Guinn,

whose parents were David and Mary ("Van
Senter) Guinn, natives respectively of New
Jersey and Pennsylvania, but, at the time of
this marriage, old residents of Van Wert, the
father being a prominent farmer of Pleasant
township. Mr. Guinn, though himself unable
to go to the war, sent two of his sons, who
rendered faithful service to their country in its
hour of need. Both Mr. and Mrs. Guinn are
now deceased.
Mr. Moore is a member of the Improved
Order of Red Men, of which order he has
passed all the chairs, and is now representa
tive-elect of the Abenaka tribe, No. 77, of
Van Wert, to the grand council of Ohio. He
is also a member of Van Wert lodge, No. 130,
K. of P., in which lodge he has held all the
chairs but one, and he is also a member of the
Odd Fellow lodge, No. 251, of Van Wert.
In religious belief both be and his wife are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church
and in politics he is a republican. Mrs. Moore
is a member of the Order of Pocahontas and.
has filled all the offices. They live in a mod
ern home of their own on South Walnut street,
with their one child, George W., aged fifteen,
surrounded by many warm and kind-hearted
friends.

WOHN STRIPE, a substantial farmer,
A was born in Hoaglin township, Van
A I Wert county, Ohio, August 14, 1846,
and Hoaglin township is still his home.
His descent will be found in detail in the-
biography of his younger brother, G. W.
Stripe, which will be found below, and the
two sketches, in conjunction, make a complete-
family history. John Stripe acquired a sound
education in the first frame school-house erected,
in the township, was reared to the vocation of
farming. He first married, August 4, 1870,
Harriet Clem, daughter of Isaac and Rebecca.

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

907

(Crobill) Clem, the father being then a farmer
of Champaign county, Ohio, but now deceased.
To this marriage of Mr. Stripe were born four
children, who were named, in order of birth,
as follows: Minnie A., Eleanor, Oma and
Perry. The mother of these died February
n, 1880, and the second marriage of Mr.
Stripe took place April 20, 1882, to Miss Mat-
tie C. Burgess, daughter of Lloyd and Mary
(Robinson) Burgess. The father of this lady
was born in Springfield, Ohio, October 15,
1827, and the mother in Xenia, Ohio, March
7, 1828, and were married in Xenia, June 27,
1845. Until the outbreak of the Civil war
Mr. Burgess was employed in the saddlery
trade, and since the close has been engaged in
carriage trimming. He and wife have both1
been active members of the Methodist church,
and now reside in Warsaw, Ind., where Mr.
Burgess votes with the republicans. To the
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Burgess have been
born the following children: Emily (deceased),
James A., Mattie C, Frank H., William G.
(deceased), Emma J. (deceased), Fanny, Allie,
Hattie J., Sallie, and Bertie (deceased). To
the second marriage of Mr. Stripe the following
children have been born: M. Herbert and M.
Albert (twins), Delbert L., Carl V., Mamie
(deceased) and George. Mr. Stripe has an
excellently well improved home farm of eighty-
two acres, every rod of which shows the skill
and care of the experienced agriculturist; he
also owns ten acres in Ridge township, and a
farm of twenty -one acres, composed of a por
tion of his father's old homestead, around
which, in his youthful days, roamed number
less wolves and other wild beasts; and game,
such as bear, deer and turkey, was as plentiful
as could be desired even by an amateur hunts
man, but he has seen all this changed to be oc
cupied by the domestic poultry and cattle of
the thrifty farmer, and the fruitful fields which
have supplanted the wild woods. Mr. Stripe

is a stanch prohibitionist in his political affilia
tions, has had the nomination of his party for
county treasurer, and is also a member of
grange No. 400. He and wife are consistent
members of the Methodist church, and their
social relations most agreeable, being highly
respected, as they are, by the community.

eERRY CLARK CON N, deceased,
formerly a prominent and exceedingly
popular business man of Van Wert,
was born in Mansfield, Richland
county, Ohio, in 1844. He was a son of
Andrew and Margaret (Patterson) Conn.
Andrew Conn was born in Cecil county,
Md., March 19, 1803, and in 1812 was taken
by his parents to Pennsylvania. In 1827 he
removed to Mansfield, Ohio, having just pre
viously married Miss Margaret Patterson. Mr.
Conn resided in Mansfield for nineteen years
and was twice elected treasurer of Richland
county. While there he was prominently en
gaged in the banking business, being at the
head of the firm of Conn, Sherman & Co.,
Hon. John Sherman being a member of the
firm. Retiring from the banking business he
soon afterward, in 1856, removed to Van
Wert, where he resided the rest of his life, his
death occurring at the residence of his son,
John A. Conn, June 23, 1879, after an illness
of about eighteen months. Mr. Conn was a
member of and a ruling elder in the Presby
terian church, and was frequently honored by
the members of his church by being selected as
delegate to district and general synods. Dur
ing the Civil war he was a strong patriot, and
while the war was going on was elected treas
urer of Van Wert county. As a public servant,
he was always faithful to his charge; as a pri
vate citizen, he was public spirited; as a
neighbor, he was kind and accommodating,
and as a friend, he was devoted and true.

908^

biOgrAPhicaL History

^_

Rev. A. V. Stockton, of the First Presbyterian
church, officiated at the funeral. John A.
Conn, one of his sons, has long been a prom
inent business man of Van Wert, and stands
high as a financier. For years he was cashier
of the First National bank of that city, but
he is now practically retired, though he is
conducting a grocery store in the interest of
his sons. Perry C. Conn removed to Van Wert at
the same time that his father came from Mans
field, in 1856, and for some years was engaged
in various kinds of business. In 1864 he en
listed in the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth
Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served
until the close of the war. He then estab
lished himself as a grocer in Van Wert, and
for some years he was associated with R.
Slade, under the firm name of Slade & Conn,
but subsequently purchased his partner's inter
est and conducted the grocery trade alone
until his death, which occurred on Tuesday,
November 19, 1888, at the age of forty-four,
and should therefore have been in the prime
of his strength and usefulness when his days
were cut short by the fell destroyer. His dis
ease was consumption, which disease has for
the most part so far baffled the skill of the
most learned physician.
In 1872 he was elected recorder of Van
Wert county, and so faithfully and well did he
perform his duties, that he was re-elected in
1875. At the close of his second term it was
generally and cheerfully admitted that the rec
ords of his office were a credit to his worth as
a public official, and to his character as a pri
vate citizen. In later years he was engaged
in several business enterprises, but, on account
of declining health, his hopes could not be fully
realized. He was a universal- favorite among
' men, and at the time of his death it was writ
ten of him that he had never made an enemy
in the world. He was one of the best known

and most popular men in the county, standing
high in every relation. His integrity of char
acter was entirely above suspicion, and his
word was everywhere taken as gospel truth,
without the slightest shadow of question.. If
a good name is better than great riches, he
was indeed a wealthy man. To his widow and'
his children, and likewise to his other relatives
and friends, this must continue to be a con
stant source of pleasure.
Mr. Conn was married in Van Wert, Ohio,
July 3, 1867, to Miss Sophronia Saltzgaber,
the ceremony being performed by the Rev.
Mr. Darnell. Mrs. Conn was born in Shelby
county, Ohio, March 22, 1848, and is a daugh
ter of Samuel and Jane (Vanhorn) Saltzgaber.
Samuel Saltzgaber was born in Lebanon
county, Pa., January 12, 1800, and was of
Dutch parentage. His father was John Saltz
gaber and his mother Margaret Eiseminger. '
Samuel was educated in a Dutch school and in
1834 moved to Richland county, Ohio, residing
in this state the greater part of his life. He was
married twice — first to Catherine Stover, Sep
tember 28, 1820, by whom he had fivechildren ;
and, second, to Jane Vanhorn, May 29, 1834.
By his second marriage he became the father '
of seven children. Mr. Saltzgaber was best
known as a hotel keeper, having been engaged
in this business from 1840 to 1870, at Monroe- ,
ville, Ind., in Shelby, Ohio, and in Van Wert.
For many years he was a whig, but during the
latter part of his life he has been a republican.
He is a member of the Christian church, and
has always been a temperate man and now, at
the extreme age of over ninety-six years, re
sides in Van Wert with his son, the Hon. G. H. :
Saltzgaber, a prominent attorney at law.
Jane Vanhorn, the second wife of Mr.
Saltzgaber, was born in Belmont county, Ohio,
February 2, 1806. Her father was Jesse Van
horn, and her mother, Sidney Miller, both
hardy pioneers of the olden time, who braved

OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

the dangers and hardships of the frontier life
when it was frequently a struggle with wild
beasts, and, as, some have written, with still
wilder men. Mrs. Saltzgaber was a member
of the Christian church, and always taught her
children those precepts and principles neces
sary to a correct life and equally necessary to
the perpetuation of the institutions of their
country. Perry C. Conn by his marriage to Miss
Saltzgaber became the father of four children,
viz: Harry L. ; Rowena, wife of John S. Guth
rie; Walter L. , and Carl P. All of these chil
dren are living. Harry L. Conn is now court
stenographer of Van Wert county. He is an
expert in his art, and noted for his accuracy.
All the lawyers have implicit confidence in his
work. He is bright, active and intelligent, is
a graduate of Van Wert high school, and is iri
every respect a credit to his native city. Mrs,
Conn is still living and is one of the most
highly respected ladies of Van Wert.

£>f IMEON A. JACKSON is a native oi
•y^^fcT York township, Van Wert county,
K^_y Ohio, born on a farm now owned
and occupied by him, February 8,
1843. His parents, Ferdinand and Charity
(Moftimore) Jackson, were natives, respectively,
of Madison county, Ohio, and North Carolina.
By his first marriage Ferdinand Jackson be
came the father of five children, viz: John M.,
a resident of York township; Sarah, who died
in childhood; Thomas, who died in infancy,
Simeon A., and James, a resident of Van Wert
county. The father died in the spring of 1849,
and Mrs. Jackson was again married and be
came the mother of the following children, viz:
William, deceased, David, who resides in Van
Wert county. The mother died April 4, 1891.
Ferdinand Jackson, although a farmer, worked
at chair-making in the winter time.

Simeon A. , our subject, spent his youth on
the home farm, and at the age of nineteen
years enlisted in company A, Ninety-ninth
Ohio volunteer infantry, the date of his enlist
ment being August 6, 1862, and the term of
his enlistment being three years. He was in
the battles of Stone River, Chickamuaga, and
eleven other of the hard-fought engagements;
after being mustered out at the close of the war
he returned tohishome, and November 1 1,1867,
was united in wedlock with Rebecca Hayes, a
daughter of Jackson and Eliza (Hichner) Hayes,
residents of Mercer county, Ohio — the former
a native of Fayette county, Ohio, and the lat
ter of New Jersey. To Mr. and Mrs. Hayes
were born the following children: Laban, a
resident of Mercer county; Orlando, who grew
to manhood, but is now deceased; Sheldon,
who was a soldier in company A, Forty-sixth
Qhio volunteer infantry, and died while in serv
ice from disease; Morgan, who died in early
manhood; Mrs. Jackson; Melissa, the deceased
wife1 of William Krugh; Ella, deceased wife of
f Augustus Frisinger; Orelso, who died when
tiwelve years of age. The mother of these
children died when Mrs. Jackson was but eight
years of age, and the father married the widow
Green, who bore him one daughter, Mary, the
wife of Lincoln Scott, of Celina, Ohio. Mrs.
Jackson's father died in May, 1879. The
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were
named — Willis, at home; Sarah, wife of
Charles Brown, of Mercer county; Minnie,
school-teacher; Oscar; Elza, Otis, and Foster..
Mr. Jackson owns a neat homestead of forty
acres, and also another tract of thirty-three
acres in York township. Mrs. Jackson is a
pious member of the Methodist church, and in
politics Mr. Jackson is a stalwart republican.
He and family are highly respected by their
neighbors, and Mr. Jackson is looked upon as
one of the most public-spirited citizens of York
township, Van Wert county.

YALE UNIVERSITY

105694 b

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